10 Things We All Hate About Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Upgrades to items are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of damage and more AD or even more attaches.

Rare-grade equipment can be superior to modernized Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be applied to armor and weapon items. They increase the stats of whatever item upgrader kit they are connected to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and purchased from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items that have upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.

The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important 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 different effects. Certain upgrades grant armor an extra number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade the item upgrader kit can receive, as shown below.

A few of the upgrades are also magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are identified 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 by using Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more costly, but can be found in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give players a significant boost in stats, and are well worth the cost.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its maximum upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it will also decrease the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The added defense typically isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. For instance, an upgrade may increase the damage dealt by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.

Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. These can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of monsters and bosses.

To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be less.

In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could continue to do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.

You can still do this but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You're better off buying gear that has low levels of upgrade but with high base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a chance at gaining you the Best item upgrade tier of perks and blessings.

To increase their level quicker, players usually prioritize upgrading their weapons. In addition, players should consider upgrading the weapons favored by their squadmates to increase their power as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when paired with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels can be used to boost the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in weapons and armor. They can be made through a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem with various chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the jewel has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The Jeweler can boost the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts will vary according to the tier that the jewel is at when it's inserted into weapons, jewelry, or equipment.

All tiers of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a sufficient level to obtain them. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped by a different jewel of the same type without damaging the original one. However, you can only replace one jewel in an item of equipment once.

It is common to use more jewels for aesthetic reasons. The jewels also improve performance and create a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not cause damage to the movement.

In addition to the upgrades mentioned above, the player can also get glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged, and can only be retrieved with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets are items of equipment that offer an array of small but useful advantages to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by performing road interactions. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinkets that a player is able to unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. After that, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires armor and weapons. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with specific types of trinkets.

These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective when not active and may also help fill in the void of a solid team or any slots from the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's Best item upgrader statistics.

A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best item upgrader-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 to be upgraded. This is true especially if you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It is better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.

At the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one, while top and middle players usually choose either a pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices can impact the ability of a hero to control the map.

Apart from the things mentioned above, players can discover a variety of other items in the form of trophies and awards. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, like completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.