Expenite is the lifeblood of any successful run in Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core. You spend it on player upgrades that stack across your run, and the first one costs 120 Expenite with the price climbing from there. The pool of available upgrades is large, the rarities range from Common to Legendary plus a separate Artifact tier, and knowing what each one does before you commit your resources makes a real difference. This guide covers every upgrade currently in the game, organized by rarity, so you can make informed choices instead of guessing.
What is Expenite and how does the upgrade system work?
Expenite is a resource you farm during runs in Rogue Core. Spending it unlocks player upgrades that directly boost your combat performance for that run. The first upgrade costs 120 Expenite, and the cost increases with each subsequent purchase. Upgrades are drawn from a pool based on rarity, so what you see on any given run depends on luck as much as strategy. That makes knowing the full list valuable: you want to recognize a strong pick the moment it appears.
Upgrades are split into six tiers: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Artifacts. Artifacts sit in their own category and tend to carry the most dramatic effects, including some that fundamentally change how you play.
Some upgrades like Ticking Bomb appear at multiple rarities with escalating damage values (200 Explosive Damage at Common, 300 at Uncommon, 500 at Rare). If you see a higher-rarity version early, it is almost always worth taking.
All Expenite Upgrade list
Uncommon tier upgrade options
Common upgrades
Common upgrades form the foundation of most builds. They are reliable and easy to build around, even if they lack the raw power of higher tiers.
Uncommon upgrades
Uncommon upgrades start introducing more conditional power. Several of these pair well with elemental builds.
Rare upgrades
Rare upgrades are where builds start to feel distinct. Several of these reward specific playstyles hard, particularly armor-heavy or elemental-focused approaches.
Provoking pulls +30% more enemy aggro while you are above 25% health. Pair it with survivability upgrades or it will get you killed faster than it helps.
Epic upgrades
Epic upgrades lean heavily into co-op synergies and high-ceiling damage scaling. The co-op picks here are genuinely strong in group play.
Legendary upgrades
Legendary upgrades are the rarest standard tier and carry the biggest stat lines. Any of these that match your build should be taken immediately.
Artifacts
Artifacts are their own category and the most build-defining upgrades in the game. Some of them, like Glass Cannon (which adds +150% Damage but cuts Max Health by 90%), completely redefine how you have to play. Others like Combat-Ready give a 30-second window of +99 Stoneskin and +25% Damage, Fire Rate, Reload Speed, Cooling Rate, and Interaction Speed every time a wave spawns, which is one of the strongest timed buffs in the current version.
Glass Cannon is a run-ender if you take it without a clear plan. The 90% Max Health reduction means almost any hit can kill you. Only pick it if you have survivability Artifacts like Ceramic Defence or strong dodge upgrades already in place.
Which upgrades are worth prioritizing?
After running through the full list, a few patterns stand out. Crit-stacking builds have a lot of support across all rarities: Adaptability, Reloading Trick, Critical Shot, In The Zone, and Sniper's Mark all feed into each other. If you see two or three of these in the same run, lean into it.
Armor-based builds get serious mileage from Wayward Sparks, Cooling Unit, Magnetic Propulsion, and Immunity Buffer working together. The armor upgrades at each rarity tier (Armor Boost Common through Legendary) give you a consistent floor to build on.
Melee builds have dedicated support through Combo Strike, Critical Strike, Vampire, Brawler, Exposing Strike, and Defensive Fighting. The 2-second invincibility window from Defensive Fighting is particularly strong since it has only a 3-second cooldown.
Expenite upgrade selection screen
For players still learning the progression systems, unlocking access to more upgrade options is tied to broader run progression. Our guide on how to unlock Security Override Alpha covers the Clearance Level requirements that gate some of those options. You can also strengthen your build further by understanding class modifiers, which our Bio-Booster hacking guide walks through in detail.
Rogue Core is currently in early access. The upgrade pool will expand with future patches, so some options listed here may be adjusted or new ones may be added. This list reflects the version available as of May 2026.
For more tips across every system in the game, the full Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core guide collection has everything you need to get deeper into your runs.