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Not even Kratos can defeat the threats that face him with inferior gear. In God of War Ragnarok, you’ll earn a steady trickle of supplies as you explore the nine realms — materials, ingredients, and cash. All of these resources can be spent at the Blacksmith to purchase upgrades. And there are so many upgrades to purchase. Kratos and his companions can increase their gear to Level 9 in God of War Ragnarok. That’s multiple levels higher than you could ever reach in God of War (2018). Upgrading is even more important here, and you can literally upgrade everything, not just your armor and weapons.
One of the best ways to earn resources for upgrades is through side-quests. They’re called “Favors” here and they’re just as impactful as the main story. Each weapon and armor set has unique materials associated with the weapon, and you’ll find more by defeating powerful opponents. Optional named enemies, Draugr Holes and Yggdrasil Rifts are the most likely places you’ll find additional weapon upgrades, and they’re all almost always found in open-world areas. Make sure to explore these areas thoroughly as they unlock!
How To Upgrade | Weapons, Armor, Amulet Enchantments, Attachments
Upgrading is done through the Blacksmith — you’ll find Brok and Sindri in every major hub area, and they’ll often pop-up while traversing story locations. You’ll want to visit them often, because they allow you to upgrade equipment. By trading rare collectibles, materials, and more you can upgrade almost every piece of gear in Kratos’s possession.
- How Upgrading Works: To upgrade, visit the Blacksmith and press [Circle] to open the equipment menu. There are four tabs — Weapons, Armor, Special Items & Sell.
- Press [L2 / R2] to switch tabs. You’ll mostly be using Weapons and Armor tabs. By default, you’ll start at the Weapons tab.
- Select the weapon or armor you want to upgrade. You’ll need to select the type, then select the gear you want to upgrade.
- With the gear highlighted, press [L2 / R2] to select the level you want to upgrade to. If you have enough resources, hold down the [Square] button to purchase the upgrade.
Different equipment has different requirements. Below, we’ll break down what items are required for each type of upgrade. There are many, many different types of gear — some require materials that seemingly drop randomly, while others require collectibles that only appear in certain activities.
What You Need To Upgrade Every Type Of Gear
Depending on the gear, you’ll need random resources dropped by enemies or found in small chests, or you’ll need unique collectibles or key items. Below we’ll break down what each type of gear needs.
- Leviathan Axe: Requires Frozen Flame collectibles to upgrade.
- Blades of Chaos: Requires Chaos Flame collectibles to upgrade.
- Weapon Attachments: Require Hacksilver and crafting materials.
- Shields: Requires Hacksilver and crafting materials.
- Shield Attachments: Requires Hacksilver and crafting materials.
- Sword (Companion Weapon): Requires Folkvangr Whestone collectibles to upgrade.
- Chest, Waist & Wrist Armor: Requires Hacksilver and crafting materials.
- Amulet: Requires Jewel of Yggdrasil collectibles to upgrade.
- Enchantments & Relics: Can’t be upgraded.
- Accessories: Requires Beast Scraps & Beast Bones.
Gear that requires collectibles are exceedingly rare — and the most powerful gear. You won’t be able to level up these gear pieces through grinding. Only by hunting down named enemies, completing combat challenges, and exploring open-world locations will you be able to upgrade weapons and amulets further.