How to Upgrade Weapons in Enshrouded 1.0: Runes and Rarity

The one thing to understand first: rarity caps the ceiling, item level sets it

Enshrouded 1.0 has two separate caps that players routinely confuse.

• Your character stops at level 50.
• Fully upgraded gear reaches level 55.

Gear gets there through upgrade steps, and the number of steps you get is decided purely by rarity:

The trap is the second half of that. Upgrades add steps, they do not raise the base level. A Legendary you find at level 40 can only ever reach 45, because 40 + 5 = 45. You cannot force an item past the steps printed on its card.

So before you spend anything, hover the item and read its tooltip. It shows the current level — e.g. LEVEL 1/3 — the damage and enhancements locked behind each step, and the line “Upgrade at: Blacksmith”.

How to upgrade, step by step

1. Put the item in your backpack or on your action bar. The upgrade menu only lists items you are carrying.
2. Walk up to the right craftsperson and press E (“Talk & Craft”).
3. Choose “Craft – Upgrade”. It sits at the top of their dialogue list, above their quest lines.
4. In the crafting menu, switch to the ITEM UPGRADES tab (tab across with Q and E). The menu has four tabs: Blacksmith / Item Upgrades / Manual Crafting / Backpack.
5. Select the item. A NEXT: LEVEL 2 panel shows the changed damage, the enhancement being opened, and the Rune cost.
6. Press Unlock to buy that level.

Upgrades must be bought in sequence. You cannot skip to level 3 while level 2 is locked — the panel will say “Requires Previous Level.”

Which craftsperson upgrades what

The Item Upgrades tab only lists items that specific NPC can handle. If your weapon is missing from the list, you are at the wrong NPC.

If you are ever unsure, the item card names its craftsperson on the “Upgrade at:” line.

Note that 1.0 expanded upgrading to shields, armour and rings. Older guides written before 1.0 state that armour cannot be enhanced at all — that is no longer true, so do not let a pre-1.0 guide talk you out of upgrading your chest piece.

What upgrades actually cost

Rune costs scale with the item and with your world settings, so treat published numbers as examples, not prices.

Verified early-game examples:

A 46-Rune price on a starter sword is not a price for a level-50 Legendary. Do not budget from it.

Legendary Runes: read this before you spend

Legendary gear needs Legendary Runes for its later steps, on top of ordinary Runes.

Three things you need to know:

1. In 1.0 the requirement moved one step later. Legendary upgrades four and five are the ones that demand Legendary Runes — the earlier three are ordinary Runes only.
2. You can convert, but only after you have found some. The Blacksmith turns 25 ordinary Runes into 1 Legendary Rune, but the option only exists once you have obtained Legendary Runes before.
3. Legendary Runes are gone when spent. Unlike ordinary Runes, Legendary Runes put into equipment cannot be recovered by salvaging it.

That third point is the one that hurts. Ordinary Runes are at least partially recoverable if you change your mind. Legendary Runes are permanent. If you are still hunting for a level-50 drop, do not burn them on a level-47 placeholder.

Salvaging: how you fund all of this

Runes come from salvage, and salvage is simpler than the game implies.

• Right-click the weapon, shield, armour piece or ring in your inventory and select Salvage.
• You get a preview of the Rune yield before confirming.
• Rarer items return more Runes — Epic and Legendary are the best yields.

The Blacksmith mentions salvaging, which makes it sound like an NPC service. It is not — there is no salvage option at his station. Do it from your inventory anywhere.

It is worth storing Runes in a chest at your base so they are always on hand.

Legendary versus Epic: the choice that trips people up

Compare two copies of the same weapon family before you spend:

• A level-47 Legendary ends at 52 (one more enhancement slot).
• A level-50 Epic ends at 54 (higher finishing item level).

Which is better depends entirely on what the unlocked enhancements actually do for your build. The Legendary has an extra slot; the Epic finishes at a higher item level. Compare the actual damage and the unlocked effects, not the colour. Rarity is a step count, not a tier ranking.

What to upgrade first

For an endgame build:

1. One main damage source. Get your primary weapon to its ceiling first — that is where the biggest single damage gain is.
2. Then the armour or accessory whose upgrade supports your combat style. Melee players should look for block, critical-hit or Strength-linked perks; ranged players should check their bow and dagger bonuses.
3. Then gems. Gems add conditional bonuses — for example extra shock damage when you hit a soaked enemy — and they work alongside upgrades rather than instead of them. See best gems.

Do not upgrade something you are about to replace. And do not salvage a candidate weapon just because its rarity is lower — compare its starting level, its existing perks and its potential maximum first.

Common mistakes

• Upgrading a low-level base item. A level-40 Legendary is not a project. It will top out at 45.
• Going to the wrong NPC and concluding the item cannot be upgraded.
• Leaving the item in a chest. The upgrade tab only reads your backpack and action bar.
• Spending Legendary Runes early. They are unrecoverable.
• Trusting pre-1.0 guides that say armour cannot be enhanced.

Related guides

• Enshrouded Best Gems
• Enshrouded Best Melee Build
• Enshrouded Best Ranged Build
• Enshrouded Best Mage Build
• Enshrouded Common Mistakes