As players progress through the levels of the game, they can gather components. These are required to unlock perks. Components are sometimes hidden around the environment and so players can uncover them by destroying the environment to reveal them from underneath.
When you have collected all the materials, you can go to a workbench and Rocket will automate the perk upgrade for Star-Lord.
Both active and passive perks can be collected, and it is recommended that you try to gather them all. Star-Lord will be more effective the more perks he has.
For more info on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Game, check out Is Guardians of the Galaxy Multiplayer or Co op? on Pro Game Guides!