Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They increase the stats of whatever item they are attached to. Armor upgrades are 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 kits to recover upgrade components from items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can take on. The upgrade of an armor piece to maximum upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. 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 upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can receive will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as illustrated in the table below.
A few of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire based on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but it can be obtained from smelters located in 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 give significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces above +9, since the defensive boost gained is usually not worth the additional weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example, an upgrade may improve the damage that is caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Some weapons have special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.
Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, taking out a certain number of bosses or monsters, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount of bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading 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 certain number of Bars. You could continue doing this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for the weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would be reset.
This is still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. It is better to purchase gear with minimal upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to make them stronger. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of making them, in which you combine gemstones with specific reagents on a table. The higher the level of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Depending on the tier of the jewel it can provide different stat boost when slotted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones that you must attain an appropriate level to obtain. Like item upgrade can be swapped out with another identical jewel without destroying it. However, you can only replace a jewel in an item of equipment only once.
It is normal to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. The jewels also improve performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs provide a small boost and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to be available 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 like aegis or traits cannot be exchanged and can only be retrieved through an upgrade extractor or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can give your character many small, but useful, advantages. They are available in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained through vendors and after doing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets a player unlocks will be the cloak. It grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. The player can then collect necklaces, rings, and amulets, in a similar way to how they acquired weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be placed in any type of equipment while 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 in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the absence of strong slots in the team or talent tree which would normally be filled by the hero's optimal stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. upgrade item is best to upgrade just one crucial stat instead of two subpar ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players however, will choose a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.
Aside from the things mentioned above, players can find a number of other items in the form of trophies and awards. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.