Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading them. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to modernized Common or Magic equipment due to their high demands.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kits to recover upgrades from the items.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. But, item upgrading to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than before.
There are several different types of armor upgrades available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. Some upgrades give armor an additional number of health points while others make it lighter and more powerful. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade that an item will receive, as shown below.
A few upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic which is indicated by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require a charge to use, and are indicated by a "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are constantly updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive, but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide a significant boost to performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to its maximum upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense capabilities but the wearer must be aware that increasing its weight will drastically reduce its speed and agility. This is why it is typically not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces above +9, since the added defense is typically not worth the weight and power costs of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons come with special upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These are obtained through either finishing side quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses, or through 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 price that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade, the more expensive the upgrade. 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 equipment sets has changed. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased rarity. You could continue to do this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for your equipment or weapon, following which the upgrades would reset.
item upgrades can still do this, however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. 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 greater likelihood of granting you highest level of blessings and perks.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they are most likely to use to make sure they are able to level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates utilize to increase their power. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F to 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 can be used to improve the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. Jewelry crafting is a method of making them, where you combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging 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 upon by the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Depending on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
The Jeweler is able to create all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones, which you must attain a certain level to get. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without damaging the original. You are able to replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
Utilizing more jewels in the movement will make it feel smoother and is usually performed for aesthetic reasons. Jewels also enhance performance and make a harder surface than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades, the player can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and can be swapped out at any time but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged and can only be recovered by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that provide many tiny but valuable benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket players can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but useful bonus in movement speed and the ability to evade. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has 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 replaced or upgraded, and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This allows a hero to become more efficient even when not in combat. It can also compensate for the absence of excellent slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by the hero's optimal stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Next, any items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is true especially if you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and mid players typically choose the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can impact the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the things mentioned above, players can also find a number of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.