Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to modernized Common or Magic equipment because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item they're connected to. Armor upgrades are found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can take on. The damage absorption of an item of armor will increase as it is upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it should be heavier.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are that are available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For example, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades are updated every day or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be obtained through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant boost in stats, and are worth the cost.
The player must be aware that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it can also decrease the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense typically isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade can improve the damage that is caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of a rifle that snipes. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
upgrade item require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade. These can be obtained by completing side quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade cost that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade the more expensive the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon 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 continue doing this until you reached the max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, after which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off visiting stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better chance of giving you the highest level of benefits and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to allow them to progress quicker. In addition players, they should think about upgrading the weapons favored by their squadmates to make them more powerful as well. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem and a number of specific reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel it will give different stat boost when slotted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
All levels of jewels can be made at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a high enough level to obtain the privilege of having them. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. However you can only swap out one jewel in an item of equipment once.
It is typical to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs give a slight boost in power and can be traded, but they are not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also scattered Crystal. upgrade item can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis cannot be swapped out, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that bestow an array of small, but beneficial benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the areas of starting as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and by completing 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 valuable boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. Then, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same way to how a player can acquire weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment while jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that remain active whenever the hero is not fighting. This allows the hero to perform better when they are not active, and can also help make up for a lack of a solid team or any slots in the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's best stats.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing soon, followed by items with desirable stats that are less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
At the beginning of the game, players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and mid players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the things mentioned above, players can discover a variety of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing the main quest for a chapter or beating the boss. You can check them out by selecting the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.