In Hyper Light Breaker, choosing the right weapon is crucial to crafting the perfect build. While everyone starts with basic loadouts, the game offers ample opportunities to find equipment that aligns with your preferred playstyle. Hyper Light Breaker blends elements of roguelikes and extraction games, making the process of acquiring new weapons unique and engaging. Here’s a detailed guide on how to expand your arsenal in Hyper Light Breaker.
The primary method to acquire new gear is by exploring Overgrowths. During your runs, you'll naturally stumble upon various items, but if you're specifically hunting for weapons, navigate towards the sword or pistol icons on the map. These icons indicate the locations of Blades and Rails, respectively.
Blades, the melee weapons of choice, come with diverse movesets and special abilities that can greatly influence your combat style. On the other hand, Rails are your ranged options, each offering unique functions that set them apart. Both Blades and Rails are available in different rarities, with gold being the most coveted due to superior stats, following the traditional loot-based game mechanics.
If you discover a weapon in an Overgrowth that you want to keep for later, you can send it to your personal stash by selecting the Cache option instead of Equip. This allows you to modify your loadout for future runs at your convenience.
In addition to acquiring weapons during your runs, you can also purchase new starting gear from merchants located at the Cursed Outpost. Initially, you’ll have access to the Blades merchant, but to unlock the Rails merchant, you'll need to gather enough materials to repair their shop.
Keep in mind that merchants have a limited inventory, but their stock refreshes over time. If you don’t find anything appealing at first, be sure to revisit them later to see what new items are available.
To enhance your weapons, you can visit the merchants at the Outpost to upgrade your gear. However, the Upgrade feature must be unlocked first by increasing your affinity with the merchants. This involves collecting Golden Rations, a scarce resource found through world exploration or cycle resets. Given their rarity, it's wise to use Golden Rations judiciously.
Be aware that if you die in the game, the equipped gear loses durability, indicated by a pip's worth under their icons. Continued deaths will eventually cause your gear to break, so manage your equipment carefully to prolong its lifespan.