Upgrading your equipment and abilities is one of the main ways to make Coen stronger in The Blood of Dawnwalker. As you explore Vale Sangora, you’ll find several characters who can improve your gear, while Shrines let you spend skill points on your abilities and perks.
The upgrade system is split between equipment and character progression, so knowing where to go can save you a lot of running around. Weapons, armor, perks, and abilities all have different upgrade requirements.
In this guide, I’ll explain where to find the main upgrade NPCs, how equipment upgrades work, how to improve your perks and abilities, and how to get more Quick Slots.
The Blood of Dawnwalker Upgrades Guide – Upgrade Equipment
There are several NPCs who can improve your equipment in The Blood of Dawnwalker. The main ones you’ll encounter are the Armourer in Maragir, the Blacksmith in Parlita, and Vera the Witch.
Each one has an upgrade menu, although the items and additional services they offer can differ.
Armourer in Maragir
The Armourer can be found inside his shop in Maragir, sitting on one of the stools.
Speak with him and choose “Improve my equipment” to open the equipment upgrade menu.
You can also use the Armourer as a merchant. He allows you to sell unwanted items and purchase goods from his inventory.
How the Armourer Upgrade Menu Works
The upgrade screen is divided into three main sections:
- Left: Your available equipment and inventory items
- Middle: The current upgrade level and Denarii cost
- Right: A preview showing what the upgrade will provide
Select the equipment you want to improve and check the cost before confirming the upgrade.
Blacksmith in Parlita
The Blacksmith is located in the center of Parlita Town, in a shop on the street across from the Shrine.
Like the Armourer, the Blacksmith can improve your equipment. He’s particularly useful when you want to upgrade your weapons and other gear.
You can also purchase the Growing Momentum Manual from him.
The Blacksmith’s upgrade interface works the same way as the Armourer’s, so you’ll see your equipment on the left, the upgrade information and Denarii cost in the center, and the resulting upgrade preview on the right.
Vera the Witch
You can find Vera in the swamp west of the Maragir Wealds.
Vera is another NPC who can upgrade your equipment, but she offers more than just gear improvements.
You can also purchase several useful things from her, including:
- Recipes
- Manuals
- Crafting ingredients
The Recipes and Manuals can be used to learn additional perks and abilities, while the ingredients are used for crafting consumables.
Her equipment upgrade menu follows the same basic layout as the Armourer’s.
How Perk and Ability Upgrades Work
Perks and abilities have their own progression system that’s tied to your character level.
Every time you level up, you earn 1 Skill Point.
You can spend these Skill Points at a Shrine to unlock and improve your perks and abilities. Increasing their rank makes their effects stronger and improves the bonuses they provide.
However, simply having a Skill Point isn’t always enough to unlock something.
Unlocking Perks and Abilities
Before you can learn a perk or ability, you first need to meet its specific unlock requirement.
The requirement depends on the type of skill you’re trying to unlock.
For example:
- Swordmastery skills generally require you to find or purchase their corresponding Manual.
- Witchcraft skills generally require their Manual as well.
- Vampirism abilities require you to increase your Corruption.
Once you’ve met the requirement, you can spend 1 Skill Point to unlock the perk or ability.
If it’s an ability that you want to use during combat, you can then place it into your Quick Slots.
Keep in mind that passive abilities also need to be equipped in a Quick Slot for their effects to apply.
Use Shrines to Upgrade Skills
Road Shrines, commonly just called Shrines, act as important checkpoints throughout the game.
They aren’t only used for fast travel. You can also use them to manage your inventory, learn and upgrade perks and abilities, organize your storage, and wait to pass time.
Some Shrines are initially unavailable because they need to be restored.
Restoring Shrines
When you find a Shrine that hasn’t been restored, you’ll need to repair it before you can use its services.
Restoring a Shrine takes time, and the game shows you how many time segments the activity will consume.
Once the restoration is complete, the Shrine becomes available for use.
You can then use it to:
- Manage your inventory
- Organize Storage
- Learn perks
- Upgrade abilities
- Fast Travel to other Shrines
- Wait and advance time
Because restoring Shrines consumes time, keep an eye on your time bar before starting the process.
How to Increase Quick Slots
At the beginning of the game, Coen has two separate sets of Quick Slots:
- Daytime
- Nighttime
You initially have space for up to 4 Active Abilities per type.
This lets you quickly access your equipped abilities during combat without having to constantly open the skill menu.
You can increase the number of available ability slots by unlocking certain perks as you level up.
The three relevant perks are:
- Forbidden Sigils — Witchcraft
- Vrakhiri Might — Vampirism
- Master Fencer — Swordmastery
These perks increase your available ability slots by 2, 3, or 4, depending on your progression.
Equipment vs. Skill Upgrades
It’s worth keeping the two upgrade systems separate in your mind.
Equipment upgrades are handled by NPCs such as the Armourer, Blacksmith, and Vera. You’ll generally need Denarii and the appropriate equipment to improve your gear.
Perks and abilities, on the other hand, are upgraded through Shrines using Skill Points. These also have their own unlock requirements, such as Manuals or Corruption.
So if you find that an ability can’t be upgraded yet, check its requirement before spending time looking for a different upgrade option.
Best Way to Approach Upgrades
I’d recommend upgrading your equipment whenever you have the money and a meaningful improvement is available, but don’t forget about your skill progression.
As you level up, check your Shrines for new perks and abilities and look at their requirements. If you’re focusing on Swordmastery or Witchcraft, keep an eye out for the relevant Manuals. If you’re leaning into Vampirism, increasing Corruption will open up more of that skill tree.
Also, don’t ignore Quick Slots. Having more abilities available at once can make combat much more flexible, especially once you’ve unlocked several strong options for both daytime and nighttime.