Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to the more modernized Common or Magic equipment because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They improve the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of the game and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternately, they can be rescued 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 is able to take on. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. However, it's important note that this will also raise its weight, requiring it to be heavier than it was before.
There are a variety of armor upgrades available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. Some upgrades give armor an additional amount of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item will receive will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as illustrated in the table below.
Some of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of magic and technology, which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees to use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either continuously updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the environment 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, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide a significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
A piece of armor upgraded to the highest upgrade level will significantly boost its defense, but the player should be aware that putting on weight can drastically decrease its agility and speed. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is usually not worth the additional weight and power cost of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. For example, an upgrade may enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms have enhancements to enhance their intrinsic qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests, killing a certain amount of bosses or monsters, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC 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 price of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would be reset.
It's still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to the stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels, but good base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a greater chance of giving you the highest tier advantages and benefits.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to help them level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will make it more useful when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method of creating them. You combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in 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, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts can vary according to the tier that the jewel is in when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or gear.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must attain a certain level to get. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped by a different jewel of the same type without damaging it. You are able to replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
Utilizing more jewels in the movement can make it feel more comfortable, and is often done to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Jewels also enhance performance and create an outer layer that is more durable than metal so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs provide a small boost and can be traded, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs are also removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged and can only be recovered through an upgrade extractor or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can give your character many small, but beneficial, benefits. They are available in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available through vendors and after completing road interaction. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets that a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, rings, and amulets, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be put into any type of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded, and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the lack of a strong slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Next, any items that have desirable statistics are less significant than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, since it's generally better to upgrade a single important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Mid and top players however they will select a green or a 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 items listed above, players will discover other trinkets in form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story, for instance the main quest of a chapter or destroying a boss. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.