Final Fantasy XIII: Upgrading Weapons

The upgrade system in Final Fantasy XIII is all about trail and error. It takes a while of wasting money and working out what you need to keep and what needs dismissing. Here’s a small guide that will help not only power level your current weapons but also evolve them into shiny new ones. Check out the guide after the jump.

You won’t need to mess about with the weapon upgrade system until much later in the game. Until the Creature Comforts and Lenora’s Garage stores unlock on the save point, you will be pumping all sorts of components into weapons. Components you could be selling for cold, hard cash.

Kain's Lance is one of Fang's best weapons.

Most of the balanced, high-level weapons are picked up from the Gilgamesh, Inc. store much later in the game. So just concentrate on the ones you have for now.

Now follow the steps below;

1. Vibrant Ooze is great for gaining a x3 multiplier so pick up as many of these as you can from Creature Comforts.
2. Then head into the Lenora’s Garage and pick up Perfect Conductors.
3. Head into the upgrade menu and pick the weapon of your choice.
4. Use Vibrant Ooze x36 on the weapon to gain a x3 multiplier.
5. Then use Perfect Conductors. Try to put just under 50,000 worth of EXP into the first stage of the weapon.
6. Keep using smaller increments of the Perfect Conductor until the weapon levels to ★.
7. At ★ level, you will need a transformation catalyst to evolve the weapon. The Motherload store sells these.

Rinse and repeat. A second level weapon will require an estimated 450,000 EXP and a third level (ultimate level) will require around 1,500,000 EXP.

I’d wait until you have unlocked the R&D Depot store before levelling ultimate weapons. Once that store unlocks you can purchase Ultracompact Reactors which offer 40,000 EXP each compared to the Perfect Conductor’s 751. Ultracompact Reactors cost a whopping 50,000 each, meaning you won’t be picking these up until the end of the game.