Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be improved by upgrading them. They can be a great source of additional damage or more AD or even more attachments.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade gear because of their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to weapon and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor are available in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be rescued from items with upgrade components inside them, using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The amount of damage an armored item or weapon can absorb depends on the degree of upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to the highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it should be heavier.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades available in the game and they all have distinct effects. For instance, some upgrades give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it lighter and stronger. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item can receive, as shown below.
Some upgrades are magical or a combination of technology and magic, which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees to use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can provide significant boost in stats, and are worth the investment.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense values. However, it will also affect its agility and speed. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the added defense is typically not worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain firearms have enhancements to enhance their intrinsic capabilities. item upgrades (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades to weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.
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 of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials, the cost of upgrading will be less.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon or equipment by paying a specific amount of Bars. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would be reset.
It's still possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to the stores and buying gear that has low upgrade levels but excellent base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a chance at gaining you the highest tier perks and blessings.
The majority of players will make the most of upgrades to weapons they are most likely to use to allow them to progress quicker. In addition, players should 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, which will enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is a method for creating them. You combine gemstones with specific reagents on a table. The higher the grade of the jewel is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The quality of a diamond can be improved upon by the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ according to the tier that the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons or other gear.
The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones, which you must be at a certain level to get. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped out with another identical jewel without damaging the original one. You can only replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.
The use of more jewels in the movement can make it feel more comfortable, and is often performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. The jewels can also enhance performance and create a harder surface than metal so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above players can also acquire glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and are able to be swapped easily but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, aren't swappable and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can be used to give your character a variety of small, but useful, benefits. They can be obtained in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and through performing road interactions. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets that a player unlocks will be the cloak, which gives an unimportant but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. Then, they can acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in a similar manner to the way a player acquires armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero is not fighting. This allows the hero to be more effective while inactive and may also help make up for a lack of a strong team or the absence of any slots from the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's best statistics.
A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace soon, followed by any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item being upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat instead of two subpar ones.
At item upgrading of the game players who are in the jungle will typically want to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and mid players will usually opt for the pink or green ward (depending on the game's matchup). These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's map control abilities.
Aside from the things mentioned above, players can also find a number of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story. For example, completing the main quest for a chapter or defeating an opponent. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.