Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They increase the performance 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 using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrade components from items.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the extent of its upgrades. The ability to absorb damage of a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it must be heavier.
There are several different types of armor upgrade available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. Certain upgrades give armor a greater number of health points, while others make it lighter and more powerful. The name of the upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade the item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of technology and magic which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades are updated daily or never expire dependent on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to improve your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give a significant boost in stats, and are definitely worth the investment.
Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. upgrade item added defense generally isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could improve the damage that is caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. These are obtained through either completing Side Quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses, 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 set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars required to complete it. The cost of the 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. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment that has low levels of upgrade but with high base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a higher chance of granting you the highest tier blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress quicker. In addition to these players, they should think about upgrading the weapons they use with their squadmates to increase their power as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost a stat or provide secondary effects in weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, where you combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the level of the gem is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the jewel, it will provide a different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels can be made at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a high enough level to be able to get them. Jewels can be replaced by another one without damaging the original. upgrade item can only replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
It is typical to use more gems to enhance the appearance of. Jewels also enhance performance and make a harder surface than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the look of your shields and weapons. These glyphs offer a small boost in power and can be traded, but they're not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis, are not swappable, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that provide an array of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It provides a tiny but beneficial boost in speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player can acquire weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be placed in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the lack of a strong team or talent tree slots which are usually filled by the hero's best stats.
As a rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel of 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 just one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Top and mid players however, will choose a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also discover other trinkets in form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story, such as finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.