Crafting is very complex and expensive, just try some benchcrafts or essence crafts for now and trade for gear. Use
The Path of Exile Wiki to look up details on stuff.
yeah, this is one of the bigger things. yesterday in global chat for example someone asked, "is there a way to upgrade a magic item to a rare?" to which someone correctly replied, "yes, with a regal orb".
however, ,that person did not follow up to say, "don't actually do that unless you know what you are doing. A regal orb is too valuable to be wasted on a trash item."
when you are new, focusing on 4link, then a 5l chest tends to be the primary focus. a 5l chest of the right colors, is more valuable then any random rare roll.
Chaos orbs are fairly cheap/common. they can be throw onto a rare item to reroll its mods. So, its cheaper to start with a 5l or even 6link chest, of the right socket colors, THEN start throwing chaos orbs at it for good mods.
fusing orbs are fairly expensive to be throwing at items to try and get 4, 5 and 6 links. do not use these before level 70, typically. you'll get 4l head/glove/boots randomly by the time you get to maps. save them to try for 5l and 6ls.
chromatic orbs let you reroll the colors. these are more common all around. they can be use more freely. especially level 60+.
Essence are a nice and easy way to target a specific mod, on a rare. again use these on a 4,5, or even 6l if you have.
