Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading their performance. They can be a good source of extra damage, more AD or even more attaches.
In most cases, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear because of their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are connected 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 using an expert or higher salvage kit to retrieve upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it must be more heavy.
There are several different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. For instance, some upgrades give the armor a certain number of additional health points, while others make it lighter and stronger. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of technology and magic, which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are constantly updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive, but it can be obtained from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give a significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
A piece of armor upgraded to max upgrade level will greatly increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that increasing its weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, since the defensive boost gained is typically not worth the additional weight and power costs of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by 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 certain number of Bars. The more bars required 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 way you upgrade 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 continue doing this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, after which the upgrades would be reset.
It's still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. You're better off buying gear that has low upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a better chance of bringing you the highest tier perks and blessings.
To increase their level faster, many players prioritize upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be created using a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem with several ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can improve the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boost when slotted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
The Jeweler is able to create all tiers of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones, which you must be at a certain level to get. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels are able to be swapped with a identical jewel without destroying it. However it is only possible to replace the jewels in a piece of equipment once.
Utilizing more jewels in a move will make it feel smoother and is typically used to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. The jewels can also enhance performance and create a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
In addition to the above upgrades players can also obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. upgrade gear provide a small bonus and can be swapped freely however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed 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 salvaging them with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with a variety of small, but useful, benefits. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket players will be able to unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but valuable boost in movement speed and evasion. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same fashion to how the player acquires armor and weapons. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be put into any kind of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive and may also help to compensate for the absence 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 any items with desirable stats that are less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade just one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game, players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their trinket into a red one in the middle and top players will usually opt for a green or pink ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices will have an impact on a hero's ability to control the map.
Apart from the items listed above, players can also discover a variety of other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be earned through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing the main quest for a chapter or defeating the boss. You can view them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.