Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and essential way to boost the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of games and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items that have upgrade components in them with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. However, it's important keep in mind that this will raise its weight, requiring it to be heavier than it was before.
There are several different types of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different impact. For instance, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it lighter and stronger. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade that an item will receive, as shown below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges in order to be used. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the environment and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, however, it is available from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to its maximum upgrade level will greatly increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces above +9, because the increase in defense is generally not worth the additional weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms also have upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed for greater damage) are two examples.
item upgrade of upgrades for weapons require the use of a whetblade, or one of the 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.
To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain amount of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. The cost of upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed. In the past, you could seek out an Upgrade Bench and pay a set amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased level of rarity. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.
It's possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. You're better off buying gear that has low levels of upgrade, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a greater likelihood of granting you highest level of blessings and perks.
To improve their skills faster, most players will prioritise upgrading their weapons. In addition, players should consider upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their teammates to increase their power as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will make it more useful when accompanied by experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of making them, where you combine gemstones with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel, it will provide a different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All levels of jewels can be made at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a high enough level to be able to get these. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. You are able to replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
It is common to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels create an area that is stronger than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your weapons and shields. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be freely exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, aren't swappable and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character a variety of small, but valuable, benefits. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets that a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus to movement speed and evasion. Then, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar way to how a player acquires armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be used in any kind of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets the hero be more effective when not active and also helps fill in the void of a solid team or the absence of any slots from the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats that are less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade since it's generally more beneficial to upgrade one crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the start of the game. Top and mid players on the other hand, will choose a pink or green ward, based on the game's matchup. These choices can affect a hero's ability to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing the main quest of a chapter or defeating the boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.