How to Get Upgrade Materials in Avowed

Staying alive in Avowed means keeping your weapons and armor in top shape through upgrading, and that takes plenty of upgrade materials. This guide breaks down every possible method for acquiring ingredients to upgrade, as well as tips and tricks on crafting and material conversion.

Chests

If you come across a chest in Avowed, there’s a good chance it contains crafting materials. As you progress through the main story, you travel to new regions, each having a higher chance for better quality materials.

Chests, backpacks, and lockboxes are your primary source of crafting materials, so make sure to follow the sound of their distinctive chime and open each one you find.

Merchants

Most (though not all) merchants in Avowed stock crafting materials, typically specializing in a specific type. Vendors restock their wares after a certain amount of time has passed, so check back regularly if they sell something you need.

Tip: If they’re cheap, always purchase lower-quality crafting materials — even if you don’t need them. You can turn these into higher-quality materials through crafting. (More on this later!)

Enemy loot

Enemies also drop crafting ingredients when defeated, with boss enemies and bounty targets often dropping Adra. The type of enemy you slay often correlates with what material you loot from them.

Enemies dropping specific ingredients is especially true for enchanting materials. Ogre Blood comes from ogres, Bear Claws from bears, Xaurip Tongue from xaurips — you get the drift.

Herbs

Herbs are everywhere in The Living Lands, and you’re free to pick them as you please. Some herbs are simply food, some serve as grenades, and others (such as Paradisan Ladder) are upgrade materials.

Herbs don’t weigh anything, so pick up every plant you see. Choosing the “Scavenger” ability in the Ranger tree also grants you the chance to gain extra materials when picking herbs. At Rank 2, this ability also reduces the cost of crafting!

Quests

Some quests reward crafting ingredients, too. More often than not, you’ll get currency, a weapon, or an equippable item, but a handful of quests reward you with ingredients instead.

How to break down materials in Avowed

All materials (aside from enchanting materials) come in four different quality variants: Common, Fine, Exceptional, Superb, and Legendary. Breaking down one material turns it into three of the quality below it.

For example, breaking down one Stelgaer Leather (Exceptional) gives you three Tanned Hide (Fine). Breaking down that Tanned Hide would turn it into three Pelts (Common).

To break down a crafting material in Avowed, select it in your inventory and hold down ‘R’ on a keyboard or ‘X’ on an Xbox controller.

How to craft upgrade materials in Avowed

Likewise, you can also combine multiple lower-quality materials into one higher-quality material. Typically, four upgrade materials will convert into one material of the quality above.

To craft upgrade materials in Avowed, head to any Party Camp and access the Work Bench. Select “Crafting” and choose the ingredient you want to craft. You can also downgrade materials in this menu by clicking the mortar and pestle icon.

Upgrading the “Scavenger” ability in the Ranger tree to Rank 2 decreases the cost of crafting by 25%. This ability is well worth it if you have points to spare, especially with the Rank 1 bonus to material gain mentioned earlier.

What is the difference between upgrade and enchanting materials?

Upgrade materials are exclusively used to upgrade the tier and quality of weapons and items. Enchanting materials, on the other hand, are used to enchant the attributes of Unique items. As mentioned previously, enchanting materials don’t use a quality system, making them easier to gather from the start.

Avowed is available to purchase or play through Game Pass on PC and Xbox Series X/S.