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 extra damage, more AD or even more attaches.

Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the stats of whatever item upgrader mod they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be salvaged from items with upgrade components in them using an expert or greater salvage kit.

The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon will absorb is contingent on the degree of upgrades. The damage absorption of an armor piece 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 heavier.

There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. Certain upgrades grant armor an additional amount of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The name of the upgrade will tell you the kind of upgrade that an Item upgrader kit will receive, as shown below.

A few upgrades are magical or a combination of technology and magic, which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades change daily or never expire according to the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide a significant improvements in stats and are a worthwhile investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the max upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it will also reduce its agility and its speed. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade armor pieces above +9, since the defensive boost gained is typically not worth the additional weight and power cost of the upgrades required.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could increase the damage dealt by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that improve their innate capabilities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

Most weapon upgrades require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, taking out a certain number of monsters or bosses, or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.

To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade you need to visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars are required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be lower if have more than one of the upgrade materials.

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 number of Bars to upgrade items your equipment or weapon to a higher rarity. You could continue doing this until you reached a 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 minimal upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These items have a better chance of giving you the highest level of blessings and perks.

Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they are most likely to use to make sure they are able to level up quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates utilize to increase their power. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to increase its utility when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem with a number of specific reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The Jeweler can enhance the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the level the jewel is at when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or other gear.

The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones which you must be at an appropriate level to obtain. Jewels can be replaced by another one without damaging the original. However you can only swap out one jewel in an equipment piece once.

It is normal to use more gems to enhance the appearance of. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.

In addition to the above upgrades additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and are able to be swapped easily, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like aegis and traits, aren't swappable and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets can give your character various small, but valuable, benefits. You can find them in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinkets a player unlocks will be the cloak. It grants a small, but valuable boost to speed of movement and evasion. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar fashion as they did with 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 used in any type of equipment, however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and only works with certain types of trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive and may also help fill in the void of a solid team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with the hero's Best item upgrade stats.

As a rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace in the near future. Next, any items that have desirable statistics aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if an item upgrader has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's usually better to upgrade just one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.

Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick a green or a pink ward, depending on the matchup. These choices can affect a hero's ability to control the map.

In addition to the items listed above, players can also find a number of other trinkets throughout the game in the form of trophies and awards. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story. For example, completing the main quest of a chapter or beating the boss. They can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.