Guide To Item Upgrades: The Intermediate Guide On Item Upgrades

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can be a fantastic source of extra damage or more AD or even more attachments.

Sometimes, however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade gear due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the item upgrade that they're connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. Alternatively, they can also be rescued from items with upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will absorb. A piece of armor upgraded to its highest upgrade level will boost its damage absorption. But, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to weigh more than before.

There are many different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different impact. For instance, some upgrades give the armor a certain amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The name of the armor upgrade will indicate the kind of upgrade that an item upgrader will receive, as shown below.

Certain upgrades require magic or a hybrid technology and magic, as identified by the "Magic" and "Hybrids" entries in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, according to the upgrade.

The cheapest method of upgrading armor is with Iron Ore, which can be gathered through exploring the surroundings and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive but is readily available at the smelters of Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvement in stats and are worth the investment, particularly for one-handed weapons.

A piece of armor upgraded to max upgrade level will significantly boost its defense but the wearer must be aware that increasing its weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The defensive boost gained usually isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to improve the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. For example, an upgrade may enhance the damage caused by shotgun shells or the accuracy of the rifle sniper. Certain firearms have upgrades to improve their inherent characteristics. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes weapon overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases projectile acceleration for more damage).

Most weapon upgrades require one of three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade to apply. These can be obtained by finishing side quests, killing a certain number of bosses or monsters, or from the Weapon Upgrade NPC in Central Flarine.

To upgrade the weapon, equipment set piece or Whetblade You must go to the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a specific amount 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 way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. In the past you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased quality. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level and at that point, the upgrades would be reset.

You can still do this however, the process is high on RNG and low on agency. It is better to purchase gear with minimal upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These items will have a better likelihood of granting you highest level of advantages and benefits.

Most players will want to prioritize upgrades to the weapons they most often use to make sure they are able to level up faster. Players should also upgrade the weapons their squadmates utilize to increase their power. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when accompanied by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels can be used to increase a stat or provide secondary effects in armor and weapons. They can be made through a process called jewelry crafting, where you combine a gemstone and a number of specific chemicals at a table. The higher the tier of the jewel has, the more powerful its secondary effect. These reagents are available from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses all over the world, or by collecting Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The Jeweler can improve the quality of a gem in stages ranging from Crude up to Royal. Based on the tier of the gem it will give different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.

The Jeweler can craft all tiers of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones that you must attain certain levels to gain. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. You can only replace the gem once in an item upgrade of equipment.

It is normal to use more gems for aesthetic reasons. The jewels also improve performance and make a surface harder than metal so that repeated friction from pivots does not cause damage to the movement.

In addition to the above upgrades, the player can also acquire glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These are a small perk and are able to be swapped easily, but are not guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, like jewelry, can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis, cannot be swapped out, and can only be retrieved using an Upgrade Extractor, or by salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are pieces of equipment that bestow an array of small but useful advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starting area as loot or personal story rewards. They are also available from vendors as well as through the completion of road interactions. They may also be crafted by jewelers, and then found or purchased at the Trading Post.

The first trinket a player can unlock is the cloak. It gives a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. Then, they can get amulets, rings, and necklaces in a similar fashion to how the player obtains weapons and armor. Each piece of gear comes with one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal upgrade or a jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets provide additional buffs and abilities that are active when the hero isn't fighting. This enables the hero to be more effective when not active and may also help to compensate for the absence of a solid team or the absence of any slots in the talent tree that would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.

A good general 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 being upgraded. This is especially true if you are looking to upgrade multiple stats on an item. It is more beneficial to upgrade a single important stat instead of two subpar ones.

Jungle players usually upgrade their yellow trinket to a red trinket at the start of the game. Top and mid players however, will choose a pink or green ward, depending on the matchup. These choices can affect the hero's ability to manage the map.

Aside from the things mentioned above, players can also discover a variety of other items in the form of trophies and awards. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story, like finishing a chapter's main quest or destroying a boss. These can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.