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 be a good source of additional damage and more AD or even more attachments.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to upgraded Common or Magic equipment due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They improve the stats of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and purchased from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kit to retrieve upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage that a piece of armor or weapon can absorb depends on the extent of its upgrades. The damage absorption of a piece armor will increase when it's upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be more heavy.
There are several different types of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different impact. For instance, certain upgrades give the armor a certain number of health points while others make it lighter and stronger. The type of armor upgrade that an item will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
A few of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is identified by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either constantly updated or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available at the smelters in 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 boost in stats, and are well worth the investment.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will dramatically boost its defense, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will drastically reduce its agility and speed. This is why it is not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces above +9, because the increase in 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. item upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration 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 to apply. These can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
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 higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed. Before you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a set number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon 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, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off going to stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
To increase their level quicker, players usually prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to boost their strength. 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 utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around 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 quality of a gem can be improved by the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary according to the tier that the jewel is at when it's slotted into jewelry, weapons, or gear.
The Jeweler can create all tiers of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must attain certain levels to gain. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without destroying the original. However you can only swap out the jewels in a piece of equipment once.
The use of more jewels in a move can make it feel more comfortable and is typically performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create an area that is stronger than metal, which means that repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded by the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs are also removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis cannot be swapped out, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by doing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus to movement speed and evasion. The player can then acquire rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar fashion to how they acquired weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive, and can also help make up for a lack of a solid team or the absence of any slots from the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It is better to upgrade one important stat than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game, junglers will usually want to upgrade their trinket to a red in the middle and top players usually choose the pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices will have an impact on a hero's ability to control the map.
Aside from the items listed above, players can also discover a variety of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, like the main quest of a chapter or destroying a boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.