Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and essential way to boost the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a fantastic source of damage or more AD or even more attachments.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to modernized Common or Magic equipment because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They improve the stats of the item that they are attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items that have upgrade components within them by using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The amount of damage that an armored item or weapon will absorb is contingent on the degree of upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. However, it's important be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, which will cause it to be heavier than it was before.
There are several types of armor upgrades that are available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For instance, certain upgrades give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item can get will be indicated by the name of the upgrade as indicated in the table below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which is shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can give a significant improvements in stats and are definitely worth the cost.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values however, the user must be aware that increasing its weight can drastically decrease its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. For example, an upgrade may enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
The process of 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 more bars required to complete it. The cost of the upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets was a bit different. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off going to the stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a chance at gaining you the most prestigious benefits and blessings.
The majority of players will make the most of upgrades to weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when accompanied by experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase a stat or provide secondary effects in weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine gemstones with specific reagents on a table. The higher the grade of the gemstone, 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 purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a diamond can be improved by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the level the jewel is at when it's slotted into jewelry, weapons, or equipment.
All levels of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a certain level to obtain the privilege of having them. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with another identical jewel without damaging the original one. You can only replace the gem only once in a piece of equipment.
Using more jewels in a move will make it more smooth and is typically performed for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels also create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots doesn't damage them as easily.
In addition to the above upgrades players can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be freely traded, but they are not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be recovered with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of tiny but valuable benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the areas of starting as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, or by completing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinkets a player is able to unlock is the cloak. item upgrade grants a small but useful bonus to speed of movement and the ability to escape. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar way to how a player obtains armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment comes with a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
item upgrades provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also compensate for the lack of a strong slot in the talent tree or team which are usually filled by the hero's optimal stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when you are looking to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their trinket to a red in the middle and top players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also discover other trinkets in form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing a chapter’s main quest or beating the boss. You can see them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.