Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of additional damage or more AD or even more attaches.
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 weapon and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever 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. Additionally, they can be salvaged from items that have upgrade components inside them, with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will absorb. The upgrade of an armor piece to the highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. However, it's important be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a variety of armor upgrade available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of health points while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades also feature magical or a combination of technology and magic which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use, which is indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are constantly updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be found by exploring the area and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but can be found at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can give a significant increases in stats and are worth the investment.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it will also reduce its agility and its speed. item upgrading is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The defensive boost gained usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons come with special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These are obtained through either doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of bosses or monsters, or from 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 price of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a certain amount of Bars. You could continue to do this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a higher chance of giving you the highest level of benefits and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to help them level up quicker. In addition players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons favored by their squadmates to make them more powerful and effective. 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 can be used to boost the stats of a character or to provide additional effects on weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine the gemstone with specific reagents in a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a diamond can be improved at the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones that you must be at an appropriate level to obtain. item upgrading can be replaced by another jewel without destroying the original. You are able to replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
It is common to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create an area that is stronger than steel, so the repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above players can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs are also removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be retrieved by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of tiny but valuable advantages to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but valuable boost in movement speed and the ability to evade. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be put into any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero is not in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It also helps compensate for the lack of a strong slot in the talent tree or team which would normally be filled by a hero's top stats.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat instead of two subpar ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the start of the game. Top and mid players, on the other hand they will select a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have an impact on the ability of a hero to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players may also find a number of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. They can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, for instance finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.