Ratchet & Clank free for PS4: how to upgrade weapons and gadgets

Ratchet & Clank free for PS4

One of the main cornerstones of the gameplay and gaming experience of the entire Ratchet & Clank series, and in particular of the last chapter published exclusively for PlayStation 4 in the course of 2016, are the numerous weapons that the protagonist can use to advance within the levels of the game.

The very last chapter published boasts a huge arsenal of absurd and spectacular weapons and gadgets at the disposal of the galactic ranger protagonist of the adventure, and each of them can be repeatedly upgraded and improved both to increase purely parametric stats, such as weapon damage or range, and to unlock extra fire modes or other wacky features. Additionally, some weapon upgrades will provide permanent increases to the amount of Raritanium, Bolt, and Holo-Tabs that will be released by defeated enemies. There are two ways in which you can upgrade the characteristics of a weapon: by increasing its level and by spending the Raritanium collected through Gadgetron dealers.

Weapon level

Let's start with the first of these two methods, the one based on the level. Each weapon in the game, once unlocked and purchased, will become available in your arsenal with an initial level of 1. Whenever one of the bullets fired from a weapon hits an enemy, its level progresses slightly, until it reaches level 5. With each upgrade obtained, your weapon will earn a permanent increase to the damage dealt and new exclusive upgrades, which can be purchased in the shop by spending units of Raritanium. Finally, reaching level 5 with a certain weapon will allow you to unlock a special version of it (called the Omega Version), with a unique name, appearance and characteristics (such as different fire modes and other extravagant modifications). Special versions of level 5 weapons will only become usable after they have been purchased from a Gadgetron themselves, and can be further upgraded up to level 10.

Upgrades with Raritanium

Crystals of Raritanium constitute, together with the Bolt, one of the two main resources that can be earned by progressively defeating the numerous enemies you will encounter during your adventure or by destroying the so-called deposits of Raritanium, formations of crystals scattered throughout the levels of the game. To upgrade a weapon using these special crystals you will first have to open the shop through the Gadgetron stations, and then select the weapon you intend to upgrade. At this point a particular screen will appear with a sort of scheme divided into hexagonal boxes, each of which represents an improvement of the weapon and can be unlocked, by activating the corresponding permanent enhancement, by spending 1 Raritanium crystal. The unlocking of the upgrade boxes must be progressive, so in order to unlock the possibility of buying a box you must first have purchased at least one of those adjacent to it. In addition, each level reached with the weapon will unlock one of the four boxes initially hidden under the big question marks. Each of these special upgrades can only be acquired definitively by purchasing all the upgrade boxes that surround it with the Raritanium, thus creating a sort of rather stimulating minigame. To maximize the effectiveness of your weapons right away, we therefore recommend that you focus only on some of them, in particular the first ones you will get, in order to use them a lot and thus increase their level quickly, and then spend all the Raritanium collected. to upgrade them to the maximum and thus have real war machines at your disposal that will be able to easily get you out of the most excited situations.

We remind you that, waiting for the arrival of Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Ratchet & Clank for PS4 is free for everyone, even for those who do not have an active subscription to the PlayStation Plus service. You have until March 31, 2021 to redeem it, once added to your library it will remain yours forever.