Wo Long Blacksmith Upgrades: Leather and Steel locations, Where to embed and upgrade your gear
Forge equipment that's as tough as the challenge ahead
When the heat of battle is as tough as it is in Wo Long, you need the most powerful gear you can lay your hands on to even the odds.
This means that upgrading your equipment at the Blacksmith is vitally important if you’re going to succeed, where every point of defense could save you from crushing defeat and even one extra damage could deliver glorious victory.
It's difficult enough to decide which is the best weapon in Wo Long for your playstyle, but once you get to grips with the system, upgrades in Wo Long are relatively straightforward. However, until you get to that point, there’s also a bewildering array of almost meaningless numbers, attributes and statistics to mull over.
As well as basic upgrades, there is also the “Embedment” system which lets you alter the special effects of your items to better suit your playstyle to consider, on top of the issue of finding the right leather and steel materials to eventually action the necessary upgrade.
Here’s everything you need to know about upgrades and embedment in Wo Long, as well as where to find different ranks of leather and steel throughout the different levels.
- Where to find the blacksmith in Wo Long
- How to upgrade items in Wo Long
- Should you spend your upgrade materials early?
- How Embedment works
- Wo Long Rank Leather locations
- Wo Long Rank Steel locations
Where to find the blacksmith in Wo Long
Early on in Wo Long’s story, you will encounter the Blacksmith during main missions. She will set up shop next to Battle Flags in the middle of the level and allow you to spend your early game materials on upgrades.
However, you unlock the Blacksmith’s permanent home once you reach the Hidden Village of Tianzhushan. From the Battle Flag, step over the edge of the cliff in front of you and walk down the knotted roots towards the lower village.
You will find the Blacksmith’s forge on the right-hand side of the village, next to the house where you use the Taoist’s keys.
From here you will be able to access her full range of services.
How to upgrade items in Wo Long
To upgrade an item, simply speak to the Blacksmith and choose the upgrade option. Then navigate to the weapon or armor piece you wish to upgrade and select it.
To make the upgrade, you will need a specific quality of steel for weapons and leather for armor. These are found throughout main and sub-battlefields (which is what missions are called in Wo Long), and we’ll go through where to find each rank in more detail below.
Should you spend your upgrade materials early in Wo Long?
In some games you’re only given a small amount of upgrade materials to eek out over the course of your adventure - Wo Long is not one of those games.
You will receive plenty of upgrade materials to increase the stats of multiple items relatively easily, so spend your materials liberally on whatever you like the look of.
Also, don’t worry if you decide you don’t want to use a weapon that you have invested heavily in somewhere down the line. If you “Salvage” a weapon at the Blacksmith, you can recoup all of the materials spent to increase its stats, including any high rank steel and leather.
How Embedment works in Wo Long
Items in Wo Long aren’t just all about the damage and defense stats, they also come with a raft of special effects that can be just as useful as anything else in battle.
One-star items only have a single special effect, while two-star items have two, three-star items have a third special effect, and four-star items have four.
There are a huge amount of different effects that can appear on a weapon, but not all of them will be useful for every player. For example, an increase in Stone damage won’t be useful if you’re invested completely in Metal magic, or vice versa.
To tweak your equipment to better suit your needs, head into the Embedment menu and select your chosen item. Then select “choose special effect slot” and you can pick whichever effect is least useful.
You can then add a new special effect from the list of effects you have collected. These are obtained by salvaging surplus gear.
Changing special effects through Embedment costs a small amount of Jewel Fragments, which are also obtained by salvaging surplus gear, but can also be sporadically found during missions.
Wo Long Rank Leather locations
- Rank 1 Leather is found from Level 2 Two Chivalrous Heroes onwards
- Rank 2 Leather is found from Level 3 The Valley of Crying Wraiths onwards
- Rank 3 Leather is found from Level 4 The Demon Fort of the Yellow Heaven onwards
- Rank 4 Leather is found from Level 6 Fall of the Corrupted Eunuch onwards
- Rank 5 Leather is found from Level 7 The Battle of Hulaoguan Pass onwards
- Rank 6 Leather is found from Level 9 Darkness over the Hanshui River onwards
- Rank 7 Leather is found from Level 10 Tyrant's Final Banquet onwards
- Rank 8 Leather is found in the Taoist's back yard and later levels
Wo Long Rank Steel locations
- Rank 1 Steel is found from Level 2 Two Chivalrous Heroes onwards
- Rank 2 Steel is found from Level 3 The Valley of Crying Wraiths onwards
- Rank 3 Steel is found from Level 5 In Search of the Immortal Wizard onwards
- Rank 4 Steel is found from Level 6 Fall of the Corrupted Eunuch onwards
- Rank 5 Steel is found from Level 8 Centuries of Glory Burned Away onwards
- Rank 6 Steel is found from Level 9 Darkness over the Hanshui River onwards
- Rank 7 Steel is found from Level 11 War's Flames Blaze Fiercely onwards
- Rank 8 Steel is found in the Taoist's back yard and later levels
For more advice on the intricate systems at play in Team Ninja's hardcore epic, here are our best Wo Long tips for beginners and veterans.