Item Upgrades Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Upgrades to items are a common and important way to improve the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a fantastic source of additional damage or more AD or even more attaches.

Rare-grade equipment can be superior to upgraded Common or Magic equipment due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be applied to weapon and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item that they're attached to. Upgrades to armor are available 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 kit to salvage upgrade components from other items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will absorb. The upgrade of an armor piece to its highest upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, which means it should be heavier.

There are several different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct impact. For example, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade that an item will be given, as illustrated below.

Some of the upgrades also require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, as indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades also require fees to use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire dependent on the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest option to improve your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can give significant improvement in performance and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.

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

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could improve the damage that is caused by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms also have upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be gained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain amount of bosses and monsters.

To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain amount of bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade, the more advanced the level. The cost of the upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.

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

You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're much better off going to stores and buying equipment with low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the best tier of bonuses and blessings.

The majority of players will prioritize weapon upgrades for the weapons they most often use to make sure they are able to level up quicker. In addition players, they should think about upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their teammates to make them more powerful as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to make it more useful when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are used in the armor's sockets and weapons, enhancing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, where you combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a jewelry table. The higher the level of the jewel is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be found around the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and, sometimes, by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The quality of a diamond can be improved at the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel it will give different stat boost when slotted into weapons, gear and jewelry.

The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems with the exception of rare and legendary ones which you must be at certain levels to gain. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without damaging the original. However you can only swap out one jewel in a piece of equipment only once.

Utilizing more jewels in the movement can make it feel more comfortable and is usually performed for aesthetic reasons. Jewels also enhance performance and create a harder surface than steel so that repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.

In addition to the above upgrades, the player can also obtain glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped freely but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Crystals. Glyphs are also removed and returned to the inventory.  item upgrading , such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be found by using an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that offer a wide range of tiny but valuable benefits to your hero. They can be obtained in the beginning areas as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak, which gives an unimportant but beneficial boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. The player can then collect rings, amulets and necklaces in a similar manner similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be used in any type of equipment however, jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded, and is only compatible with specific types of trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the absence of excellent slots in the team or talent tree which are usually filled by the hero's optimal stats.

A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you aren't planning to replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, since it's generally better to upgrade just one important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.

At the beginning of the game junglers will usually want to upgrade their trinket to a red, while top and mid players typically choose the 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 listed above, players can also find a number of other trinkets in the game in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a certain boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.