Path of Exile item upgrade Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance 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.
Often times however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They increase the performance of the item upgrading they are connected to. Armor upgrades are found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also 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 is able to take on. Upgrading a piece of armor to its highest upgrade items level will boost its ability to absorb damage. However, it's important be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than before.
There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game and each one has distinct effects. Certain upgrades give armor an additional amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some upgrades are magical or a combination of technology and magic which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades are updated daily or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be found through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but can be found 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 improvements in performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will significantly increase its defense capabilities but the wearer must be aware that increasing its weight can drastically decrease its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For example, an upgrade may enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms also have upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade. It's one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained 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 visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount 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 sets has changed. In the past, you could seek out 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 and at that point, the upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off going to stores and purchasing equipment that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a better chance of giving you the highest level of blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to help them level up faster. In addition players, they should think about upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their squadmates to make them more powerful as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will enhance its effectiveness when paired with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to improve the stats of a character or to provide additional effects on weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the gem has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Depending on the tier of the jewel it will give different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler can create the highest levels of gems except for the rare and legendary ones, which you must be at a certain level to get. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without destroying the original. However, you can only replace one jewel in an equipment piece only once.
It is common to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. The jewels can also enhance performance and make a harder surface than metal so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to the movement.
In addition to the above upgrades additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can provide your hero with a variety of small, but beneficial, advantages. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, or by doing road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinkets a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and evasion. After that, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar way to how a player can acquire weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be put into any kind of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with specific types of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This enables the hero to perform better when they are not active and may also help to compensate for the absence of a strong team or the absence of any talent tree slots which would normally be filled with the hero's Best item upgrade stats.
A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best item upgrader-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing soon, followed by any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item upgrading that is being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade just one crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Mid and top players however, will choose a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, such as the main quest of a chapter or destroying a boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.