Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. item upgrade can be a great source of damage, more AD or even more attaches.
Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They increase the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of the game and purchased from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged 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 will take on. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will boost its ability to absorb damage. However, it's important note that this will also increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. For instance, certain upgrades give the armor a certain number of health points while others will make it lighter and stronger. The type of armor upgrade that an item will receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade as indicated in the table below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, as shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees to use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either constantly updated or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the environment and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.
A piece of armor upgraded to its maximum upgrade level will significantly boost its defense however, the user must be aware that putting on weight can drastically decrease its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense typically isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms also have upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. They can be gained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more advanced the level. 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. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could continue doing this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for the weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment with low upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better chance of giving you the highest tier blessings and perks.
The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to make sure they are able to level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to make them stronger. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used by biotic specialists like 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. They can be made through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem with various ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the level of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The quality of a diamond can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary according to the tier that the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or other gear.
The Jeweler can create all tiers of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones which you must be at an appropriate level to obtain. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped out with a jewel of the same kind without damaging the original one. However you can only swap out the jewels in an item of equipment once.
It is common to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. Jewels also enhance performance and make a harder surface than steel, so that the repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. These glyphs give a slight boost in power and can be exchanged, however they are not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also a scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, aren't swappable and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character a variety of small, but beneficial, advantages. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and by performing road interactions. They can also be made by jewelers, and found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket players can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but beneficial boost in movement speed and the ability to escape. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in the same way to how a player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with 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, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and only works with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets the hero perform better when they are not active and may also help make up for a lack of a strong team or the absence of any slots from the talent tree that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It is better to upgrade one important stat than two less important ones.
At the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one in the middle and top players will usually opt for either a pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have an impact on a hero's ability to control the map.
Aside from the items mentioned above, players can also discover a variety of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones within the story. For example, completing the main quest for a chapter or beating the boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.