Lords of the Fallen: How to Upgrade Weapons to +10

To upgrade weapons in Lords of the Fallen, free the blacksmith Gerlinde from her cell beneath Pilgrim's Perch, then visit her shop in Skyrest Bridge and pay Vigor plus Deralium ore for each level. Small Deralium Fragments take a weapon to +2, Regular Deralium Nuggets to +5, Large Deralium Shards to +9, and a single Deralium Chunk finishes it at +10. Upgrades also open rune slots, and the same system extends to your Sanguinarix and Umbral Lamp through two other NPCs.

Material counts and locations come from Fextralife's upgrade, material and Gerlinde pages, cross-checked with CI Games' official beginner tips and patch notes for Version 1.5, 2.0.51 and the April 2026 Co-op Update, reviewed in November 2026.

Unlocking the Blacksmith: Freeing Gerlinde

You cannot upgrade anything until you find Gerlinde, a Grouk smith locked in the mines under Pilgrim's Perch with a creature she calls Sparky. You will hear her hammering before you see her.

1. In Pilgrim's Perch, work your way down through the lower levels toward the mines.
2. At the bottom of a ladder you meet a Pureblade, a Pilgrim and three Radiant Hounds. Defeat them; the group drops the Prison Cell Key.
3. Talk to Gerlinde in her cell and choose to hand over the key.
4. Return to Skyrest Bridge. She sets up shop along the hall that Stomund faces.

Once she is settled, exhaust her dialogue to open her shop and the upgrade menu. Before you leave the mines, go back to the cell she vacated: Fextralife notes she leaves some Small Deralium Fragments behind. CI Games' own 60 beginner tips call her services essential, saying her hammer and anvil can significantly increase your damage output and durability.

Deralium Materials by Upgrade Tier

Every regular weapon and catalyst follows the same ten-step track, paid for with Vigor and four grades of Deralium ore. Each upgrade costs more Vigor than the last, and each tier of ore only covers a range of levels.

Deralium needed to take one weapon or catalyst to +10 (Fextralife, November 2026)

Material	Upgrade range	Total needed
Small Deralium Fragment	+0 to +2	6
Regular Deralium Nuggets	+2 to +5	7
Large Deralium Shards	+5 to +9	20
Deralium Chunk	+9 to +10	1

The numbers show where the bottleneck is. Fragments and Nuggets are easy to buy in bulk once Gerlinde stocks them, but the jump from +5 to +9 eats twenty Large Shards per weapon, and Chunks are scarce enough that you will want to save them for the one or two weapons you actually finish the game with. Shields run on a shorter track with their own material counts, so they need fewer pieces of each grade.

Where to Buy and Find Deralium

Gerlinde's shop grows as you progress, and a traveling merchant named Thehk-Ihir fills the gaps. Here is where each grade comes from.

• Small Deralium Fragments: Gerlinde sells them for 500 Vigor each once you reach Lower Calrath. Thehk-Ihir stocks ten after you talk to him at the lookout in the Forsaken Fen, with more added when you meet him again by the Vestige of Rosamund in the Abbey of the Hallowed Sisters.
• Regular Deralium Nuggets: Gerlinde sells an unlimited supply after you pass the Vestige of Hooded Antuli and enter the Sunless Skein for the first time. Thehk-Ihir offers ten when you find him in front of the Vestige of Ethryg in Skyrest Bridge.
• Large Deralium Shards: Gerlinde sells an unlimited supply after you reach the Abbey of the Hallowed Sisters. Thehk-Ihir adds them when you meet him by the Vestige of Dieter on the Path of Devotion.
• Deralium Chunks: found, not sold by Gerlinde. Fextralife lists one in the miners' cave in Revelation Depths, one in the Tower of Penance, one in Bramis Castle, and one in the chest beside the Fief of the Chill Curse beacon, which also holds two Large Shards, three Nuggets and four Small Fragments. The Shrine of Orius sells them for 150 Pilfered Coins each.

PvP is another source. Since update 2.0.51, winning a PvP encounter awards one item from a short list that includes a Large Deralium Shard and a Deralium Chunk, alongside the two PvP-only armor sets. Invasions are optional and off by default, so you have to switch them on; our crossplay guide explains how the shared PvP pool works across platforms.

Runes and Rune Slots

Upgrading does more than raise attack power. Weapons and shields unlock rune slots as you level them, and a fully upgraded piece can have up to three. Runes are small magic items that add bonuses, and each slot has one of four shapes tied to Strength, Agility, Radiance or Inferno; you can only socket a rune whose shape matches. Some high-tier equipment has a fifth slot shape that accepts any rune.

CI Games' tips add that you can equip runes to weapons after fulfilling a questline for Gerlinde. She wants rune tablets that Sparky carved and hid, such as the Cracked Rune Tablet, the Rune Tablet and the Chipped Rune Tablet. Each one you recover expands her stock, adding items like Briostone Pairs and Trios, bigger Manastone Clusters and runes such as Ativ and Oritix. Note the choice that comes with the tablets: giving one to Gerlinde instead of Sparky ends Sparky's part of the story, and she rewards you with Crafter's Essence.

Rune slots are also why upgrade choices and stat choices go together. A weapon with Strength-shaped slots is a poor fit for an Agility character, so if you plan to change your stats, read the respec guide before you sink Large Shards into the wrong weapon.

Upgrading the Sanguinarix and Umbral Lamp

Two other upgrade tracks matter as much as your weapon, and neither runs through Gerlinde.

• Sanguinarix (healing): after you defeat Pieta, she upgrades it in Skyrest Bridge in exchange for Saintly Quintessence. It starts with 3 charges and reaches 9 charges at +10, which takes 20 Quintessence in total; the first few upgrades cost one each, the last one costs four.
• Umbral Lamp: Molhu upgrades it with Antediluvian Chisels, one per level up to +3. Each level adds Soulflay charges (up to three), extra Umbral Eye sockets (two secondary sockets at +3) and Dread resistance (30 percent at +3).

Those extra sockets are worth the effort. Umbral Eyes, which drop from enemies in the land of the dead, slot into the lamp and add buffs; CI Games gives examples such as longer immunity to damage while you transition into the Umbral and more damage to an enemy's soul during Soulflay. More sockets means more of those effects at once, which is why the lamp deserves its chisels as soon as you find them.

The developers call Antediluvian Chisels one of the rarest upgrade materials in the game. They come from Umbral Bellies in the land of the dead, and Molhu works with them from his spot in the Umbral version of Skyrest Bridge. Saintly Quintessence is found across Mournstead, including one in the tutorial area of the Defiled Sepulchre.

Spending Materials Wisely

Deralium is the real limit on how many weapons you can keep viable, so a little planning goes a long way.

• Pick one main weapon per stat. Push it to +5 early with cheap ore, then commit Large Shards only once you are sure it is your endgame weapon. Our best builds guide lists strong weapons for each archetype.
• Do not upgrade throwing items. Ranged tools such as grenades, hatchets and javelins cannot be upgraded at all, but they scale with your level, according to the developers.
• Time your Chunks. With only a handful in the world, take the +10 step for weapons you will use against the late bosses in the boss order guide.
• Wait for unlimited stock. Shards found early are precious because Gerlinde only sells them without limit from the Abbey of the Hallowed Sisters onward. Spending found Shards on a weapon you may drop is an easy way to run dry before that point.
• Use co-op time. Since April 2026, co-op guests can upgrade equipment, socket items and trade with vendors without leaving the session.
• Consider Pre-Upgraded Loot. The Advanced Game Modifier added in Version 1.5 makes weapons, shields and catalysts you find come pre-upgraded based on your player level. CI Games recommends it to players tired of farming upgrades, though it only applies to a new playthrough.

Upgrades also survive New Game Plus: Fextralife lists equipment upgrades, Sanguinarix and Umbral Lamp levels, and materials among the things that carry over. Lords of the Fallen II will go a step further; CI Games said in November 2026 that the sequel lets you recover weapon upgrades for a small cost, something the 2023 game does not offer.

If You Would Rather Not Farm the Vigor

Each upgrade level costs more Vigor than the one before, and buying unlimited Shards from Gerlinde adds up fast. The store's Vigor and armor service drops Vigor in game for you to collect, without asking for your account details. According to its page it covers PlayStation, Xbox and Steam, delivers the same day after the store emails you, and can also include all weapons, armor, amulets, rings and Umbral Eyes. Upgrade materials are not on that list, so you would still buy the ore yourself.

Modded saves with materials included are listed on the Lords of the Fallen hub.

Frequently Asked Questions