Path of Exile Item Upgrades

The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading their performance. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.

Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear because of their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They improve the stats of the item that they're attached to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of games and purchased from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrade components from other items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to take on. The ability to absorb damage of an item of armor will increase when it's upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. However, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than before.

There are a variety of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, certain upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item upgrader kit (Recommended Internet page) can receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.

Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which are indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh daily or never expire depending on the upgrade.

The cheapest method of upgrading armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but can be found in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some 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 boost to stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it will also decrease the speed and agility of the piece. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, since the added defense is typically not worth the extra weight and power cost of the upgrades required.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain firearms have enhancements to enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the risk of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration for greater damage) are two examples.

Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses, or from 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 that is a certain amount of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade, the higher the level. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if you have more than one of the upgrade materials.

In Chapter 2: Season 5, the method of upgrading your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific amount of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.

It's still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off visiting stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the most prestigious perks and blessings.

Most players will want to make the most of upgrades to weapons they are most likely to use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their squadmates use to boost their strength. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F in order to 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. They can be made through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem and a number of specific ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the tier of the gemstone, the better its secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.

The quality of a diamond can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the jewel it will give different stat boost when slotted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.

All kinds of jewels can be crafted at the Jeweler and Jeweler's Workshop, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a certain level to be able to get the privilege of having them. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out by a different jewel of the same type without damaging the original one. You can only replace the gem once in an item upgrading of equipment.

It is typical to use more gems to enhance the appearance of. Apart from improving performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots won't cause harm as easily.

A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the look of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets can give your character various small, but useful benefits. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through doing road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.

The first trinkets a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which gives a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar fashion to how they acquired weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets can also grant buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. This lets a hero become more efficient even when not in combat. It can also compensate for the lack of a good slots in the team or talent tree which are usually filled by a hero's top stats.

A good general rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item upgrader mod to be upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It's best to upgrade just one crucial stat rather than two suboptimal ones.

Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one at the beginning of the game. Top and mid players however will pick either a pink or green ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a major 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. They can be earned through completing certain milestones in the story, such as the main quest of a chapter or killing a certain boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.