Best Weapons in Valor Mortis: Tier List & Upgrade Costs

Valor Mortis gives you three blades, three firearms and three Transmutations, and you swap between them on the weapon wheel. Which ones you invest in matters. Upgrade materials are limited, and the top tier is never sold, so you can only take a few weapons to their maximum level in one playthrough.

This guide ranks all nine weapons and backs the ranking with the numbers: damage at every upgrade level, posture damage, firearm clip and reload times, the full material bill to max each one, and how many basic hits each needs to kill every boss.

Valor Mortis weapon tier list

Why the Saber tops the list: it triples its damage across ten levels (20 to 60), the steepest scaling of any blade, it can block and parry, and its five-hit light chain ends on a ×2 finisher. Its upgrade tree adds Endurance and Health on hit (Advanced and Expert Swordsmanship), and at level 10 it matches the Pistol's 60 damage per hit. The Claymore hits harder at every level (50 to 100), channels a Burning Wave and a Wave of Stasis, and suits trading builds, but it cannot parry. The Fire Transmutation earns S because fire is the one weakness that matters on bosses: +40% on General Lothaire and +20% on Experiment 83. The Orphan is not on that list, since both phases of its fight reset its fire weakness to 0%.

The Rapier is the parry weapon: 150 posture per perfect parry and a tree built on parries, but it cannot block properly and has the lowest level-10 damage of the blades (45). The Musket (150 to 300 per shot) and Blunderbuss share special ammunition, so their damage comes in short bursts. The Shield Transmutation gets A for the Impenetrable Defence upgrade, the only upgrade that lets you block red attacks. Stasis is powerful against the right bosses but resisted by General Lothaire, Experiment 83 and the Iron Marshall.

Damage per upgrade level

Transmutations scale differently, over five levels: the Fire Transmutation goes from 15 to 20 damage (with Ignite damage from 4 to 6), while the Stasis and Shield values are multipliers (Stasis ×1.0 to ×1.5, Shield ×1.0 to ×1.75). Compare any two side by side in the weapon comparison tool.

Weapon stats compared

Ammunition is the real limit on firearms. The Pistol carries 15 rounds, while the Musket and Blunderbuss draw from a 6-round special pouch. Special Cartridges (2 rounds for 300 Catalysts, from James after Chapter 5) and the Ammo Restock board node (+1 special and +2 Pistol rounds restocked at Lanterns per purchase) keep them fed.

Hits to kill every boss at level 10 (calculated)

Two things jump out. First, a level-10 Musket needs only 5 to 20 body shots for any boss, but you carry 6 special rounds, so it is a burst tool rather than a main weapon. Second, resistances matter: Anna halves firearm damage, which is why a level-10 Pistol needs 74 body shots on her versus 37 Saber hits. Against Captain Raphael (−30% firearms) the blades are also the efficient choice. Every boss page has the full grid at levels 1, 5 and 10 (see the Orphan).

Upgrade materials: why you can only max a few

Blades and firearms take 6 tier-1, 6 tier-2, 3 tier-3 and 1 tier-4 material to go from level 1 to 10; Transmutations take 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 to reach level 5. James's Iron Bench and Louis's Laboratoire sell tiers 1 to 3 in limited stock, but tier-4 materials are never sold. The copies placed in the world set a hard cap on how many weapons reach max level:

So in one playthrough you can max at most 3 blades, 2 of the 3 firearms and 2 of the 3 Transmutations. Buying tiers 1 to 3 for a single blade costs 6 × 1,500 + 6 × 3,000 + 3 × 6,000 = 45,000 Catalysts at James's prices (the same for firearms), and 2 × 2,000 + 2 × 4,000 + 2 × 8,000 = 28,000 for a Transmutation at Louis's. Maxing a weapon of each type unlocks the Bladesmith, Gun of Glory and Transmutation Artifex achievements.

Upgrade trees at a glance

Each weapon unlocks Enhancements as you level it. Where two are listed with "or", they are either/or choices at that level, and you can switch between unlocked Enhancements.

• Saber: Advanced Swordsmanship (every fifth consecutive attack hits harder and restores Endurance) and Expert Swordsmanship (every third restores Health) make it self-sustaining.
• Pistol: the level-2 Nephtoglobin Infusion bullet (40 posture) is a free posture-break tool; Automatic Mayhem at level 10 drops the shot cooldown to 0.1 s.
• Musket: Puncture (shots pierce) at level 2, and the Cannon infusion at level 5 for an explosive round.
• Blunderbuss: Showstopper at level 2 makes shots interrupt Unblockable Attacks.
• Shield Transmutation: Impenetrable Defence (level 4) blocks red attacks; Shield Bash (level 5) deals 100 posture and knocks enemies back.

How to get each weapon

Every weapon is granted by a story cutscene the first time you reach it: the Saber, Pistol and Fire Transmutation on the Battlefield, the Blunderbuss in the Fallen Village, the Stasis Transmutation in the Caverns, the Musket in the Vale of Wrath, the Claymore in Cursed Hollow, the Shield Transmutation in the University and the Rapier at the Abandoned Church hub. Unlocking all nine gives the Arsenal Absolute achievement. Each weapon page shows its location and full moveset.