Path of Exile
item upgrade Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a common and essential way to boost the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a great source of additional damage or more AD or even more attaches.
Often times however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the stats of whatever
item upgrader mod they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Additionally, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components in them with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon will absorb is contingent on the extent of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it must be heavier.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. Certain upgrades give armor a greater number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade that an
item upgrade will be given, as illustrated below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which are shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades require charges for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive 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 applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give players a significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it can also reduce the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense usually isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. For instance an upgrade could improve the damage that is caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing side quests or 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 fee that is based on a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars required to complete it. The cost of upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and 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 continue to do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, after which upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. It is better to purchase gear that has low levels of upgrade, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better chance of granting you the most prestigious tier of blessings and perks.
To improve their skills faster, many players prioritise upgrading their weapons. Additionally players, they should think about upgrading the weapons favored by their teammates to make them more powerful and effective. Shepard, for example should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when accompanied with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of making them, in which you combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the grade of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or by collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is at when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or other gear.
The Jeweler can craft all tiers of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones, which you must be at certain levels to gain. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without destroying the original. However you can only swap out one jewel in a piece of equipment once.
The use of more jewels in a movement will make it feel smoother and is typically used to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. Apart from improving performance, the diamonds create an area that is stronger than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots won't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. These are a small perk and can be swapped freely, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, aren't swappable and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to give your character various small, but beneficial benefits. You can find them in the starter area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors and by the completion of road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket players will unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to evade. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar manner as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade which can be 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 is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the absence of strong slot in the talent tree or team which would normally be filled by a hero's top stats.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an
item upgrader kit. It's more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red trinket at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick 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 listed above, players can find a number of other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing the main quest of a chapter or defeating the boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.