Path of Exile Item Upgrades

item upgrades, source web page, are a common and essential way to boost the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a great source of extra damage and more AD or even more attachments.

Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be applied to weapons and armor items. They increase the performance of the item upgrade they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternately, they can be salvaged from items with upgrade components within them by using a specialist or more powerful salvage kit.

The amount of damage a piece of armor or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. A piece of armor upgraded to the highest upgrade level will increase its ability to absorb damage. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be more heavy.

There are several kinds of armor upgrades that are available in the game, and each one has distinct effects. Certain upgrades grant armor an extra number of health points, while others make it more powerful and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade the item upgrader mod can receive, as shown below.

Some of the upgrades also require magic or a combination of technology and magic, which is indicated by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Additionally, some upgrades require a fee to use, and are indicated by a "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire according to the upgrade.

Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. You can find it by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more costly, but is readily available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied on armor pieces of the highest level. These upgrades can provide significant boost to stats and are worth the investment, especially for 1-handed weapons.

Upgrading a piece of armor to max upgrade level will significantly increase its defense values but the wearer must be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its speed and agility. Therefore, it is generally not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, since the defensive boost gained is typically not worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades needed.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. For instance, an upgrade may increase the damage dealt by a shotgun's shells or the accuracy of a sniper rifle. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of the possibilitand Tali.

Jewels

Jewels are utilized in the armor's sockets and weapons, increasing the power of a character and bringing about secondary effects. They can be created using an process known as jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gemstone and a number of specific ingredients at a table for jewelry. The higher the quality of the gemstone, the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses in the world, or through finding Legendary Gear. You can also purchase them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The Jeweler can enhance the quality of gemstones in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. The boosts to stats will differ depending on the level the jewel is in when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or gear.

The Jeweler is able to create the highest levels of gems apart from the rare and legendary ones, which require an appropriate level to obtain. Like other upgrade components jewels are able to be swapped by a different jewel of the same type without destroying the original one. However you can only swap out the jewels in an equipment piece once.

The use of more jewels in a move will make it more smooth, and is often used for aesthetic reasons. In addition to improving performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than metal, so repeated friction from pivots doesn't cause damage as easily.

In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades additionally, players can obtain glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and are able to be swapped easily however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold and Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out 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 salvaging them using the Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are small pieces of equipment that provide an array of tiny but valuable advantages to your hero. They are available in the starting area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained through vendors and after doing road interaction. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and found or purchased at the Trading Post.

The first trinkets a player can unlock is the cloak, which grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. The player can then collect necklaces, amulets, and rings, in a similar way as they did with weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets can provide additional bonuses and abilities that are active when the hero isn't in combat. This allows a hero to be more efficient when they are not active. It also helps compensate for the lack of a good team or talent tree slots that are normally filled by the hero's optimal stats.

A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best item upgrade-in-Slot) items that you will not replace in the near future, then any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It's best to upgrade just one crucial stat instead of two subpar ones.

Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red trinket at the start of the game. Mid and top players however will pick either a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices can affect a hero's ability to control the map.

In addition to the items listed above, players will find other trinkets in the form of trophies and rewards throughout the game. These can be earned by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, completing a chapter’s main quest or defeating the boss. They can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.