Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Upgrades to items 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.
Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade gear due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of games and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Additionally, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components inside them, using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the degree of upgrades. The ability to absorb damage of an item of armor will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it must be more heavy.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. Certain upgrades give armor an extra number of health points while others make it lighter and more powerful. The name of the upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, as indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require a charge to use, and are indicated by the "Charges" entry in the table below. These charges are either updated daily or never expire based on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give players a significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the cost.
Upgrading a piece of armor to max upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The boost in defense generally isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain firearms have upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require the use of a whetblade, or one of the three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain number of monsters and bosses.
Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee that is based on a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete 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 go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a set amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased quality. You could continue doing this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for your equipment or weapon, after which upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. You should consider buying equipment with low levels of upgrade, but high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a greater likelihood of granting you highest level of advantages and benefits.
To increase their level faster, most players will prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to make them stronger. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are placed in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is a method of making them, where you combine the gemstone with specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the tier of the jewel is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a diamond can be improved by the Jeweler, in stages that range from Crude to Royal. Depending on the tier of the gem it can provide different stat boost when slotted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler, with the exception of the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a sufficient level to be able to get these. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without damaging the original. However it is only possible to replace a jewel in an equipment piece only once.
It is normal to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. 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 damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, are not swappable, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are items of equipment that offer an array of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starting area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available from vendors and by the completion of road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
item upgrades will be able to unlock is the cloak. It gives a small but valuable boost in movement speed and the ability to escape. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets, in a similar way as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain 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 can also make up for the lack of a good team or talent tree slots that are normally filled by the hero's optimal stats.
In general, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is true especially if you're looking to upgrade several statistics on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
In the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket into a red one, while top and middle players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have an impact on 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 trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained through completing certain milestones in the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. They can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.