Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide Towards Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Item upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.

Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both weapon and armor items. They increase the performance of the item they are attached to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of the game and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kits to retrieve upgrade components from items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. But, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than before.

There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game and each one has distinct effects. For instance, certain upgrades will grant the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item upgrader kit will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as indicated in the table below.

Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which is indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table. Certain upgrades also require fees in order to be used. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either constantly updated or never expire based on the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest way to improve your armor. You can locate it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive but can be found in the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces that are of high-level. These upgrades can provide significant boost to stats and are a worthwhile cost, especially for single-handed weapons.

The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values but the wearer must be aware that putting more weight on it will drastically reduce its speed and agility. It is not recommended to upgrade armor above +9. The added defense usually isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For instance, an upgrade may increase the damage dealt by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the sniper rifle. Certain weapons come with special upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and reduces the risk of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases projectile acceleration for more damage).

Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade for applying. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests or by killing a certain number 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 that is based on a specific number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials The cost of upgrading will be lower.

In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased level of rarity. You could continue doing this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which upgrades would reset.

It's possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off going to stores and purchasing equipment with 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.

To increase their level faster, most players will prioritize upgrading their weapons. Additionally, players should consider upgrading the weapons they use with their squadmates to increase their power and effective. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when paired with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are used in the sockets of armor and weapons, increasing a stat and providing secondary effects. 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 level of the gemstone is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary equipment. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.

The Jeweler can boost the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts will vary according to the tier that the jewel is at when it's inserted into weapons, jewelry, or equipment.

The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones that require an appropriate level to obtain. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with another jewel of the same type without damaging the original one. You are able to replace the jewel only once in a piece of equipment.

It is normal to use more jewels for aesthetic reasons. Apart from improving performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots doesn't damage them as easily.

A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the look of your weapons and shields. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, 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, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be recovered by using an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are a great way to provide your hero with various small, but valuable, benefits. You can find them in the start-up area as loot or as personal story rewards. They are also available through vendors and after completing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.

The first trinket a player is able to unlock is the cloak. It grants an unimportant but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This lets a hero be more efficient when they are not active. It can also compensate for the lack of a excellent slot in the talent tree or team which are usually filled by the hero's Best item upgrade stats.

As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace in the near future. Then, you should consider any items that have desirable statistics aren't as important as the iLevel of the item that is to be upgraded. This is particularly true if an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade since it's generally better to upgrade a single important stat rather than two sub-optimal ones.

At the beginning 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 typically choose the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's ability to control his map.

In addition to the items mentioned above, players will find other trinkets in the form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be obtained 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 in the reward section of the hero's menu.