Combat progresses really fast in The Outer Worlds, as you reach new areas and encounter new enemies, you’ll find yourself struggling to get past them. Finding or buying new weapons isn’t always feasible as it quickly becomes expensive.
Your best option is to start upgrading the weapons you already own. Doing so increases the damage output, and allows them to scale with your character. Luckily, it’s really simple and cheap to do too.
You can check out our short guide below for upgrading weapons in TOW. For more guides & content for The Outer Worlds on PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One, make sure to check out our dedicated area here!
Upgrading Weapons in The Outer Worlds
To start, you need to access a workbench. These are found often in the game world, with each major town having one, just look for the minimap icon. If you can’t find one, your ship ‘The Unreliable’ has one on board, accessible after a few starter missions.

Interact with the Workbench and head on over to the ‘Tinker’ tab. It’s in here that you can upgrade your weapons, specifically the damage that they do. Hover over the weapon (any with a gold background are ones you have equipped), and check the right hand side.

You will see the cost of the upgrade on the right hand side, which is in Bits, the main currency for The Outer Worlds. The upgrades start out cheap, and get considerably more expensive for each additional level. On the next tab over, you can do the same for armor, as well as repair, apply mods and scrap items.