Upgrading equipment in Nioh 3 isn’t only about finding higher-level drops—it’s about building a repeatable loop for materials, gold, and smart Blacksmith decisions. This guide walks you through a practical approach to getting upgrade materials faster, avoiding common resource traps, and knowing when it’s worth investing in a weapon or armor piece.

What the Blacksmith is for (and what it’s not)

The Blacksmith becomes valuable once you stop treating every drop as disposable. In general:

  • Use the Blacksmith to improve pieces you’ll keep for multiple missions (core weapon, key armor set parts).
  • Don’t over-invest early in gear you’ll replace in the next difficulty tier or region unless it’s carrying your build.
  • Think in “upgrade windows”: upgrade after a noticeable enemy damage spike, after unlocking new tempering options, or when you get a strong rarity/set synergy piece.

Material types you’ll need (and how you usually get them)

While exact names can vary by localization/version, upgrade systems in Nioh-like loot loops typically pull from a few sources:

  • Basic crafting mats (common metals/woods/leathers): best obtained by dismantling low-value loot in bulk.
  • Quality/rare mats: commonly come from dismantling higher-rarity gear and mission rewards.
  • Monster/guardian parts: obtained from yokai/enemy types and boss drops; prioritize missions that feature the enemies you need.
  • Currency (gold): earned from missions and selling, but also “saved” by not wasting tempering/reforge attempts.

The fastest material loop: keep, dismantle, sell (a simple rule set)

If you pick up everything, your inventory will explode and you’ll run out of time, not materials. Use a consistent sorting routine after each mission:

  1. Lock the items you’re actively building around (main weapon, best armor pieces, key accessories).
  2. Dismantle the rest of the gear that has low resale value or is common rarity—this converts clutter into upgrade mats.
  3. Sell the pieces that are valuable but not useful to you (often higher-rarity duplicates with bad affixes).
  4. Store niche items only if they clearly support a future build (set bonuses, rare inheritables, unusual affix combinations).

Why this works: dismantling creates a steady supply of materials, while selective selling keeps your gold healthy for tempering/forging costs.

How to target-farm materials without wasting time

When you’re missing a specific material, avoid random grinding. Instead:

  • Farm enemy-dense missions featuring the creature type that drops your needed components.
  • Repeat short missions with quick boss access if you need boss-linked materials.
  • Prioritize reward tables: if a mission guarantees a crafting component or high-rarity gear, it’s often more efficient than free roaming.
  • Use shrine/route discipline: run the same optimized path, loot only high-value targets, reset.

Forging vs. upgrading drops: which is better?

Use this decision checklist:

  • Forge when you need a specific weapon type or set piece and drops are not cooperating.
  • Upgrade a drop when it already has the right rarity, set bonus, or near-perfect affixes and you can carry it forward.
  • Don’t forge repeatedly “just to roll” unless you have a strong gold/material base—mass forging can be a stealth tax on progression.

Tempering/reforging: the biggest resource sink (and how to control it)

Many players burn their best materials trying to perfect an item too early. Keep tempering efficient:

  • Temper only the stats that change gameplay immediately (damage scaling, key survivability, ki/stance support).
  • Set a budget per item (for example: “3 attempts max on this slot right now”).
  • Stop when the item becomes “good enough”; perfect is for later difficulties.

When to commit to an upgrade (practical timing)

Commit resources when at least two of these are true:

  • You’re using a set bonus or build-defining synergy.
  • The piece has high rarity and affixes that align with your playstyle.
  • You’ve hit a point where enemies are out-damaging or out-tanking you and a weapon/armor bump solves it.
  • You have a stable material income (your dismantle/sell routine is working).

Common mistakes that slow down upgrades

  • Hoarding everything instead of converting loot into materials/gold.
  • Over-upgrading early gear that will be replaced soon.
  • Tempering endlessly chasing perfect rolls without a budget.
  • Farming the wrong content (long missions) when you need targeted drops from specific enemies or bosses.

Quick checklist: your post-mission Blacksmith routine

  1. Lock keepers (core gear).
  2. Dismantle bulk low-value gear for materials.
  3. Sell valuable duplicates for gold.
  4. Upgrade only the pieces that match your build.
  5. Temper with a strict attempt budget.

With this loop, your materials and gold steadily rise, and upgrades become a planned step in progression instead of a constant grind.