Path of Exile
Item Upgradesitem upgrader 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.
Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade that can be applied to armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item that they are 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 by using a specialist or higher salvage kit to salvage upgrade components from other items.
The amount of damage a piece of armor or weapon will absorb is contingent on the degree of upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to its highest upgrade level will increase its damage absorption. But, it's important to keep in mind that this will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than it was before.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each one has a distinct effect. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points while others make it more powerful and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the type of upgrade an item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few upgrades are magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is identified by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades also require fees for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to upgrade your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable from smelters located in 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 improvement in stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level will increase its defense value. However, it can also reduce its agility and speed. This is why it is not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is generally not worth the weight and power cost of the improvements required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of weapon upgrades require a whetblade. It's one of three Power Dices and a different amount Minerals and Erons. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain amount of bosses or monsters, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.
To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [ArmorBoboko. Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific number of Bars. The more bars you need to complete an upgrade the higher the level. The cost of upgrades will be lower if have more than one of the upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and sets has changed a bit. In the past, you could seek out an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to a higher rarity. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would be reset.
You can still do this, however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. Instead, you're better off going to the stores and purchasing equipment that has low upgrade levels but good base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a greater chance of granting you the highest level of blessings and perks.
The majority of players will make the most of upgrades to weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to make them stronger. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R to enhance its effectiveness when accompanied by experts in biotics like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to increase the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in armor and weapons. They can be created through the process of jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gemstone and a number of specific reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the quality of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through finding Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a diamond can be improved at the Jeweler, in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the jewel it will give different stat boosts when inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.
The Jeweler is able to create all kinds of gems, with the exception of rare and legendary ones which you must attain an appropriate level to obtain. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with another jewel of the same type without destroying the original one. However, you can only replace the jewels in an equipment piece only once.
It is normal to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. The jewels also improve performance and make a harder surface than steel, so that the repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the appearance of your weapons and shields. These glyphs give a slight boost and can be freely traded, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like aegis and traits, cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets can give your character many small, but valuable benefits. You can find them in the start-up area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained through vendors and after completing road interaction. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased on the Trading Post.
The first trinket players will unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to evade. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, amulets, and rings in a similar manner as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one
upgrade item slot that can accept either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.
These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective while inactive and may also help fill in the void of a strong team or any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (
Best item upgrade in Slot) items you won't replace soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable stats that are less significant than the iLevel of the
item upgrader kit that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It's
Best item upgrade to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Mid and top players on the other hand will pick either a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
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 through completing certain milestones in the story, for instance completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.