How to Reinforce Gear in Core Keeper: Effects and Materials

How to reinforce gear

1. Open the Salvage and Repair Station.
2. Press the yellow "Reinforce" button: the game describes it as "Toggle to reinforce tools, weapons and equipment." Your cursor switches to reinforce mode.
3. Click the gear in your inventory: it is reinforced using its main material. If the item is damaged, the same click also repairs it, using Scrap Parts for the missing durability on top of the reinforcing material.

Reinforcing effects in detail

• Durability: set to twice (200%) the original maximum. Reinforcing an item that is still reinforced simply fills it back up to 200%, and costs less material when some of the extra durability is left.
• Stats: each stat value goes up by 15% (rounded, at least +1). Max minion count does not increase.
• The stat boost only lasts while durability is above the original maximum. Once it drops to the original maximum or below, stats return to normal.
• Gear without durability (Legendary gear etc.) cannot be reinforced.

It is separate from upgrading (up to Lv.20 at the Upgrade Station), and you can do both (how upgrading works and costs).

Reinforcing vs. repairing

Gear at 0 durability stops giving its effects and no longer counts toward a set bonus. Repairing it brings both back.

The Crafting talent "Blacksmith" gives "Crafting items at the anvil and repairing items costs 5% less materials" per point (up to 25% at 5 points). It also lowers the material cost of reinforcing, although very small costs may stay the same after rounding (at least one of each material is always needed).

Reinforcing materials (examples by slot)

The amount depends on how worn the item is (shown as a range).

Slot	Gear	Materials
Melee weapon	Void Club	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Melee weapon	Atlantean Worm Sword	Solarite Bar ×1–6
Melee weapon	Pandorium Axe	Pandorium Bar ×1–7
Melee weapon	Solarite Sword	Solarite Bar ×1–6
Melee weapon	Crystal Shard Club	Solarite Bar ×1–5
Melee weapon	Hydra Bone Sword	Solarite Bar ×1–6
Ranged/magic weapon	Scrap Minigun	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Ranged/magic weapon	Flamethrower	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Ranged/magic weapon	Corrupted Meteor Staff	Pandorium Bar ×1–5
Ranged/magic weapon	Obliteration Ray	Solarite Bar ×1–15
Ranged/magic weapon	Void Gun	Solarite Bar ×1–7
Ranged/magic weapon	Chaos Staff	Pandorium Bar ×1–5
Head	Shadow Helmet	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Head	Welder Helmet	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Head	Sulfossil Helmet	Pandorium Bar ×1–5
Head	Desert Guardian Mask	Galaxite Bar ×1–6
Head	Void-Fused Helmet	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Head	Atlantean Worm Helmet	Solarite Bar ×1–7
Chest	Shadow Chestplate	Relucite Bar ×1–6
Chest	Welder Chestplate	Relucite Bar ×1–6
Chest	Sulfossil Cuirass	Pandorium Bar ×1–10
Chest	Desert Guardian Tunic	Galaxite Bar ×1–7
Chest	Void-Fused Chestpiece	Relucite Bar ×1–8
Chest	Ninja Garments	Solarite Bar ×1–5
Legs	Shadow Leggings	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Legs	Welder Leggings	Relucite Bar ×1–5
Legs	Sulfossil Boots	Pandorium Bar ×1–7
Legs	Desert Guardian Pants	Galaxite Bar ×1–7
Legs	Void-Fused Leggings	Relucite Bar ×1–7
Legs	Ninja Leggings	Solarite Bar ×1–4
Tool	Solarite Pickaxe	Solarite Bar ×1–5
Tool	Galaxite Pickaxe	Galaxite Bar ×1–5
Tool	Galaxite Shovel	Galaxite Bar ×1–5
Tool	Galaxite Sledge Hammer	Galaxite Bar ×1–6
Tool	Octarine Garden Trowel	Octarine Bar ×1–3
Tool	Octarine Pickaxe	Octarine Bar ×1–3

Durability, the stat bonus and when it applies are read from the game's program in Core Keeper 1.3.0.6. Talent values are from the game's config files; button and talent text is the game's official English. The button colors, repairing and reinforcing in one click, topping up a reinforced item, broken gear losing its effects and the talent's effect on reinforcing are based on the Core Keeper Wiki (Fandom) page "Salvage and Repair Station" (game 1.3; sources include the Explorer's Guide). Material amounts are from the Core Keeper Wiki (Fandom) item data (CC BY-SA 3.0).