Can You Upgrade Purple Weapons in Final Fantasy 16?

Final Fantasy XVI’s crafting and upgrade systems may not be as fleshed out as those seen in previous entries, but you can still visit a blacksmith to enhance Clive’s weapons and make them more powerful every now and then. While most of the weapons that Clive can equip throughout Final Fantasy XVI are common steel swords with a green rarity level assigned to them, you’ll sometimes get access to rarer purple weapons after defeating certain bosses. They don’t have the usual +1 and +2 options available at the blacksmith though, so can you upgrade purple weapons at all in Final Fantasy XVI?

Can You Upgrade Stormcry in Final Fantasy XVI?

The first purple weapon that you can get in Final Fantasy XVI is Stormcry, a craftable sword made from a Wind Shard. This is a guaranteed drop from the Garuda boss fight early in the game, so everyone will unlock this sword no matter what. Unfortunately, Stormcry cannot be upgraded at all. It cannot be enhanced past its base 135 attack power.

Related: Final Fantasy XVI Review

Stormcry will be quickly outclassed by common green weapons that are unlocked shortly after the Garuda boss fight, especially if you have enough spare Wyrite and other crafting materials to enhance your swords to the +1 or +2 level.

Are Purple Weapons Upgradeable in FFXVI?

Sadly, Stormcry is not the only example of this. Purple weapons cannot be upgraded at all in Final Fantasy XVI. Since they’re crafted using guaranteed drops from main story bosses, they mainly serve as a way to keep players at an appropriate power level if they skip every side quest and just focus on the main story. Doing optional content to gather crafting materials will net you stronger gear, since the +1 and +2 variants of standard swords are stronger than their purple counterparts.

This doesn’t change at all, either. I put 70 hours into Final Fantasy XVI during the review period, completing the main story and all of the side quests and every hunt in the game. Purple weapons can’t be upgraded ever. The same goes for golden legendary weapons that you can craft later in the game. Basically, any unique swords can’t be enhanced.

Should You Sell Purple Weapons in FFXVI?

However, you should save your purple weapons instead of selling them. They’re used as required crafting materials for more powerful weapons later down the line.

For example, the second purple weapon that you’ll unlock on the path to completing Final Fantasy XVI is Flametongue. This requires a Fire Shard to craft — a guaranteed drop from the second major Eikon boss fight — and it also requires you to have Stormcry in your possession. Flametongue is a huge upgrade over Stormcry, dealing 180 base damage instead of 135.

In essence, this is sort of an upgrade path for purple weapons, although it’s not an exact comparison. Each purple weapon has a completely different model and is an entirely new sword, so it’s not like you can upgrade Stormcry or Flametongue and keep it with you the entire game. Still, being able to trade in these Eikonic weapons is better than having them take up inventory space for the game’s entire runtime.