Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can be a fantastic source of additional damage or more AD or even more attaches.
Often times however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They improve the effectiveness of the item they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kits to retrieve upgrade components from items.
The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the extent of its upgrades. The ability to absorb damage of a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important keep in mind that this will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, some upgrades give the armor a certain amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.
Some upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic which is shown by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require charges to use, and are shown by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant increases in stats and are worth the cost.
The player must be aware, however, that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it can also reduce the speed and agility of the piece. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the added defense is usually not worth the extra weight and power cost of the improvements required.
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 caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades for weapons require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece, or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be less if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed a bit. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased rarity. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, item upgrading off going to stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a greater chance of granting you the highest tier blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they most often use to help them level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents in a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the gemstone is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boost when slotted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All tiers of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a high enough level to obtain the privilege of having them. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. You are able to replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.
It is typical to use more jewels for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above, the player can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be retrieved through an upgrade extractor, or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to provide your hero with a variety of small, but beneficial benefits. You can find them in the start-up area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets that a player unlocks will be the cloak, which gives a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. The player will then be able to acquire rings, amulets and necklaces, in a similar way as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant buffs and skills that remain active even when the character is not in combat. This lets the hero perform better when they are not active and may also help fill in the void of a strong team or any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable stats that are less significant than the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
At the beginning of the game junglers will usually want to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one in the middle and top players usually choose either a pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players will find other trinkets that form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story, such as the main quest of a chapter or killing a certain boss. You can view them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.