Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and crucial method to enhance the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Often times however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They improve the effectiveness of the item 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 rescued from items with upgrade components inside them, with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the extent of its upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to maximum upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it should be heavier.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades available in the game and each one has distinct effects. Certain upgrades grant armor a greater amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
Some of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of magic and technology, which is identified by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require charges to use, and are indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades are updated daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to upgrade your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to its maximum upgrade level will greatly increase its defense capabilities however, the user must be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is typically not worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells do. Some weapons have special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These are obtained through either doing side quests, or killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be lower if have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Previously, you could seek out an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased level of rarity. 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 however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear with minimal upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a higher chance of granting you the most prestigious tier of blessings and perks.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to make sure they are able to level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to make them stronger. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the tier of the jewel is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. upgrade item will vary according to the tier that the jewel is at when it is inserted into jewelry, weapons, or gear.
All tiers of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a certain level to qualify for these. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. However you can only swap out the jewels in an item of equipment once.
The use of more jewels in a movement can make it feel more comfortable 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 repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be swapped, but they are not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can provide your hero with a variety of small, but useful advantages. They are available in the starting area as loot or as personal story rewards. They can also be obtained from vendors and by doing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket that a player will be able to unlock is the cloak. It provides a tiny, but useful bonus in movement speed and the ability to escape. The player will then be able to acquire rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar fashion similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with a slot for an upgrade that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be used in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows a hero to become more efficient even when not in combat. It also helps compensate for the absence of good slots in the team or talent tree which would normally be 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 will not replace soon, followed by items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if you're looking to upgrade several statistics on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
At the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and middle players typically choose either a 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 can also discover a variety of other items in the form of awards and trophies. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, for instance finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.