Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of games and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to absorb. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will increase 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 several kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game, and they all have distinct effects. For instance, certain upgrades will grant the armor a certain amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade the item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of technology and magic, which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire based on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The player must be aware that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it can also decrease its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense usually isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by doing side quests, or killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
Upgrading a Weapon, Equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. 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 a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific number of Bars. item upgrades could continue doing this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.
This is still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. You're better off buying gear that has low upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a greater chance of giving you the highest level of advantages and benefits.
To increase their level faster, most players will be more inclined to upgrade their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when paired with experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to improve the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in weapons and armor. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, where you combine gemstones with specific reagents on a table. The higher the tier of the gem has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.
The quality of a diamond can be improved upon by the Jeweler, with stages that range from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is at when it's slotted into jewelry, weapons or equipment.
The Jeweler can create the highest levels of gems except for the rare and legendary ones which you must be at an appropriate level to obtain. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without damaging the original. However you can only swap out one jewel in an item of equipment once.
Utilizing more jewels in a movement will make it feel smoother and is usually done to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Jewels also enhance performance and make a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
In addition to the above upgrades, the player can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to be available as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, are not swappable, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that offer many small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They are available in the start-up area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available from vendors and by the completion of road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased from the Trading Post.
The first trinket that a player will unlock is the cloak. It provides a tiny but valuable boost in speed of movement and the ability to evade. The player can then acquire rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar fashion as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that remain active even when the character is not in combat. This lets the hero be more effective when not active, and can also help make up for a lack of a strong team or any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
As a rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace in the near future. Next, item upgrading that have desirable statistics aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is true especially if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It is better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red trinket at the start of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand, will choose a pink or green 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 will find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones in the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. You can view them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.