Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide Towards Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

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

Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear because of their high requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item they are connected 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 an expert or higher salvage kit to retrieve upgrade components from other items.

The amount of damage an armored item or weapon is able to absorb is dependent on the level of its upgrades. Upgrading a piece of armor to the highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. However, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will raise its weight, requiring it to be heavier than before.

There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. For instance, certain upgrades will grant the armor a certain number of additional health points, while others make it lighter and stronger. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.

Some upgrades also feature magic or a mix of technology and magic, which is shown by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges to use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges for these upgrades refresh every day or never expire, dependent on the upgrade.

The cheapest method to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable from smelters located in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are well worth the investment.

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

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Some weapons also have special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of overheating of the weapon) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).

Most upgrades for weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade for applying. These can be obtained by completing side quests or killing a certain amount of monsters and bosses.

Upgrades to a weapon, equipment Set piece, or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade price of a certain 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 was a bit different. Previously you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased level of 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. You're better off buying gear that has low upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. These will have a chance at gaining you the highest tier perks and blessings.

To level up quicker, players usually prioritise upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons that their teammates use to make them stronger. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels can be used to improve 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 various reagents at a jewelry table. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from 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 improve 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 slotted into jewelry, weapons or equipment.

The Jeweler can craft the highest levels of gems apart from the rare and legendary ones that you must be at a certain level to get. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without damaging the original. You can only replace the jewel once within an item level upgrade of equipment.

Utilizing more jewels in a movement can make it feel more comfortable, and is often done for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction with pivots doesn't cause harm as easily.

In addition to the above upgrades, the player can also obtain glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs provide a small boost in power and can be exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are upgradeable, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out, which returns them to the inventory. Other upgrade components like aegis or traits cannot be exchanged, and can only be retrieved with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets can be used to give your character a variety of small, but useful advantages. They are available in the start-up area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors and by doing road interaction. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak, which gives a small, but valuable boost to movement speed and the ability to escape. Then, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in a similar way to how a player acquires weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that accepts either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades offer fewer benefits and can be put into any kind of equipment while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and only works with specific types of trinkets.

These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't fighting. This lets the hero perform better when they are not active and may also help fill in the void of a solid team or any slots from the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's best statistics.

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

Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red trinket at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players on the other hand they will select a green or a pink ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's map control abilities.

In addition to the items mentioned above, players will also find other trinkets that form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing the main quest of a chapter or beating the boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.