Skill alone won't be enough to defeat the ever-increasing dangers in Lords of the Fallen. In order to beat the hordes of evil, players will need to arm themselves with weapons sharp enough to cut through the darkness itself.
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As with tradition in most Soulsike games, Lords of the Fallen features a weapon upgrading mechanic that makes even the shoddiest of gear effective in the later stages. This is a core mechanic that everyone will need to unlock if they wish to beat this game, though it is possible for this to be completely overlooked if players are rushing through the maps.
Upgrading Weapons in Lords of the Fallen
In order to upgrade their gear, players must first need to find the right NPC for the job. The NPC in question is Gerlinde the Blacksmith, who can be found relatively early on.
After beating Pieta and going through the game's hub area, players will eventually find themselves crossing the cliffs leading to Pilgrim's Perch. Navigate to the Vestige of Blind Agatha, head into the cave tunnels to reach the cliffside, and find the elevator leading back to the checkpoint.
From the elevator, players must then defeat the shield-bearing knight below the Vestige of Blind Agatha and grab the key it drops. Then, find Gerlinde in the same pit, exhaust her dialogue options, and finally give her the key. After that, players will then find her in Skyrest Bridge's smithy. Speak with her for any gear-related concerns.
To upgrade weapons, players will need to spend Vigor and Deralium, the size of which determines how much an item can be upgraded:
- Small Deralium Fragment: Up to +3
- Regular Deralium Nuggets: Up to +5
- Large Deralium Shards: Up to +9
- Deralium Chunk: Up to +10
Unlike other games in the sub-genre, boss weapons here do not require some sort of special upgrade material. They all use the same Deralium pieces listed above, though such weapons can only be upgraded to +5.
Armor sets in Lords of the Fallen cannot be upgraded, but shields can. Upgrading a shield will improve its defensive power against all damage. Just keep in mind that shields have varying base values — wooden bucklers won't have the same defensive capabilities as a metal tower shield, but it will be lighter in comparison, allowing for more agile movements.
Lords of the Fallen is available now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
