Weapon Upgrading & Enhancement
How to upgrade weapons in Echoes of Aincrad — level weapons at the Smithy, the difference between Weapon Level and Weapon Proficiency, how EX-Mods and Cardinal Rank work, and where to farm every upgrade material.
In Echoes of Aincrad you don't so much find a better weapon as build one. Two separate systems raise a weapon's power — Weapon Proficiency, earned just by fighting, and Weapon Level, which you push at the Smithy by feeding it materials. EX-Mods then bolt extra effects on top, and your Cardinal Rank sets the ceiling on how far any of it can go.
The Smithy
The Smithy — the blacksmith — is where every bit of weapon work happens. Towns and most villages have one; the first is in the Town of Beginnings, open to you once you've reserved your room at the Inn. There you level up a weapon, combine its EX-Mods, and craft new weapons and armor from recipes you pick up as you explore and clear quests.
Two ways a weapon grows
Power comes from two independent tracks — don't confuse them.
Weapon Proficiency
Earned automatically by using a weapon in combat. The more foes you defeat with, say, a One-Handed Sword, the more Weapon Exp that type banks — raising its proficiency rank and unlocking new Sword Skills. This progress sticks to the weapon type, not the individual weapon.
How proficiency & Sword Skills workWeapon Level
Raised at the Smithy, and it belongs to the individual weapon. Spend specific materials — or sacrifice unwanted weapons as fodder — to push a weapon's level, which lifts its base damage and overall parameters. This is the system the materials below feed.
Browse every weaponEX-Mods
EX-Mods are extra abilities slotted onto a weapon — reduced stamina cost, stronger normal attacks, and the like. You add them by merging two weapons of the same type at the Smithy, pooling their mods, and a single weapon can carry up to four EX-Mods at once. A weapon's built-in Unique MOD is its fixed identity; EX-Mods are the effects you layer on top to shape a build.
Cardinal Rank sets the ceiling
How far a weapon can be enhanced is capped by your Cardinal Rank, which rises as you clear the story. Every time it goes up, more of the Smithy's enhancement levels open up — along with better recipes and merchant stock — so it pays to return to the blacksmith and pour points into your main weapon whenever your rank climbs.
Upgrade materials & where to farm them
The 53 materials the Smithy consumes to raise Weapon Level, grouped by where you gather them. Higher-rarity materials feed the bigger level jumps.
Breakable material node26
Ore veins and destructible clusters in the field — hit them to break loose the drop.
Dark IngotA
Iron IngotA
Light IngotA
Selenite IngotA
Silver IngotA
Tempered SteelA
Bag of BonesB
Coarse FurB
Crude Weapon FragmentB
Flexible AntennaeB
Glowing FiberB
Hard BoneB
HexstoneB
Lustrous CarapaceB
Polished SlabB
Rare Cloth ScrapB
SachetB
Sharp FangB
Smooth HideB
TallowB
Thick FluidB
Black FluidC
Iron ChunkC
Mage CrystalC
MagestoneC
Red CoreCField gathering node19
Standard harvest points dotted along roads and clearings; interact to gather.
Explosive stone3
Volatile rocks that shatter when struck — mind the burst.
Getting the most from every upgrade
- →Upgrade your main weapon first. One weapon matched to your playstyle does more for you than thin upgrades spread across a stash of backups.
- →Revisit the Smithy every time your Cardinal Rank rises — it lifts the enhancement cap, and letting your weapon level fall behind your rank is a common way to hit a difficulty wall.
- →Don't hoard low-tier drops. Feed duplicate and unwanted weapons back into the Smithy as upgrade fodder instead of selling them for a handful of Col.
- →Plan EX-Mods before you merge: combining same-type weapons is the only way to reach four mods on one blade, so hold on to weapons whose mods you actually want.
Ready to pick a weapon to invest in? Browse the Weapons catalog, read up on the six weapon types, or see which Sword Skills your proficiency unlocks.