Final Fantasy XIV: How to upgrade Monster Hunter Veldian weapons (Guardian Arkveld)

Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion has a few ways to get great weapons right now: The Veldian Weapons from the Monster Hunter collaboration, Relic Weapons, and the Aetherpool weapons. Technically speaking, the Monster Hunter Veldian weapon is easy to farm, because all you have to do is beat Guardian Arkveld once for each weapon you’re trying to collect. However, you can also upgrade those.

Two of these were introduced in patch 7.35; the Relic Weapons have been around for a while, but received their next step in patch 7.31. It’s nice that there are so many ways to get a decent weapon, but if you’re looking to put out just a bit more DPS with your Monster Hunter Veldian weapon in Final Fantasy XIV, here’s what you need to know.

How to upgrade the Monster Hunter Veldian weapons in Final Fantasy XIV

If you want to upgrade the Veldian weapons from the Final Fantasy XIV x Monster Hunter collaboration, you first need to get a Veldian weapon coffer. This requires you to simply defeat Guardian Arkveld on Normal or Extreme; either works, to be honest. Each time you best the boss, you’ll receive a Veldian weapon coffer on top of any other rewards.

It'll take some effort, but with a good party, you can knock out a few fights on Extreme in short order (Image via Square Enix)

When you crack the coffer open, you’ll receive a weapon for the job you’re currently using, so make sure you’re on the right job before activating the coffer. This will give you an item level 745 weapon, which is still decent. However, when you upgrade it, it will become a 760 item level weapon; just about on par with the current phase of the Relic Weapon quest chain.

If you want to upgrade the Veldian weapon in Final Fantasy XIV though, you need to farm Guardian Arkveld (Extreme). Each time you defeat him, you receive 2 Guardian Arkveld certificates, in addition to other rewards. You need 5 Guardian Arkveld certificates and the weapon in question to upgrade a Veldian weapon.

Just return to Tuliyollal (13.3, 13.1) and speak to Smithy. Then, select Veldian Weapon Enhancement, and pick the weapon you want to upgrade. That’s all you have to do, and you’ll have your upgraded, item level 760 weapon. In addition to being a higher item level, it also has two Materia Slots, so there’s another bonus.

The only downside, is that you have to farm Arkveld for it, and the Extreme fight is much harder than the normal one; as it should be. With time and patience, you can upgrade this weapon, if this is the route you want to take to getting a decent weapon in-game. Positive side, it’s also how you can unlock the Felyne Support Team Cart mount; though it has been confirmed to drop on Normal too.

Check out our other Final Fantasy XIV guides and features

• Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2026: When, where, and what to expect
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Calculated Evolution walkthrough
• Final Fantasy XIV Occult Crescent guide: Where to farm demiatma for Phantom Weapons
• Final Fantasy XIV: How to unlock Pilgrim’s Traverse (Deep Dungeon)

Edited by Jason Parker