Path of Exile Item Upgrades
item level upgrade upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They boost the performance of the item upgrade that they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of games and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage that an armored item upgrades or weapon will absorb is contingent on the level of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase as it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will raise its weight, requiring it to be heavier than it was before.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. Certain upgrades give armor an extra amount of health points while others make it lighter and more powerful. The name of the upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item upgrades can be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, as shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Some upgrades also require charges to use, which are identified by an "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the environment 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 or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can provide a significant improvement in performance and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The player must 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 speed. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces above +9, since the added defense is typically not worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of a weapon. For instance an upgrade can enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate capabilities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade. It's one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain amount of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade, the higher the level. The cost of the upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. In the past you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a set number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased rarity. You could continue doing this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for your equipment or weapon, following which the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear with low levels of upgrade and high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a better chance of giving you the most prestigious tier of benefits and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when paired with experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of creating them. You combine gemstones with specific reagents on a table. The higher the level of the gemstone has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a high enough level to obtain them. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out with another jewel of the same kind without destroying the original one. However you can only swap out a jewel in a piece of equipment once.
The use of more jewels in a movement can make it feel more comfortable and is usually performed for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the jewels create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots won't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. These glyphs offer a small boost in power and can be swapped, but they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, aren't swappable and can only be retrieved 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 bestow many tiny but valuable benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket players will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but valuable boost in speed of movement and the ability to evade. After that, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that remain active when the hero is not fighting. This lets a hero be more efficient while inactive. It also helps compensate for the lack of a excellent slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
As a rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best item upgrade in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's usually better to upgrade a single crucial stat than two subpar ones.
In the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket into a red one in the middle and top players typically choose the 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 trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing a chapter’s main quest or beating a boss. You can check them out by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.