Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading the performance of them. They can provide extra damage, AD or even affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is often superior to the more 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 stats of whatever item they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components in them 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 absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will boost its ability to absorb damage. But, it's important to note that this will also increase its weight, which will cause it to be heavier than it was before.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have different effects. Some upgrades give armor an extra number of health points while others make it lighter and more powerful. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as illustrated in the table below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades are updated daily or never expire according to the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest option to upgrade your armor. link homepage can find it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give significant improvements in performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
The player must be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it will also reduce its agility and speed. For this reason, it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces that are higher than +9 because the increase in defense is typically not worth the extra weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For example, an upgrade may increase the damage dealt by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the rifle that snipes. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade to apply. These can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
The process of upgrading a weapon, equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade cost of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars required to complete it. 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 your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific amount of Bars. You could continue doing this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You're better off buying gear with minimal upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a better likelihood of granting you highest level of blessings and perks.
The majority of players will 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 use to boost their strength. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be made through an process known as jewelry crafting, where you combine a gemstone and a number of specific ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the tier of the jewel is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. 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 vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is in when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or gear.
All tiers of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a high enough level to obtain the privilege of having them. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without damaging the original. You can only replace the gem once in an item of equipment.
The use of more jewels in a move will make it feel smoother and is typically performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Jewels also enhance performance and make an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
In addition to the above upgrades players can also obtain glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged and can only be recovered with an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with a variety of small, but valuable advantages. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through completing road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket players will unlock is the cloak. It provides a tiny but valuable boost in movement speed and evasion. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be used in any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded, and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that are active whenever the hero is not in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient when they are not active. It can also compensate for the lack of a strong slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable statistics that aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is particularly true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade as it's often better to upgrade just one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Top and mid players on the other hand will pick a green or a pink ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's map control abilities.
In addition to the items listed above, players will find other trinkets in the form of rewards and trophies throughout the game. They can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, like the main quest of a chapter or killing a particular boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.