Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can be a fantastic source of extra damage, more AD or even more attaches.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to the more modernized Common or Magic gear due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using a professional or higher salvage kit to salvage upgrades from the items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to take on. The upgrade of an armor piece to its highest upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. However, it's important to note that this will also raise its weight, requiring it to weigh more than before.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades that are that are available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For example, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain amount of health points while others will make it stronger 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 upgrades also feature magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require a fee to use, which is identified by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found in the smelters of 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 give significant boost to stats and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will significantly boost its defense however, the user must be aware that putting more weight on it can drastically decrease its agility and speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the added defense is typically not worth the additional weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons come with special upgrades to improve their inherent capabilities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade to apply. They 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 of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off going to stores and purchasing equipment with low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These will then be able to give you the best tier of benefits and blessings.
To improve their skills quicker, players usually prioritise upgrading their weapons. In addition to these players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons favored by 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 accompanied by experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
item upgrading can be used to boost a stat or provide secondary effects on weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is a method for making them, in which you combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. item upgrader of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved upon by the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones, which you must be at a certain level to get. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. However, you can only replace one jewel in an equipment piece only once.
Using more jewels in a move will make it more smooth and is typically performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than metal, so repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be taken out, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis, are not swappable, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to give your character many small, but beneficial benefits. You can find them in the start-up area as loot or personal story rewards. They can also be obtained from vendors as well as through doing road interaction. They can also be made by jewelers and later found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar manner to how they acquired weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any piece of equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses 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 also helps to compensate for the absence of a strong team or any slots from the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's often better to upgrade a single crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red trinket at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players however they will select either a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices can affect a hero's ability to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players may also find other trinkets in the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing the main quest for a chapter or beating an opponent. They can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.