Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and essential way to boost 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 beaten out by Rare-grade gear due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They improve the stats of the item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage a piece of armor or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the degree of upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to maximum upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each has a different impact. Some upgrades give armor an additional amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can get will be identified by the name of the upgrade as indicated in the table below.
A few upgrades are magical or a combination of technology and magic which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges in order to be used. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are continuously updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small loot chests. item upgrades is more expensive however, it is available from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give players a significant boost in stats, and are definitely worth the cost.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will greatly increase its defense capabilities, but the player should be aware that putting on weight will drastically reduce its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense typically isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. For example an upgrade could improve the damage that is caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Certain firearms have upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most weapon upgrades require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade. They can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific number of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade, the more expensive the upgrade. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the way you upgrade your equipment and weapon sets changed a little. Previously you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a set amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased rarity. You could continue to do this until you reach a max upgrade level of the weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. You're better off buying gear that has minimal upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a chance at gaining you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
To increase their level faster, many players prioritise upgrading their weapons. In addition to these players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons they use with their teammates to make them more powerful as well. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used in conjunction by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be created through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem and several reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The quality of a gem can be improved at the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is at when it is inserted into jewelry, weapons or equipment.
The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems with the exception of rare and legendary ones which you must be at a certain level to get. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out by a different identical jewel without damaging the original one. You can only replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
Using more jewels in the movement can make it feel more comfortable and is usually performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to enhancing performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and are able to be swapped easily but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis can't be swapped, and can only be found through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using the Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with many small, but valuable, benefits. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can also be made by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket players can unlock is the cloak. It provides a tiny but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. 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 is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be used in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that are active whenever the hero is not fighting. This lets a hero be more efficient when they are not active. It can also make up for the lack of a good team or talent tree slots which would normally be filled by the hero's best stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as important as the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade, since it's generally better to upgrade a single crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick a green or a pink ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
Aside from the items listed above, players may also discover a variety of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, such as finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.