20 Irrefutable Myths About Item Upgrades: Busted

Path of Exile Item Upgrades

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

Rare-grade equipment is often superior to modernized Common or Magic equipment because of their high requirements.

Armor

Armor upgrades can be applied to both armor and weapon items. They boost the performance of the Item upgrader mod that they are attached to. Armor upgrades can be found in the world of the game and can be purchased from Blacksmiths at any bonfire. They can also be salvaged using an expert or higher salvage kits to retrieve upgrade components from items.

The level of an armor's or weapon's upgrade determines the amount of damage it will take on. The ability to absorb damage of a piece armor will increase when it is upgraded to its maximum upgrade level. However, it's important keep in mind that this will increase its weight, which will cause it to weigh more than it was before.

There are a few different kinds of armor upgrades available in the game, and they all have different effects. Some upgrades give armor a greater number of health points while others make it lighter and more powerful. The kind of armor upgrade an item upgrading can get will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as illustrated in the table below.

A few of the upgrades are also magical or a combination of technology and magic, which is indicated by a "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges for use. They are referred to as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire depending on the upgrade.

The cheapest way to upgrade armor is to use Iron Ore, which can be gathered by exploring the environment and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive however it is obtainable through smelters in Orgrimmar and Stormwind City. Some upgrades, like the Reforge or the Hot Potato Books can only be applied to high-level armor pieces. These upgrades can provide significant increases in stats and are definitely worth the investment.

The player should be aware, however, that upgrading a piece to the maximum upgrade level can increase its defense value. However, it can also decrease its agility and speed. This is why it is generally not recommended to upgrade the majority of armor pieces beyond +9, since the added defense is typically not worth the extra weight and power costs of the upgrades needed.

Weapons

Weapon upgrades allow players to increase the effectiveness of specific aspects of an weapon. Upgrades can improve the accuracy of a rifle or the damage that shotgun shells do. Certain weapons come with special upgrades that enhance their inherent characteristics. They include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and minimizes the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the velocity of projectiles for greater damage).

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

To upgrade a weapon, equipment set piece, or Whetblade, you must visit the NPC [ArmorBoboko. 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 ways to upgrade your weapon and equipment sets was a bit different. In the past, you could seek out an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain number of Bars to upgrade your weapon or equipment to an increased level of rarity. You could continue to do this until you reached a max upgrade level of the equipment or weapon, following which the upgrades would reset.

You can still do this, but the process is based on RNG and low on agency. You're better off buying gear with low upgrade levels but with high base scores and stat distributions. These gears have a better likelihood of granting you highest level of advantages and benefits.

To increase their level quicker, players usually prioritize upgrading their weapons. Additionally players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons that are most popular with their teammates to increase their power and effective. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F so that he can unlock the Beretta M93R. This will increase the effectiveness of the weapon when used by biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.

Jewels

Jewels can be used to improve the stats of a character or to provide additional effects in weapons and armor. They can be created using the process of jewelry crafting, which is where you combine a gem with various chemicals at a table. The higher the grade of the jewel the better the secondary effect. These reagents can be obtained around the world through Treasure Goblins, World Bosses and occasionally by salvaging Legendary gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.

The Jeweler can boost the quality of the gem in stages that range from Crude up to Royal. Depending on the tier of the jewel, it will provide a different stat boosts when it is inserted into weapons, equipment and jewelry.

The Jeweler is able to create all tiers of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones which require certain levels to gain. Jewels can be replaced with another jewel without damaging the original. However it is only possible to replace a jewel in a piece of equipment once.

The use of more jewels in the movement can make it feel more comfortable and is typically done for aesthetic reasons. In addition to enhancing performance, the diamonds 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 upgrades mentioned above players can also obtain glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These glyphs provide a small boost and can be traded, but they are not guaranteed to appear as loot. Glyphs can be upgraded, like jewelry, at the Jeweler for gold, and also Scattered Crystal. Glyphs can also be taken out and returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components, such as traits or aegis can't be exchanged, and can only be retrieved with an Upgrade extractor or salvaging with Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.

Trinkets

Trinkets can give your character a variety of small, but useful benefits. They are available in the starter area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained from vendors as well as through completing road interaction. They can also be found on the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.

The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak. It grants a small but useful bonus in speed of movement and evasion. The player can then acquire necklaces, rings, and amulets in a similar manner similar to how they obtained weapons and armor. Each piece of equipment has one upgrade item slot that can accept either a universal or jewel upgrade. Universal upgrades are smaller and are able to be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels cannot be upgraded or replaced and only work with certain trinkets.

These trinkets grant additional buffs and abilities that are active even when the hero isn't engaged in combat. This allows the hero to be more effective while inactive and also helps fill in the void of a solid team or any slots in the talent tree which would normally be filled with the hero's ideal stats.

A good rule of thumb for trinket upgrades is to prioritize BiS (Best item upgrader-in-Slot) items that you won't be replacing soon, followed by any items with desirable stats, but less important than the iLevel of the item that is being upgraded. This is especially true when an item has multiple stats you'd like to upgrade, as it's often better to upgrade a single important stat than two sub-optimal ones.

At the beginning of the game, players in the jungle are likely to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one, while top and middle players typically choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.

Apart from the items mentioned above, players may also discover a variety of other items in the form of awards and trophies. They can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For example, completing the main quest of a chapter or beating the boss. These achievements can be seen by selecting the appropriate achievement in the reward tab of the hero menu.