Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading their performance. They can be a great 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 due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They improve the performance of the item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be rescued from items with upgrade components in them using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can take on. The upgrade of an armor piece to its highest upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. However, it's important keep in mind that this will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have different effects. Certain upgrades grant armor a greater amount of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can get is indicated by the name of the upgrade, as illustrated in the table below.
Some upgrades also feature magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is shown by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges to 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 method to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, however, it is available from the 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 provide significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to its max upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces beyond +9, since the defensive boost gained is typically not worth the extra weight and power cost of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of specific aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Some weapons also have special upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.
Most upgrades for weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These can be gained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more expensive the upgrade. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
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 and equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off visiting stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a better chance of giving you the highest tier blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to help them level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to boost their strength. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used in conjunction with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. They can be created through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and various chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved at the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts can vary according to the tier that the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or equipment.
The Jeweler can create all tiers 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 a jewel of the same kind without damaging the original one. However it is only possible to replace a jewel in an equipment piece only once.
It is typical to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the jewels create a surface that is harder than metal, so repeated friction from pivots won't cause harm as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the look of your weapons and shields. These glyphs provide a small boost and can be freely traded, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, are not swappable, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character various small, but useful, benefits. They are available in the start-up area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after completing road interaction. They can also be made by jewelers, and then found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak, which grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to movement speed and evasion. The player can then acquire 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 that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
item upgrader grant additional buffs and skills that remain active when the hero is not fighting. This lets a hero become more efficient even when not in combat. It can also make up for the lack of a good slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
In general, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Next, any items with desirable stats that aren't as important as the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade as it's usually better to upgrade a single important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and middle players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's map control abilities.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players may also find other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest for a chapter or defeating the boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.