Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide For Item Upgrades
From Shiapedia
Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a good source of extra damage, more AD or even more affixes.
Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items that have upgrade components inside them, using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The amount of damage that a piece of armor or weapon will absorb is contingent on the degree of upgrades. The damage absorption of a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to the maximum upgrade items level. However, it's important to note that this will also increase its weight, which will cause it to be heavier than it was before.
There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. Certain upgrades grant armor an extra number 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 upgrading will 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. Some upgrades also require charges to use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either continuously updated or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest way to upgrade your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to higher level armor pieces. These upgrades can give a significant improvements in stats and are well worth the investment.
The player should be aware that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The defensive boost gained generally isn't worth the weight and power expenses of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces weapon 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 to apply. They can be obtained by completing side quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.
Upgrading a Weapon, Equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade price of a set number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars 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 changed a little. Prior to Chapter 2 Season 5 you could upgrade your weapon and equipment by paying a certain number of Bars. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You're better off buying gear that has low upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These will then be able to give you the highest tier bonuses and blessings.
Most players will want to prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates use to boost their strength. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will enhance its effectiveness when paired with experts in biotics like 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, where you combine a gem and various chemicals at a table. The higher the tier of the gemstone has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or by salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.
The quality of a gem can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is in when it's slotted into weapons, jewelry, or gear.
The Jeweler can craft all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must attain certain levels to gain. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with a jewel of the same kind without destroying it. However you can only swap out a jewel in an item of equipment only once.
It is common to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. Apart from improving performance, the jewels create a surface that is harder than steel, so the repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs that can enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs provide a small boost in power 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, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, aren't swappable and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that bestow a wide range of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They are available in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They are also available from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player is able to unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade item that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any kind of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and only works with certain types of trinkets.
These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective when not active and may also help make up for a lack of a solid team or the absence of any talent tree slots which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.
As a general rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best item upgrade in Slot) items you won't replace anytime soon. Also, consider items with desirable stats that aren't as significant as the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It is best to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
At the beginning of the game, junglers will usually want to upgrade their yellow trinket to a red, while top and middle players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also discover other trinkets in form of rewards and trophies throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story, like finishing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. You can check them out by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.
