Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item that they are attached to. Armor upgrades are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at bonfires. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The amount of damage a piece of armor or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The damage absorption of an item of armor will increase when it's upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.
There are several different types of armor upgrade available in the game. Each has a different effect. For example, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain amount of health points while others will make it lighter and stronger. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade as shown in the table below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, as indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the max upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and its speed. For this reason, it is not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces beyond +9, since the added defense is usually not worth the weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example, an upgrade may increase the damage dealt by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the rifle that snipes. Certain weapons come with special upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases projectile acceleration for more damage).
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade for applying. These can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of monsters and bosses.
The process of 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 higher the number of bars required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be lower if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain amount of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off going to the stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a greater likelihood of granting you highest level of advantages and benefits.
To improve their skills faster, most players will prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when accompanied with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in armor and weapons. Jewelry crafting is a method for making them, in which you combine gemstones with specific reagents on a jewelry table. item upgrades of the gem, the better its secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or 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 at the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel, it will provide a different stat boost when slotted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
The Jeweler is able to create the highest levels of gems except for the rare and legendary ones which you must be at certain levels to gain. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped with another identical jewel without destroying it. You are able to replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
Utilizing more jewels in the movement will make it more smooth, and is often performed for aesthetic reasons. The jewels can also enhance performance and make a harder surface than metal so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not cause damage to them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs give a slight boost in power and can be swapped, but they are not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis cannot be exchanged and can only be recovered through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to provide your hero with a variety of small, but beneficial, 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 be able to unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to evade. Then, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar manner to the way a player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced, and can only be used 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 effective when not active and also helps make up for a lack of a strong team or any slots from the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace anytime soon. Next, any items with desirable statistics that aren't as important as the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is particularly true if an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's usually more beneficial to upgrade one crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the start of the game. Mid and top players on the other hand, will choose a green or a pink ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices can impact a hero's ability to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. They can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.