Avowed is surprisingly challenging even right at the beginning, and if you don't take time to upgrade your weapons and armour you're going to get stuck looking at a quest log full of skulls warning you that you're under-geared. It’s a never-ending process of gathering crafting and upgrade materials before returning to camp and enhancing whatever you can afford to.
There are several quality tiers of gear and materials with quality tied to your progression through the story. Honestly, you’ll never quite get ahead of the curve so get used to upgrading your gear often. Knowing how it all works will save you from wasting your time scavenging for equipment or feeling eternally under-levelled. I also recommend you take a look at the best weapons to save you from heartbreak after you inevitably sink your resources into less-than-stellar equipment.
How to upgrade weapons and armour
Weapons and armour can be upgraded at the workbench whenever you set up camp, where you'll use materials you've gathered to improve stats for each piece. Every three upgrades will bump up your gear’s quality through five tiers: common, fine, exceptional, superb, and legendary.
As you upgrade your equipment you’ll need more materials for each successive upgrade so plan ahead and think about what you actually want upgraded most before you've suddenly spent all your adra.
You can also enchant unique weapons, which will improve or change their power. If you’re picking up all the plants and monster parts you come across while exploring, it’s a really cheap and quick way to gain a little more power.
How to get upgrade materials
Upgrade materials are found just about anywhere, from plants in your surroundings to metal and fabric off the bodies of your enemies. You can also purchase materials from merchants, too, though each vendor’s stock is different.
Most importantly, materials also have a quality rating corresponding to an upgrade quality. For example, iron is a Common metal used to upgrade Common items, while Steel is a Fine metal used to upgrade Fine items. Higher-quality materials are unlocked as you reach new regions, though you can also use lower-tier supplies to create better ones via a camp workbench.
Generally, you’ll find:
- Common upgrade materials in Dawnshore
- Fine and Exceptional upgrade materials in Emerald Stair
- Exceptional and Superb upgrade materials in Scatterscarp
- Superb upgrade materials in Galawain’s Tusks
This means you need to progress through the main story to fully upgrade your weapons and armour. While this more linear progression is frustrating at times, it ensures combat is always a challenge and that you’re finding and spending your resources constantly.
