Start with Maximum Endurance, then choose Blocking for a Saber defense or Parrying Impact for a parry-focused style. Add Melee Damage and, when available, Melee Endurance Cost. Move Maximum Health earlier if individual mistakes are killing you while Endurance is still available.
Early upgrade priorities
- Maximum Endurance: Increase the resource shared by attacks, blocks, and dodges.
- Blocking or Parrying Impact: Choose the defense that matches your main melee weapon and execution skill.
- Melee Damage: Strengthen the attacks that remain available when ammunition or Nephtoglobin is limited.
- Melee Endurance Cost: Make repeated melee attacks less demanding on your endurance reserve.
- Maximum Health: Add a larger margin for mistakes when incoming damage is the problem rather than resource exhaustion.
- A playstyle-specific upgrade: Start specializing in firearms, posture damage, recovery, or resistance only after the core loop feels stable.
The level-up screen shows the core endurance and combat upgrade layout.
Maximum Endurance enlarges the pool shared by attacking, blocking, and dodging. Melee Endurance Cost reduces what attacks spend, while Endurance Regeneration improves recovery between actions. Choose the larger reserve when you run out during a sequence, cost reduction when attacking consumes too much, or regeneration when recovery between exchanges is the problem. Skill rows are not character-level requirements; check which named skills your current tree offers.
Blocking or Parrying Impact
The Rapier upgrade screen highlights the parrying route.
| Choice | Best fit | What it improves | Main tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blocking | Saber-focused play | Reduces the endurance used while blocking and improves the health you can recover by attacking shortly afterward | Safer and more forgiving, but it does not specialize in posture damage |
| Parrying Impact | Rapier-focused play | Increases the posture damage caused by successful parries, helping create critical-attack opportunities | Requires consistent parry timing and exposes you to more risk when mistimed |
Blocking fits a Saber user who regularly holds block, including someone still learning enemy strings. Parrying Impact only produces its posture benefit when a parry succeeds. It can support a Saber parry style as well as the later Rapier; do not wait for the Rapier if successful parries already define your defense. Add Critical Damage once posture breaks reliably lead to critical attacks.
Later priorities by playstyle
The Pistol screen illustrates how firearm-focused upgrades are layered onto the build.
| Playstyle | Core priorities | Useful later choices | When to reconsider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saber and blocking | Maximum Endurance, Blocking, Melee Damage, Melee Endurance Cost | Maximum Health, Physical Resistance, Endurance Regeneration | Switch emphasis if you stop blocking and begin relying on parries |
| Rapier and parrying | Maximum Endurance, Parrying Impact, Melee Damage | Critical Damage, Endurance Regeneration, Maximum Health | Add survivability if missed parries end attempts before posture breaks pay off |
| Balanced sword and gun | Maximum Endurance, Blocking or Parrying Impact, Melee Damage | Airborne Aiming, Headshot Damage, Ammunition Drop Chance, Ammo Restock | Reduce gun investment if ammunition limits prevent those bonuses from contributing consistently |
| Firearm-focused | Maximum Endurance, Melee Damage, Headshot Damage | Airborne Aiming, Ammo Restock, Ammunition Drop Chance, Firearms Damage, Status Buildup | Add health or resistance when ranged damage is adequate but close-range pressure causes failures |
| Recovery-focused | Maximum Endurance, Maximum Health, chosen defensive skill | Ferrofluid Flask Refill, Healing Effectiveness, Physical Resistance | Move back toward damage when survival is stable but fights take too long |
Headshot Damage and Firearms Damage need regular firearm hits to justify their cost. Ammunition Drop Chance and Ammo Restock address supply, while Airborne Aiming is a utility choice for airborne shots. Status Buildup belongs to an elemental setup that applies statuses often enough to benefit.
Maximum Health and Physical Resistance improve survivability. Ferrofluid Flask Refill and Healing Effectiveness address healing availability and recovery; they cannot create a safe healing opening during an unfinished enemy combo.
The later-game screen shows expanded upgrade categories and resulting character stats.
Changing skills
You can respec at a Lantern for a fee when changing weapons or defensive style. Check the displayed cost before confirming.