Final Fantasy XIII Upgrading Weapons Simple Guide

[@FlippingDrachmas819]

Still being helpful 7 years later lol. I'm on my second play though and never understood this system until now.

[@danjemison4695]

I feel ya.

[@thedylanshow1]

Same here! Second playthrough after... 13 years?! Wow. Great game!

[@RedLordGaming_FGE]

Same 3rd run for me

[@norscout3031]

This is a good video

[@Nosimi]

Awesome and simple explainer video from 11 years ago! That is amazing! Thank you!

[@JulesTrades]

you're so welcome!

[@cubethepixel3025]

Still helpful 11 years later in 2024. GG mate thanks

[@damianmartinribola1417]

8 years later .. man thanks for the guide xD

[@xAngoryx]

Yep

[@Hitokiiry]

Absolute quality. no useless loud introductions, straight to the point, understandable english and good volume. Breath of fresh air amids the gunk that youtube has become :D

[@JulesTrades]

You're so very welcome! That was my entire purpose for making this :)

[@colin419]

Thanks very much for your clear & informative guide, I was struggling to upgrade my gear, I'm kind of new to Final Fantasy & feel a bit overwhelmed lol. But cheers for your help mate.

[@JulesTrades]

colin419 I'm glad you found it helpful! Enjoy :)

[@sykotek]

finished this when FF13 first came out and hadn't played since. I managed to buy this game for cheap on steam and had forgotten how to upgrade items lol thanks for the clear and short tutorial about this

[@Enfenit]

very helpful straight to the point, haven't played this game in about 5 or 6 months and this was a perfect refresh for me thank you very much!

[@cole9693]

Thanks man when I had this as a kid(15) I didn't know what the heck I was doing waste of items and grinding, bought it back and found your video thanks!! (19) now

[@lwvmobile]

I think I learned more in this 6 minute video than I have from trying to read through tons and tons of GameFaqs trying to get a real simple explanation of the easiest way to upgrade weapons. Square Enix didn't do a good job at all of explaining it in game. Actually, I'm on chapter 9, first time playing through it in about 10 years, and back then I had no idea, I just struggled the entire game until I finally beat it. Now at least I have some idea of what to do. Thanks.

[@JulesTrades]

no after you have x3, it doesn't matter how much you use of an item, However much you need. I posted a link in my description to show you the max exp for each item and their tiers :p When I was at that point in the game, I was only upgrading lightning's weapon, that's it. and some Accessories.

[@Vamps-94]

I'm on ch9 and I've upgraded only weapons to level 9, that are: Gladius, airwing, bladed Lance, Vega 42s, binding rod will that be ok or should I upgrade some other weapons/accessories? I don't know what to upgrade anymore, ever since I looked up online and found others upgrading different weapons from mine lol

[@danjemison4695]

Long time FF player. When it was FF3 on super nintendo, (6 in Japan). I stared this game in 2019 and stopped playing because of ch 8. I started the game over this week and this guide is very most appreciated. I also need to make sure I get haste and weaken this time around.

[@JulesTrades]

FF6 is my all time favorite!! I'm glad I could help another long time FF fan :) Enjoy!

[@jholland960]

thank you ive played through most of the game not upgrading anything (chapter 12) this is the only clear guide ive found...THANK YOU!

[@JulesTrades]

J Holland You're so welcome! glad I was able to actually be helpful. I'm studying to become a science teacher now.

[@JulesTrades]

ah okay, yeah I'm still working on getting the trapehedron mineral to upgrade it, but this was a guide I used. I just posted a link in the description that can help you out, to know when all the weapons max out and how powerful they will become!

[@thedylanshow1]

Thank you! Still helpful in 2022! Great video Jules Trades, question for you or anyone here, is it a bad idea to level up early game weapons? What are your thoughts on dismantling weapons? For example, I was upgrading Sazh's first weapon a lot, then I got his next one that sustains stagger, so I dismantled his weapon, but got like two things from it, (I think they may have been stones?). Anyways, thoughts on this please anyone? Thank you!!!

[@bryansuminski7543]

I think the biggest thing you're really looking 4 is the ability on the weapon but anyone is viable because they all have the final evolution as the characters ultimate weapon. And I think there's a loop where you upgrade one of Fangs weapons to the max just to disassemble it for the materials it gives to sell.

[@thedylanshow1]

@@bryansuminski7543 Thanks so much Bryan! Super helpful tips.

[@DannyeXceeds]

Normal don’t bother commenting on these but this was such a help! 3rd time playing the game through & I wanted to truly understand how to play it correctly. Thank you!

[@jerrysvensson8792]

I'm up to 32 hours of playtime and now feel like I need to start over.. My charactars could have been like 3 times stronger if I had know this stuf from the start 😂😂😂

[@djinnhaven3197]

8 years later, thnx my man, awesome guide

[@dabestgamer]

I appreciate the simple guide you posted here. Because my old PS3 YLOD'd, I actually want to play XIII and XIII-2 before I touch LR so I can have completed saves on my new PS3. (Didn't have PSN+ at the time.) And... for once, I want to actually playthrough with upgraded weapons. XD But I forgot how to do it so I went searching and found this. Thank you very much for the video.

[@JulesTrades]

:D Your comment made me smile so much! You're very welcome!! I'll be doing the same thing for everything in LR. so if you like my style, maybe subscribe for when you're ready for LR c: so glad it was helpful!

[@JulesTrades]

The Dark matter is for upgrading to the final version of accessories making them the most powerful they can be. Adamantite is for specific weapons for each character. It transforms them from the 1st form to the 2nd. Everyone uses Trapezohedron to make the final version of their weapon.

[@giogiorno2]

Thank you so much! I bought the game this week because I consider it a classic and this video helped me understand waaaay easier than other tutorials

[@SphericalChild]

Thanks Dude - I'm actually playing with the Strategy guide but the guide over flowed my brain with so much information I couldn't take in anymore - Lol.

[@JulesTrades]

+SphericalChild hahaha hey I completely understand that, I'm glad my video was able to help you out :)

[@Lexynad]

the best ffxiii weapon upgrading guide in youtube so far, u r awesome man! *brofist* btw, may i ask u a question? when it's comes to exp bonus : x3, will the next upgrade multiplied by 3? i tried it over and over again, it doesnt give me any multiplier :( even it's x3 bonus available, is there any mistake i made, maybe?

[@JulesTrades]

JeffryCruey Brofist! Thank you so much.Well it usually just multiplies by x3 once, then after that, the number should go down.Remember to check if you're using an organic item or mechanical. I don't think you're making any mistakes, maybe just not realizing something.

[@Lexynad]

yeah, i tried ur step very very carefully, and it's isnt working on me. so this is my step: 1. buy 36 sturdy bones, 2. upgrade it to my power wristband lv 1 & it's level up, then it tell me the next upgrades will be 200% 3. upgrade it with mechanical material(it's called superconductor), kaboom! it still gives me the same amount T^T, is there any mistakes? :( or sud i buy the materials from the store? without upgrading the weapon the game goes hard~ btw, im playing on chapter 9 and pc version. i think there's no change with the game mechanic tho. thanks !

[@JulesTrades]

JeffryCruey way you can test it out, make sure the exp boost is set to 1x.then confirm on the super conductor, once. but not twice, to see how much it will give. Then get it to 200% and do the same. The number should be bigger. You're doing everything right, maybe not seeing. it should be working.

[@scab268]

JeffryCruey maybe its because the pc version is a shitty port

[@TrixyKitsurashi]

This helped so much. this was the only thing left in the game I had to do. I already five stared all the marks, maxed the crystriums. But I was struggling with this. now I can finally do some weapon and accessory upgrading.

[@frustwisted]

After reading guides and still somewhat clueless, thanks for explaining this really well!

[@NotMinute]

Super helpful 9 years later. I wish I watched this 30 hours ago

[@JulesTrades]

I'm glad it was still helpful to you!! Even 9 years later, makes me really happy :)

[@azuraflame1]

don't know if you're still around but thanks for this info my dude. decided to go back to this game 9 years after beating it the first time. all i remember of my first playthrough is that i didn't know what i was doing ever. even during the last boss fight. see all this now that im an adult i wonder how i ever managed it.

[@Sonic090100]

Great Video man never fully understood all of this until now. xD Thanks!!!

[@JulesTrades]

Thank you! Yeah I used to be really confused about it until I did research, but even that was complicated. Glad it was helpful!

[@RedLordGaming_FGE]

Found out it was on Gamepass yesterday. One of my favorite in the series next to 12. Thank you!

[@ShoegazeSage]

Thanks dude! I've never really bothered with upgrading much until now and I've had the game for about 5 years now lol.

[@davidnevins5548]

Just started playing this on Xbox Game Pass, really quick and useful guide. Thank you!

[@DarkWorldQ8]

Thank you for the helpful video. I'm replaying this in 2022 and I've completely forgot how the upgrade system works.

[@Dubie2121]

So I've looked at weapon guides and it seems everyone's weapons upgrade to a single third form. Does the weapon you started with do anything to determine the stats of the third? For example if I level the Axis blade as compared to the Blazefire Sabre.

[@JulesTrades]

Yes actually Your starting weapon governs what the end game stats will look like if you continue upgrading it. Some of the guides online can show you the end path of each weapon. Usually the first starting weapon has no negative stats added, just decent positives. but others will lower defense/HP greatly, but have an insane attack boost. or vice-versa. So find a list of the weapon tree and decide now, before you start upgrading any level 1 forms of your weapons. so you can focus all your resources on it.

[@pittepatte]

THanks for this. Lol 11 years later

[@JiveTurkey051983]

Thanks for this. The other ones I watched only used end items to try to explain and I don't have that kind of money but need to work more on upgrading my weapons and accessories

[@RenanXLS]

Bro thank you for that! Helped me a lot! Simple and straight to the point.

[@JulesTrades]

you're very welcome!

[@davehead4real]

Ok cool. Thx! I shiuld just upgrade silver bangle right now I guess. On a personal note, which weapon did u stick with to upgrade for lightning? I have a hard time deciding on which weapons I want to upgrade for esch character. I even looked at the weapons guide too but too hard to decide. Lol

[@JulesTrades]

I personally upgraded her first weapon since it had no negative consequences. I believe it's the flame berge? basically the first one because I don't like sacrificing strength, for defense or strength for atb speed

[@fiveaeonspast]

Thanks! I reached level 13 without upgrading a single thing because I didn't understand anything but now I know thanks to your video!

[@Bradley_Lute]

Oh man, 25 hours in and I was doing that all wrong! Good thing I didn't waste all my items. Thanks for the vid.

[@elementocultural]

Very clear and straight guide. It helped a lot. Thanks!

[@JulesTrades]

That was my intention! thank you for the comment :)

[@JulesTrades]

you're so welcome! I'm really glad this is still able to help people :)

[@wiensandy]

Thank you so much for this video. Finally I understood how I can upgrade my weapons and accessoires!

[@tonya3144]

Good guide. Thanks. What equipment and accessories would you recommend to upgrade?

[@JulesTrades]

Tony A For Lightning I went for the Flameberge, and maxed it out, but it's all actually a matter of preference. with the weapons, some of them get faster ATB and weaker damage or vice versa, it's all a matter of what effect you're looking for and your style of play.For accessories I go to HP ones, or really useful ones that resist all elements.

[@TheFreelancer2236]

Now I understand. I've been wasting a lot of items for nothing. Thanks a bunch, this is much easier.

[@tootr]

Thanks a lot for this simple and short guide. Playing for the first time on the xbox one x - and loving it - a 10 yr old game seems ageless. So it doesn't really matter what items from the inventory I use to upgrade accessories? As long as I follow the organic then electronic sequence to max out the x3 bonus? cheers

[@colincaulfield1527]

This is a great video and your voice rly suits tutorials! Thanks

[@JulesTrades]

+Colin Caulfield Why thank you very much! you're welcome!

[@ZnaciJaSam]

Very good guide it explains and brings closer everything in perspective 👍

[@christesterman]

I've been on wiki's all over the place and on some really popular tube channels you my friend are the only one that speaks English now I get it and I can play this game as it was meant to be played damn FF for messing this weapon/armor system thing up.

[@Attackonjon_]

Perfect setup for fast, easy upgrade. 36x Sturdy Bones for a 3x EXP multiplier (200% bonus) and any amount of Perfect Conductors or Particle Accelerators.

[@Tulizx]

Just started playing ff13 for the PC, thanks for the guide.

[@NintendoBlurb]

This was a lot of help thanks! The in game tutorial gave very little information and all the web pages I found on it were very complicated. My question is how do you tell what stats are going to be raised? Do certain items change the stat increase or does each individual weapon have a set stat increase?

[@NintendoBlurb]

Also how do I tell the difference between items that are for selling and items that are for upgrading?

[@JulesTrades]

You're welcome! Each weapon has it's own stat increases regardless of what you do. I guess one way you can tell, is upgrading a weapon once, and see what stats change. If you upgrade again, it's likely to follow that trend in a more extreme fashion. But there is no true way in the game or instruction manual to know exactly what the stat changes will be. This is something that makes little sense to me, but I guess that's just how the game is. So you're best off, looking up a chart online. Most of the weapons follow the same trend though, for example, everyone's FIRST weapon will upgrade the same way. (have the same stat changes) that's the only I guess "real" way you could know. I hope this helped.

[@JulesTrades]

NintendoBlurb Items for sale, if you hover over them, you'll see something scrolling by. a quick item description. but only in a store. If you go to a shop, go to sell, and hover over your items you'll get a brief description of each. Items that are solely for selling will say something like "Can be sold for a lot of credits" or "Very Valuable" I forgot the exact phrase since it's been so long, but my suggestion is, finding a gold nugget or something, then hover over it in the shop, and read that description. Whatever it says, will be the same for all items only for selling :)

[@NintendoBlurb]

Jtails Yeah I figured I would just have to go by a guid to see which weapon was best I was just curious if there was a way in game to tell. Your descriptions are always so clear and helpful (Everywhere else I looked was so confusing) Thanks so much! I wasn't even sure I would get a reply since this video is pretty old but I really appreciate it

[@JulesTrades]

Yeah I wondered all the same things! and I wish I had someone who knew the game well when I was playing haha, so I figured why not help other people out in need :p I reply to every single comment (and message) I get, and even if my channel got big, I'd still want to be close with my viewers. I appreciate that people enjoy my videos :)

[@JulesTrades]

They are different for each and every weapons. It's kind of a pain honestly. but most starting accessories get them around 10. But I have a great guide I'll put in the description! Thanks for reminding me

[@Konuvis]

Nice guide, I'm getting back into the game and have forgotten everything so this helps :)

[@JulesTrades]

I'm happy to hear that it helped you out, enjoy! :)

[@Merkus24]

For all the organic and inorganic materials that don't help me as significantly, would it make sense to sell those for gil to buy the sturdy bones and superconductors?

[@JulesTrades]

Yeah for the most part you could do that. Personally, I just saved them in case I couldn't afford the sturdy bones. to add minor upgrades. because once you max out a weapon, for that level. You lose out on that energy. for example my weapon is lvl 49 and maxes out at 50. I'm not gonna waste a super conductor. I'll just use something less powerful to complete it.

[@Merkus24]

Jtails thanks for the assist! FF XII is definitely underrated!

[@JulesTrades]

I cannnot agree with you more :) and anytime!

[@ravenrodriguez7818]

Does this mean you can keep your initial (first weapon) and just keep upgrading it??? I'm confused because every FF game I played basically just gives you a stronger weapon as you progress through the game, either through drops or weapons stores. With FF13 all the weapons I pickup is weaker than the current weapon I have because the one I am wearing is already upgraded.

[@justint.7210]

TY. Concise. Always appreciated.

[@JulesTrades]

Justin T. the comment is appreciated :)

[@redcook1483]

hello im finding this up grade thing so frustrating. i sit by a save point and just keep playing around and then restarting. i saw that after you have your x3 you should use 22 of an item for best effect have you found this? i only just started upgrading now in Edenhall Grand Foyer/Edenhall. any tips on what i should bother upgrading. iv currently only done lionheart for lighting.

[@rubysmith2299]

oh my god I understand everything now

[@AmanTheDisciple]

Thanks, much needed video.

[@yaboiikrunch1283]

Guide is still a big help!

[@elbarivera1995]

Ty I finish this game once long time ago and I started the game again and I really never understood the upgrade part so this helps! Tho one question how do you get so much gil?

[@DemonsandSpirits]

Thanks, I was wondering how to transform weapons.

[@JulesTrades]

You're welcome! Happy to know my guide is still helping people :)

[@abdulhamidketchman8599]

this is awesome. do you have a video with tips on what items are best to upgrade. right now I'm stuck at a boss who puts death on my and i feel like my guys aren't strong enough to finish him off before I die. even though I get close.

[@w00t4Mee]

Best guide hands down!! Thanks man

[@JulesTrades]

Thank you so much! :D

[@kwaad777]

what do u buy if u dont have perfect conductors unlock yet?

[@augustineyee2121]

Thanks Jtails, for the clear guide. I learned something :)

[@Johnny-bk6kr]

I really don't get it. I finished the whole story without upgrading weapons. No, I mean without transforming weapons into a higher level using a stone!! I bought a stone from motherlode shop. I decided to transform Bladed Lance (Fang) into a higher one but I cant use it! Any of the stone is unavailable!! Please help!

[@JulesTrades]

+Johnny 1099 what do you mean you can't use it?

[@FadedHolySoldier]

Thank you bro!!! i appreciate this video alot.. FF games take me a while to process in my head...

[@FadedHolySoldier]

+Sabo Dew who the fuck are you?

[@FadedHolySoldier]

+Sabo Dew fucking troll fake fuck....dont address me again jack ass...keep it moving nigga.

[@raycharlzman]

+Sabo Dew I think you live to slob on nobs

[@evr.7123]

You saved me a lot of time. TY!

[@JulesTrades]

Awesome to hear!

[@thunderlord2200]

i know this s a late question but i just got this for my pc, my main think i like to know is when is the best time to upgrade? i upgraded lightning gladis to level 5+ because i noticed things where starting to kill me to easly at chap 4 and i was doing hardly any damage to them but now im stuck don't know if i did the right thing or not since i noticed im not getting any money from kiling anything and im used to power killing everything 10 fold and in this game theirs no level base per char. so ya.. (i like being 10 evels higher at all times so no ones stronger then me..

[@drunkenrampage1588]

I didn't even upgrade my weapons until after I completed the game.

[@gordobrigadainviernoel8216]

I am in post game...early... i don't know where to go in terms of farming, grinding. I tried mission 55 and lost quickly so i need to grind for a while i have done missions 1-15, 20-32, 60 so where do i go from there?

[@JulesTrades]

Yeah you'll get to a point in the game where you can go back and farm etc and actually do all the other missions. don't be afraid to go forward in the story a bit more. Just go back before you finish the final boss area. Then it's just grinding and continuing all the missions for completion. grinding for ingots and stuff.

[@loving683]

Okay thanks can you upgrade you accessories or weopons by using the dark matter or the adamantite?

[@justinmayhew145]

Thanks, it was simpler. But what do we do with all the rest of the components if all we should use are the things featured in this video?

[@SphericalChild]

+Justin L Mayhew Good Point - I thought the same thing! Lol. Why use an item that has a lower value? Anyway, it doesn't matter as long as your weapons are upgraded, right? :)

[@benwhitnall4406]

Thanks for this champ has made it a lot easier to understand. A question for you or anyone though. When should I start upgrading weapons? I am only at chapter 5 at the moment

[@JulesTrades]

Ben Whitnall You're welcome!! You have a long way to go trust me, before you should consider upgrading, I wanna say chapter 11 and up. The game doesn't really give you enough resources before that. I added some minor buffs throughout the game here or there, but you really have the ability to customize later on.

[@JulesTrades]

you can find these in the Gran Pulse, once you clear mission 14, you get a chocobo and he helps you find money and items! :D

[@jalalal8056]

God tier guide

[@JulesTrades]

Thank you! I'm so glad it helps!

[@jeanetteturcotte6075]

Have question what should lightning be equipped with to beat odin

[@davehead4real]

Thanks for the help. My question is how do you get all that gil to buy the stuff. You had 600k gil. It is hard to come by in the game.

[@JulesTrades]

Yeah it really is hard to come by, once you hit chapter 11-13 it's a bit easier. the enemies start dropping a lot more. selling items. also finding gold nuggets and platinum ingots are good for farming gil.

[@angchunggwan1803]

after upgrade it if I dismantle do i get my items back? still new to this game and dare not upgrade any weapon yet

[@JulesTrades]

+Ang Chung Gwan no if you dismantle you wont get everything back, only a portion. depending on what you dismantle you'll get higher value items. but don't be afraid to upgrade once you get to chapter 10 and up.

[@eccentricstrategist2222]

Thank you very much! Very concise and informative.

[@JulesTrades]

You're very welcome! I found it very confusing so I decided to help others once I understood it!

[@cloudstrife752]

What stone do you need to transform the Gladius?

[@JulesTrades]

you need Uraninite, it then becomes Helter-Skelter

[@Wagon_Queen_Family_Truckster]

This was very helpful. Thanks!

[@ianalyzeeverysecondiexist]

Wow, I never thought about the materials being organic vs. mechanical and which stores focuse on them. Here I thought I could only find out how to max out accessories and weapons only to make them worse. And I've finished the game twice, including all the cieth stone missions without even giving this a single thought...

[@davinwilliams3948]

Dope thanks! Clear and concise

[@JulesTrades]

You're very welcome!! :D

[@JulesTrades]

oh you're very welcome! Yeah same for me when I watched a bit of the other vids I was kinda hoping they did it differently :p

[@jonatastrife03]

Thanks, it really helped me to understand it.

[@koldar505]

the upgrade option isn't there or all the other shops what do I do. my characters suck

[@JulesTrades]

Keep progressing through the game! I think it comes in around chapter 8?

[@koldar505]

Jtails yeah thanks I played it more and I can upgrade my weapons and stuff

[@davehead4real]

It is the Gladius. The flame berge is in the shop to buy right now though. I'm in ch 4.

[@JulesTrades]

yeah it was the flame berge i chose. If you have the list of weapons and their different forms. usually it's the one at the top of the list.

[@iammrparadise]

Simple and efficient, nice vid.

[@JulesTrades]

thank you! nice comment ;)

[@Attackonjon_]

I have a Gladius Maxed out Teir 1. But want the Lionheart found in Eden. Should I wait to level Lionheart to Omega? I want the quick stagger passive ability.

[@josechavez495]

Hey what's the best weapon to upgrade, I'm in chapter 7 and what's the best place to farm cp. Thanks

[@JulesTrades]

haha well there is no "best" weapon to upgrade, it's just a matter of your preference. I suggest looking up a weapon chart so you can see what everything becomes! I started upgrading in chapter 12-13. but I upgraded some accessories in chapter 7. to makes things a bit easier.

[@josechavez495]

I see I'm using the gladius right now and some battles take for ever.

[@JulesTrades]

yeah, then you want ones that will max out attack power

[@drunkenrampage1588]

Great video but in my opinion I think it is better to farm Platinum Ingots by killing Adamantoise and then saving up for Ultracompact Reactors. I saved so much gil and time by buying Ultracompact Reactors to upgrade my weapons to max.

[@drunkenrampage1588]

This is the site I used to calculate experience. concubidated.com/ffxiii/

[@loving683]

For flameberge what weapon was that before you got it upgraded

[@risingsonseven]

I'm going to try this.

[@JulesTrades]

go for it! let me know how it works :)

[@JulesTrades]

yessss! awesome! I'm really glad this video of mine is still useful to some people =]

[@maryanneconnell4976]

whats the best weapons for all characters.

[@lilshademoon]

Great video!

[@JulesTrades]

very happy to help!! I'm glad c:

[@JiveTurkey051983]

What levels do the original weapons get stars?