An anvil island is a choice, not a gift
At the end of an island you pick a reward. Picking the anvil portal means three anvils spawn, and you apply one enhancement to an Enhanceable weapon mod or ability mod. That is the entire transaction — one pick, one mod.
Two rules shape every decision after that:
- An enhancement only goes onto a mod tagged Enhanceable.
- Each mod can only be enhanced 8 times. Those eight slots are finite, and a common enhancement in slot 6 competes with a legendary in slot 8.
That cap is why anvil choices are not “take the best card”. They are a budget.
Enhancement rarity and how often each shows up
Spawn weights from the wiki:
| Rarity | Weight | What it usually gives |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 1.0 | +50% damage with a movement or element twist |
| Epic | 0.5 | +100% damage, extra projectile, radius, targeting |
| Legendary | 0.25 | extra projectiles, homing, spawn-on-expire |
| Greed | not published | +250% damage that can also hurt you |
Notice the shape: commons are four times as likely as legendaries. A run that only ever sees commons is not unlucky; it is the expected distribution. Plan the eight slots accordingly rather than assuming a legendary will show up to rescue the build.
All 26 enhancements
Common (16)
| Enhancement | Effect |
|---|---|
| Accelerating | +50% damage, starts slow and ramps up |
| Arcanifying | applies 50 arcane stacks on damage |
| Bouncing | +3 bounces, +100% damage after each bounce |
| Chipping | +50% damage, dealt over time |
| Electrifying | applies 50 lightning stacks on damage |
| Flaming | applies 50 fire stacks on damage |
| Freezing | applies 50 ice stacks on damage |
| Growing | +50% size and damage, −20% speed |
| Orbiting | +50% damage, projectile orbits the spawn point |
| Persisting | +75% projectile lifetime |
| Returning | +50% damage, flies back to spawn after a delay |
| Snaking | +50% damage, snakelike path |
| Spiraling | +50% damage, spiral path |
| Sticky | +50% damage, sticks to enemies |
| Toxifying | applies 50 poison stacks on damage |
| Zigging | +50% damage, zig-zag path |
Epic (5)
| Enhancement | Effect |
|---|---|
| Booming | +200% damage radius |
| Damaging | +100% damage |
| Doubling | fires an extra projectile |
| Targeting | copies of the projectile target nearby enemies on impact |
| Splitting | splits into 2 smaller projectiles in the air |
Legendary (5)
| Enhancement | Effect |
|---|---|
| Expanding | spawns a circle of projectiles when expiring |
| Homing | homes to nearby enemies |
| Scattering | scatters into 2 smaller projectiles on impact |
| Splitting | splits into 2 smaller projectiles in the air |
| Tripling | fires an extra 2 projectiles |
Greed (1)
| Enhancement | Effect |
|---|---|
| Endangering | +250% damage, but it can also hurt you |
The count works out to 26 unique: 16 + 5 + 5 + 1, with Splitting appearing in both the epic and legendary sections of the wiki, which is why a raw section count reads 27.
The two relics that change an anvil
- Blacksmith Amulet — the number of anvil choices rises from 3 to 5. Strictly more information per anvil island, which matters most when you are hunting one specific legendary.
- Blacksmith Ring — you get to choose 2 enhancements on anvil islands. This is the stronger of the two for a finished build: it doubles the value of every anvil island instead of just widening the menu.
If you are offered both, the Ring is usually the pick. Two compelled picks beat two extra options when the option pool is as flat as 16 commons to 5 legendaries.
Totems: the other enhancement route
Anvils are not the only source. An enhancement totem can spawn at the shop island, near Tony’s health garden, and does the same job. That makes the shop island worth a walk-around even when you have already decided what to buy — the totem is a free enhancement that has nothing to do with the anvil portal you passed up.
Practical anvil rules
- Open the good mod’s slots early. Enhancement is per mod, so a mod you keep all run should get its eight slots filled before you spread picks across three weapons.
- Take Doubling or Tripling over any common. Extra projectiles change the damage maths; +50% damage on a projectile that misses does not.
- Do not take Endangering in a melee build. +250% damage that can hurt you is a real cost, and it is not worth it on a weapon whose projectiles spawn at your feet.
- In co-op, everyone carries an enhanceable mod. Otherwise the anvil reward converts to a Random Chest for the players who do not.
Related guides
- Weapon tier list — which weapons are worth spending eight enhancement slots on.
- Build guide — mod and perk combinations that scale with enhancements.
- Account rank guide — track which weapons you are actually committing to.
- Achievements guide — Solid Gold wants 20 legendary weapon mod slots filled.