Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading the performance of them. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to the more modernized Common or Magic equipment because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to weapon and armor items. They improve the performance of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components inside them, using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the extent of its upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to its highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it should be heavier.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades that are 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 that an item will receive, as shown below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require a charge to use, which is indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can give players a significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
A piece of armor upgraded to max upgrade level will dramatically boost its defense but the wearer must be aware that increasing its weight will drastically reduce its agility and speed. For this reason, it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces that are higher than +9 because the increase in defense is usually not worth the extra weight and power cost of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade can enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle that snipes. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity 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. They can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade price of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be lower.
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 certain amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased rarity. You could continue to do this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would be reset.
It's still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off visiting stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a higher chance of giving you the highest level of blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to make sure they are able to level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing a stat and providing secondary effects. They can be created through the process of jewelry crafting, where you combine a gem with various ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the quality of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ according to the tier that the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or other gear.
All tiers of jewels can be made at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a sufficient level to be able to get them. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped with another identical jewel without destroying the original one. However it is only possible to replace one jewel in a piece of equipment once.
Utilizing more jewels in a movement will make it feel smoother and is usually performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. The jewels can also enhance performance and create a surface harder than steel, so that the repeated friction caused by pivots does not cause damage to them.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above players can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus 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 can also be taken out from the inventory, and they are 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 a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with a variety of small, but beneficial advantages. They are available in the start-up area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after doing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player is able to unlock is the cloak. It grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal or a jewel upgrade. item upgrade provide smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't fighting. This enables the hero to be more effective when not active and also helps to compensate for the absence of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's best statistics.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace soon, followed by any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true when you're looking to upgrade several stats 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 trinket at the start of the game. Top and mid players however they will select a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest for a chapter or beating an opponent. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.