Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and essential way to boost the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of additional damage and more AD or even more affixes.
Often times 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 weapon and armor items. They boost the performance 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 using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrades from the items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can take on. item upgrades of an item of armor will increase when it's upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. However, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have distinct effects. Certain upgrades grant armor a greater number of health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item can receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade as illustrated in the table below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use, which is shown by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh daily or never expire dependent on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to upgrade your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but it can be obtained from 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 a significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
The player must be aware, however, that upgrading a piece up to the max upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it can also affect the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance, an upgrade may improve the damage that is caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Some weapons also have special enhancements that enhance their intrinsic characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of bosses and monsters.
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 that is a certain amount of bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more expensive the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Before you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased rarity. You could continue doing this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
You can still do this but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear with low upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better chance of granting you the most prestigious tier of blessings and perks.
To increase their level faster, many players be more inclined to upgrade their weapons. In addition players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their teammates to make them more powerful and effective. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing a stat and providing secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a table. The higher the tier of the gem is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can improve the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the jewel it will give different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems except for the rare and legendary ones which you must attain an appropriate level to obtain. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out with a identical jewel without destroying it. However you can only swap out the jewels in an equipment piece only once.
It is typical to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels create a surface that is harder than metal, so repeated friction with pivots doesn't damage them as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above players can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged and can only be retrieved through an upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide an array of small but useful advantages to your hero. They can be obtained in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, or by doing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinkets a player can unlock is the cloak, which grants a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way 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. item upgrade offer fewer benefits and can be used in any kind 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 when the hero isn't in combat. This lets the hero be more effective when not active and also helps fill in the void of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.
In general trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace soon. Also, consider 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 statistics on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat instead of two subpar ones.
In the beginning of the game players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and middle players typically choose a green or 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 will also find other trinkets that form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest for a chapter or defeating the boss. You can view them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.