Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading their performance. They can be a good source of extra damage or more AD or even more affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to modernized Common or Magic gear due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on weapon and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are connected to. Armor upgrades are found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kit to retrieve upgrade components from items.
The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The upgrade of an armor piece to the highest upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will raise its weight, requiring it to weigh more than before.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game and they all have different effects. Some upgrades give armor an additional number of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. item upgrader of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require a charge to use, which are shown by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades are updated daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is with Iron Ore, which can be found through exploring the surroundings and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give a significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level can boost its defense. However, it can also affect its agility and its speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the added defense is generally not worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Some weapons also have special enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific number of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade, the more expensive the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain amount of Bars. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off going to the stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels, but good base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a chance at gaining you the best tier of benefits and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to make them stronger. Shepard for instance should upgrade his 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 increase the stats of a character or to provide additional effects on weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, where you combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Depending on the tier of the gem, it will provide a different stat boost when slotted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a sufficient level to be able to get the privilege of having them. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out with another identical jewel without destroying it. You can only replace the gem only once in a piece of equipment.
It is typical to use more jewels for aesthetic reasons. Jewels also enhance performance and make a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to the movement.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be retrieved by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinkets that a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. Then, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player acquires weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any device. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that remain active when the hero is not in combat. This allows a hero to become more efficient even when not in combat. It can also compensate for the lack of a strong slots in the team or talent tree which are usually filled by a hero's top stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace soon. Then, you should consider any items that have desirable statistics aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's often more beneficial to upgrade one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game junglers will usually want to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one, while top and mid players will usually opt for either a pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can affect the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also discover other trinkets in form trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For example, completing the main quest for a chapter or beating an opponent. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.