Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and essential way to boost the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
In most cases, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever item they are attached to. Armor upgrades are found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Additionally, they can be rescued from items with upgrade components in them using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
item upgrades of damage that a piece of armor or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the level of its upgrades. The upgrade of an armor piece to the highest upgrade level will boost its ability to absorb damage. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it should be heavier.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game and each one has distinct effects. Certain upgrades give armor an extra number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of magic and technology, which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require charges to use, and are shown by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades change every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the environment and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but is readily available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can give significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its maximum upgrade level can increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense generally isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade could increase the damage dealt by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain firearms have upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the risk of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require a whetblade. It's one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be gained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are 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 was a bit different. In the past you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a set amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased quality. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.
It's possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. You should consider buying equipment that has minimal upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a higher likelihood of granting you highest level of benefits and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when accompanied with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. They can be created using an process known as jewelry crafting, where you combine a gem with various chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the gemstone, the better the 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 boost the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
The Jeweler is able to create all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must be at certain levels to gain. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels are able to be swapped by a different identical jewel without damaging the original one. You are able to replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.
It is normal to use more gems to enhance the appearance of. Apart from improving performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs provide a small boost and can be freely exchanged, however they are not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be retrieved with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to provide your hero with various small, but useful, advantages. They are available in the start-up area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained from vendors as well as through the completion of road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinkets that a player can unlock is the cloak, which gives a small, but valuable boost in speed of movement and evasion. After that, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same way to how a player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero is not in combat. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also compensate for the absence of excellent team or talent tree slots which are usually filled by the hero's optimal stats.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace soon, followed by any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It's more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat than two less important ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the start of the game. Mid and top players however they will select a green or a pink ward, based on the game's matchup. These choices can impact the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players will discover other trinkets in form trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. You can view them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.