Path of Exile Item Upgrades

The performance of a variety of Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading the performance of them. They can cause additional damage, AD or even affixes.

Sometimes, however, upgraded Common and Magic gear is often surpassed by Rare-grade gear because of their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on weapons and armor items. They boost the stats of whatever item they are connected to. Upgrades to armor are available in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using a specialist or higher salvage kit to recover upgrade components from other items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it is able to take on. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will boost its ability to absorb damage. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, so it should be heavier.

There are a few different types of armor upgrades available in the game and each one has distinct effects. For instance, some upgrades will grant the armor a certain amount of additional health points, while others will make it stronger and lighter. The kind of armor upgrade an item upgrade will receive will be indicated by the name of the upgrade as shown in the table below.

Some upgrades are magic or a hybrid of magic and technology, which is indicated by the "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. These charges are either continuously updated or never expire depending on the upgrade.

The cheapest method to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain 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 improvements in stats and are definitely worth the investment.

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

Weapons

Weapon upgrades let players increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of a weapon. Upgrades can increase the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons also come with upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, reduces the risk of weapon overheating) and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's acceleration 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.

To upgrage from Crude up to Royal. The stat boosts can vary depending on the tier the jewel is at when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons, or equipment.

The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones which you must attain a certain level to get. Like other upgrade components jewels can be swapped with another jewel of the same kind without destroying it. You are able to replace the jewel once within an item of equipment.

It is common to use more jewelry for aesthetic reasons. Jewels also enhance performance and create a surface harder than steel, so that the repeated friction caused by pivots does not damage them.

In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades players can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be freely swapped, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded by the Jeweler in exchange for Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be recovered through an upgrade items extractor, or salvaging with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage.

Trinkets

Trinkets are items of equipment that bestow many small but useful advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starting area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained from vendors and by the completion of road interactions. They can also be crafted by jewelers and later found or purchased at the Trading Post.

The first trinket a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which gives an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. The player can then collect necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar manner to how they acquired weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has an upgrade slot which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced, and can only be used with certain trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't in combat. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive and also helps make up for a lack of a strong team or any talent tree slots that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.

A good guideline for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best item upgrader-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing in the near future, then any items with desirable stats but less important than the iLevel of the Best item upgrader that is being upgraded. This is particularly true if an item Upgrader kit has multiple stats that you wish to upgrade, as it's usually better to upgrade just one important stat than two sub-optimal ones.

At the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their trinket to a red in the middle and top players usually choose the pink or green ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can affect the hero's ability to manage the map.

Aside from the items mentioned above, players may also find other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be earned by completing certain milestones within the story, like completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. These can be viewed by selecting the relevant achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.