Path of Exile Item Upgrades

item upgrade upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.

In most cases, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They improve the performance of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades are found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be rescued from items with upgrade components within them by with a professional or higher salvage kit.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will take on. The ability to absorb damage of an item upgrader kit of armor will increase as it is upgraded to the maximum upgrade level. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be more heavy.

There are several different types of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different impact. Some upgrades give armor an extra number of health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade the item can receive, as shown below.

A few upgrades also feature magical or a combination of technology and magic which is indicated by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire based on the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest option to upgrade your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide a significant improvement in stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it will also affect its agility and its speed. For this reason, it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the defensive boost gained is usually not worth the additional weight and power costs of the upgrades required.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade to apply. These are obtained through either finishing side quests, killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.

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 that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade the higher the level. The cost of upgrades will be less if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.

In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon sets was a bit different. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could continue to do this until you reached the max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, after which upgrades would reset.

You can still do this but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're much better off visiting stores and buying gear with low upgrade items levels, but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These will have a better chance of bringing you the most prestigious bonuses and blessings.

Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to allow them to progress faster. In addition to these players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons they use with their teammates to increase their power and effective. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will make it more useful when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are used in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be made through an process known as jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and a number of specific reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the tier of the gem has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by finding Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.

The quality of a gem can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that range from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the gem it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.

All tiers of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary gems that require you to be at a high enough level to be able to get these. Jewels can be replaced with another one without damaging the original. However you can only swap out a jewel in an Item upgrade of equipment once.

It is typical to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create a surface that is harder than metal, so repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.

A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be freely exchanged, however they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs are also removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like aegis and traits, cannot be swapped out, and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are items of equipment that provide many small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They can be obtained in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinkets a player can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but valuable boost in speed of movement and evasion. The player can then acquire rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar manner as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.

These trinkets also grant additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not fighting. This allows a hero to be more efficient while inactive. It can also make up for the absence of excellent slots in the team or talent tree which would normally be filled by a hero's top stats.

As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items that have desirable statistics aren't as important as the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is particularly true if an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's often more beneficial to upgrade one crucial stat than two subpar ones.

At the beginning of the game players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and middle players will usually opt for either a pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices can impact the ability of a hero to control the map.

In addition to the items listed above, players will also find other trinkets in the form of rewards and trophies throughout the game. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, completing the main quest of a chapter or defeating the boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.