Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading their performance. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They improve the stats of the item they're attached to. Armor upgrades are found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrade components from items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it should be heavier.
There are several different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, certain upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of health points while others will make it lighter and stronger. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are indicated 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 minor loot 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 provide significant improvements in stats and are well worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece up to the max upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it can also affect the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons come with special upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity to cause more damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade. These are obtained through either doing side quests, or killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain amount of bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade the more advanced the level. 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 equipment sets has changed. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could do this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, after which upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to the stores and purchasing equipment that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items have a greater chance of granting you the highest level of benefits and blessings.
To level up quicker, players usually prioritize upgrading their weapons. In addition to these, players should consider upgrading the weapons favored by their teammates to make them more powerful and effective. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method for making them, where you combine the gemstone with specific reagents in a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gem, the better its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The quality of a gem can be improved upon by the Jeweler, with stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels can be made at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a sufficient level to obtain these. Jewels can be replaced by another one without damaging the original. However it is only possible to replace the jewels in an equipment piece only once.
The use of more jewels in a movement will make it more smooth, and is often used for aesthetic reasons. The jewels can also enhance performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do 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. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out, which returns them 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 salvaging them with Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are items of equipment that offer an array of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starter area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can also be made by jewelers, and found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. After that, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player acquires armor and weapons. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. item upgrade are smaller and can be utilized on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also compensate for the absence of good team or talent tree slots which would normally be filled by the hero's best stats.
As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Next, item upgrades with desirable stats that are less significant than the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, as it's usually more beneficial to upgrade one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game, junglers will usually want to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one, while top and middle players will usually opt for the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can affect the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players will also find other trinkets in the form of rewards and trophies throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing a chapter’s main quest or defeating a boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.