Key takeaways
- Bone Cleaver at rank 4 or higher — your damage backbone
- A light sidearm for interrupt damage between heavy swings
- Two stamina recovery items — the cleaver drains stamina fast
- One elemental coating for enemies with physical resistance
Devil Hunter Weapon Progression Guide: What to Upgrade and When
The most efficient weapon progression path in Devil Hunter runs from the starting longsword through four clearly defined upgrade tiers, and the single best value for most players is the mid-tier Bone Cleaver branch: it hits roughly three times the base damage, costs under 30,000 souls to fully rank, and stays viable through the last third of the campaign. Everything below ranks each stage by damage output, upgrade cost, availability window, and late-game usefulness, then pairs it with a practical loadout so you know exactly what to carry.
Numbers in this guide are drawn from the in-game stat screens and the official patch notes for the current 1.7 balance pass, which adjusted stagger values on heavy weapons and reduced upgrade costs for tiers one and two. Because weapon values shift with balance patches, treat the table figures as ranges rather than fixed constants.
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Quick Comparison: The Weapon Path at a Glance
| Tier | Weapon class | Best for | Base damage (per hit) | Full upgrade cost | Availability | Late-game verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starter longsword | Learning timing | 40–55 | ~4,500 souls | From the opening chapter | Retire by chapter 6 |
| 2 | Bone Cleaver branch | Best overall value | 120–150 | ~28,000 souls | After the first boss | Viable to the final act |
| 3 | Elemental blade line | Best against armored foes | 170–210 | ~65,000 souls | Mid-campaign, after the forge unlocks | Strong but situational |
| 4 | Named relic weapons | Best raw damage | 260–320 | ~110,000 souls plus rare materials | Late campaign only | Best in slot, costs the most |
Those full-upgrade costs assume you buy every rank at the forge rather than finding partially upgraded drops, which can cut the total by around a fifth if you explore thoroughly.
Tier 1 — Starter Longsword: Upgrade Only What Carries Over
The opening longsword is a teaching tool, not an investment. At 40–55 damage per hit it clears early enemies in two or three swings, and the first two upgrade ranks cost almost nothing — roughly 600 and 1,200 souls. That cheap early boost is worth taking because it makes the first boss noticeably less punishing, but stop at rank three. Past that point the cost curve steepens while the damage gain flattens, and the upgrade materials do not transfer to later branches.
Who it suits: brand-new players still learning dodge timing and stamina management. Main trade-off: it has no stagger bonus, so armored enemies will not flinch, which forces you into slower, riskier engagements.
Tier 2 — Bone Cleaver Branch: The Best Overall Pick
Once you defeat the first boss, the Bone Cleaver branch opens at the forge. It is the strongest cost-per-damage option in the game: around 28,000 souls to reach maximum rank, landing at 120–150 damage per hit with a modest stagger bonus that interrupts most mid-tier enemies mid-attack. Per the official patch notes, its heavy attack stagger value was raised in the 1.7 balance pass, which is what pushed it ahead of the alternatives at this tier.
This is the weapon to carry if you want one investment that lasts. It remains viable right up to the final act, and because it upgrades along a single linear path, you never have to guess which branch to take.
Who it suits: players who want a single reliable main weapon and do not enjoy re-farming materials. Main trade-off: its moveset is slow, with a long recovery window after the third swing, so it punishes button-mashing.
Recommended loadout for this stage
- Bone Cleaver at rank 4 or higher — your damage backbone
- A light sidearm for interrupt damage between heavy swings
- Two stamina recovery items — the cleaver drains stamina fast
- One elemental coating for enemies with physical resistance
Tier 3 — Elemental Blade Line: Situational but Essential
The elemental blades unlock mid-campaign when the forge opens its second tab. Raw damage sits at 170–210 per hit, but the real value is elemental damage, which bypasses a portion of physical resistance. Against the armored knight-type enemies in the mid-game, an elemental blade can cut kill time by roughly a third compared with the Bone Cleaver. Against unarmored enemies, it is only marginally better while costing more than double to upgrade — around 65,000 souls to max out.
Do not replace your main weapon with this line. Build one elemental blade as a swap-in for armored encounters and resistance-heavy bosses, and keep the cleaver for everything else.
Who it suits: players who have hit a wall on an armored boss. Main trade-off: high upgrade cost for a weapon you will use in maybe a quarter of encounters.
Tier 4 — Named Relic Weapons: Best Raw Damage, Worst Economy
The named relic weapons appear only in the late campaign and demand rare materials alongside roughly 110,000 souls. At 260–320 damage per hit with the highest stagger values in the game, they are genuinely best in slot — but the cost is steep enough that buying one usually means skipping upgrades elsewhere. If you have been maintaining the Bone Cleaver, the jump in damage from tier 2 to tier 4 is roughly double, not the quadruple the raw numbers suggest, because relic weapons have slower attack speeds.
| Consideration | Bone Cleaver (Tier 2) | Named Relic (Tier 4) |
|---|---|---|
| Damage per hit | 120–150 | 260–320 |
| Attacks per 10 seconds | 5 | 3 |
| Effective damage per 10 seconds | 600–750 | 780–960 |
| Upgrade cost | ~28,000 souls | ~110,000 souls + rare materials |
| Souls per effective damage point | ~40 | ~125 |
That last row is the number that matters. The relic weapon costs roughly three times as much per point of practical damage, which is why a maxed Bone Cleaver plus a situational elemental blade covers more ground than a single relic build for most players.
How to Choose Your Progression Path
Match your situation to the path below rather than upgrading everything in sight.
- First playthrough, limited time: starter to rank 3, then straight to the Bone Cleaver. Skip tier 3 entirely unless a boss blocks you.
- Struggling on armored enemies: add one elemental blade at rank 3 — the breakpoint where elemental damage overtakes physical — rather than maxing the whole line.
- Plenty of souls from farming: the relic weapon becomes reasonable once you have 150,000 or more banked, since the upgrade stops competing with other purchases.
- New Game Plus or high difficulty: the relic weapon’s stagger value is the deciding factor, because longer enemy stun windows matter more than raw per-hit numbers.
Common upgrade mistakes
- Maxing the starter weapon. The final ranks cost more than the entire Bone Cleaver path and deliver a fraction of the damage.
- Spreading materials across three branches. Upgrade materials are the real bottleneck, not souls; concentrating them on one main weapon plus one situational swap beats a wide, shallow spread.
- Ignoring attack speed. Comparing damage per hit alone makes slow weapons look better than they perform in practice.
- Buying a relic weapon before confirming you can upgrade it. An unranked relic weapon underperforms a maxed Bone Cleaver at a much higher price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best weapon to upgrade first in Devil Hunter?
The Bone Cleaver branch, once the first boss is defeated. It offers the best damage per soul spent, costs around 28,000 souls to fully rank, and stays viable through the final act. Only take the starter longsword to rank three before switching, since later ranks of the starter cost more than the entire cleaver path.
Is the named relic weapon worth the cost?
Only if you have roughly 150,000 souls banked and a source for the rare upgrade materials. Its damage per hit is roughly double the Bone Cleaver’s, but its slower attack speed means real-world damage per ten seconds is only about 30 percent higher, at around three times the cost per effective damage point.
Should I build the elemental blade line?
Build one elemental blade to about rank three as a situational swap for armored enemies and resistance-heavy bosses. Do not replace your main weapon with it — it costs more than double the Bone Cleaver to max out while only outperforming it in a minority of encounters.
How much does a full weapon progression cost in total?
A practical path — starter to rank three, Bone Cleaver maxed, and one elemental blade to rank three — lands near 60,000 souls total. Adding a maxed relic weapon pushes that past 170,000 plus rare materials, which is why most players finish the campaign without one.
Do balance patches change which weapon is best?
They can shift the ordering at a given tier, particularly through stagger adjustments. The 1.7 patch raised heavy-attack stagger values and lowered tier one and two upgrade costs, which strengthened the Bone Cleaver’s position. Recheck the in-game stat screen after major patches rather than relying on older guides.
Can I respec or refund upgrade materials?
Upgrade materials spent on a weapon are not refunded when you switch, which is the main argument for concentrating investment in one main weapon. Plan your path before committing rare materials, and treat the elemental and relic lines as optional add-ons rather than replacements.
