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.
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.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| Health Reward | +20 Base Health. Heals by 100%. |
| Adaptability | +1% Critical Chance per enemy hit, resets on Critical Hit. |
| Adhesive Snare | +20% chance to spawn an Adhesive Snare on kill with 99% Slowdown. |
| Adrenaline Charger | Getting hit reduces active cooldowns by +10%. |
| Backburner | When Class Ability is on cooldown, Pickaxe Damage and Power Attack recharge rate increase by +20%. |
| Burning Exposure | +30% Weakpoint Damage to burning enemies, radiates as Fire Damage in a 2m radius. |
| Combo Strike | Dealing Melee damage recharges Power Attack by +25%. |
| Cool Precision | Weakpoint hits reduce ability and power attack cooldowns by +10% of damage dealt. |
| Critical Strike | Critical Melee Hits damage all enemies within +4 meters of the target. |
| Critical Recharge | Critical Hits reduce active ability and power attack cooldowns by +10% of damage dealt. |
| Fire Leech | Ability and Power Attack Recharge Rate increases by +20% per burning enemy within 10m. |
| Fish In a Barrel | +25% damage against stunned targets. |
| Frost Harvest | Killing medium or large frozen targets gives +3 Stone Skin. Critical kills triple it. |
| Hemoforge | Below 50% Max Health, killing an enemy drops +1 Red Sugar. |
| Magic Missiles | +10% chance to shoot a magic missile when firing your weapon. |
| Marksman's Loop | Two consecutive weakpoint hits load +1 ammo into the magazine. |
| Mercy Trigger | +50% Weakpoint Damage to enemies below 50% health. |
| Nerves of Steel | Standing still reduces Spread by +30%. |
| Pelter | +35% Magazine Size. |
| Poison Extraction | Poisoned enemies within +5m restore 1 Health per enemy when they take damage. |
| Subzero Rage | +10% melee damage per frozen enemy within 5m. |
| Suppressing Fire | Damaging an enemy applies +1 stack of +2% Slowdown for 10s, up to 45 stacks. |
| Ticking Bomb | +200 Explosive Damage in a 5m radius after suffering 50 damage total. |
| Vampire | Heal +7 Health on Melee Kill of medium-sized or larger creatures. |
Uncommon upgrades
Uncommon upgrades start introducing more conditional power. Several of these pair well with elemental builds.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| Arc Lunge | Hitting electrified targets with Melee drains electricity and sends arcs to enemies within +3m. |
| Armor Boost | +12 Armor. |
| BOOM! You're Dead! | Killing enemies makes them explode for Explosive Damage equal to kill damage in a +1.5m radius. |
| Crippling Strike | Melee attacks stun enemies for +1.5s. |
| Critical Hit Chance | +4% Critical Chance. |
| Flux Conduit | +1% Ability Recharge Rate per unit of Armor missing. |
| Reloading Trick | First +1 shots in magazine have 100% Critical Chance. |
| Repositioning | 45% Movement Speed for +2s on reload. |
| Sharpshooter | +50% Weakpoint Damage to targets more than 10m away. |
| Spore Release | Killing poisoned targets leaves a poison cloud for +5s dealing 50 Poison damage per second. |
| Steadfast Surge | Standing still increases ability and power attack recharge rate by +200%. |
| Stunning Recharge | Stunning an enemy reduces ability and power attack cooldowns by +20%. |
| Sweet Surrender | 25% chance for medium or larger enemies to drop +1 Red Sugar (10 HP) on death. |
| Ticking Bomb | +300 Explosive Damage in a 5m radius after suffering 50 damage total. |
| Volatile Combustion | Killing a burning enemy deals +150 Fire Damage within a 3m radius. |
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.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armor Boost | +18 Armor. |
| Armor Charger | +1% Electricity per armor active. |
| Better Red Sugar | +75% Health from Red Sugar. |
| Brittle | Frozen non-boss enemies have (100 minus remaining health)% chance to shatter on hit. +50 base chance per additional upgrade. |
| Bolt Dash | Sprinting into enemies deals +50 Electricity damage, scaling with velocity. |
| Cold Blood | Taking damage transfers +20 Cold Damage to nearby enemies. |
| Critical Hit Chance | +7% Critical Chance. |
| Critical Burn | Critical hits get +50% Heat. |
| Defibrillation | Revive other players +50% faster. |
| Duck and Weave | +15% Dodge Chance when sprinting. |
| Hot Feet | Spawn flames while moving. Flames last +2s and deal 7-28 Fire Damage per second with 10% slowdown. |
| Magazine-Routed Heat | +1% Heat per 1% ammo missing from magazine. |
| Provoking | Above 25% health, attract +30% enemy aggro. |
| Oozing Arsenal | Reloading or overheating emits a toxic pulse in a +4m radius based on ammo spent or heat built up. |
| Poison Aura | Spawn poison clouds while moving. Clouds last +2s and deal 50 Poison Damage per second with 30% Slowdown. |
| Snapfire Extraction | Two consecutive weakpoint hits on the same target drop +1 Red Sugar (20 HP). 0.5s cooldown. |
| Ticking Bomb | +500 Explosive Damage in a 5m radius after suffering 50 damage total. |
| Wayward Sparks | While armor is active, auto-fire +1 homing bolt dealing 20 Electricity Damage. Rate scales per % of armor active. |
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.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| 8-FF Booster | When an ally is within +5m, you both recover 1 Armor every second. |
| Ability Booster | Using your class ability within +10m of allies reduces yours and theirs active cooldowns by 25%. |
| Air Jump | +1 Jump while Airborne. |
| Armor Boost | +24 Armor. |
| Better Red Sugar | Gain 100% Health from Red Sugar. |
| Blood Rush | +3% Damage per 10% current Health. |
| Cooling Unit | +2 Cold Damage per second to enemies within 4m for every 10% Armor active. |
| Critical Hit Chance | +10% Critical Chance. |
| Critical Shot | Weakpoint hits get +30% Critical Chance. |
| Cryo Drain | Frozen enemies within 5m take +10 Damage per second and recover your Armor by 1. |
| Damage Dam | Taking Health damage gives 100% damage reduction for +1s. |
| Decoy | When health drops below 25%, spawn +1 decoy. |
| Defensive Fighting | Dealing Melee Damage makes you invincible for +2s. 3-second cooldown. |
| Exposing Shot | Critical hits make the target take 2x damage for +1 second. |
| Gun-Link | Within 5m of another player, you both deal +33% Damage. |
| Magazine Overdrive | Every 1% ammo missing in magazine adds +1% damage. |
| Magnetic Propulsion | +5% Sprinting Speed and 2% less gravity per 10% active Armor. |
| Precision Regen | Recover +5 Armor when scoring two consecutive weakpoint hits. |
| Shock Charger | Within +3m of electrified enemies, regenerate 1 Armor per enemy every second. |
| Warden | Within 5m of an ally below 25% health, you both heal +3% max Health every second. |
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.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armor Battery | Below 20% Armor, restore +1 Armor every second when not taking damage for 3 seconds. |
| Armor Boot | +30 Armor. |
| Better Red Sugar | Gain 150% Health from Red Sugar. |
| Bio Energy | Convert 1% of target max health into ammo on kill. |
| Bio Charge | Killing an enemy refills your armor by 2. |
| Critical Hit Chance | +15% Critical Chance. |
| Exposing Strike | Dealing melee damage makes the target take 200% Damage for +3s. |
| Immunity Buffer | 2 seconds of immunity after using your suit ability. Each hit received during immunity recovers +5 Armor. |
| In The Zone | +25% Crit Chance and Crit Damage for 5 seconds after scoring a Critical Hit. |
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.
| Upgrade | Effect |
|---|---|
| Adrenaline Booster | +100% damage when below 20% health. |
| Bastion | +50% damage and +50% Damage Reduction while standing still. |
| Brawler | +250% Power Attack Recharge Speed. Melee Damage awards 2-18 Stone Skin based on damage dealt. |
| Caching | +100% overkill damage transferred to the next damage you deal. |
| Ceramic Defence | +40% Damage Reduction, minus 1% per percent of missing Health. |
| Critical Dodge | +10% Critical Hit Chance. 50% of Critical Hit Chance added as Dodge Chance. |
| Combat-Ready | On wave spawn: +99 Stoneskin and +25% Damage, Fire Rate, Reload Speed, Cooling Rate, and Interaction Speed for 30 seconds. |
| CQC Protocol | +1% melee damage per 1% Max Ammo missing per weapon. |
| Elementalist | Every reload or overheat imbues the weapon with a random +50% elemental bonus. |
| Extreme Vigor | +50 Health Regeneration Threshold, -2s Health Regeneration Delay, +1000% Health Regeneration Rate. |
| Fountain of Youth | Recovers +1 HP every 2s. |
| Frenzy | Killing targets adds +20% Damage Dealt. |
| Frontline Medic | When everyone else is down, +50% revive speed and +99 Stoneskin. 5-minute cooldown. |
| Glass Cannon | +150% Damage. Reduces Max Health by -90%. |
| Heavy Landing | Landing deals area damage instead of taking fall damage. Scales with landing force. |
| Lightweight | +55% Movement Speed. -10 Movement Speed per piece of Gear carried. |
| Pro | +10% Reload Speed, +5% Crit Chance, +10% Max Health, +10% Sprint Speed. |
| Rampage | +1% Damage per kill. Getting hit reduces the bonus by 5%. |
| Safety First | +50% Max Health. |
| Sniper's Mark | Weakpoint hit at 12+ meters grants 100% Critical Chance against that target for 5 seconds. |
| Symbiotic | Within 10m of an ally, both of your Damage Resistances increase by 15%. |
| Super Strapped | +100% Max Ammo, +100% Max Grenade Count, -10% Movement Speed. |
| Tarred Hands | +50% Reload Speed. |
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.
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.
