Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading the performance of them. They can be a good source of extra damage or more AD or even more affixes.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items that have upgrade components inside them, with a professional or higher salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon will absorb is contingent on the extent of its upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. However, it's important note that this will also increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game and each one has distinct effects. For example, some upgrades give the armor a certain number of health points while others make it lighter and stronger. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade the item can receive, as shown below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which are shown by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades require charges to use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh daily or never expire dependent on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in performance and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece up to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also affect the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The defensive boost gained typically isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Some weapons have special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases projectile acceleration for more damage).
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing side quests or killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece, or Whetblade you need to visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain amount of bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials The cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed. Prior to Chapter 2: Season 5, you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a specific 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. You're better off buying gear with low upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. They will also be able to give you the best tier of bonuses and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to allow them to progress quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when paired with biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to improve the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in weapons and armor. They can be made through an process known as jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem and various chemicals at a table. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can boost the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
The Jeweler can craft all tiers of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones, which require an appropriate level to obtain. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. However this link is only possible to replace the jewels in a piece of equipment once.
It is typical to use more jewelry to enhance the appearance of. Jewels also enhance performance and create an outer layer that is more durable than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the look of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be swapped, and can only be found by using an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that offer many small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and by doing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased at the Trading Post.
The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but beneficial boost in movement speed and the ability to evade. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar way to how a player acquires armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be put into any type of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and is only compatible with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't fighting. This lets a hero become more efficient even when not in combat. It also helps compensate for the absence of good slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by the hero's optimal stats.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace soon, followed by any items with desirable stats that are less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade just one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.
In the beginning of the game, junglers will usually want to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and middle players typically choose either a pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can impact a hero's ability to control the map.
In addition to the items mentioned above, players will also find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. They can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance the main quest of a chapter or killing a particular boss. You can see them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.