Weapon Upgrades: Are they even worth it?

VillainFan42

Ex-Soldier
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FFXIV
Arza Ra'qael
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Prelude of Light <Lux>
So I decided to attempt to play through Final Fantasy XIII again so I can say I’ve beaten every main series game. However, I have to ask. It’s a bit of a roadblock I encountered while playing the first time. My question is: is it better to keep switching to new equipment as the game goes on? Or would it be more effective to just keep upgrading old weapons? I couldn’t find anything online answering my question. They were all about which weapons to upgrade. I’m asking if I should even bother.
 
Yes, I think it's worth bothering to upgrade weapons. I think it's more worthwhile to upgrade accessories though. In particular, I recommend maxing out the Black Belts and Rune Bracelets that you get; having access to 20% physical resistance and 20% magical resistance is strong and effective throughout the entire game.

Early on, I think you're best off upgrading some of the cheap weapons for your main Commando characters--not necessarily even maxing them. Later in the game, several characters are best served by switching to more expensive weapons once you have the resources to upgrade them at tier 2.
 
XIII takes a different approach to weapon design. Rather than having weapons scale linearly as you progress through the game (as well as being your core way to boost physical damage), weapons in XIII are more horizontally balanced; early weapons are more or less just as strong as end game weapons. The reason for this is because weapons are more about the abilities they offer, than generic stats. This allows any weapon to be useful at any point in the game.

That being said, you by no means will need to upgrade your weapons to get through the game, as long as you understand the battle mechanics. Upgrading weapons is more of a buffer to make things a little easier if you're having trouble, and to give you options for tackling post game content. If you're going to try the post game content, I would try to avoid upgrading much until you find a weapon with an ability you really prefer. If you're just trying to beat the story, I'd say upgrade to your heart's content, though as tiornys said, upgrading accessories can generally provide better benefits.
 
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