If you played Team Ninja’s Nioh 1 and 2 or Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Rise of the Ronin’s loot system will look very familiar. You’ll discover numerous weapons and armor across multiple categories, each with unique passive skills that augment your playstyle alongside adding more damage and defense. It can be a lot, so focus on specific weapons you enjoy using and armor skills to support them.
As you progress through the story, upgrading those weapons and the appropriate armor becomes necessary. Here’s how to do it.
How to Upgrade Weapons and Armor
Essentially, you visit a Blacksmith in a town or city. Speak to them and select the Upgrade option. It will display the materials (usually Silk, Bamboo, Black Sand Steel, Iron Ore and so on) and money required for upgrading your armor piece or weapon, and the resulting stat increases. Hit confirm, and voila, the item is upgraded.
Obtaining higher equipment levels at a faster pace means having a surplus of these materials on hand. You’ll discover these across various activities, from gathering resources and opening treasure chests in the open world to completing side quests and story missions. Bonding with allies can also net some upgrade materials.
However, dismantling weapons and armor is the most reliable and consistent way to earn upgrade materials. First, go through your loot and mark the ones to dispose of. You can customize loot settings to filter items below a desired rarity level.
Once done, speak to a Blacksmith and select Disassemble. They’ll showcase the materials obtained from disassembling an item before proceeding. Hit confirm to obtain said materials. Think twice before disassembling loot since you can’t retrieve or buy it back afterwards.
Rise of the Ronin is available for PS5. You can read our review here or check out more tips and tricks.