Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a great source of additional damage or more AD or even more affixes.
In most cases, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They improve the effectiveness of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components inside them, with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the extent of its upgrades. upgrade item of an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important to note that this will also increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than before.
There are a variety of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. For example, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is shown by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require a charge to use, which is indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day 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, however, it is available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some 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 stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The player must be aware that upgrading a piece up to the max upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it will also reduce its agility and its speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade can enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain weapons come with special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. They can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain number of bosses or monsters, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
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 cost of a certain number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more expensive the upgrade. The cost of upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the way you upgrade your equipment and weapon sets was a bit different. Before you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment 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. You're better off buying gear with minimal upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These will then be able to give you the best tier of perks and blessings.
To improve their skills quicker, players usually prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, where you combine a gem with several ingredients at a table for jewelry. 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 for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones, which require an appropriate level to obtain. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. You are able to replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
It is common to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots won't damage them as easily.
In addition to the above upgrades, the player can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs offer a small boost in power and can be swapped, but they're not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs are also removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, are not swappable, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starter area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after the completion of road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinket that a player will unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to evade. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar fashion as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. item upgrade lets the hero perform better when they are not active and also helps fill in the void of a solid team or any slots from the talent tree which would normally be filled with hero's ideal stats.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats that are less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if 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.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the start of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick a green or a pink ward, based on the game's matchup. These choices will have an impact on a hero's ability to control the map.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players can also find other trinkets that form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing a chapter’s main quest or defeating an opponent. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.