Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and essential way to boost the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of additional damage or more AD or even more affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item that they're connected to. Upgrades to armor are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components in them with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to absorb. The damage absorption of an item Upgrade of armor will increase when it's upgraded to the highest upgrade level. But, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than before.
There are several types of armor upgrades that are available in the game and they all have different effects. Some upgrades give armor an additional amount of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade that an item upgrading will receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades are also magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require charges to use, which is shown by an "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is with Iron Ore, which can be found through exploring the surroundings and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but is readily available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can give players a significant increases in stats and are well worth the cost.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its max upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it can also reduce its agility and its speed. This is why it is not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces above +9, because the increase in defense is typically not worth the extra weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of weapon overheating) 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. These are obtained through either doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece, or Whetblade you need to visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. The cost of upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade item materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased level of rarity. You could do this until your 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 much better off going to stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a better chance of bringing you the most prestigious perks and blessings.
To level up 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 make it more useful when paired with experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to improve a stat or provide secondary effects in armor and weapons. They can be made through the process of jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem and various ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the level of the gemstone has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can improve the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is at when it's slotted into jewelry, weapons or gear.
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 high enough level to qualify for these. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped by a different jewel of the same kind without destroying the original one. However it is only possible to replace a jewel in an equipment piece once.
It is common to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above players can also acquire 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 by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis cannot be exchanged, and can only be recovered with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can provide your hero with many small, but beneficial, benefits. They are available in the starter area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after doing road interaction. They can be purchased from 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 useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player obtains weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't fighting. This lets a hero be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the lack of a good team or talent tree slots which are usually filled by a hero's top stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace in the near future. Next, any items with desirable stats that are less significant than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when you want to upgrade multiple stats on an item upgrade. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat rather than two suboptimal 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 they will select a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's map control abilities.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, like the main quest of a chapter or destroying a boss. You can see them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.