Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide Towards Item Upgrades
Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of many items in Path of Exile. They can be a great source of extra damage and more AD or even more attachments.
Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to weapon and armor items. They boost the performance of the item that they're connected to. Armor upgrades are found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kits to salvage upgrade components from other items.
The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it can absorb. The ability to absorb damage of an item of armor will increase as it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.
There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are that are available in the game and they all have different effects. For instance, some upgrades give the armor a certain number of health points while others will make it lighter and stronger. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade the item can be given, as illustrated below.
A few of the upgrades are also magic or a hybrid of technology and magic which is indicated by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are constantly updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.
The cheapest method to upgrade armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive but it can be obtained from 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 improvements in stats and are a worthwhile investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to max upgrade level will dramatically boost its defense but the wearer must be aware that putting more weight on it will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. Therefore, it is not recommended to upgrade most armor pieces beyond +9, because the increase in defense is generally not worth the additional weight and power cost of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Some weapons also have special upgrades that improve their innate capabilities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed for greater damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade, one of three Power Dices and a different amount of Minerals and Erons. They can be obtained by completing side quests or by killing a certain number of bosses and monsters.
Upgrading a Weapon, Equipment Set piece or Whetblade requires visiting the NPC [Armor] Boboko in Central Flarine and paying her an upgrade fee of a set number of Bars. The more bars required to complete an upgrade the more expensive the upgrade. The cost of upgrading will be lower if you have more than one of the relevant upgrade materials.
In Chapter 2: Season 5, the ways to upgrade your equipment and weapon sets was a bit different. Previously you could go to an upgrade item Bench and pay for a specific number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased quality. You could continue to do this until you reach a maximum upgrade level for your weapon or equipment, after which the upgrades would be reset.
It's possible, but it is dependent heavily on RNG. You should consider buying equipment that has minimal upgrade levels, but high base scores and stat distributions. These will have a better chance of bringing you the best tier of perks and blessings.
The majority of players will prioritize upgrades to the weapons they use most frequently to allow them to progress quicker. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard for instance, should upgrade the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more useful when used in conjunction with biotic specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels are used in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. Jewelry crafting is the process of making them, in which you combine a gemstone with a number specific reagents on a table. The higher the tier of the gem is, the greater its secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and sometimes by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The Jeweler can enhance the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary according to the tier that the jewel is in when it is inserted into weapons, jewelry, or equipment.
The Jeweler is able to create all kinds of gems, apart from the rare and legendary ones which you must attain an appropriate level to obtain. In contrast to other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out with another jewel of the same type without destroying the original one. However you can only swap out the jewels in an item upgrader kit of equipment once.
It is typical to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. The jewels also improve performance and create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so that the repeated friction from pivots do not damage them.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be traded, but they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, like traits and aegis, are not swappable, 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 are small pieces of equipment that offer many small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. They can be obtained in the areas of starting as loot, personal story rewards, from vendors, and by completing road interactions. They can be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets that a player can unlock is the cloak, which gives an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to acquire rings, amulets, and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player can acquire armor and weapons. Each piece of equipment comes with an upgrade slot that is either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.
These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't fighting. This allows the hero to be more effective when not active and may also help make up for a lack of a strong team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with hero's ideal stats.
A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best-in-Slot) items that you will not replace soon, followed by any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being 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 than two less important ones.
Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one prior to the start of the game. Top and mid players, on the other hand, will choose either a pink or green ward, depending on the game's matchup. These choices will have a major impact on the hero's ability to control his map.
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, like finishing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. You can see them by selecting the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.