Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
In most cases, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item that they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kits to recover upgrade components from other items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. The upgrade of an armor piece to the highest upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be heavier.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades that are 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 lighter and more powerful. The kind of armor upgrade an item can receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as indicated in the table below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, as shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be obtained through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can give players a significant improvements in stats and are worth the cost.
A piece of armor upgraded to its maximum upgrade level will greatly increase its defense values however, the user must be aware that putting more weight on it will drastically reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the added defense is generally not worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could enhance the damage caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These can be obtained by doing side quests, or killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses, or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade cost that is based on a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment with low upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. upgrade item will then be able to give you the most prestigious benefits and blessings.
To increase their level faster, many players prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates utilize to increase their power. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing a stat and providing secondary effects. item upgrading can be created through an process known as jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gemstone and various chemicals at a table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. item upgrading will vary depending on the level the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or equipment.
All levels of jewels can be made at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a high enough level to obtain them. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped with a jewel of the same kind without destroying the original one. You are able to replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
It is common to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. Jewels also enhance performance and create a harder surface than steel so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, are not swappable, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that offer many small but useful advantages to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through doing road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. This lets a hero be more efficient while inactive. It also helps compensate for the lack of a good slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by a hero's top stats.
A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace soon, followed by items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being 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 than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game players who are in the jungle will typically 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 game's matchup). These choices will have an impact on the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the things mentioned above, players can also discover a variety of other trinkets in the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing a chapter’s main quest or beating an opponent. They can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.