Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and important way to improve the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They increase the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using a specialist or higher salvage kit to salvage upgrades from the items.
item upgrade of damage that an armored piece or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the extent of its upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to maximum upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will raise its weight, requiring it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a variety of armor upgrade available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. For instance, some upgrades will give the armor a certain number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either updated daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide a significant improvements in stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will significantly boost its defense, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor past +9. The defensive boost gained generally isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. For instance an upgrade could enhance the damage caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of a sniper rifle. Certain firearms have upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade. It's one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
The process of upgrading a weapon, equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade the higher the level. item upgrades of upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until you reached a max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, after which the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off visiting stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These will have a better chance of bringing you the best tier of perks and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects on weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is the process of creating them. You combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the gem has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ according to the tier that the jewel is in when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or other gear.
All kinds of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a certain level to obtain them. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped out with a identical jewel without damaging it. However it is only possible to replace one jewel in an equipment piece only once.
It is common to use more jewels for aesthetic reasons. The jewels can also enhance performance and make a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to them.
In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades additionally, players can get glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and are able to be swapped easily but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be recovered by using an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character many small, but beneficial, benefits. They are available in the starter area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after doing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket players will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't in combat. This allows the hero to become more efficient even when not in combat. It also helps compensate for the absence of good team or talent tree slots which are usually filled by a hero's top stats.
As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if you're looking to upgrade several statistics on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand they will select either a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.
Aside from the items listed above, players may also find other trinkets throughout the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For example, completing a chapter’s main quest or defeating a boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.