In Fortnite Chapter 2, Epic Games introduced a new mechanic in the form of a Weapon Upgrade Bench. These benches would allow payers to spend materials (wood, brick, metal) in return for upgrading one of their weapons. This incentivized farming materials more than ever as players could upgrade their weapons for a handful of mats instead of spending large amounts of time looking for a better weapon.
However, the weapon Upgrade Benches don't seem to be used a frequently as you might think. This stems from a plethora of reasons including not knowing where they are, not knowing what you can upgrade, and not knowing how much an upgrade costs. This guide will help players easily locate upgrade benches and will teach players how to use them effectively.
Weapon Upgrade Bench Locations in Fortnite
There are plenty of workbenches scattered across Battle Island but they can still be a bit tough to locate as they are usually hidden away inside buildings as opposed to being out in the open. Upgrade Benches are usually found tucked away inside houses, basements, or hideouts. They do not make any noise like chests or vans so pinpointing their location can be a bit tough.
Luckily the map provided above circles the area on the map where each Upgrade Bench can be found. Most every large POI has an upgrade bench available for players to use, and every secret hideout has one. You can find the exact location of every secret hideout here.
Upgradable Weapons in Fortnite
With upgrade benches, not all weapons can be upgraded. A good rule of thumb is if you know a weapon has a higher tier (from green to blue, or purple to orange) then it can be upgraded.
Assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, rocket launchers, and sniper rifles can all be upgraded to legendary.
Rapid Fire SMGs, regular SMGs, and Suppressed SMGs can all be upgraded to rare (blue).
Harpoon Guns, consumables, and throwables cannot be upgraded.
However, each upgrade comes with a cost, and the higher the tier of upgrade the more materials the upgrade will cost.
Weapon Upgrade Costs in Fortnite
All weapons, no matter the type, have a set upgrade cost depending on what tier the player is upgrading their weapon too. Some weapons, such as rocket launchers and sniper rifles, can only be found in Epic and Legendary rarities so their upgrades will automatically cost more than if you were to upgrade a shotgun from common to uncommon.
When a player upgrades a weapon it requires a certain amount of all three types of material (wood, stone, metal). This makes upgrades very expensive and requires good mat management and a lot of farming. If a player has 999 wood but only 30 metal they will not be able to upgrade their weapons even though they have a substantial amount of wood.
Here is a list breaking down the cost of each upgrade by tier:
- Common (grey) to Uncommon (green) - 50 wood, 50 stone, 50 metal
- Uncommon (green) to Rare (blue) - 100 wood, 100, stone, 100 metal
- Rare (blue) to Epic (purple) - 150 wood, 150 stone, 150 metal
- Epic (purple) to Legendary (orange/gold) - 200 wood, 200 stone, 200 metal
As you can see, the higher the tier the more expensive the upgrade. In some cases, it may be better to search areas for loot to find a better weapon before resorting to upgrading. Upgrading a common shotgun to legendary would cost a player 500 of each material which could cripple a player later game if they run out of mats. It would be smarter for a player to find a Rare or Epic weapon first before turning to upgrades.
Not only do higher tier weapons cost more but they also take longer to upgrade. Common to uncommon may take just a couple of seconds to upgrade, but rare to epic can take a lot longer so make sure your surroundings are clear if you plan to upgrade your weapons to higher tiers.
However, upgrading a weapon is not the only use for an upgrade bench.
Weapon Sidegrading in Fortnite
Not only can players upgrade their weapons, but they can also sidegrade their weapons. This allows players to modify the type of weapon they are sidegrading without upgrading it, and for a fraction of the cost.
For instance, some NPC's in Chapter 2 Season 2 carry heavy assault rifles that deal a lot of damage but have a slower rate of fire compared to a normal assault rifle. Heavy ARs also have increased bloom and recoil which make them unfavorable by players.
However, players can sidegrade these weapons to turn them into a normal AR without losing the tier of the weapon. Players can also freely switch back and forth between each sidegrade as long as they have the mats.
Sidegrading a weapon costs 20 of each material and can take a long time depending on the tier of the weapon. Currently, sidegrading is only available to switch between a heavy and a normal AR, but more options could come in the future.
When to Upgrade Weapons
Early to mid-game are the best times to upgrade weapons, especially if players have been farming materials. Upgrading a common weapon at the start of a match to rare can give the player the upper hand they need to win early game battles. Other players may not have very many materials during this phase of a match so build battles may not occur as frequently as they would later game.
However, expending materials to upgrade past Rare tier is not encouraged unless players come across a substantial amount of materials such as llamas, airdrops, or killing other players. In late game materials are precious and if a player has spent a majority of their match farming materials, it is better to keep them on hand then spend them on a weapon upgrade.
While higher tier weapons deal more damage, the decision for who wins a battle rarely comes from whether a player has a blue or a purple tactical shotgun, but rather who was able to build cover. However, sidegrading late game can give a player the weapon the need to take advantage of a situation.
In short, go for smaller upgrades early to mid-game, and only go fir higher tier upgrade if you have expendable materials.
Fortnite is available on PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Mobile Devices.