Tips for upgrading weapons in Death Trash

Death Trash is packed with all sorts of weapons for you to bludgeon, slice, shoot, and generally massacre your way through enemies with. Each enemy you kill will drop whatever weapon they’re using, allowing you to acquire new items for your arsenal. However, the game doesn’t make it clear that you can upgrade these weapons. This guide covers how you upgrade your weapons and offers some tips about doing so.

How to upgrade weapons in Death Trash

You can only upgrade your weapons through the use of specific upgrade items. While it’s possible to find these in the world, the most reliable source of weapon upgrades is through merchants. Not just any merchant, though — machine merchants.

These merchants usually have two or three weapon upgrades for you to purchase. Basic weapon upgrades cost around 40 Gold, but there are better upgrades for both weapons and gear that are a lot more expensive. As you can imagine, the first thing you need to do is buy the upgrade you want to use. Make sure it’s for a weapon you have. For example, there’s no point in buying a Blademaster upgrade for sharp melee weapons if you’ve only got blunt melee weapons.

Once you own the upgrade, you can access it from your inventory. First, you’ll need to select it and use it, and then you’ll be given a choice as to which weapon you apply it to. Choose the weapon you want to apply the upgrade to, and it’ll be permanently buffed by that upgrade.

Don’t upgrade too early

Areas in Death Trash vary in difficulty. You might find one location that’s packed with enemies you can kill in one hit, while another has foes that you can’t handle in a one-on-one battle. The weapons you’ll pick up in these areas correspond to their difficulty. If you’re struggling in an area, don’t upgrade your weapons yet — not unless you have no option but to tackle that area. Instead, explore the world and earn XP through battling easier foes elsewhere. By the time you’re finished, you might have increased in level and be able to take on that tougher location.

Related: Death Trash advanced tips, tricks, and hints

The point of waiting like this is to allow yourself time to pick up naturally better weapons from the more challenging location. Once you’ve acquired them, you can upgrade them and decimate any areas leading off of it that have even harder enemies to fight. This also gives you time to build up a supply of items to sell for the Gold you’ll need to buy weapon upgrades.

Choose your upgrades wisely

As we’ve mentioned, upgrades in Death Trash are incredibly specific. You can’t simply purchase a melee or firearm upgrade — you buy one for a specific type of weapon within those categories. That’s why it’s important to choose the upgrades you purchase wisely. Pay attention to the weapons you enjoy using in the first few hours. If you’re still running with the same strategy, say a rifle and a sword, you know that you mainly use this combination. Therefore, you should upgrade your rifle and sword first instead of a shotgun, energy gun, or bat.

Don’t buy an upgrade just because you can. Wait until you know what will benefit the weapons you use most.

Don’t neglect your backup weapons

Ammo is scarce in Death Trash. While you’ll be able to rely on a specific type of melee weapon consistently, you’ll be swapping firearms between each location if you’re pretty free with your trigger finger. If you’ve already upgraded your favorite firearm, don’t hesitate to buy an upgrade for your second favorite. When you’re low on ammo and still have five mutants to fight through, having an upgraded pistol in your back pocket is incredibly helpful.