Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They boost 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. Additionally, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to take on. The ability to absorb damage of an item of armor will increase when it's upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be heavier.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have distinct effects. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points, while others make it more powerful and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item can receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade as indicated in the table below.
A few of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of technology and magic which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require a charge to use, which are shown by an "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are constantly updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide a significant improvements in performance and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to its maximum upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values however, the user must be aware that putting on weight can drastically decrease its speed and agility. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces above +9, since the added defense is usually not worth the extra weight and power costs of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms also have enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These can be obtained by doing side quests, or taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
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 you need to complete an upgrade the higher the level. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. item upgrader could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. It is better to purchase gear that has low levels of upgrade and high base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a chance at gaining you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
To level up faster, most players will prioritize upgrading their weapons. In addition to these players, they should think about upgrading the weapons favored by their teammates to increase their power and effective. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when accompanied with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, in which you combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by collecting Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a diamond can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the jewel it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, gear and jewelry.
All tiers of jewels can be made at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a sufficient level to qualify for them. Jewels can be replaced by another one without damaging the original. However it is only possible to replace the jewels in an item of equipment once.
Utilizing more jewels in a movement will make it more smooth and is usually used for aesthetic reasons. Apart from improving performance, the jewels create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.
redirected here can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be traded, but they are not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs are also removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, are not swappable, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to give your character a variety of small, but valuable benefits. They can be obtained in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by performing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket players can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but beneficial boost in speed of movement and evasion. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same way to how a player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective while inactive and also helps fill in the void of a strong team or the absence of any talent tree slots that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing soon, followed by any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade just one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players however they will select 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 things mentioned above, players may also find other trinkets in the game in the form of trophies and awards. item upgrading can be obtained through completing certain milestones in the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.