Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide In Item Upgrades
Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.
In most cases, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is beaten out by Rare-grade equipment due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a kind of upgrade items that can be used on armor and weapon items. They improve the stats of the item they're attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using a professional or higher salvage kit to recover upgrades from the 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 maximum upgrade level will increase the damage it absorbs. However, it's important note that this will also increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than before.
There are many different kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game. Each has a different effect. For instance, certain upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item can be given, as illustrated below.
Some upgrades also feature magical or a combination of technology and magic which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are either constantly updated or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest way to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, like the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant boost to stats and are worth the cost, especially for single-handed weapons.
A piece of armor upgraded to the highest upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values however, the user must be aware that putting on weight can drastically decrease its agility and speed. This is why it is typically not recommended to upgrade armor pieces that are higher than +9 since the defensive boost gained is usually not worth the additional weight and power costs of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades give players the ability to improve certain aspects of their weapon. For example an upgrade could enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Some weapons have special upgrades that enhance their inherent capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed 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. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, taking out a certain number of bosses or monsters, or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade item fee of a certain amount of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. In the past you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to a higher quality. You could continue doing this until you reached a maximum upgrade level for the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.
You can still do this, but the process is high on RNG and low on agency. You should consider buying equipment with low upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These will then have a better chance of bringing you the highest tier benefits and blessings.
To improve their skills faster, most players will prioritize upgrading their weapons. Players should also upgrade the weapons their teammates utilize to increase their power. Shepard, for example, should upgrade the M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used in conjunction by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in weapons and armor. They can be made through a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem with several ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the level of the gem has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a jewel can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that range from Crude to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ according to the tier that the jewel is in when it is inserted into jewelry, weapons or other gear.
All tiers of jewels can be made at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels which require you to be at a high enough level to qualify for these. Jewels can be substituted with another jewel without destroying the original. However it is only possible to replace a jewel in a piece of equipment only once.
Utilizing more jewels in a move will make it feel smoother, and is often performed for aesthetic reasons. The jewels also improve performance and make a surface harder than steel so that repeated friction from pivots do not cause damage to the movement.
In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades additionally, players can acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and can be swapped out at any time, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components such as traits or aegis cannot be exchanged, and can only be retrieved by using an Upgrade extractor or salvaging using Black Lion Salvage Kit, or Ascended Salvage.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to give your character many small, but valuable, advantages. They can be acquired starting in the beginning areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, or by performing road interactions. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket players can unlock is the cloak. It grants a small but beneficial boost in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player will then be able to acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar fashion similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment, while jewelry cannot be changed or upgraded and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This enables the hero to be more effective when not active and may also help make up for a lack of a solid team or any slots in the talent tree that normally are filled with the hero's ideal stats.
As a rule, trinket upgrades should prioritize BiS (Best in Slot) items you won't replace soon. Next, any items that have desirable statistics aren't as significant as the iLevel for the item that is to be upgraded. This is especially true when you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item upgrader. It is better to upgrade one important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red trinket at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's map control abilities.
Aside from the items listed above, players can find other trinkets in the game in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest of a chapter or defeating a boss. You can see them by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.