Upgrading Lords of the Fallen weapons and other equipment is a crucial mechanic for being successful in Lords of the Fallen.

In order to do that, we’ll first need to find and free Gerlinde, the Blacksmith. All of which will be covered in this guide.

Where To Find The Blacksmith? (Pilgrim’s Perch Walkthrough)

To find her, start at the Pilgrim’s Perch Bellroom/Vestige of Blind Agatha.

From there, make your way through the small cave system emerging on a cliffside structure. I recommend fully exploring this area in your own time. Kill some monsters along the way and collect some resources. This will make your subsequent journeys easier.

After going down, the top tall ladder will need to shift to the Umbral before proceeding down the next ladder. A dangerous encounter awaits below and you’ll want to both soul flay the corpse statue and pick up the key Lords of the Fallen Item it drops before proceeding.

(Bonus) Where To Find Bowl Of Revelations?

I’m pretty sure it drops the Bowl of Revelations, which you can give to Molhu at Skyrest Bridge to unlock a new feature. Depending on the Bowl of Revelations you collect, you will unlock different types of features.

There is a shortcut near this place. And I recommend unlocking it before proceeding down to this next area. You’ll need to soul flay three different entities to unlock the way forward.

All you need to do is follow the glowing blue vines to find their sources and use the Umbral Lanterns to soul flay them.

Once you’ve gotten all three links, you can soul flay the final blockage to open the path forward.

After entering the cave, you’ll want to prioritize activating the lift, which opens up a huge shortcut back to the Pilgrim’s Perch Bellroom/Vestige of Blind Agatha, where you can rest to gain back all of your heels and exit the Umbral.

How To Free Gerlinde The Blacksmith?

Once you’ve done that, take the lift back down to the cave system and clear out the spellcaster enemies afterwards.

Climb down into the pit and defeat the three armored dog enemies and the Crusader.

When defeated, the Crusader should drop the Prison Cell Key. Pick it up, then speak with Blacksmith Gerlinde through the prison bars and give her the key.

Then, speak to her until she has nothing new to say.

(Bonus) Where To Find Defiance Ring?

As a quick bonus, before leaving this area, shift to the Umbral and soul flay the nearby blockage to get the Defiance Ring.

Where To Find The Blacksmith At Skyrest? (Hub Area)

At this point, you can return to the Bellroom Vestige and then fast travel back to Skyrest to find that the Blacksmith has set up shop in one of the rooms.

Upgrading Equipment Explained

After speaking through all of the dialogue, you can pick the upgrade equipment option.

This will allow to upgrade weapons, shields and other equipment in exchange for Lords of the Fallen Vigor and Deralium Fragments, which are found throughout the game world.

This is the best early Deralium Farm in Lords of the Fallen and will allow you to upgrade your weapons all the way to +9  before reaching the first Beacon. 

Deralium Farm Location & How To Access

To start, go to the Forsaken Fen Vestige. 

To do that, head into the Fen, following the torches. 

A short distance in, you should see a large root leading up to the shortcut back to the vestige. 

Deralium Farm Route Explained 

Once that is done, we can start on the farming route. Rest at the Vestige, then quickly go through the shortcut door and defeat the Shuja Warrior. 

Next, shift to the Umbral and climb up the ladder that appears nearby. 

Down this path, there is one Shuja that must be defeated and another two that are optional. These enemies have a chance of dropping Small Deralium Fragments, which can be used to upgrade weapons to +2 at the Blacksmith. It should be noted that upgrading weapons requires you to spend some Lords of the Fallen Vigor.

Next, use the Umbral Exit point, then break through the wooden debris to get at one of two Holy Bulwark enemies that are along this farming route. These big guys have a chance to drop Large Deralium Shards, which can be used to upgrade weapons from +6 to +9 at the Blacksmith. 

There is also one of several Avowed Soldiers, which have a chance to drop Regular Deralium Nuggets. These can be used to upgrade weapons from +3 to +5 at the Blacksmith. 

Between these three enemy types: the Shuja, Avowed, and Holy Bulwarks, you can farm the 3 different types of Deralium needed to get a weapon from base level, all the way to +9. 

Ahead, there is a broken bridge. To cross it, get near the edge and block or avoid the 2 shots from the archer on the other side. Then, quickly pull out your Umbral Lantern to safely cross the gap. 

If you go left up ahead, you’ll find 3 more avowed enemies, in case you are trying to farm Regular Deralium Nuggets. But for just getting Large Deralium, go right, and then left up the mountain path. 

Near the top there is a second Holy Bulwark enemy and for some reason he has less health than the first one. 

All that is left is to go the rest of the way up the path, defeat one more Avowed enemy, then head to the nearest Vestige, which is the Lookout Vestige. 

From there, we can fast travel back to the Forsaken Fen Vestige and start the process over again. 

Now, none of the enemies along this farming route are guaranteed to drop Deralium, and it took me about 2 hours of farming to get my own weapon of choice to +9. 

Other Benefits (XP/Vigor, Armor Sets/Weapons, Consumables)

That being said, there are other benefits to farming this route. 

The amount of XP or Lords of the Fallen Vigor you get is pretty good, and I got from around level 60 to level 72 at the same time I was getting the Deralium. 

In addition, the enemies can drop several different armor sets, weapons, useful consumables (such as Briostone Pairs, Ammunition Pouches, Blood Cures, and Minor Holy Salts) and other Lords of the Fallen Items.

Also, it’s a pretty enjoyable farming route. There is no backtracking, and it provides enough variation in gameplay to hone your skills and keep from getting bored. 

Finally, I want to acknowledge that this route and specifically those Holy Bulwark enemies can be pretty daunting to tackle, especially if you are low level and don’t have upgraded weapons. 

That being said, their attack patterns are fairly simple and easy to counter once you’ve fought them a few times, and they will get easier as you level up your character and your weapons.