Logging into Fortnite for the first time following this week’s game-changing Chapter 2 update can be a daunting experience. For all intents and purposes, Epic Games has followed up Season X: Out of Time’s conclusion with a sequel to its battle royale in all but name. The fundamentals remain unchanged – to be the last one standing in a free-for-all battle to the death – but almost every facet of gameplay that compliments that addictive loop has been altered or revamped in some way.
Enter weapon upgrades. Beginning with the release of Chapter 2, players exploring new map Apollo for the first time will have undoubtedly stumbled upon new Upgrade Benches. As the name suggests, these workstations can be used to upgrade weapons all the way up to the pinnacle Legendary rarity, though you’ll need an eye-watering number of resources in order to craft the best gear available.
See below for a full breakdown of weapon rarities and the materials required for each:
Upgrade Bench Resource Costs
- Common to Uncommon – 50 Wood, Stone and Metal
- Uncommon to Rare – 150 Wood, Stone and Metal
- Rare to Epic – 250 Wood, Stone and Metal
- Epic to Legendary – 350 Wood, Stone and Metal
As for the upgrade process itself, it’s simple enough. Once you’ve located the desired weapon to be upgraded, access any Upgrade Bench with the item equipped. Doing so will prompt a menu to open and request the above quantity of materials depending on the rarity you’re after. Given the sizable jump in scarcity as rarity increases, the most efficient means of upgrading will likely be to save any gathered resources until you stumble across a Rare weapon and use that as the base.
Ultimately, it will be down to fans to settle on the metagame for weapon upgrading and at the very least, the system is a Godsend for those with chronically bad luck. Mitigation of randomness in competitive games such as Fortnite can only be a good thing, after all, and it’s reassuring to see Epic is finally taking steps to address the issue.
