Weapon and Item Upgrades — Fire Emblem: Three Houses Guide

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses, the effectiveness of your units is heavily reliant on the quality of their equipment. Weapon and item upgrades are crucial for maximizing damage output, improving defensive capabilities, and ensuring your army can overcome increasingly challenging foes. Investing time and resources into upgrading your gear is a vital part of your strategic planning.

Throughout your journey in Fódlan, you will acquire several weapons and items. While many are powerful on their own, their true potential is unlocked through upgrades. These upgrades can be performed at the Armor Shop in the Monastery or through specific workshop facilities in certain locations. Understanding the upgrade paths for different weapon types and the materials required is essential for optimizing your army's combat effectiveness and ensuring victory in every battle.

Weapon Upgrades

Weapons can be upgraded to improve their base stats, such as Might, Hit, and Crit. The upgrade process requires specific materials and a certain level of weapon proficiency.

Material Types:

Iron: Basic material for upgrading Iron weapons.
Steel: Used for upgrading Steel weapons and higher-tier Iron weapons.
Mithril: A rarer material used for upgrading Silver weapons and some unique weapons.
Orichalcum: An even rarer material, often required for the most powerful weapon upgrades.
Special Materials: Some unique weapons or legendary weapons may require specific, unique materials found through quests or defeating certain enemies.

Upgrade Process:

To upgrade a weapon, you will need to visit the Armor Shop in the Monastery. Select the weapon you wish to upgrade and ensure you have the necessary materials and the required weapon proficiency level. For example, upgrading an Iron Sword to a Steel Sword might require Steel Ingots and a C Rank in Swords.

Item Upgrades (Armor & Accessories)

While weapons are the primary focus of combat upgrades, armor and accessories can also be improved, though their upgrade paths are more limited.

Armor: Armor pieces generally cannot be upgraded in the same way as weapons. Their effectiveness is determined by their base stats and rarity. However, some unique armor pieces might have special properties or be part of specific character builds.
Accessories: Accessories like rings or talismans can provide passive stat boosts or special effects. These are typically found or earned and cannot be upgraded. Their value lies in their inherent properties.

Special Weapon Upgrades & Unique Weapons

Certain unique weapons, such as the Hero's Relics or the weapons wielded by the house leaders, have special upgrade paths or unique properties that cannot be replicated by standard weapons.

Hero's Relics: These legendary weapons often require specific materials or quests to unlock their full potential. For example, the Sword of the Creator can be upgraded through specific story progression and requires certain materials.
House Leader Weapons: Weapons like the Sword of Blazing Flames (Edelgard), the Lance of Assal (Dimitri), and the Bow of the Tempest (Claude) have unique upgrade paths tied to their respective story arcs.

Where to Find Materials

Materials for upgrades are primarily obtained through:

Battles: Looting defeated enemies or completing battle objectives.
Fishing: Certain rare fish can yield valuable crafting materials.
Workshop: Using the workshop in the Monastery to refine raw materials.
Merchant: Purchasing materials from traveling merchants or the shop in the Monastery.
Quests & Paralogues: Completing side quests and paralogues often rewards players with rare upgrade materials.

Strategic Importance

Prioritizing weapon upgrades for your strongest units or those who will be on the front lines is crucial. A fully upgraded Silver Sword can deal significantly more damage than a basic Iron Sword, and this difference can be the deciding factor in tough battles. Pay attention to the weapon requirements for advanced and master classes, as some may require specific upgraded weapons to certify.