Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and important way to improve the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
In most cases, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They increase the stats of whatever item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of the game and purchased from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components inside them, with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will take on. The ability to absorb damage of a piece armor will increase when it's upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important to note that this will also increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a variety of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of health points while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of technology and magic, which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry 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 continuously updated or never expire based on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give a significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also affect the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense typically isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade can enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent qualities. These 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).
The majority of weapon upgrades 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 finishing side quests, killing a certain amount of bosses or monsters, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC located 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 cost that is based on a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the way you upgrade your equipment and weapon sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. You could continue to do this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to the stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. upgrade item have a better likelihood of granting you highest tier benefits and blessings.
To level up faster, most players will prioritize upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, where you combine the gemstone with specific reagents in a jewelry table. The higher the tier of the gem is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Depending on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boost when slotted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
All levels of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a sufficient level to be able to get the privilege of having them. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. You can only replace the gem once in an item of equipment.
It is normal to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. The jewels also improve performance and make a harder surface than steel, so that the repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the look of your shields and weapons. These are a small perk and can be swapped freely but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be recovered with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using the Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character various small, but valuable, benefits. They are available in the starter area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through doing road interaction. They can also be made by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player will unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but beneficial boost in movement speed and the ability to evade. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant buffs and skills that remain active whenever the hero is not in combat. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the lack of a excellent slots in the team or talent tree which would normally be filled by a hero's top stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace in the near future. Next, any items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is especially true when you're looking to upgrade several statistics on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat than two less important ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the start of the game. Top and mid players however, will choose either a pink or green ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also find other trinkets in the form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned through completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, finishing a chapter’s main quest or beating an opponent. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.