25 Best Craftable Gear Systems

Crafting systems are a fantastic way for games to let you customize your gear and playstyle. The best ones make collecting items feel meaningful, and turning those materials into something new feels like a real accomplishment. The games listed below have crafting systems that are easy to understand – you’ll always know why you’re collecting a specific item, and your time will be well-spent without wasting anything. They clearly explain how things work and reward you for your effort.

‘Minecraft’

You can combine materials on a crafting grid to create tools, armor, and useful items using recipes you either learn or figure out. Enchanting lets you add special abilities to your gear at an enchanting table using experience points and books, and you can use an anvil to combine or fix damaged items. A smithing table allows you to upgrade your diamond equipment to the even stronger netherite using a template and netherite ingots. Finding villagers and opening loot chests will give you access to even more recipes, ensuring you continue to progress as you explore the world.

‘Terraria’

As you gather ores and defeat bosses, you’ll unlock new crafting options at workbenches, anvils, and special stations. Progressing to better gear tiers sends you to new areas to find materials for improved armor and weapons. You can also use the Goblin Tinkerer to modify your gear with stat-boosting prefixes. Finally, crafting and combining accessories lets you create powerful builds focused on melee, ranged, or magic combat.

‘Monster Hunter: World’

So, as a hunter, basically everything I use – my armor and weapons – comes from the monsters I take down. When a monster drops something, I can use those parts to craft new gear, and there’s a whole skill tree showing me how to upgrade everything. I really like collecting full armor sets because they give me special skills, and I can customize them even further with decorations and charms. Once I get to the endgame, I can even augment my favorite weapons to make them even stronger! Thankfully, the game has these Investigations and targeted hunts that make farming for specific monster parts way easier and predictable, so I’m not just grinding endlessly.

‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’

You can discover blueprints for swords and armor, then give them to skilled blacksmiths and armorers. Witcher gear can be upgraded multiple times, but it requires finding rare materials and parts from monsters. Instead of just finding random items, you can break down unwanted gear into useful components. Plus, crafting oils, bombs, and potions lets you exploit the weaknesses of different enemies.

‘Horizon Forbidden West’

You can improve your bows and outfits at workbenches using parts you collect by aiming for specific enemy components. These upgrades add slots for coils and increase stats like damage, handling, or defense. You can also quickly create different types of ammo using resources found in the environment. Legendary gear tells you exactly what parts you need, helping you focus your hunts.

‘Destiny 2’

Okay, so weapon crafting is awesome. Once you find the blueprints, you can basically build and rebuild guns however you want. The cool thing is, as you use a crafted weapon, it levels up and you can use these rare alloys to make it even better. Plus, you can add little mementos to change how it looks, and they usually remind me of cool stuff I’ve done in the game. What I really like is that when you’re crafting, you pick exactly what perks and stats you want, so there are no surprises – you know exactly what you’re getting!

‘Warframe’

You craft Warframe components, weapons, and companions in the Foundry using materials gathered from planets. Many items require you to build smaller parts first. Forma and catalysts let you customize your gear to fit more powerful upgrades. New items become available through Clan research and defeating bosses, and the game clearly shows your progress toward unlocking them.

‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’

The Fuse ability lets you combine monster parts and materials with your weapons and shields to give them new powers and effects. You can also attach Zonai devices to your gear using the Ultrahand ability, adding helpful functions for exploring. To improve your armor, you’ll need rupees and specific items, which you can exchange with Great Fairies. The game rewards you for collecting parts from enemies, as each one predictably affects how long your gear lasts or how much damage it deals.

‘Valheim’

As a player, I’ve found that crafting stations like the workbench and forge are super important – they basically determine how far I can build and what I need to do to upgrade my stuff. Finding new metals in different areas unlocks better recipes for armor and weapons, which is awesome! To level up those stations, you actually have to build other structures nearby. And the best part? Repairing my gear at the stations is totally free, so I can focus on exploring and gathering resources instead of worrying about costs!

‘V Rising’

You learn new crafting recipes by defeating bosses shown on the blood altar. Castle stations let you refine raw materials into useful bars, fabrics, and parts for better armor and weapons. As you improve your gear, the game gets harder in a way that feels fair, and new areas present a good challenge. Your base runs on blood essence, so making progress requires both fighting and gathering resources.

‘No Man’s Sky’

Improve your suit, ship, and multi-tool by crafting components and installing modules. You’ll find blueprints for these upgrades by buying them from vendors, completing missions, or salvaging items. Refiners can process basic materials into more advanced ones. You can also break down existing tech to get some of its components back, and move technology between locations. Finally, growing resources and building production lines at your base will provide the rare materials needed for the best gear.

‘Diablo IV’

Blacksmiths make your equipment stronger and fix broken items using materials you find from defeated enemies. Occultists add special powers to rare items, letting you customize them. Jewelers add sockets to gear so you can insert gems and improve stats. As you progress, you can further enhance your equipment with systems that let you add specific bonuses and upgrade its overall level.

‘Fallout 4’

Workbenches allow you to modify weapons and armor by swapping parts using materials you salvage. Unlocking better modifications requires skills like Gun Nut and Science, making progress feel rewarding. Power armor gets customized at dedicated stations with individual upgrades. Special legendary effects aren’t crafted, keeping the focus on improving base stats and adding attachments.

‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’

You can craft metal and leather equipment like armor and weapons at a forge, then improve it further at a grindstone or workbench. Enchanting lets you add special abilities to your gear using learned spells and soul gems. Alchemy allows you to brew potions that enhance your crafting skills or make you more powerful in battle, creating helpful combinations. The quality of items you can make depends on your skills and the materials you use.

‘Cyberpunk 2077’

Break down unwanted gear to get components, then use those to create new items or improve the ones you already like. Special, iconic weapons can be upgraded in unique ways that keep their special abilities. You can also customize your weapons and armor with modifications to boost specific stats. And by leveling up related skills, you’ll get better at crafting and unlock new recipes.

‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’

Blueprints determine what an item is, but the materials you use change its stats and appearance. Armor and weapons can be customized with grips, blades, or linings for extra benefits. You can also add runes – which deal elemental damage and are made from rare resources. Different crafting stations throughout your base and outposts are used for each step of the crafting process.

‘Remnant II’

Defeating bosses lets you create special modifications and mutators that alter how your weapons function. You can visit vendors in the Ward 13 area to craft specific gear sets, improve existing items, and obtain unique rewards. Basic weapon and armor upgrades require scrap and iron. The game is designed to encourage you to replay certain activities, as each item you earn can be used to craft something specific.

‘Tom Clancy’s The Division 2’

As you progress in the game, your crafting bench improves, ensuring the items you create remain useful. You’ll find blueprints for new items through completing projects, buying from vendors, and defeating enemies. These blueprints help you craft gear to fill gaps in your equipment. Recalibration lets you save one stat from a piece of gear, so you can apply it to a better item. Finally, the optimization station lets you increase your stats by spending resources, helping you reach the maximum stat values.

‘ARK: Survival Evolved’

As you gain experience, you’ll unlock blueprints (engrams) that let you craft useful items like tools, armor, and saddles. Finding better blueprints through loot allows you to create even more powerful versions of these items. To craft advanced items, you’ll need to use crafting stations like the smithy and fabricator. From the beginning of the game, you’ll also need to focus on gathering resources and managing your inventory space as part of your overall strategy.

‘Conan Exiles’

You can learn to craft benches and useful equipment by completing feats. Placing thralls at work stations makes tasks faster or provides extra benefits. Wearing complete armor sets protects you from the elements and boosts your stats, depending on the area you’re in. You can customize weapons and armor by crafting kits that improve their durability or damage. Finding rare materials through exploration and surviving periodic attacks are essential for making the best items.

‘Starfield’

Completing research projects opens up new types of upgrades for weapons and spacesuits, which you can then build at workbenches. You gather the materials for these upgrades by exploring planets or by setting up outposts to collect and process resources. These upgrades let you customize your gear – changing things like a weapon’s barrel or a spacesuit’s protection – to better suit what you’re doing. Spaceship parts work the same way, with new modules becoming available as you research and craft.

‘Path of Exile’

Crafting lets you improve your gear by changing its stats. You use special items as currency to re-roll or add modifiers, and the crafting bench allows you to specifically choose one stat to add, based on the item’s level and type. You can further refine the results using fossils, essences, and harvest options. As you play, completing master missions and participating in league events will give you even more crafting possibilities.

‘God of War Ragnarök’

You can visit local blacksmiths to create and improve your armor and weapon attachments. Finding resources in chests and completing quests will allow you to clearly upgrade your gear, with noticeable improvements to its stats. Amulets can be enchanted and, when combined with other items, create powerful set bonuses. Shields and weapon handles can also be upgraded separately, letting you customize your character’s build with each piece of equipment.

‘Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’

Improve your equipment at the blacksmith by using ingots, letting you upgrade it further. You can add special effects like extra damage or protection by slotting runes into your weapons and armor. Collecting full sets of gear gives you even more powerful bonuses, so you’ll want to specifically hunt for the pieces you need. You get materials for upgrades by completing raids, opening chests, and breaking down items you already have, making the whole process straightforward.

‘Outward’

You can learn to make weapons, armor, and useful tools by following recipes at crafting stations, and each recipe clearly lists the materials you’ll need. Enchanting lets you add special abilities to your gear using symbols and ingredients placed in designated spots. Plus, anything you craft can be transferred to a new character, allowing you to plan for the long term. Your choice of backpack and armor also impacts your stamina and how much you can carry, which changes how your character feels and performs while traveling.

Let us know in the comments what your favorite crafting system is in video games, and which game you think does it best! Tell us what makes the crafting and upgrade process so satisfying for you.

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2025-11-19 00:51