Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading the performance of them. They can be a fantastic source of additional damage, more AD or even more affixes.
In most cases, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear because of their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to armor and weapon items. They increase the stats of whatever item they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using a professional or higher salvage kit to retrieve upgrades from the 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 damage absorption. But, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than before.
There are a variety of armor upgrade available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points, while others make it more powerful and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade that an item will receive, as shown below.
A few of the upgrades are also magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require a fee to use, and are identified by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to upgrade your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it will also decrease its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.
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 caused by shotgun shells. Certain firearms also have upgrades that improve their innate qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses, or through 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 price of a set number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the more advanced the level. The cost of upgrading will be lower if 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 amount of Bars. You could do this until you reach a max upgrade level of the weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. It is better to purchase gear that has low levels of upgrade, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a better chance of giving you the highest level of blessings and perks.
The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to help them level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates use to make them stronger. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used in conjunction by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. They can be made through an process known as jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and a number of specific chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents can be found 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 Jeweler can boost the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is in when it's slotted into weapons, jewelry, or gear.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones which require a certain level to get. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. You are able to replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.
It is typical to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. The jewels also improve performance and create a harder surface than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to them.
In addition to the above upgrades players can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis cannot be swapped, and can only be found by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets can give your character various small, but valuable benefits. You can find them in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors and by doing road interaction. They can also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinkets a player can unlock is the cloak, which gives an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way as they did with weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with specific types of trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant buffs and skills that are active even when the character is not in combat. This lets the hero be more effective when not active and may also help fill in the void of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's best statistics.
In general trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that are less significant than the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you wish to upgrade, since it's generally better to upgrade just one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game junglers will usually want to upgrade their trinket into a red one, while top and mid players will usually opt for a green or pink ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's map control abilities.
Aside from the things mentioned above, players may also find other items in the form of trophies and awards. Cases gg can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, such as the main quest of a chapter or killing a particular boss. You can check them out by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.