Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading their performance. They can be a good source of damage, more AD or even more attachments.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They improve the performance of the item they are attached to. upgrade item are available in the world of games and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. They can also be salvaged using a specialist or higher salvage kits to salvage upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the degree of upgrades. The damage absorption of a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it should be heavier.
There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have distinct effects. Certain upgrades give armor an extra number of health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which is indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require a charge to use, and are shown by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, depending 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 however it is obtainable from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are definitely worth the investment.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to its maximum upgrade level will greatly increase its defense capabilities however, the user must be aware that putting more weight on it will dramatically reduce its speed and agility. For this reason, it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is typically not worth the extra weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons 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 number 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 fee of a set number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more advanced the level. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you 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 specific amount of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off visiting stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items have a higher chance of granting you the highest tier blessings and perks.
To increase their level faster, many players prioritize 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 increase its utility 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 for making them, in which you combine gemstones with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that range 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.
All tiers of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a sufficient level to be able to get the privilege of having them. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without destroying the original. However you can only swap out a jewel in an item of equipment only once.
It is normal to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. The jewels also improve performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to them.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can acquire glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs provide a small boost in power and can be traded, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and a scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis cannot be swapped out, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide a wide range of small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through performing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player will unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but valuable boost in movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way to how they acquired weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be used in any type of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and is only compatible with specific types of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero is not in combat. This enables 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 talent tree slots that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace soon, followed by items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you wish to upgrade, as it's often more beneficial to upgrade one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one at the start of the game. Mid and top players on the other hand they will select either a pink or green ward, based on the matchup. These choices can impact the ability of a hero to control the map.
Aside from the items listed above, players may also discover a variety of other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance finishing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.