Path of Exile Item Upgrades

item upgrades (my latest blog post) are a common and essential way to boost the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of extra damage and more AD or even more attaches.

Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear because of their high requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever 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. They can also be salvaged using a specialist or higher salvage kits to salvage upgrade components from items.

The amount of damage that an armored item or weapon will absorb is contingent on the level of its upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to maximum upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. But, it's important to note that this will also increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than before.

There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game and each one has distinct effects. Certain upgrades give armor a greater number of health points, while others make it more powerful and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive is indicated by the name of the upgrade as indicated in the table below.

A few of the upgrades are also magic or a mix of technology and magic which is identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either continuously updated or never expire based on the upgrade.

The cheapest method of upgrading armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be found by exploring the area and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found at 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 significant boost to stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.

The player must be aware that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will boost its defense. However, it will also affect the speed and agility of the piece. It is not recommended to upgrade armor past +9. The added defense usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. For example an upgrade could increase the damage dealt by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle that snipes. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's velocity to cause more damage) are two examples.

Most weapon upgrades require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade. These can be obtained by completing Side Quests, killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses, or by contacting the Weapon upgrade item 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 fee that is based on a specific number of Bars. The more bars needed to complete an upgrade, the more advanced the level. The cost of upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.

In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could continue to do this until you reached the maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.

This is still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. You should consider buying equipment that has minimal upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. They will also be able to give you the most prestigious perks and blessings.

The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to allow them to progress quicker. In addition players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons favored by their squadmates to increase their power as well. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective 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. They can be created using a process called jewelry crafting, where you combine a gemstone and various ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the grade of the gemstone is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

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

The Jeweler is able to create the highest levels of gems with the exception of rare and legendary ones, which you must attain an appropriate level to obtain. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped with a jewel of the same kind without damaging it. You can only replace the gem once within an item of equipment.

Using more jewels in a movement will make it feel smoother and is usually used to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create a surface that is harder than metal, so repeated friction from pivots won't cause damage as easily.

A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to show up as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like aegis or traits cannot be exchanged and can only be retrieved with an Upgrade extractor, or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with a variety of small, but useful benefits. They are available in the start-up area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained from vendors as well as through doing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased on the Trading Post.

The first trinkets a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus to speed of movement and the ability to escape. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same way to how a player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades provide smaller bonuses and can be put into any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and only works with certain kinds of trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This enables the hero to be more effective while inactive and may also help to compensate for the absence of a solid team or any slots in the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's best statistics.

As a general rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best item upgrader in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable statistics that are less significant than the iLevel for the item upgrading that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It is better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.

In the beginning of the game players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and middle players usually choose either a pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices can affect the hero's ability to manage the map.

In addition to the items mentioned above, players will find other trinkets that form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.