Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can be a great source of damage or more AD or even more attachments.
In most cases, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are connected to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. However, it's important note that this will also increase its weight, which will cause 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 stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of technology and magic, which is shown by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require a charge to use, which are identified by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades change every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the environment and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are a worthwhile cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it can also reduce its agility and its speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense typically isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. For instance an upgrade can enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the rifle that snipes. Some weapons have special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of bosses and monsters.
To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain number of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade, the higher the level. 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 sets has changed a bit. In the past you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased rarity. You could continue doing this until you reach a max upgrade level of the weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would be reset.
It's possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. You should consider buying equipment that has low levels of upgrade but with high base scores and stat distributions. These will be able to give you the most prestigious bonuses and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to make them stronger. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing a stat and providing secondary effects. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gemstone and various reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a gem can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on item upgrade of the gem it will give different stat boost when slotted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
All tiers of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a high enough level to be able to get them. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. However, you can only replace the jewels in an item of equipment once.
It is normal to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. Apart from improving performance, the jewels also create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots won't damage them as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, are not swappable, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can provide your hero with various small, but valuable, advantages. They are available in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They can also be obtained from vendors and by completing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus to speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar manner as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with a slot for an upgrade that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any device. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets a hero be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the lack of a good slot in the talent tree or team which are usually filled by a hero's top stats.
A good guideline 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 to be upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players however will pick a green or a pink ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's map control abilities.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players can also discover other trinkets in form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest of a chapter or defeating an opponent. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.