Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment can be superior to upgraded 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 improve the stats of the item that they are attached to. Armor upgrades are found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kits to salvage upgrade components from items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be more heavy.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each has a different impact. For example, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade an item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a hybrid of technology and magic, which is identified by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are continuously updated or never expire based on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to upgrade your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give significant improvement in stats and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
A piece of armor upgraded to its maximum upgrade level will dramatically boost its defense however, the user must be aware that putting more weight on it can drastically decrease its speed and agility. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is generally not worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade can improve the damage that is caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade to apply. They can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number of bosses and monsters.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a set 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 lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed a bit. Previously, you could seek out an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to a higher level of rarity. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You're better off buying gear that has minimal upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a greater likelihood of granting you most prestigious tier of advantages and benefits.
To improve their skills faster, most players will be more inclined to upgrade their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will make it more useful when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be created using the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem and several reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from 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 Jeweler can improve the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Depending on the tier of the jewel it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones that you must be at a certain level to get. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped with a jewel of the same type without destroying the original one. You can only replace the gem once within an item of equipment.
It is typical to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. The jewels can also enhance performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be freely swapped, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be retrieved through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that bestow a wide range of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They are available in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available from vendors and by doing road interaction. item upgrades can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small, but valuable boost to speed of movement and evasion. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar fashion to how they acquired weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be put into any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that remain active when the hero is not fighting. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also compensate for the absence of excellent slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by a hero's top stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Also, consider items that have desirable statistics are less significant than the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is true especially if you want to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and mid players typically choose the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
Aside from item upgrades mentioned above, players can find a number of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. These can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, like completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.