Your starter weapons will carry you through the early islands without much trouble, but the moment you start running into tougher enemies, you'll feel the gap fast. Weapon upgrades in Windrose are how you close that gap, boosting damage, unlocking new abilities, and keeping your arsenal relevant as the game's difficulty climbs. The process itself is straightforward once you know where to go and what to bring.
Where to upgrade weapons in Windrose
All weapon upgrades run through the Weaponsmith Workshop. Interact with the crafting table inside, navigate to the Upgrade tab, select the weapon you want to improve, then hit Confirm. That's the full loop.
One thing the game doesn't spell out clearly: you can only complete upgrades when you're within range of a bonfire. If you're trying to upgrade out in the field and nothing is going through, that's why. Head back to your base.
info
Always store your upgrade materials at your base before heading out. You can only use them at the workshop anyway, and losing them to a death in the field wastes a lot of grinding.
Weaponsmith Workshop upgrade tab
What materials do you need to upgrade weapons?
The required materials vary by weapon, but two resource types show up constantly across upgrades.
- Rough Hides are the most common organic material needed. You get them by hunting boars, which are tougher than they look. Don't underestimate them.
- Ingots cover the mineral side. Copper and Iron ingots come from smelting, while Silver and Gold Ingots are harder to source and typically come from loot rather than crafting.
- Wood appears in lower-tier upgrade recipes alongside hides and basic ingots.
Basic weapons have low material requirements and are easy to push through a few upgrade tiers quickly. Higher-rarity weapons demand rarer components, and some of those components aren't available until you've upgraded the workshop itself.
Rough Hides from boar hunts
How do you upgrade the Weaponsmith Workshop?
The workshop has its own upgrade path, separate from your weapons. To push it to higher tiers, you'll need anvils and bellows. Upgrading the workshop is what unlocks access to high-tier weapon upgrades, so if you're hitting a wall on a higher-rarity weapon and the upgrade option isn't appearing, the workshop level is the bottleneck.
danger
Higher-rarity weapons are locked behind workshop tier requirements. Prioritize upgrading the workshop early so you don't fall behind when better weapons start dropping.
Do weapon upgrades increase damage?
Yes. Upgrading a weapon improves its stats directly, with damage being the primary gain. Some upgrades also unlock new abilities on the weapon, so the benefit isn't purely numerical. The exact gains depend on the weapon type and its rarity tier.
Can all weapons be upgraded?
Most weapons support upgrades, but the ceiling varies. A weapon's rarity determines how many upgrade tiers it can reach, and your workshop level sets the hard limit on what's accessible at any given time. Low-rarity weapons cap out earlier. High-rarity weapons like the Soul Eater Sword have more headroom but demand more from both your materials and your workshop.
warning
Don't pour rare materials like Gold Ingots into a low-rarity weapon you're planning to replace. Save those resources for weapons you intend to use long-term.
Tips for efficient weapon upgrading
- Farm boars consistently for Rough Hides since they're required at nearly every tier.
- Smelt Copper and Iron Ingots in bulk when you have ore stockpiled, rather than smelting on demand.
- Keep an eye on loot containers and enemy drops for Silver and Gold Ingots since they don't come from standard smelting.
- Upgrade your Weaponsmith Workshop as soon as you have the anvils and bellows, even if your current weapons don't need it yet. The workshop tier gates your future options.
- Stick to upgrading one or two weapons you actively use rather than spreading materials thin across your whole collection.
For more Windrose content and guides covering other games, browse the latest guides at GAMES.GG.