Wild ARMs 3 - Arms and Upgrading

ARMs and Upgrading

ARMs (Artifacts from Ruins Memories) are the weapons of Wild ARMs 3. You probably know by now that there is no "equipment" in WA3, so these ARMs will be the only weapons you will have throughout the game. Does that sound a little limiting to you?

Fear not; these ARMs can be tweaked to suit your fighting style by visiting ARMsmiths found throughout the towns in Filgaia. For a price, you can raise the core stats for your ARMs and therefore be better prepared for harder battles later on. But, there's a few things you need to know:

Each time you upgrade a stat, the next upgrade to that particular stat will cost more. However, the stat boost may also be significantly higher.

You can only upgrade an ARM 15 times before it is fully tweaked, regardless of what statistics you choose. To check how many times you have upgraded an ARM, head to an ARMsmith, choose that particular ARM for upgrade, and add up the numbers that correspond to each statistic. The total is the amount of upgrades done.

You can "initialize" an upgrade at an ARMsmith by choosing "Initialize Upgrade", then choosing which stat to return to default. Doing this will negate any upgrades you did to that particular stat, but you WILL NOT BE REFUNDED. Keep this in mind.

Now, for a rundown of ARM stats.

SHT stands for Shot, or the attack power of the ARM. Upgrading this will increase how much damage you can do and will add to your character's ATT statistic. Keep in mind, however, that certain characters are meant to have higher attack power than others.

HIT is obvious; upgrading this will increase the accuracy, or success rate of an attack. Upgrading this makes your attacks more accurate, and adds to your character's AIM statistic. In all honesty, I can say that I have almost never missed with a physical attack save a few select battles where the enemy had abnormally high Evasion, so I recommend you never upgrade this stat... EVER.

BLT does not stand for Bacon Lettuce Tomato, but rather for Bullet Capacity. An ARM has a bullet count; once you have attacked that many times (say a bullet count is 2 and you attack twice), you will have to reload. Raising this stat increases the amount of bullets before you will need to reload.

WGT stands for weight, and upgrading this stat will lower the weight of an ARM. What this does is allows Gatling to be done on lower FP amounts and with more bullets than normal. Note that each ARMs weight stat is unique to that ARM; a -2 weight for the Gunganir is not the same as a -2 for the Airgetlahm.

CRT stands for Critical Hit. Upgrading this will increase the chances of scoring Critical Hits with your attacks.

With this information, feel free to customize your ARMs to whatever your fancy. However, do not forget about the Initialize option. During the early parts of the game, being able to shoot a lot without having to reload is a must, as well as being able to perform Gatling relatively quickly. Therefore, focusing on Bullet Count and Weight during the early parts of the game is a good idea; these upgrades are also much lighter on your pocketbook. As you progress through the game, you may wish to Initialize some upgrades and turn in an entirely new direction, such as limiting Clive to 2 bullets, giving him 15 ATT upgrades, and letting him deal massive damage with Finest Arts. Don't be too afraid to spend Gella on ARM upgrades, because there's not a whole lot else to spend it on!

Below are tables with ARM upgrade information for each ARM. The values listed for the upgrades are not how much the stat will go up by, but rather what they will reach. Also in each table is a recommendation of how to upgrade your ARMs, but you may want to upgrade your own way. If you have any particular ARM setups that you want to share with me, email them to me!

Virginia's ARM:

Virginia's ARM is actually a dual-pistol set, but the two ARMs share the same upgrade; no need to upgrade them both. The Rapier Ez and Bantorain 93R are both fairly average ARMs, low on attack power, but fairly lightweight and very accurate. Just don't expect to do a whole lot of damage with them.
Unless you do this: upgrade Bullet Count by 5 to get it up to 10, and spend the rest on Weight. With the Comet Mark equipped on Virginia and the Fiery Rage and Brave Seal Mediums, Virginia's Gatling will hit 10 times for a massive amount of damage!
Base Stats: SHT: +8, HIT: +16, BLT: 5, WGT: 0, CRT: 0.2
ATT HIT BLT WGT CRT
Level 1 Upgrade +15
1500 Gella +32
600 Gella 6
900 Gella -1
150 Gella 0.3
300 Gella
Level 2 Upgrade +23
6000 Gella +48
2400 Gella 7
3600 Gella -2
600 Gella 0.4
1200 Gella
Level 3 Upgrade +30
13500 Gella +64
5400 Gella 8
8100 Gella -3
1350 Gella 0.5
2700 Gella
Level 4 Upgrade +38
24000 Gella +80
9600 Gella 9
14400 Gella -4
2400 Gella 0.6
4800 Gella
Level 5 Upgrade +45
37500 Gella +96
15000 Gella 10
22500 Gella -5
3750 Gella 0.7
7500 Gella
Level 6 Upgrade +53
54000 Gella +112
21600 Gella 11
32400 Gella -6
5400 Gella 0.8
10800 Gella
Level 7 Upgrade +60
73500 Gella +128
29400 Gella 12
44100 Gella -7
7350 Gella 0.9
14700 Gella
Level 8 Upgrade +68
96000 Gella +144
38400 Gella 13
57600 Gella -8
9600 Gella 1.0
19200 Gella
Level 9 Upgrade +75
121500 Gella +160
48600 Gella 14
72900 Gella -9
12150 Gella 1.1
24300 Gella
Level 10 Upgrade +83
150000 Gella +176
60000 Gella 15
90000 Gella -10
15000 Gella 1.2
30000 Gella
Level 11 Upgrade +90
181500 Gella +192
72600 Gella 16
108900 Gella -11
18150 Gella 1.3
36300 Gella
Level 12 Upgrade +98
216000 Gella +208
86400 Gella 17
129600 Gella -12
21600 Gella 1.4
43200 Gella
Level 13 Upgrade +105
253500 Gella +224
101400 Gella 18
152100 Gella -13
25350 Gella 1.5
50700 Gella
Level 14 Upgrade +113
294000 Gella +240
117600 Gella 19
176400 Gella -14
29400 Gella 1.6
58800 Gella
Level 15 Upgrade +120
337500 Gella +256
135000 Gella 20
202500 Gella -15
33750 Gella 1.7
67500 Gella

Gallows' ARM:

Gallows' ARM, the Coyote M17F Mod, is pretty average for what looks like a sawed-off shotgun. It's not terribly powerful, but Gallows isn't really the attacking type anyway, is he? The Coyote starts off twice as strong as Virginia's ARM, but that's not saying much. Everything else aside from weight is lower than Virginia's ARM.
Again, the best thing to upgrade would probably be CRT and WGT, so that you can actually do some respectable hits to the enemy. Gallows is more of a "magic user", but he can do a fair amount of damage with his ARM.
Base Stats: SHT: +16, HIT: +5, BLT: 3, WGT: 0, CRT: 0.1
ATT HIT BLT WGT CRT
Level 1 Upgrade +33
1500 Gella +10
600 Gella 4
900 Gella -1
150 Gella 0.2
300 Gella
Level 2 Upgrade +49
6000 Gella +15
2400 Gella 5
3600 Gella -2
600 Gella 0.3
1200 Gella
Level 3 Upgrade +65
13500 Gella +20
5400 Gella 6
8100 Gella -3
1350 Gella 0.4
2700 Gella
Level 4 Upgrade +81
24000 Gella +25
9600 Gella 7
14400 Gella -4
2400 Gella 0.5
4800 Gella
Level 5 Upgrade +98
37500 Gella +30
15000 Gella 8
22500 Gella -5
3750 Gella 0.6
7500 Gella
Level 6 Upgrade +114
54000 Gella +35
21600 Gella 9
32400 Gella -6
5400 Gella 0.7
10800 Gella
Level 7 Upgrade +130
73500 Gella +40
29400 Gella 10
44100 Gella -7
7350 Gella 0.8
14700 Gella
Level 8 Upgrade +146
96000 Gella +45
38400 Gella 11
57600 Gella -8
9600 Gella 0.9
19200 Gella
Level 9 Upgrade +163
121500 Gella +50
48600 Gella 12
72900 Gella -9
12150 Gella 1.0
24300 Gella
Level 10 Upgrade +179
150000 Gella +55
60000 Gella 13
90000 Gella -10
15000 Gella 1.1
30000 Gella
Level 11 Upgrade +195
181500 Gella +60
72600 Gella 14
108900 Gella -11
18150 Gella 1.2
36300 Gella
Level 12 Upgrade +211
216000 Gella +65
86400 Gella 15
129600 Gella -12
21600 Gella 1.3
43200 Gella
Level 13 Upgrade +228
253500 Gella +70
101400 Gella 16
152100 Gella -13
25350 Gella 1.4
50700 Gella
Level 14 Upgrade +244
294000 Gella +75
117600 Gella 17
176400 Gella -14
29400 Gella 1.5
58800 Gella
Level 15 Upgrade +260
337500 Gella +80
135000 Gella 18
202500 Gella -15
33750 Gella 1.6
67500 Gella

Jet's ARM:

Not to be confused with the Argetlahm from Wild ARMs 2, Jet's Airget-lahm B/V2 is a very good ARM, starting with a good amount of bullets, a good Critical Hit rate, and good attack power. This is the third-most powerful ARM in the game, but with Jet's ATT statistic, Jet will be the second-most powerful attacker in the game, so expect to have Jet doing quite a bit of damage as the game progresses.
Increase the Airget-lahm's shot power and critical hit rate for excellent results. Increase bullet count if you want, but you might want to give Jet the Finest Arts skill later (which requires you to expend your ammo and Gatling with an empty ARM), so you might want to increase other stats instead. Weight is always good for getting Gatling quicker.
Base Stats: SHT: +15, HIT: +13, BLT: 4, WGT: 0, CRT: 0.3
ATT HIT BLT WGT CRT
Level 1 Upgrade +30
1500 Gella +26
600 Gella 5
900 Gella -1
150 Gella 0.4
300 Gella
Level 2 Upgrade +45
6000 Gella +39
2400 Gella 6
3600 Gella -2
600 Gella 0.5
1200 Gella
Level 3 Upgrade +60
13500 Gella +53
5400 Gella 7
8100 Gella -3
1350 Gella 0.6
2700 Gella
Level 4 Upgrade +75
24000 Gella +66
9600 Gella 8
14400 Gella -4
2400 Gella 0.7
4800 Gella
Level 5 Upgrade +90
37500 Gella +79
15000 Gella 9
22500 Gella -5
3750 Gella 0.8
7500 Gella
Level 6 Upgrade +105
54000 Gella +92
21600 Gella 10
32400 Gella -6
5400 Gella 0.9
10800 Gella
Level 7 Upgrade +120
73500 Gella +105
29400 Gella 11
44100 Gella -7
7350 Gella 1.0
14700 Gella
Level 8 Upgrade +135
96000 Gella +118
38400 Gella 12
57600 Gella -8
9600 Gella 1.1
19200 Gella
Level 9 Upgrade +150
121500 Gella +131
48600 Gella 13
72900 Gella -9
12150 Gella 1.2
24300 Gella
Level 10 Upgrade +165
150000 Gella +144
60000 Gella 14
90000 Gella -10
15000 Gella 1.3
30000 Gella
Level 11 Upgrade +180
181500 Gella +158
72600 Gella 15
108900 Gella -11
18150 Gella 1.4
36300 Gella
Level 12 Upgrade +195
216000 Gella +171
86400 Gella 16
129600 Gella -12
21600 Gella 1.5
43200 Gella
Level 13 Upgrade +210
253500 Gella +184
101400 Gella 17
152100 Gella -13
25350 Gella 1.6
50700 Gella
Level 14 Upgrade +225
294000 Gella +197
117600 Gella 18
176400 Gella -14
29400 Gella 1.7
58800 Gella
Level 15 Upgrade +240
337500 Gella +210
135000 Gella 19
202500 Gella -15
33750 Gella 1.8
67500 Gella

Clive's ARM:

Clive's ARM is powerful. VERY powerful. Clive is also powerful, so you can expect that Clive will always be your strongest attacker. The Gunganir HAG35 has the highest shot power and critical hit rate of any ARM in the game, but only starts with 2 bullets. Naturally, Clive is also the slowest character in the game, but he who hits last, hits hardest.. right?
Early in the game, increase his bullet count to about 3 or 4; you'll want him to be able to shoot more without having to reload. In the end, I go all out on shot power for this ARM, and round it out with 3 or 4 upgrades to Critical Hit Rate. Increase bullet count if you want, but you might want to give Clive the Finest Arts skill later (which requires you to expend your ammo and Gatling with an empty ARM), so you may want to add more shot power instead.
Base Stats: SHT: +19, HIT: +18, BLT: 2, WGT: 0, CRT: 0.4
ATT HIT BLT WGT CRT
Level 1 Upgrade +38
1500 Gella +35
600 Gella 3
900 Gella -1
150 Gella 0.5
300 Gella
Level 2 Upgrade +56
6000 Gella +53
2400 Gella 4
3600 Gella -2
600 Gella 0.6
1200 Gella
Level 3 Upgrade +75
13500 Gella +70
5400 Gella 5
8100 Gella -3
1350 Gella 0.7
2700 Gella
Level 4 Upgrade +94
24000 Gella +88
9600 Gella 6
14400 Gella -4
2400 Gella 0.8
4800 Gella
Level 5 Upgrade +113
37500 Gella +105
15000 Gella 7
22500 Gella -5
3750 Gella 0.9
7500 Gella
Level 6 Upgrade +131
54000 Gella +123
21600 Gella 8
32400 Gella -6
5400 Gella 1.0
10800 Gella
Level 7 Upgrade +150
73500 Gella +140
29400 Gella 9
44100 Gella -7
7350 Gella 1.1
14700 Gella
Level 8 Upgrade +169
96000 Gella +158
38400 Gella 10
57600 Gella -8
9600 Gella 1.2
19200 Gella
Level 9 Upgrade +188
121500 Gella +175
48600 Gella 11
72900 Gella -9
12150 Gella 1.3
24300 Gella
Level 10 Upgrade +206
150000 Gella +193
60000 Gella 12
90000 Gella -10
15000 Gella 1.4
30000 Gella
Level 11 Upgrade +225
181500 Gella +210
72600 Gella 13
108900 Gella -11
18150 Gella 1.5
36300 Gella
Level 12 Upgrade +244
216000 Gella +228
86400 Gella 14
129600 Gella -12
21600 Gella 1.6
43200 Gella
Level 13 Upgrade +263
253500 Gella +245
101400 Gella 15
152100 Gella -13
25350 Gella 1.7
50700 Gella
Level 14 Upgrade +281
294000 Gella +263
117600 Gella 16
176400 Gella -14
29400 Gella 1.8
58800 Gella
Level 15 Upgrade +300
337500 Gella +280
135000 Gella 17
202500 Gella -15
33750 Gella 1.9
67500 Gella

ARM Upgrade Cost Calculator

Thanks to Cidolfas for writing this up for me, and to Andvareel for the original Microsoft Excel file that this was based on. Simply input the amount of time you wish to upgrade each aspect of your ARM into the fields, and this handy little device will figure out the cost for you as well as other useful information!

Statistic	Base Cost	Level	Upgrade	Next	Cost
Shot	1500
Hit	600
Bullet	900
Weight	150
Critical	300
Total

	Shot	Hit	Bullet	Weight/Gatling	Critical
Virginia
Jet
Gallows
Clive

			Base Gatling	Bullet	Gatling Length
		Virginia
		Jet
		Gallows
		Clive

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