Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading their performance. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear because of their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item that they are attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components in them using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. However, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than before.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are that are available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For instance, certain upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of additional health points, while others make it lighter and stronger. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades are magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is shown by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be obtained through exploring the surroundings and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, however, it is available from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are well worth the cost.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece to its maximum upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and speed. This is why it is typically not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces beyond +9, since the added defense is typically not worth the additional weight and power costs of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade can increase the damage dealt by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by doing side quests, or killing a certain amount of bosses or monsters, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
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 certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific amount of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment with minimal upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a higher chance of granting you the 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 favored by their squadmates to make them more powerful and effective. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when paired with experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of creating them. You combine gemstones with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better its secondary effect. item upgrade 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 for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a diamond can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler can craft all tiers 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 are able to be swapped with another identical jewel without destroying it. However it is only possible to replace one jewel in an item of equipment only once.
Using more jewels in a movement will make it more smooth, and is often performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Jewels also enhance performance and create a harder surface than steel so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to them.
In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades, the player can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like aegis or traits cannot be exchanged and can only be found with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character various small, but useful advantages. They can be acquired starting in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by completing road interactions. They can also be made by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinkets that a player unlocks will be the cloak. item upgrades grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. After that, they'll be able to purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same way to how a player can acquire weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be put into any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active whenever the hero is not in combat. This lets the hero be more effective when not active and may also help fill in the void of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable statistics that aren't as significant as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is true especially if you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It's best to upgrade just one crucial stat instead of two subpar ones.
In the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and mid players typically choose the pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices can impact the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the things mentioned above, players may also find a number of other trinkets in the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For example, completing the main quest for a chapter or defeating a boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.