Every Tarforge rung and what it costs
What Franz asks for at every rung of the Tarforge, and — the part no weapon page can tell you — what those rungs add up to. Taking one primary to +16 costs 48 Ventrium, 57,750 Coin, 46 Laterite and 46 Dorsalite. Every figure here is counted off the ladder on each build, so a patch that reprices a rung reprices this page with it.
What does it cost to take one weapon to +16?
The ores arrive in blocks rather than evenly — Ventrium for +1 to +6, Laterite for +7 to +11 and Dorsalite for +12 to +16. Which is worth knowing before you sell any of them: a stack of Ventrium is no use to a weapon already past +6, and the last ore you find early has the whole middle of the ladder to wait through. Coin is the constant, and it is the expensive half: 57,750 of it per weapon, against Merrick's 500 a Glimpse.
Every rung, and what you have spent by the time you reach it
One table, because all 8 primaries share it exactly — same materials, same Coin, same damage curve, rung for rung. That is checked on every build rather than assumed: if a patch splits them, this section renders a table per ladder instead of one. Damage is a percentage of the weapon's own base and ends at 180%.
| Rung | Cost | Spent so far | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 |  Ventrium×2Coin×100 | Ventrium 2 · Coin 100 | 105% |
| +2 | Ventrium×2Coin×100 | Ventrium 4 · Coin 200 | 110% |
| +3 | Ventrium×4Coin×300 | Ventrium 8 · Coin 500 | 115% |
| +4 | Ventrium×9Coin×500 | Ventrium 17 · Coin 1,000 | 120% |
| +5 | Ventrium×13Coin×1000 | Ventrium 30 · Coin 2,000 | 125% |
| +6 | Ventrium×18Coin×1250 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 3,250 | 130% |
| +7 |  Laterite×2Coin×2750 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 6,000 · Laterite 2 | 135% |
| +8 | Laterite×4Coin×2750 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 8,750 · Laterite 6 | 140% |
| +9 | Laterite×9Coin×3500 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 12,250 · Laterite 15 | 145% |
| +10 | Laterite×13Coin×4250 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 16,500 · Laterite 28 | 150% |
| +11 | Laterite×18Coin×5000 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 21,500 · Laterite 46 | 155% |
| +12 | Dorsalite×2Coin×5750 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 27,250 · Laterite 46 · Dorsalite 2 | 160% |
| +13 | Dorsalite×4Coin×6500 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 33,750 · Laterite 46 · Dorsalite 6 | 165% |
| +14 | Dorsalite×9Coin×7250 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 41,000 · Laterite 46 · Dorsalite 15 | 170% |
| +15 | Dorsalite×13Coin×8000 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 49,000 · Laterite 46 · Dorsalite 28 | 175% |
| +16 | Dorsalite×18Coin×8750 | Ventrium 48 · Coin 57,750 · Laterite 46 · Dorsalite 46 | 180% |
Which weapons have a guard meter recorded?
3 of the 8. Guard matters only with the Untarnished Seal, which is the one defence that spends Guard Energy to block — on a Parry or Harden build the column is inert. The other 5 weapons are blank here because the source states no figure for them, not because they hold no guard.
| Rung | Axe and Dagger | Black Needle | The Iconoclast |
|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | 101.6% | 101.9% | 101.6% |
| +2 | 103.1% | 103.8% | 103.1% |
| +3 | 104.7% | 105.6% | 104.7% |
| +4 | 106.2% | 107.5% | 106.2% |
| +5 | 107.8% | 109.4% | 107.8% |
| +6 | 109.4% | 111.2% | 109.4% |
| +7 | 110.9% | 113.1% | 110.9% |
| +8 | 112.5% | 115% | 112.5% |
| +9 | 114.1% | 116.9% | 114.1% |
| +10 | 115.6% | 118.8% | 115.6% |
| +11 | 117.2% | 120.6% | 117.2% |
| +12 | 118.8% | 122.5% | 118.8% |
| +13 | 120.3% | 124.4% | 120.3% |
| +14 | 121.9% | 126.2% | 121.9% |
| +15 | 123.4% | 128.1% | 123.4% |
| +16 | 125% | 130% | 125% |
What does maxing every weapon cost?
Which is the honest answer to whether upgrades are worth spreading around: they are not. The bill divides evenly by 8, because the ladders are identical — a rung spent on a second weapon is a rung not spent on the one you are carrying, and because every Shell can carry every weapon, the primary you commit to is the one build decision no later Shell takes back off you. The trophy list only ever asks for one weapon at the cap.
The 8 primaries and where they come from
| Weapon | Ability | Found in | Guard stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axatana | Morph Attack | Location Map purchased from Merrick | — |
| Axe and Dagger | Deadly Flurry | Mushroom Village Gate Beacon | Yes |
| Black Needle | Needle Storm | Map purchased from merchant | Yes |
| Clockwork Scythe | Clockwork Shardstone | Map purchased from Merrick | — |
| Great Martyr's Blade | Spiral Surge | Martyr's Prison, Gloomshade Grove | — |
| Obsidian Hammer | Heavy Stomps | Obsidianite Mines, Mammon | — |
| The Iconoclast | Plummet Strike | Prologue Area | Yes |
| Veteran's Battle Axe | — | The King's Crypt dungeon, Blackridge Cliffs | — |
