Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide To Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Item upgrades are a common and essential way to boost the performance of numerous 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 gear because of their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on weapon and armor items. They improve the stats of the item they are attached to. Armor upgrades 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 kit to retrieve upgrade components from other items.

The amount of damage an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The upgrade of an armor piece to maximum upgrade level will boost the damage it absorbs. It is important to keep in mind that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it must be heavier.

There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game, and each one has distinct effects. For example, some upgrades give the armor a certain amount of health points while others will make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade an item upgrade can receive, as shown below.

Some upgrades also feature magic or a mix of magic and technology, which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges to use, which is shown by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades change every day or never expire, according to the upgrade.

The cheapest way to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be found through exploring the surroundings and looting small loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but it can be obtained from the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can give a significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.

The process of upgrading an armor piece to its maximum upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values, but the player should be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its speed and agility. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces beyond +9, since the defensive boost gained is usually not worth the weight and power costs of the improvements required.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of the weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells do. Some weapons have special enhancements to enhance their intrinsic characteristics. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

The majority of upgrades to weapons require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons, and a whetblade to apply. They can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain amount of monsters or bosses or through the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.

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 required to complete it. The cost of upgrading will be less 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. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay for a specific amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased rarity. You could do this until you reach a max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, following which upgrades would reset.

It's still possible, but it depends heavily on RNG. Instead, you're much better off visiting stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels, but excellent base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a greater chance of giving you the most prestigious tier of benefits and blessings.

The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they most often use to help them level up quicker. In addition to these players, they should think about upgrading the weapons favored by their squadmates to make them more powerful and effective. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when accompanied 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 using a process called jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gemstone and several chemicals at a table. The higher the level of the gemstone, the better its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or through collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Prisms and gold.

The quality of a diamond can be improved upon by the Jeweler, with stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boosts when it is inserted into gear, weapons and jewelry.

The Jeweler can create all tiers of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones, which you must attain a certain level to get. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without destroying the original. You can only replace the jewel once in an item of equipment.

It is typical to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the diamonds create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction from pivots won't cause harm as easily.

A Glyphmaster can offer glyphs to improve the look of your weapons and shields. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be freely exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, aren't swappable and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are items of equipment that bestow many small but useful benefits to your hero. They can be acquired starting in the starter areas as loot or personal story rewards from vendors, and by doing road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased on the Trading Post.

The first trinkets that a player unlocks will be the cloak. It grants a small, but valuable boost to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they can purchase amulets, rings and necklaces in a similar manner to the way a player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accept either a universal or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets also provide additional buffs and skills that are active when the hero is not fighting. This allows the hero to be more effective when not active and also helps to compensate for the absence of a strong team or any talent tree slots that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.

As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best item upgrade in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace soon. Then, you should consider any items with desirable stats that aren't as important as the iLevel of the item upgrader kit to be upgraded. This is especially true if you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It's more beneficial to upgrade item a single important stat instead of two subpar ones.

Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the beginning of the game. Top and mid players, on the other hand will pick a green or a pink ward, based 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 mentioned above, players will discover other trinkets in form trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, such as finishing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. You can check them out by clicking on the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.