Path of Exile Item Upgrades
item level upgrade upgrades are a common and essential way to boost the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a fantastic source of damage, more AD or even more attachments.
Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item that they're attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. Alternately, they can be rescued from items with upgrade components within them by using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase when it's upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it should be heavier.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item upgrading will receive will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
Some of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of technology and magic which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades are updated every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to improve your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive, but is readily available in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high level armor pieces. These upgrades can give significant boost to stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that putting more weight on it will drastically reduce its speed and agility. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces above +9, since the defensive boost gained is usually not worth the extra weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Some weapons also have special upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of bosses or monsters, or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
Upgrading a Weapon, Equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade item the higher the level. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain amount of Bars. You could do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off going to stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
Most players will want to make the most of upgrades to weapons they use most frequently to make sure they are able to level up faster. Additionally players, they should think about upgrading the weapons they use with their squadmates to increase their power and effective. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. They can be made through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem and a number of specific ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the level of the gem is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ depending on the level the jewel is at when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or other gear.
The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems with the exception of rare and legendary ones which you must be at a certain level to get. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels are able to be swapped with a jewel of the same kind without destroying it. You can only replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.
Utilizing more jewels in a movement will make it feel smoother and is usually done to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Jewels also enhance performance and make a surface harder than metal so that repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to them.
In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades, the player can also get glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs offer a small boost in power and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade item components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be found with an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are items of equipment that provide a wide range of small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by doing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then collect rings, amulets and necklaces, in a similar way 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 are smaller and are able to be used on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective while inactive and also helps make up for a lack of a strong team or any slots from the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's best stats.
In general, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace in the near future. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel for the Item Upgrade to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade a single important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
At the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket into a red one, while top and middle players will usually opt for a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets that form trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, such as the main quest of a chapter or killing a certain boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.