- Wikily describes Blacksmith equipment upgrades through +10 with gold and rarity-specific ores, plus boss materials for Rare/Legendary/Divine upgrades to +9 and +10.
- Its chance table lists +4→+5 at 75%; the official Steam promotional Frostmaw Greataxe screenshot shows 80% for that example. These sources do not establish one verified current probability.
- Read the installed upgrade preview and material recipe before spending. The reviewed reference says Back items cannot be upgraded and upgrading a tradable item makes it untradable forever.
Upgrade the item that addresses the actual combat problem
An upgrade adds to an existing item’s numbers; it is not documented here as changing a weapon family or rerolling its modifiers. First decide whether the item belongs to the build you intend to keep. A stronger version of the wrong damage family can still be inferior to a better-matched drop, and a low-rarity item nearing replacement can consume materials you need for a lasting piece. Compare the preview with the equipped slot and the current weak point before choosing a target.
Evidence: Upgrade Attribute Bonus · Equipment Rarities
Wikily names Magnus in City of Aldenreach, Farida in City of Tazan and Brynjar in City of Veldak as Blacksmiths. Its overview describes upgrades from +0 to +10 for gold and ores, while Gem Specialists handle sockets and removal. These are separate services: adding a socket does not count as a Blacksmith upgrade, and salvage converts unwanted equipment into materials rather than strengthening the retained item.
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades · Sockets · Salvage
| Goal | Source-reported service | What to inspect |
|---|---|---|
| Increase retained equipment numbers | Blacksmith upgrade | Next-level preview and bill |
| Add a socket or remove a gem | Gem Specialist | Eligibility, trade prompt and destructive removal |
| Turn disposable equipment into materials | Blacksmith salvage | Rarity material family and loss |
| Replace unsuitable modifiers | Find and compare another item | No reroll service is established in these sources |
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades · Sockets · Salvage · Equipment Rarities
Keep source probabilities and promotional evidence distinct
| Upgrade | Listed chance |
|---|---|
| +0→+1 | 100% |
| +1→+2 | 100% |
| +2→+3 | 100% |
| +3→+4 | 100% |
| +4→+5 | 75% |
| +5→+6 | 50% |
| +6→+7 | 40% |
| +7→+8 | 30% |
| +8→+9 | 20% |
| +9→+10 | 10% |
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades
The official Steam store’s promotional image of Frostmaw Greataxe +4 visibly labels the next level +5 and Success: 80%. That conflicts with the 75% row in Wikily. The screenshot is official marketing evidence for the depicted interface and example, but its client build/date is not established as the currently installed version. The reference table is also not a gameplay test. This article preserves both rather than silently changing one or claiming every upgrade uses the screenshot’s number.
Evidence: Official Steam promotional upgrade screenshot · Equipment Upgrades
Read the chance shown by the service for the specific item you are about to upgrade. A chance below 100% implies a failed attempt is possible; it does not by itself specify whether materials, gold, upgrade levels or the item are lost. The reviewed pages do not document every failure consequence or a guarantee system. Inspect any current confirmation or tooltip before budgeting many repeated attempts.
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades
Calculate one attempt’s gold bill from item level
Wikily gives gold = 3 × (current upgrade level + 1)² × item level, with a minimum item level of 1 and twice the gold for Ancient items. The current upgrade level refers to the item’s plus value before the attempt. Item level is a different field from the hero’s level or equipment required level. Use the actual item level; do not multiply the hero’s level into the recipe simply because it is easier to see.
Evidence: Upgrade Costs · Equipment Rarities
| Target upgrade | Item level 100 | Item level 500 | Item level 700 |
|---|---|---|---|
| +0→+1 | 300 | 1,500 | 2,100 |
| +1→+2 | 1,200 | 6,000 | 8,400 |
| +2→+3 | 2,700 | 13,500 | 18,900 |
| +3→+4 | 4,800 | 24,000 | 33,600 |
| +4→+5 | 7,500 | 37,500 | 52,500 |
| +5→+6 | 10,800 | 54,000 | 75,600 |
| +6→+7 | 14,700 | 73,500 | 102,900 |
| +7→+8 | 19,200 | 96,000 | 134,400 |
| +8→+9 | 24,300 | 121,500 | 170,100 |
| +9→+10 | 30,000 | 150,000 | 210,000 |
Evidence: Upgrade Costs
For a non-Ancient item level 500 piece currently +4, the referenced formula yields 3 × 25 × 500 = 37,500 gold for the +5 attempt. If it is Ancient, the source’s doubled gold factor would make that 75,000. These are calculations from the reference, not a quote from your live preview. Compare the displayed bill because source version, item identity or an incorrectly read level can explain a mismatch.
Evidence: Upgrade Costs
Scale ores by the target plus level and rarity
| Rarity | Base recipe | Example for +5 attempt (multiplier 25) |
|---|---|---|
| Common/Uncommon | 1 Iron Ore | 25 Iron Ore |
| Rare | 2 Iron Ore +1 Gold Ore | 50 Iron Ore +25 Gold Ore |
| Legendary | 3 Iron Ore +2 Gold Ore +1 Earth Essence | 75 Iron Ore +50 Gold Ore +25 Earth Essence |
| Divine | 5 Iron Ore +3 Gold Ore +2 Earth Essence | 125 Iron Ore +75 Gold Ore +50 Earth Essence |
Evidence: Upgrade Costs
The same source says Rare, Legendary and Divine items additionally take three of their slot’s boss material for the upgrade to +9 and again to +10. The retained overview does not itself enumerate every slot’s named material, so inspect the actual recipe before farming a boss by guesswork. A boss’s Rein, a treasure chest and its crafting material are different rewards. Keep the precise missing material with your farming goal.
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades · Upgrade Costs
Gold and ore bills describe one attempt, not the maximum total for finishing a risky target. If a chance is lower than 100%, repeated attempts can require another budget depending on the current failure rules. Do not multiply an unverified probability into a confident expected-cost claim when the loss behavior is also unknown. Decide an attempt budget and inspect the result before continuing.
Read the preview instead of assuming every stat gains equally
Wikily’s attribute-bonus page gives one +5% step per upgrade level to Common/Uncommon gear and two steps to Rare and higher. The steps rotate through the item’s numbers: weapon speed and damage first for weapons, or Armor first on listed armor slots, then attributes in tooltip order. Belts, Rings and Necklaces have attributes only. That means one upgrade does not necessarily raise every listed modifier by 5% at once.
Evidence: Upgrade Attribute Bonus
Its example Legendary weapon has speed, damage and five attributes; at +1, only the first two numbers receive +5%, while later upgrades rotate onward. The separate armor and jewelry examples use a different number of values in the rotation. Read the specific preview for the stat that matters to your build rather than assuming a critical modifier improves on every click. Back items are explicitly excluded from upgrading in this reference.
Evidence: Upgrade Attribute Bonus
Perform a deliberate upgrade session
Compare the target
Check the equipped slot, damage family, useful modifiers and whether a newer drop already replaces it.
Read the next-level preview
Record the displayed chance, exact stat changes, target plus level and recipe. Resolve any mismatch with a guide before spending.
Keep the bill separate
Count gold, ores and any slot-specific boss material. Reserve resources for other needed services rather than spending the entire stock by default.
Read the trade confirmation
Wikily says upgrading a tradable item makes it untradable forever. Confirm the item is intended for use rather than resale.
Make one attempt and inspect
Check the plus level and resource change. A failed attempt needs its actual consequence understood before another is made.
Reassess the loop
Observe the fight that motivated the upgrade. If the relevant failure remains, compare another adjustment instead of assuming more plus levels are automatically the answer.
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades · Upgrade Attribute Bonus · Upgrade Costs
The public-preview screenshot is useful visual context, and the source tables make the resource plan concrete. Neither establishes current-client success rates or failure handling by itself. This guide’s practical endpoint is a correctly read live preview and an informed item choice; a later gameplay verification can strengthen the exact mechanics without replacing the source distinction.
Blacksmith questions
Q: Is +4 to +5 definitely 75%?
Wikily lists 75%, while the official promotional Frostmaw example shows 80%. Read the current specific upgrade preview; neither is asserted as a verified current universal rate.
Q: Is every stat boosted 5% per upgrade?
The reference rotates +5% steps through the item’s numbers. Rarity controls the number of steps, and item type controls the order.
Q: Can I upgrade Back items?
Wikily’s attribute-bonus page says they cannot be upgraded.
Q: Does upgrading preserve tradability?
The reference confirmation says a tradable item becomes untradable forever. Read the installed prompt before committing.
Q: Do the costs include repeated failures?
No. The formula and tables are per attempt; full failure consequences were not established by the reviewed bodies.
Q: Where should I get the materials?
Identify the actual recipe first. Salvage has rarity-specific material families, and high plus levels can need a slot-specific boss material.
Evidence: Equipment Upgrades · Upgrade Attribute Bonus · Upgrade Costs · Official Steam promotional upgrade screenshot
For materials rather than equipment gains, use Auto-Salvage or Sell.
Official interface reference
Sources and scope
Expanded editorial source review for Steam retail app 4623570, Deskrawl: Idle ARPG. Launch-era ApolloTrail advice, dated AFK Meta data, unofficial Wikily references and named official patch notes are separated in the article. New statements are traced in the claim ledger; derived planning examples are identified. Mechanics, source independence and online-server rules have not been verified in the current client.
- Review status
- verified
- Game version
- Source-specific scopes are stated in the body; no installed-client version is asserted.
- Checked
- Method
- Bounded first-release dossier review, including source roles, preserved conflicts and explicit limits. Recomputed retained source hashes, exact excerpts and line ranges and signed reader content. No installed-client or live-server verification.
- Equipment Upgrades secondary
+0 to +10 system, success-chance reference, Blacksmith names and high-plus boss-material requirement. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Upgrade Attribute Bonus secondary
Rarity-dependent rotating 5% steps, Back-item exclusion and irreversible trade prompt. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Upgrade Costs secondary
Per-attempt gold formula and rarity-specific ore recipes. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Equipment Rarities secondary
Item level versus required level and rolled/fixed attributes. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Sockets secondary
Gem Specialists are separately documented equipment services. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Salvage secondary
Material conversion is a separate action from strengthening retained gear. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Official Steam promotional upgrade screenshot first-party
Visually reviewed official promotional example: Frostmaw Greataxe +4 to +5 shows Success: 80%; this is not a verified current universal rate. Source text was reviewed from the retained acquisition snapshot; this is not a current-client test.
Checked
- Official Steam retail promotional screenshots first-party
The attributed promotional figure only; capture date and client build are not established, and it is not a current gameplay test.
Checked
