How to upgrade weapons in Lords of the Fallen

Lords of the Fallen weapon upgrades and blacksmith — (Image credit: Ci Games)

The Lords of the Fallen weapon upgrade system is easy to miss, with the blacksmith Gerlinde fairly well hidden near the end of Pilgrim's Perch, locked in a cage that requires the Prison Cell Key to open. And with no reason to head back to that area it's all too easy to go through the rest of the game wondering when you'll get to use all those Deralium fragments you've been picking up - it's what I did, embarrassingly. Still, I've since found the blacksmith and immediately started enhancing and upgrading my gear across Lords of the Fallen - so here's how you can do the same.

Upgrading weapons in Lords of the Fallen explained

To upgrade your weapons and equipment in Lords of the Fallen, players need to find the blacksmith Gerlinde. Here's how you go about doing that:

Progress through the game until you reach the "Pilgrim's Perch Bellroom/Vestige of Blind Agatha" checkpoint.
If you've unlocked the elevator next to it, take it down. If not, continue along the critical path until you reach that elevator from the lower end.
Turn left coming off the elevator and climb down the ladder immediately on your left.
You'll be in a lower pit with several dogs that'll attack you.
Once the dogs are dealt with, there'll be a cage with the blacksmith Gerlinde inside, clattering and swearing. She needs the Prison Cell Key to leave.
The Prison Cell Key is obtained by slaying the mandatory boss found at the end of the path when you turn right out of the elevator: Gentle Gaverus, Mistress of Hounds.
Take the Prison Cell Key back to Gerlinde and give it to her.
The next time you head back to the hub area at Skyrest Bridge, Gerlinde will be working up the stairs on the left (facing away from the Vestige).
Gerlinde serves as a merchant for certain items, as well as being able to upgrade equipment and weapons when paid in Vigor and Deralium.

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Deralium is found all across the game in random pickups, so getting both the vigor and materials to improve your weapon is just a matter of time.

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It's also important to clarify that Gerlinde can only improve weapons, shields and catalysts - but not armor, which can't be upgraded. Instead, you'll simply have to trade it out for better sets as you find them.

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.