Upgrading Weapons
Written by MSG Commander
This is a short and sweet guide to upgrading weapons. More detailed information is available in the forum.
Each character's weapon can be upgraded in two ways:
ATK
Any time you add a weapon onto your base weapon, it raises the base weapon's EXP, and when the EXP is raised high enough, ATK goes up.
Added Effect
If the weapon you're adding to your base weapon has the same added effect (STR, Poison, Critical, etc.) then that affect will go up by +1 for every 5 points on the weapon you're adding it from.
For example, if your base weapon has STR 15, and the weapon you add has STR 42. 42/5 = 8 (with a bit leftover), so the weapon you're adding will raise the STR effect by 8 points, for a new total of 23.
Transferring Effects
In order to transfer an effect from a new weapon onto your base weapon, these two things have to happen:
1. The effect on the new weapon must be 30 or higher.
2. You must have an empty slot on your base weapon, for the effect to transfer to.
Each weapon has four slots, so they can hold a total of four added effects.
Let's say your base weapon has STR 15, and SPD 10, followed by two empty slots. Now, let's say the new weapon you want to transfer has Critical 32, and all the other effects are below 30. Well, since you have two empty slots on your base weapon, you can transfer the Critical 32, no problem.
But what if the new weapon has Critical 32, HP 40, and Poison 39?
Your base weapon can only hold four effects, so the game will automatically choose the first two effects that are high enough to transfer. In this case, you'll transfer Critical 32 and HP 40.
But what if the weapon has Poison 39, HP 40, and Critical 32? Well, in this case, you won't be able to transfer the Critical 32, because it's in the third slot, and you only have two slots available.
In a situation like that, you could delete the SPD 10 from you base weapon, and then transfer all three effects - but then you'll be stuck with Poison, whether you want it or not. (If you don't mind having poison, then it's not a big deal, because you still get the Critical effect that you're really after.)
But - here's the deal - you can only transfer effects from left to right... And you can only delete effects from right to left...
So if you wind up with a weapon that has STR 15, Poison 39, HP 40, and Critical 32, and you decide later that you don't wont the poison effect, you'll have to delete the Critical, and then the HP, and then the Poison, leaving you with a weapon that only has STR 15 - and the effects you just deleted are gone for good.
So, sometimes you may want to pass on transferring an effect like Critical, if doing so will also stick you with another effect that you know you don't want.
The three most popular effects for any weapon are Critical, Brake, and Steal. (Well, not everyone recommends Steal, but if you want to get a ton of weapons to use in upgrading, then it's a must have.)
Critical is essential for defeating metal monsters, and Brake will increase your chances of getting a Limit Break (and multiple Limit Breaks in battle can typically destroy the enemy.)
Some other popular choices are HP Recovery, HP, STR, SPD, and VIT.
Swoon can also be fun to play with - but Swoon is not transferrable, so if you want this effect, you have to find a weapon that has it, and then keep that weapon until another weapon with Swoon also comes along, which can be a pain, but if you like using Swoon, I guess it's worth it.
Additional tips from Kiljaeden
- Plan your weapon upgrading early. Study the various possible effects and choose which ones you want long-term on your weapons, then make sure you don’t accidentally waste any weapons with those effects as fuel for weapon upgrading.
- Weapon abilities can only be transferred when their strength is at least 30, and only one from a weapon at a time, so if you’re growing some abilities on secondary weapons make sure the ability you want gets over 30 first to ensure you can transfer it.
- No matter which effects you choose, make sure Critical Hit (orange flower) is one of them. It will be vital for early level grinding against metal monsters. Brake (green fireball) is also one of the best transferrable ones by increasing the chance of Limit Breaks on skills and spells, and Steal (loot bag) can be a crucial source of more weapons for upgrading.
- When you get a weapon for a character that can Attack All with a normal attack, NEVER GET RID OF IT unless you find a stronger replacement with the same ability. It will be vital for early level grinding against metal monsters. You can easily swap them out for stronger weapons for general combat later
For more information on upgrading weapons, check the discussion topics in the forum.