Elden Ring Nightreign's Smithing Stones are what you need to upgrade weapons, the same as in Elden Ring but as we mentioned in our Nightreign tips guide, finding these items works a bit differently than you might be used to. Basic stones come from a few locations, but stones for stronger weapons only have a specific area where they drop. There's also no upgrade stone higher than Smithing Stone 2. You just need a lot of them to max out a weapon's potential.
Our Elden Ring Nightreign Smithing Stone guide explains how to upgrade weapons and where to find both types of Smithing Stone. We've also got a guide on where to go first.
Basic Smithing Stones, the brown-ish colored ones, have a moderate chance of dropping from enemies or popping out of a chest, though you can also spend 6,000 Runes to buy one from a merchant. Merchants are dotted around the map, usually near the castle and at a handful of camps. Use the "overview" option when your map is out to see specific locations. The hooded person icon indicates a merchant's location.
Basic Smithing Stones only work for basic armaments--your starting weapon, for example, and any other weapon with a grey namecard background. Only buy standard Smithing Stones as you need them. You can't use them for anything other than basic armaments, so there's no benefit to stocking up on them. For anything else, you need Smithing Stone 2, and those are more challenging to find.
Smithing Stone 2 comes from minor bosses in any mine. Mine bosses include a cave troll near the inner platform, a handful of Redmane Knights, or a pumpkin-headed monster. You'll know you defeated the boss, as they drop an item, which gives you the choice of a Smithing Stone 2 or a weapon or passive buff. It's more advisable to grab the Smithing Stone 2 in almost every case, unless your other option is the ideal weapon for your build.
Some item drops from formidable enemies in the field will include one Smithing Stone 2, but this happens infrequently.
It takes one Smithing Stone 2 to upgrade a weapon to "rare" or +2 purple status and two more to upgrade it to "legendary" or +3 gold status. You'll need to defeat three mine bosses if you want to take a single armament to legendary status, and you almost always only have time to fully upgrade a single armament. Upgrading your other useful weapons to +1 or +2 is typically a better use of time and stones, assuming you're using more than one weapon. That way, you head into the Night Lord fight with a stronger supply of weapons instead of only having one powerful choice.
Once you have the necessary materials, find a merchant using the overlay on your map to see where they all are. Every merchant has a smithing anvil next to them, which you can use free of charge. Any weapon except for legendary-class armaments can be upgraded, though bear in mind that most starting armaments cannot be upgraded beyond +2.
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Our Elden Ring Nightreign Smithing Stone guide explains how to upgrade weapons and where to find both types of Smithing Stone. We've also got a guide on where to go first.
Where to find Smithing Stones in Nightreign
Merchants set up shop across Limveld.Basic Smithing Stones, the brown-ish colored ones, have a moderate chance of dropping from enemies or popping out of a chest, though you can also spend 6,000 Runes to buy one from a merchant. Merchants are dotted around the map, usually near the castle and at a handful of camps. Use the "overview" option when your map is out to see specific locations. The hooded person icon indicates a merchant's location.
Basic Smithing Stones only work for basic armaments--your starting weapon, for example, and any other weapon with a grey namecard background. Only buy standard Smithing Stones as you need them. You can't use them for anything other than basic armaments, so there's no benefit to stocking up on them. For anything else, you need Smithing Stone 2, and those are more challenging to find.
Where to find Smithing Stone 2 in Nightreign
Unless you get a really rare drop, it's always worth picking the Smithing Stone.Smithing Stone 2 comes from minor bosses in any mine. Mine bosses include a cave troll near the inner platform, a handful of Redmane Knights, or a pumpkin-headed monster. You'll know you defeated the boss, as they drop an item, which gives you the choice of a Smithing Stone 2 or a weapon or passive buff. It's more advisable to grab the Smithing Stone 2 in almost every case, unless your other option is the ideal weapon for your build.
Some item drops from formidable enemies in the field will include one Smithing Stone 2, but this happens infrequently.
It takes one Smithing Stone 2 to upgrade a weapon to "rare" or +2 purple status and two more to upgrade it to "legendary" or +3 gold status. You'll need to defeat three mine bosses if you want to take a single armament to legendary status, and you almost always only have time to fully upgrade a single armament. Upgrading your other useful weapons to +1 or +2 is typically a better use of time and stones, assuming you're using more than one weapon. That way, you head into the Night Lord fight with a stronger supply of weapons instead of only having one powerful choice.
How to upgrade weapons in Nightreign
There's no Rune cost to upgrade weapons.Once you have the necessary materials, find a merchant using the overlay on your map to see where they all are. Every merchant has a smithing anvil next to them, which you can use free of charge. Any weapon except for legendary-class armaments can be upgraded, though bear in mind that most starting armaments cannot be upgraded beyond +2.
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