Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Item upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.

Rare-grade equipment can be superior to modernized Common or Magic gear due to their high demands.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They improve the stats of whatever item upgrade 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 that have upgrade components within them by with a professional or higher salvage kit.

The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the extent of its upgrades. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. But, it's important to keep in mind that this will raise its weight, requiring it to weigh more than before.

There are several types of armor upgrades that are 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 stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade an item upgrader kit can receive, as shown below.

A few upgrades are magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is shown by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require a charge to use, and are indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades refresh daily or never expire dependent on the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest method to upgrade your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small treasure chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide a significant improvement in performance and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.

The player should be aware that upgrading a piece to its maximum upgrade level can increase its defense values. However, it can also affect its agility and its speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor past +9. The defensive boost gained typically isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade can improve the damage that is caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle sniper. Some weapons have special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic capabilities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of weapon overheating) 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. They can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.

To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece, or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount of bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade, the more expensive the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be less.

In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Previously you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain amount of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to a higher level of rarity. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.

You can still do this however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear that has minimal upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better likelihood of granting you highest level of advantages and benefits.

The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they use most frequently to help them level up quicker. In addition to these players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their squadmates to increase their power as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, enhancing the stats of a weapon and providing additional effects. They can be created through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and a number of specific chemicals at a table. The higher the quality of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The Jeweler can boost the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. Depending on the tier of the jewel it can provide different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.

The Jeweler can create the highest levels of gems apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must be at a certain level to get. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without destroying the original. You can only replace the gem only once in a piece of equipment.

It is normal to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the jewels create an area that is stronger than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots won't cause damage as easily.

A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be freely exchanged, however they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be found through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets can give your character various small, but beneficial, benefits. They can be acquired starting in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and through performing road interactions. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants an unimportant but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar manner to the way a player can acquire weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be placed in any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with specific types of trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't in combat. This allows the hero to be more efficient while inactive. It also helps compensate for the lack of a good slot in the talent tree or team that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.

As a rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future. Then, you should consider any items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel of the item upgrade to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item upgrade has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's often more beneficial to upgrade one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.

Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the start of the game. Mid and top players however will pick a green or a pink ward, based on the game's matchup. These choices can impact a hero's ability to control the map.

In addition to the items mentioned above, players can find a number of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be earned through completing certain milestones within the story. For example, completing the main quest of a chapter or defeating a boss. You can see them by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.