Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of extra damage and more AD or even more affixes.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item that they're connected to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kits to retrieve upgrade components from other items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will take on. item upgrades of an armor piece will increase as it is upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it should be heavier.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have different effects. Certain upgrades give armor an extra number of health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which is identified by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Additionally, some upgrades require a charge to use, which is indicated by an "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to improve your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more costly, however, it is available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give players a significant boost in stats, and are well worth the cost.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it will also decrease the speed and agility of the piece. For this reason, it is not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces above +9, since the added defense is generally not worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain firearms also have upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the possibility of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain number of bosses or monsters, or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
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 cost of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. 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 a bit. Previously you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a set number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased quality. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off visiting stores and purchasing equipment that has low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These will be able to give you the best tier of benefits and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they most often use to make sure they are able to level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to boost their strength. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing a stat and providing secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the grade of the gemstone has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through finding Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ depending on the level the jewel is at when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or equipment.
The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems apart from the rare and legendary ones that you must be at a certain level to get. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without damaging the original. You can only replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.
It is normal to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. Jewels also enhance performance and create a harder surface than metal so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not cause damage to the movement.
In addition to the above upgrades additionally, players can get glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs offer a small boost in power and can be exchanged, however they are not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for 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 cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to provide your hero with various small, but beneficial advantages. You can find them in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available from vendors and by doing road interaction. They can also be made by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinkets that a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player will then be able to acquire rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar manner as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and only works with specific types of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows the hero to be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the absence of strong slot in the talent tree or team which are usually filled by the hero's best stats.
A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace soon, followed by items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is particularly true if an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade just one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.
At the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red in the middle and top players will usually opt for a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can impact a hero's ability to control the map.
Aside from the items mentioned above, players can also discover a variety of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing the main quest for a chapter or beating an opponent. They can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.