Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of damage or more AD or even more attachments.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on weapons 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. They can also be salvaged by using a professional or higher salvage kit to salvage upgrade components from other items.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the extent of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by a piece armor will increase as it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than before.
There are a variety of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it lighter and stronger. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade as illustrated in the table below.
Some upgrades also feature magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is indicated by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. item upgrading associated with these upgrades change every day or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is with Iron Ore, which can be found by exploring the area and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to max upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense capabilities however, the user must be aware that increasing its weight can drastically decrease its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense typically isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance 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 a rifle sniper. Certain firearms also have upgrades that improve their innate characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the possibility of 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 for applying. They can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of monsters and bosses.
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 price of a certain number of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade the higher the level. The cost of upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until you reached the max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off visiting stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a better chance of bringing you the most prestigious perks and blessings.
Most players will want to make the most of upgrades to weapons they are most likely to use to help them level up faster. In addition, players should consider upgrading the weapons favored by their teammates to make them more powerful as well. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when accompanied with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the stats of a character or to provide additional effects on weapons and armor. They can be created through an process known as jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem with several ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the quality of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through finding Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ according to the tier that the jewel is in when it is inserted into jewelry, weapons, or equipment.
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 high enough level to be able to get the privilege of having them. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with another jewel of the same type without damaging it. You can only replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
Using more jewels in a movement will make it more smooth, and is often used for aesthetic reasons. Apart from improving performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots won't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis cannot be swapped, and can only be recovered through an upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that offer an array of small, but beneficial benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through doing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinkets that a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but useful bonus to movement speed and evasion. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any device. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that remain active when the hero is not fighting. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the lack of a good slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
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 that are less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you wish to upgrade, as it's usually better to upgrade just one crucial stat than two subpar ones.
In the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket into a red one, while top and middle players will usually opt for either a pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players can also discover a variety of other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, finishing a chapter’s main quest or beating an opponent. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.