Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can be a good source of additional damage and more AD or even more attaches.
Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever item they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items that have upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. The ability to absorb damage of an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it must 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 amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item can be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which is identified by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require charges to use, which is shown by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available in the smelters of 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 provide a significant improvements in stats and are a worthwhile cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values however, the user must be aware that putting on weight will drastically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The defensive boost gained usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. For example an upgrade could increase the damage dealt by shotgun shells or the accuracy of a rifle that snipes. Certain weapons come with special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the possibility of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses, or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade you need to visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain amount of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade the higher the level. The cost of upgrading will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed a bit. In the past you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased level of rarity. You could do this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for your equipment or weapon, after which the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment that has low upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a higher likelihood of granting you highest level of benefits and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Additionally players, they should think about upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their squadmates to increase their power as well. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects on weapons and armor. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and a number of specific reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved by 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 gear, weapons and jewelry.
All levels of jewels are 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 these. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped with another identical jewel without destroying it. However you can only swap out the jewels in a piece of equipment once.
It is normal to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the jewels create a surface that is harder than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
In addition to the above upgrades additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and are able to be swapped easily, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged, and can only be found by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that bestow a wide range of small but useful advantages to your hero. They are available in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They can also be obtained through vendors and after completing road interaction. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that remain active even when the character is not fighting. This lets the hero be more effective when not active and may also help fill in the void of a strong team or any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal stats.
A good 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 that are less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, since it's generally more beneficial to upgrade one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the start of the game. Top and mid players, on the other hand they will select either a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players can also find other trinkets in the form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. additional resources can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, like finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.