Instead, there’s an entirely separate means of equipping powerful weapons and armor in Salt and Sacrifice. Here’s how.

How to Equip Higher Tier Weapons and Armor in Salt and Sacrifice

As you level up in Salt and Sacrifice, you’ll earn the ability to activate the many nodes of the Tree of Skill grid. Most of these nodes raise a single stat point by one, meaning your progression will be slow but consistent.

If the node has a picture of a weapon or chest piece, it serves two purposes.

It will grant you the ability to use that weapon or armor. It will add a point to a stat appropriate to the type of weapon or armor so unlocked.

Every piece of gear in the game, including Runic Arts, which are tied to specific weapons, has a Tier attached to them. When you start a new character, you’ll have access to all Tier 0 gear and one set of Tier 1 equipment: the weapon type and armor your starting class comes with by default.

Unlocking the ability to wear or wield Tier 5 gear will see you spending thousands and thousands of Salt to activate all the Skill grid nodes required. You’ll need to choose where to specialize because you won’t be using everything on a single character for a long, long time, especially on a first playthrough.

By the time you’ve unlocked Tier 5 of anything, you’ll be far along on your chosen build path. If you focused only on making it to Tier 5, you might have a lot of work to unlock any other abilities, weapons, or armor types. We recommend you branch out a little, as increasing your Vitality and Endurance is important to not end up as a smear on the floor, even if doing so takes you a few extra Skill grid nodes.

Now you know how to equip all tiers of armor and weapon in Salt and Sacrifice. Like leveling, it’s not the most elegant process, but it’s what we’re working with here. Thankfully, the Metroidvania elements in this game are a little more straightforward, so look at our guide to getting the Grappling Hook for an example. Read our review of Salt and Sacrifice and head over to the guides hub for more.