Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items are a frequent and crucial method to enhance the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of additional damage, more AD or even more attaches.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item that they're 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 using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. However, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, which will cause it to be heavier than before.
There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have distinct effects. For example, some upgrades give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it lighter and stronger. The type of armor upgrade that an item can receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, which is shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades are updated daily or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.
The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be obtained through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable through 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 stats and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.
Upgrading a piece of armor to max upgrade level will greatly boost its defense, but the player should be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade could increase the damage dealt by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).
Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade for applying. These are obtained through either completing Side Quests, taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade, the higher the level. The cost of upgrades will be lower 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 a bit. Before you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to a higher rarity. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment that has low levels of upgrade, but high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a higher chance of granting you the most prestigious tier of advantages and benefits.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to help them level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates utilize to increase their power. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing a stat and providing secondary effects. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, where you combine a gemstone and various reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through finding Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is in when it's slotted into jewelry, weapons or gear.
All tiers of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a high enough level to obtain these. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without destroying the original. You are able to replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.
Utilizing more jewels in a move will make it more smooth and is typically done for aesthetic reasons. The jewels can also enhance performance and make a surface harder than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to the movement.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. 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 by the Jeweler to exchange gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis aren't swappable and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that provide an array of small but useful advantages to your hero. They are available in the start-up area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through the completion of road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which gives a small but useful bonus to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player can acquire weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any device. item upgrading cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive, and can also help make up for a lack of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable stats that aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's usually better to upgrade a single important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
At the beginning of the game, players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one, while top and mid players usually choose either a pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices can impact the hero's ability to manage the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players will find other trinkets in the form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. They can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.