To start with, your weapon is just that, a weapon. A pointy stick or sticks used to poke other people. But as you grow as an adventurer, your weapon becomes an extension of yourself, and the tricks you can pull off with it increase exponentially.
There's a saying in Port Fortuna - Take care of your weapon and it’ll take care of you.
Each weapon has a main attack and associated abilities that can be used in conjunction to improve your prowess in the dungeons.
These abilities are unlocked as your level with your weapon increases and you get more proficient with it.
You can switch to your ability via the appropriate slot on your hotbar. After use, the ability takes time to cool down, immediately switching back to your main weapon, so you don’t get stuck fumbling in your inventory to get back to hitting those monsters.
While they start off small, as you level up your Weapon Loyalty you can upgrade your attacks and abilities to become even stronger, from adding additional damage and effects to your hits to adding ranges to your abilities, and other bonuses.
Upgrades initially cost Scrip, but as they get more powerful, they’ll need powerful items like Soul Catalysts to take your weapon to the next level!
Each weapon has unique abilities, so it can pay to experiment to find the right playstyle for you.
Abilities aren’t the only thing that can improve your weapon; Runes can take your weapon from zero to hero in no time flat.
From adding extra elemental damage to attacks to boosting your health to supercharging your mana, Rune can add flexibility and versatility to your weapon at a moment's notice, without going to all the trouble of crafting a new weapon and improving your Weapon Loyalty with it.
The only limit?
You can only have three Runes active at one time, so feel free to experiment and find the loadout that works for you!