Item Upgrades Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Path of Exile Item Upgrades
The performance of many Path of Exile items can be enhanced by upgrading their performance. They can be a great source of additional damage or more AD or even more affixes.
Rare-grade equipment is usually superior to modernized Common or Magic equipment due to their higher requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a type of upgrade that can be used on armor and weapon items. They increase the effectiveness of the item they are connected to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. They can also be salvaged by using an expert or higher salvage kit to recover upgrade components from items.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the level of its upgrades. The damage absorption of an armor piece will increase when it is upgraded to the highest upgrade level. However, it's important to be aware that this upgrade will increase its weight, causing it to be heavier than before.
There are a few different types of armor upgrades that are available in the game and they all have distinct effects. item upgrader give armor an additional amount of health points while others make it stronger and lighter. The type of armor upgrade that an item will receive will be identified 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 identified by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Some upgrades also require charges for use. These are indicated as "Charges" entries in the table. The charges associated with these upgrades change daily or never expire, depending on the upgrade.
Iron Ore is the cheapest method to improve your armor. It can be found by exploring and looting small chests. Titanium is more expensive, however, it is available at the smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Certain upgrades, such as the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be used on high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant improvements in stats and are worth the investment.
The process of upgrading an armor piece to the highest upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense values but the wearer must be aware that putting on weight will dramatically reduce its agility and speed. It is not recommended to upgrade armor beyond +9. The boost in defense usually isn't worth the weight and power cost of the upgrades.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of certain aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can boost the accuracy of a rifle, or the damage that shotgun shells cause. Certain weapons come with special upgrades that enhance their inherent qualities. Frictionless materials (improves stability, minimizes the possibility of overheating), and Kinetic coils (increases the projectile's speed to cause more damage) are two examples.
The majority of upgrades for weapons require a whetblade. It's 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 upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee that is a certain amount of bars. The higher the upgrade level, the higher the number of bars you will need to complete the upgrade. If you have multiple upgrade materials The cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade your weapon and equipment sets has changed a bit. Previously you could go to an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to a higher quality. You could do this until the weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level, at which point the upgrades would reset.
It's still possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. It is better to purchase gear that has low upgrade levels and high base scores and stat distributions. They will also have a better chance of bringing you the most prestigious benefits and blessings.
The majority of players will make the most of upgrades to weapons they use most frequently to help them level up faster. In addition, players should consider upgrading the weapons favored by their teammates to increase their power as well. For instance, Shepard should consider upgrading the M92F to unlock the Beretta M93R, which will increase its utility when accompanied by biotech specialists such as Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost the effectiveness of a skill or provide additional effects in armor and weapons. Jewelry crafting is a method of creating them. You combine the gemstone with specific reagents in a jewelry table. The higher the grade of the gem, the greater the secondary effect. These reagents are obtained in the world from 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 tier of the gem it will give different stat boost when slotted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.
All kinds of jewels are crafted at the Jeweler however, there are some exceptions to this, such as the rare and legendary jewels that require you to be at a high enough level to qualify for these. Jewels can be replaced by another jewel without damaging the original. You can only replace the gem once within an item of equipment.
The use of more jewels in the movement will make it feel smoother and is typically used to enhance the aesthetics of the movement. In addition to improving performance, the diamonds create an area that is stronger than metal, so repeated friction from pivots won't cause harm as easily.
A Glyphmaster can provide glyphs to enhance the appearance of your shields and weapons. They offer a small benefit and can be swapped out at any time however they aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, as jewelry, by visiting the Jeweler for gold, and also a Scattered Crystal. Glyphs may also be removed and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as aegis and traits, aren't swappable and are only recoverable by using an Upgrade Extractor or salvaging them with a Black Lion Salvage Kit or an Ascended Salvage Tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are pieces of equipment that bestow a wide range of small, but beneficial advantages to your hero. You can find them in the starter area as loot or personal story rewards. They can also be obtained through vendors and after doing road interaction. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinkets a player is able to unlock is the cloak, which grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to movement speed and evasion. The player will then be able to acquire rings, amulets and necklaces, in a similar way to how they acquired weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has an upgrade slot that can be either universal or jewel. Universal upgrades offer smaller bonuses and can be placed in any type of equipment while jewelry cannot be replaced or upgraded and is only compatible with certain kinds of trinkets.
These trinkets can also grant bonuses and abilities that are active whenever the hero is not fighting. This lets the hero be more effective while inactive, and can also help make up for a lack of a solid team or any talent tree slots that would normally be filled with hero's ideal statistics.
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 being upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats that you'd like to upgrade as it's often better to upgrade a single crucial stat than two subpar ones.
Jungle players often upgrade their yellow trinket to a red one at the beginning of the game. Mid and top players, on the other hand will pick either a pink or green ward, based on the matchup. These choices will have a significant impact on the hero's abilities to control maps.
In addition to the items listed above, players can find a number of other items in the form of trophies and awards. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones within the story. For instance, finishing the main quest for a chapter or defeating an opponent. You can check them out by selecting the achievement from the reward section of the hero's menu.