Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and important way to improve the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Often times however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item they're attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with 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 is able to take on. A piece of armor upgraded to maximum upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it should be heavier.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different impact. For item upgrader , certain upgrades give the armor a certain amount of health points while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades change every day or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide a significant boost to stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to its maximum upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will drastically reduce its speed and agility. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is generally not worth the extra weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of a weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms have upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. These can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment 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 the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear with low upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the best tier of benefits and blessings.
To increase their level quicker, players usually be more inclined to upgrade their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be made through an process known as jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gemstone and various chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a diamond can be improved at the Jeweler, with stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
All levels of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a certain level to obtain these. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels are able to be swapped by a different jewel of the same kind without destroying it. However, you can only replace one jewel in a piece of equipment once.
The use of more jewels in the movement will make it feel smoother and is typically done for aesthetic reasons. Apart from improving performance, the jewels create an area that is stronger than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can acquire glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis cannot be swapped, and can only be found by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to provide your hero with a variety of small, but valuable, benefits. They are available in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after doing road interaction. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket players will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but beneficial boost in movement speed and the ability to evade. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar manner to how they acquired weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This enables the hero to perform better when they are not active and also helps fill in the void of a strong team or any slots from the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's best statistics.
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, but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade since it's generally more beneficial to upgrade one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players on the other hand they will select a pink or green ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
Apart from the items listed above, players can also find a number of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of awards and trophies. They can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, like completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. They can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.