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Components are used to upgrade your weapons and accessories by adding experience to them. You can get to the upgrade menu from save stations when you obtain the Omni-kit Key in The Vile Peaks. When you've selected the weapon or accessory to upgrade, you'll go to the component list where you can choose which component to use and in what quantity, if you have more than one. When you select a component, you'll see how much experience it provides. Each component has a set amount of experience and a hidden multiplier that affects how big your experience gain will be in conjunction with the hidden rank of the item you're upgrading.

In general, organic components give greater experience multipliers and less experience, while the opposite is true of mechanical components. If you just want to upgrade by feel and not worry about min/maxing for efficiency, try to put as many organic components as you can on the item until you reach an experience multiplier of 3, then as many of your highest experience-paying mechanical component as you need, in one go. The reason you want to upgrade with a single mechanical component, is they actually reduce your experience multiplier, making each individual upgrade less and less effective. This means you will get more experience for upgrading with five of a single component at once than upgrading five times with one of the component.

The other function of components is to make you money. Plenty of components will be worthless as far as upgrading goes, but some of them can be sold for a lot of Gil. Most everything you need can be found on enemies or in item spheres, but occasionally you'll want to make a purchase, and farming the correct component will save you a lot of time.

Upgrading[edit]

Each weapon or accessory has a certain amount of levels until it maxes out. Once it has reached its max level, denoted by a ★ replacing its level number, you can upgrade it to its next incarnation using a catalyst. At this point the item gets a new name and is generally more powerful and has more levels so you can continue upgrading it. Weapons can be upgraded twice and accessories can be upgraded once or numerous times depending on the item. All level two and Omega level weapons are only available by upgrading level one weapons, and the same goes for the highest levels of accessories.

When you start the game, you'll likely not come across the weapon you want for your long-term play right away, so don't bother upgrading anything until the later chapters where you'll have access to most weapons and have the freedom to get to good farming locations. It's more worth your while in the beginning to upgrade a few accessories instead, as they upgrade quicker and you can dismantle them when you've found something better. Don't dismantle or sell any of your weapons though, as you won't really know which one you want to use until very far into the game.

Advanced upgrading[edit]

Once you understand the science behind the component upgrade system, you'll want to find components based on availability and cost. The factors involved in upgrading are the item's rank and level, the component's rank and experience multiplier and if transforming the item, its catalyst. The rank of the item you're upgrading will determine how much experience you get from the component, with lower ranked items getting more experience, and higher ranked items getting less. This means that better items get progressively harder to upgrade.

Running total Multiplier
0–50 ×1
51–100 ×1.25
101–200 ×1.5
201–250 ×1.75
251–500 ×2
500+ ×3
Boosting the experience multiplier

The first thing you want to do is max out the experience multiplier, so that when you use a high experience component you get three times the experience. Building the experience multiplier is done in the background by keeping a running total of what you've used to upgrade with. Components with positive and negative multiplier values are added together until certain thresholds are met, at which point your multiplier will go up or down. To calculate how many components you'll need, simply divide 500 by the multiplier value of the component. Obviously, the best components to use to get your multiplier up will be ones with a high multiplier values that are easy and cheap to come by.

Maxing the experience

Once you have your item at ×3 experience, you'll want to get as many of a high-experience component as you can and upgrade with all of them, all at once. When you select a component, you'll be able to set how many to use if you have more than one. Because the inventory cap is at 99, you'll want to use a component with high enough experience to go straight to the max level in one shot. Keep in mind that if you don't have enough high-experience components, you'll want to boost your multiplier again before continuing to upgrade, as your multiplier will become tanked with mechanical components' negative multiplier values.

The experience values in the tables below are based on an item with an average rank of 6. You'll find that a component may award more or less experience if the item has a lower or higher rank. To find out exactly how much experience it will take, you can upgrade the item once and see how much the required experience grows by, which stays constant between levels. For instance, if it requires 1,000 experience to upgrade the item to level 2, and then it requires 1,500 the next time, you know the requirement will increase by 500 experience points for every level. You can then use the following formula to determine the exact amount of experience needed:

Taking the example above, if the item's max level is 30, then the upgrades needed would be 28 (starting by upgrading to level 3, since you upgraded to level 2 to find the increment). The experience needed for the first upgrade (to level 3) is 1,500 and the increment of each level is 500. That gives:

So you need 231,000 experience to go from level 2 to level 30. Once you have the experience you need, divide it by three (for the multiplier you'll be enjoying) and then divide again by the experience granted by the component. This will tell you how many of the component you need to use. Make sure to use the amount between the second and third upgrade as a in the formula, then subtract the extra after you arrive at the sum so the results aren't skewed.

Alternatively, you can just save first, then guesstimate and reload if you're off. For this method, use bracketing to close in on the actual amount. Bracketing is simply choosing a number and if you're high or low, try another number that is likely to be on the other side of the number so you can keep breaking the bracket down in half. For instance, in the above example, you might start with the amount of components that give you 200,000 experience, and find yourself short. Reload and try 250,000, showing that the number you need is between it. The next time you reload, use 225,000 and continue going halfway up or down depending on where you are until you get the appropriate amount.

Organic components[edit]

These components are good for boosting your experience multiplier. Using the multiplier values, add components until your running total is at 500 or more to get a ×3 multiplier, then upgrade with a mechanical component.

If the component can be bought, it will say shop, even if a creature drops it, because you'll want to have these components in bulk and it's more efficient to farm for high-Gil components then buy good upgrading components than it is to farm for the upgrade components directly. If it's not available in a shop, the creature that drops it will be noted in the Available column. Depending on whether the component is dropped or purchased, the Drop / Cost column will tell you what kind of drop it is (common or rare) or how much it costs to buy it.

Sorting by multiplier value then cost, you'll find that store-bought components worth buying come in two groups: ones for 80 Gil and ones for 150 Gil. At the top of the multiplier value column for each price, you'll find three items in each group. These are your most efficient multiplier growers on a Gil / multiplier basis.

80 / +14 components
  • Barbed Tail
  • Sturdy Bone
  • Vibrant Ooze
150 / +21 components
  • Diabolical Tail
  • Otherworldly Bone
  • Transparent Ooze

These two groups give 0.175 multiplier value per Gil and 0.14 multiplier value per Gil, with the more expensive group being slightly less efficient. Since you need a 500 multiplier value total, it would require thirty-six 80 Gil components (500÷14) or twenty-four 150 Gil components (500÷21). You can see there is an added benefit to the higher priced components in that you can bring the multiplier value up to ×3 four times with a 99 item inventory cap, whereas you only have enough room to hit the ×3 multiplier twice with the cheaper ones. Of course you can just top off your inventory after upgrading, but at higher levels where you may be upgrading a lot of equipment, you have the opportunity to cut down on half the busy-work.

For min/maxing your experience multiplier, it is better to sell the other components to purchase more of the efficient ones in the long run. It's not as big of a deal for the really cheap ones, which it's quicker to just use up than sell, but if you end up with a component like the Starblossom Seed that has +91 multiplier value, just consider that its 13,000 Gil sale price will fetch 86 of the 150 Gil components, which translates into +1,806 for your multiplier value.

Component Experience Multiplier Value Enemy / Shop Drop / Cost Sale Price Value Ratio
Abominable Wing 21 +17 Shop 150 75 0.113
Abyssal Scale 23 +16 Orobon 75 0.106
Ancient Bone 43 +31 Yaksha 110 0.140
Armored Shell 26 +20 Shop 150 75 0.133
Barbed Tail 12 +14 Shop 80 40 0.175
Begrimed Claw 4 +4 Kaiser Behemoth 15 0.133
Bestial Claw 11 +10 Shop 80 40 0.125
Black Mycelium 84 +51 N/A N/A 675 0.039
Blue Mycelium 22 +21 N/A N/A 190 0.055
Chipped Fang 4 +7 Gorgonopsid 15 0.233
Chocobo Plume 7 +34 Chocobo 20 0.850
Chocobo Tail Feather 29 +58 Chocobo 50 0.580
Cie'th Tear 6 +10 Seeker 15 0.333
Dawnlight Dew 12 +31 Chocobo 500 0.031
Diabolic Tail 24 +21 Shop 150 75 0.140
Dusklight Dew 28 +42 Chocobo 850 0.024
Enigmatic Fluid 14 +12 Shop 80 40 0.150
Entrancing Tail 43 +31 Mushussu 110 0.140
Esoteric Oil 47 +29 Alraune 110 0.131
Fiendish Horn 31 +17 Goblin 75 0.113
Fluffy Wool 33 +27 Sheep 110 0.122
Fractured Horn 3 +6 Goblin 15 0.200
Fragrant Oil 14 +12 Shop 80 40 0.150
Gargantuan Claw 24 +15 Shop 150 75 0.100
Gloomstalk 32 +46 Microchu 1,000 0.023
Green Needle 60 +100 Shop 7,000 3,500 0.014
Gummy Oil 5 +6 Alraune 15 0.200
Hellish Talon 42 +24 Kaiser Behemoth 110 0.109
Ineffable Fluid 43 +29 Ceratosaur 110 0.131
Infernal Horn 37 +26 Borgbear 110 0.118
Iron Shell 13 +13 Shop 80 40 0.162
Malodorous Fruit 7 +21 N/A N/A 4,000 0.002
Medicinal Oil 29 +19 Shop 150 75 0.126
Menacing Wings 37 +26 Zimitra 110 0.118
Moistened Scale 3 +5 Sahagin 15 0.166
Molted Tail 4 +8 Triffid 15 0.266
Monstrous Fang 26 +20 Shop 150 75 0.133
Moonblossom Seed 73 +55 Bandersnatch 6,000 0.004
Murky Ooze 4 8 Fan 15 0.266
Mysterious Fluid 29 +19 Shop 150 75 0.126
Otherworldly Bone 24 +21 Shop 150 75 0.140
Perfume 180 +120 Sacrifice 12,500 0.004
Red Mycelium 6 +10 85 0.058
Regenerating Carapace 47 +30 Gurangatch 110 0.136
Rough Wool 9 +13 Sheep 40 0.162
Scaled Wing 10 +12 Shop 80 40 0.150
Scraggly Wool 2 +7 Sheep 15 0.233
Seaking's Beard 40 +25 Dagonite 110 0.113
Seapetal Scale 11 +11 Sahagin 40 0.137
Segmented Carapace 4 +7 Navidon 15 0.233
Severed Wing 3 +6 Amphisbaena 15 0.200
Shattered Bone 4 +8 Yaksha 15 0.266
Sinister Fang 47 +30 Uridimmu 110 0.136
Smooth Hide 23 +16 Shop 150 75 0.106
Spined Horn 10 +12 Munchkin 40 0.150
Starblossom Seed 230 +91 Bandersnatch 13,000 0.003
Strange Fluid 5 +6 Ceratosaur 15 0.200
Sturdy Bone 12 +14 Shop 80 40 0.175
Succulent Fruit 10 +55 N/A N/A 1,750 0.015
Sunpetal 102 +21 Ochu 1,000 0.010
Supple Leather 40 +25 Adroa 110 0.113
Tear of Frustration 12 +14 Pijavica 40 0.175
Tear of Remorse 24 +24 Seeker 75 0.160
Tear of Woe 49 +40 Vampire 110 0.181
Thick Wool 19 +18 Sheep 75 0.120
Thickened Hide 11 +11 Shop 80 40 0.137
Torn Leather 3 +5 Adroa 15 0.166
Transparent Ooze 24 +21 Shop 150 75 0.140
Vibrant Ooze 12 +14 Shop 80 40 0.175
White Mycelium 48 +34 N/A N/A 360 0.047
Wicked Fang 13 +13 Shop 80 40 0.162
Wonder Gel 49 +31 Ectopudding 110 0.140

Mechanical components[edit]

Best experience
Component Exp. to Gil ratio Exp. per 99 units
Ultracompact Reactor 0.80 3,960,000
Particle Accelerator 0.48 475,200
Perfect Conductor 0.47 74,349
Superconductor 0.48 39,600

Mechanical components give the most experience for your item, at the cost of negative multiplier values. Your new multiplier is calculated after applying the experience from a component, so the larger quantity of a single component you use to upgrade, the more experience your high multiplier will have the chance to act on. Since there is no reason to bring your total over 500 where you get the ×3 multiplier, using a component with even just -1 multiplier value can push you down to the ×2 level. If you don't fully upgrade your item to its max level in one shot, be sure to add some organic components again to reestablish your multiplier.

Taking a look at the items available in shops, you'll find that there are only four components that will give you over .45 experience per Gil. To level your weapons up to their maxed out ultimate forms, you'll need a ton of experience, so shopping is really the only way to go about it, as it is more efficient to farm for high-Gil components and use them to purchase high-experience components than to farm for high-experience components directly. The components worth farming for Gil are also mechanical, and you won't be tempted to use them for experience as none of them gives more than a single experience point.

Generally speaking, it takes around 50,000 experience to max out a starting weapon, around 450,000 to max the second transformation and around 1,500,000 to max the ultimate form of the weapon. As you can see, only Superconductors should be used to upgrade equipment, if you want to max them out in one shot. You can use these rules of thumb when figuring out the amount of experience and reload and try bracketing to get it exact, or you can use the formula from the advanced upgrading section to come directly to the number.

Component Experience Multiplier Value Enemy / Shop Drop / Cost Sale Price Value Ratio
Active Detector 582 -82 Pulsework Centurion 750 0.388
Actuator 220 -46 N/A N/A 420 0.261
Amplifier 108 -28 Shop 520 260 0.207
Analog Circuit 40 -9 Hoplite 90 0.222
Bomb Ashes 37 -8 Cryohedron 90 0.205
Bomb Core 551 -78 Cryohedron 600 0.459
Bomb Shell 206 -53 Circuitron 420 0.245
Bomb Fragment 82 -27 Shop 430 215 0.190
Butterfly Valve 232 -50 Ambling Bellows 420 0.276
Cactuar Doll 1 -1 Cactuar 12,000 0.000
Carburetor 274 -75 Immortal 420 0.326
Ceramic Armor 147 -35 Shop 660 330 0.222
Chobham Armor 460 -54 Bulwarker 500 0.460
Crankshaft 215 -47 Shop 840 420 0.255
Credit Chip 1 -1 Sanctum Archangel 500 0.001
Crystal Oscillator 845 -79 Megrim Thresher 1,000 0.422
Digital Circuit 89 -21 Aquila Velocycle 230 0.193
Electrode 434 -56 Vernal Harvester 500 0.434
Electrolytic Capacitor 68 -20 Bulwarker 160 0.212
Epicyclic Gear 66 -20 Shop 320 160 0.206
Ferroelectric Film 102 -37 Shop 460 230 0.221
Fiber-optic Cable 216 -49 Shop 840 420 0.257
Flywheel 204 -48 N/A N/A 420 0.242
Gold Dust 1 0 Chocobo N/A 15,000 0.000
Gold Nugget 1 0 Chocobo N/A 60,000 0.000
Gyroscope 149 -34 Megrim Thresher 330 0.225
Incentive Chip 1 -1 Sanctum Archangel 2,500 0.000
Insulated Cabling 65 -18 Shop 280 140 0.232
Iridium Plug 102 -48 N/A N/A 420 0.121
Liquid Crystal Lens 70 -19 Shop 320 160 0.218
Mobius Coil 627 -81 Vernal Harvester 800 0.391
Moogle Puppet 1 -1 Chocobo N/A 18,000 0.000
Needle Valve 70 -21 Boxed Phalanx 160 0.218
Particle Accelerator 4,800 -87 Shop 10,000 5,000 0.480
Paraffin Oil 67 -20 Shop 320 160 0.209
Passive Detector 188 -54 Shop 840 420 0.223
Perfect Conductor 751 -83 Shop 1,600 800 0.469
Piezoelectric Element 310 -50 Shop 840 420 0.369
Platinum Ingot 1 0 Adamantortoise, Adamantoise 150,000 0.000
Plush Chocobo 1 -1 Chocobo N/A 35,000 0.000
Polymer Emulsion 48 -18 Shop 200 100 0.240
Radial Bearing 64 -20 Shop 320 160 0.200
Ring Joint 208 -50 Shop 840 420 0.247
Silicone Oil 152 -32 Shop 660 330 0.230
Solenoid 220 -47 Hoplite 420 0.261
Spark Plug 62 -18 Pulsework Gladiator 140 0.221
Sprocket 71 -21 N/A N/A 160 0.221
Supercharger 774 -82 N/A N/A 800 0.483
Superconductor 400 -59 Orion/Shop 840 420 0.476
Synthetic Muscle 222 -49 N/A N/A 420 0.264
Titanium Tube 565 -84 N/A N/A 750 0.376
Tesla Turbine 823 -79 Anavatapta Warmech 900 0.457
Thrust Bearing 200 -48 Pulsework Gladiator 420 0.238
Tonberry Figurine 1 -1 Mission 41 N/A 28,500 0.000
Transformer 42 -9 Tyrant 90 0.233
Tungsten Tube 192 -53 Juggernaut 420 0.228
Turbojet 212 -46 Shop 840 420 0.252
Turboprop 768 -85 N/A N/A 800 0.480
Ultracompact Reactor 40,000 -100 Shop 50,000 25,000 0.800

Catalysts[edit]

Catalysts give no experience and don't affect your multiplier value. They are solely used to transform an item at max level into its next incarnation.

Component Shop Buy Sell
Millerite The Motherlode 3,000 1,000
Rhodochrosite The Motherlode 8,000 2,000
Cobaltite The Motherlode 17,000 3,000
Parovskite The Motherlode 30,000 4,000
Uraninite The Motherlode 45,000 5,000
Mnar Stone The Motherlode 60,000 6,000
Scarletite The Motherlode 100,000 7,000
Adamantite R&D Depot 220,000 8,000
Dark Matter R&D Depot 840,000 9,000
Trapezohedron R&D Depot 2,000,000 10,000