Path of Exile Item Upgrades

Item upgrades are a common and important way to improve the performance of a variety of items in Path of Exile. They can also provide additional damage, AD or even affixes.

Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to upgraded Common or Magic gear due to their higher requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They increase the stats of whatever Item Upgrade they are attached to. Armor upgrades are found in the game's world and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kits to retrieve upgrades from the items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade items determines the amount of damage it can absorb. The absorption of damage by an armor piece will increase when it's upgraded to the maximum upgrade items level. It's important to remember that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be more heavy.

There are several types of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have distinct effects. Certain upgrades grant armor an additional number of health points, while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item upgrader kit can get is indicated by the name of the upgrade, as indicated in the table below.

A few of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of magic and technology, which is indicated by the "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Furthermore, some upgrades require a charge to use, which are shown by an "Charges" entry in the table below. The charges for these upgrades refresh daily or never expire, according to the upgrade items.

The cheapest method of upgrading armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be obtained by exploring the area and looting minor loot chests. Titanium is more expensive however, it is available through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, such as the Reforge and the Hot Potato Books, can only be applied to high level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant boost in stats, and are worth the cost.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece 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 defensive boost gained usually isn't worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage caused by shotgun shells. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic characteristics. Frictionless materials (improves stability, and reduces the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed for greater damcific reagents in a jewelry 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 in exchange for gold and Scattered Prisms.

The quality of a jewel can be improved at the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. Based on the level of the jewel it will give different stat boost when slotted into gear, weapons and jewelry.

The Jeweler is able to create the highest levels of gems with the exception of rare and legendary ones, which you must be at certain levels to gain. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out with another jewel of the same kind without destroying it. However, you can only replace a jewel in an equipment piece once.

The use of more jewels in a movement will make it more smooth and is usually performed to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to improving performance, the jewels create a surface that is harder than metal, which means that repeated friction with pivots doesn't damage them as easily.

In addition to the above-mentioned upgrades, the player can also get glyphs for their shields and weapons from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs offer a small boost and can be freely exchanged, however they're not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs are like jewelry and can be upgraded at the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits and aegis, are not swappable, and can only be recovered using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets are pieces of equipment that offer an array of tiny but valuable advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starter area as loot or as personal story rewards. They can also be obtained through vendors and after the completion of road interactions. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player will be able to unlock is the cloak. It grants a small, but useful bonus in speed of movement and the ability to escape. The player can then acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets, in a similar way as they did with weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade slot that can accommodate either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be utilized on any device. Jewels are not upgradeable or replaced and are only compatible with certain trinkets.

These trinkets can also grant bonuses and abilities that are active whenever the hero is not in combat. This enables the hero to perform better when they are not active and also helps to compensate for the absence of a strong team or the absence of any talent tree slots which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal statistics.

As a general rule trinket upgrades should be a priority BiS (Best in Slot) items that you aren't likely to replace in the near future. Next, any items with desirable statistics that aren't as important as the iLevel of the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you want to upgrade multiple statistics on an item. It's better to upgrade one important stat rather than two suboptimal ones.

Jungle players will often upgrade their yellow trinkets to a red one prior to the start of the game. Top and mid players, on the other hand, will choose a green or a pink ward, depending on the matchup. These choices will have an impact on a hero's ability to control the map.

Apart from the items listed above, players can find other items in the form of awards and trophies. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story, such as completing a chapter's main quest or killing a particular boss. These can be viewed by selecting the appropriate achievement from the reward tab of the hero menu.