The Ultimate Glossary On Terms About Item Upgrades
Path of Exile Item Upgrades
Item upgrades are a common and crucial method to enhance the performance of numerous items in Path of Exile. They can be a great source of additional damage and more AD or even more attaches.
Often times however upgraded Common and Magic gear is outclassed by Rare-grade equipment due to their high requirements.
Armor
Armor upgrades are a form of upgrade that can be used on weapon and armor items. They increase the effectiveness of the item that they're connected to. Upgrades to armor can be found in the world of the game and are available from Blacksmiths on bonfires. Alternatively, they can also be rescued from items with upgrade components within them by using an expert or greater salvage kit.
The amount of damage that an armored piece or weapon can absorb depends on the degree of upgrades. The damage absorption of a piece armor will increase when it's upgraded to the highest upgrade level. It is important to note that this will increase the weight of the armor, therefore it must be heavier.
There are a variety of armor upgrades available in the game. Each has a different effect. For example, some upgrades will give the armor a certain amount of health points while others make it lighter and stronger. The kind of armor upgrade an item will receive will be identified by the name of the upgrade, as shown in the table below.
A few upgrades are magical or a combination of magic and technology, which is identified by an "Magic" or "Hybrid" entry in the table below. Certain upgrades require charges for use. These are identified as "Charges" entries in the table. These charges are updated daily or never expire based on the upgrade.

The cheapest method to upgrade armor is by using Iron Ore, which can be found by exploring the area and looting chests of minor loot. Titanium is more expensive, but can be found in the smelters of 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 increases in stats and are definitely worth the cost.
A piece of armor upgraded to its maximum upgrade level will dramatically increase its defense capabilities, but the player should be aware that putting more weight on it will dramatically reduce its speed and agility. Therefore, it is typically not recommended to upgrade armor pieces beyond +9, since the added defense is usually not worth the weight and power costs of the upgrades required.
Weapons
Weapon upgrades allow players to enhance certain aspects of their weapon. For instance an upgrade could enhance the damage caused by the shells of a shotgun or the accuracy of a rifle that snipes. Certain weapons also come with enhancements that enhance their intrinsic qualities. These include Frictionless Materials (improves stability and decreases the chance of the risk of overheating) and Kinetic Coils (increases the speed of projectiles to cause more damage).
The majority of upgrades to weapons require three Power Dices, a different amount of Minerals and Erons and a whetblade. They can be obtained by completing Side Quests, killing a certain number of monsters or bosses or by contacting the Weapon Upgrade NPC located in Central Flarine.
To upgrade an equipment set, weapon piece or Whetblade you need to visit the NPC [Armor] Boboko located in Central Flarine, and pay her an upgrade fee of a certain number of Bars. The higher the upgrade level, the more bars are required to complete it. If you have multiple upgrade materials The cost of upgrading will be lower.
In Chapter 2: Season 5 the way you upgrade weapon and equipment sets has changed. Before you could search for an Upgrade Bench and pay a certain amount of Bars to upgrade your equipment or weapon to an increased level of rarity. You could do this until your weapon or equipment reached its maximum upgrade level at which point the upgrades would reset.
It's possible, but it relies heavily on RNG. Instead, you're better off going to stores and buying gear with low upgrade levels, but excellent base scores and stat distributions. They will also be able to give you the most prestigious benefits and blessings.
To improve their skills faster, many players prioritize upgrading their weapons. In addition to these players, they should also consider upgrading the weapons they use with their teammates to increase their power as well. Shepard for instance should upgrade his M92F in order to unlock the Beretta M93R. This will make the weapon more effective when used with biotic specialists like Grunt and Tali.
Jewels
Jewels can be used to boost a stat or provide secondary effects in armor and weapons. They can be created through a process called jewelry crafting, in which you combine a gem with a number of specific chemicals at a table.
item upgrading Cases gg of the jewel, the better its secondary effect. These reagents can be gotten from Treasure Goblins and World Bosses around the world, or through salvaging Legendary Gear. You can also buy them from The Jeweler for gold and a Scattered Prism.
The quality of a gem can be improved by the Jeweler in stages that vary from Crude to Royal. The stat boosts will vary depending on the tier the jewel is at when it's inserted into jewelry, weapons or other gear.
The Jeweler can create all kinds of gems, except for the rare and legendary ones which you must be at an appropriate level to obtain. Unlike other upgrade components, jewels can be swapped out by a different identical jewel without destroying it. However it is only possible to replace the jewels in a piece of equipment once.
It is common to use more jewels to enhance the appearance of. Apart from improving performance, the jewels also create an outer layer that is more durable than steel, so the repeated friction from pivots won't damage them as easily.
In addition to the upgrades mentioned above additionally, players can acquire glyphs for their weapons and shields from a Glyphmaster. These provide a small bonus and can be swapped out at any time but aren't guaranteed to drop as loot. Glyphs, just like jewelry, can be upgraded by the Jeweler to exchange Scattered Crystals and gold. Glyphs can also be removed from the inventory, and they are returned to the inventory. Other upgrade components like traits or aegis can't be exchanged and can only be recovered through an upgrade extractor or salvaging using a Black Lion Salvage Kit or Ascended Salvage tool.
Trinkets
Trinkets are a great way to give your character a variety of small, but beneficial advantages. You can find them in the starting area as rewards for personal stories or loot. They can also be obtained from vendors and by completing road interaction. They can be purchased from the Trading Post, or crafted by jewelers.
The first trinket a player unlocks will be the cloak, which grants an unimportant but beneficial boost to speed of movement and evasion. After that, they'll be able to get amulets, rings, and necklaces in the same manner to the way a player acquires weapons and armor. Every piece of equipment has a slot for an upgrade which can be universal or jewel. Universal upgrades are smaller and can be used on any piece of equipment. Jewels are not upgradeable 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 efficient while inactive. It also helps compensate for the absence of good slots in the team or talent tree that are normally filled by the hero's best stats.
As a rule trinket upgrades should be prioritized over BiS (Best in Slot) items that you will not replace anytime soon. Then, you should consider any items that have desirable statistics are less significant than the iLevel for the item to be upgraded. This is especially true if you're looking to upgrade several stats on an item. It's best to upgrade just one crucial stat than two less important ones.
In the beginning of the game, junglers will usually want to upgrade their yellow trinket into a red one in the middle and top players usually choose a green or pink ward (depending on the matchup). These choices can affect the ability of a hero to control the map.
In addition to the items listed above, players will also find other trinkets that form of rewards and trophies throughout the game. These can be obtained by completing certain milestones in the story. For instance, finishing the main quest of a chapter or beating the boss. You can view them by selecting the achievement in the reward section of the hero's menu.