Mycopunk How to Farm Upgrades: Unlock Weapons & Get Saxonite

Powering up in Mycopunk is the difference between getting flattened by the first Brute you meet and carving through a Threat 7 mission with room to spare. Upgrades rotate in as you climb, exotic effects demand Strange Components, and the whole economy quietly revolves around a single resource called Saxonite. This guide on Mycopunk how to farm upgrades walks through every confirmed lever the developer has published: which missions pay the most, when each rarity tier unlocks, how Antimass feeds Pattern Infusion, and what the 1.7.2 boost change actually did to the upgrade economy at launch.

Understanding the Upgrade Economy in Mycopunk

Before chasing any particular farm route, it helps to see the whole upgrade loop as a system. Every confirmed layer — the Upgrade Grid rarities, the Antimass Substrate earned from high-threat content, Pattern Infusion at the HUB Pattern Infuser, and Turbocharge for exotics — feeds the next, and missing one layer starves the others.

The Rarity Tiers and How They Unlock

The Upgrade Grid ships in five baseline rarities plus three special pools that show up in specific modes. Each tier is gated behind your overall employee level, which is why "Mycopunk how to get upgrades" really starts with "what level am I?"

The three employee-level milestones (3 / 8 / 16 / 30) are confirmed by the official developer patch notes for upgrade-rotation unlocks. Exotic and Exotic+ upgrades are the real chase items because they define build identity, and the only way to push them further is Turbocharge at the HUB, which costs Strange Components.

Antimass Substrate and the Pattern Infuser Loop

Pattern Infusion is the HUB station where you actually convert resources into new upgrade rolls. To use it, you need Antimass Substrate, which the developer has stated comes from Incursion missions and high-threat runs. Because Incursion only unlocks at player level 13, you cannot use the Infuser to chase the rarest upgrades until you have already cleared a chunk of the regular mission ladder. The official systems list also confirms that Strange Components are a separate currency, spent at a different HUB station, so Antimass and Strange Components are not interchangeable even though both are required to "finish" an upgrade.

The 1.7.2 Boost Change and Why It Matters

The February 2026 patch notes (1.7.2) confirmed that non-exotic upgrades can now be boosted by spending resources, and boosted upgrades gain increased stats. Before 1.7.2, because upgrade unlocks were already free, there was no real reason to grind resources for a Standard roll — boosting introduced that reason. A follow-up patch (1.7.3) fixed a bug where boosted upgrades could drop Strange Components when dismantled, which previously gave a free secondary economy. Both notes are summarized from the official Steam announcement page, where the the official 1.7.2 Steam announcement describe boosting and Drop Pod security in detail.

Mission Types That Pay Out the Most Upgrades

Not every mission pays the same. Threat level, mission type, and whether the mission counts toward your weekly reset all change how much Antimass, Saxonite, and Strange Components you walk away with. Higher-threat expeditions (Threat 4 and above) roughly double the base Saxonite payout compared to Threat 1 runs, while weekly-eligible missions add a bonus Strange Components multiplier on top. Prioritizing weekly reset missions during a farming push therefore stacks both the threat-tier bonus and the weekly modifier, which is the most efficient way to accelerate upgrade material gains before tackling a new weapon unlock.

Threat Level and Antimass Payouts

Antimass Substrate is tied to Incursion and high-threat runs, and the developer has confirmed that Threat level scales from 1 to 7 (Threat 8 is not a thing as of the 1.10.1 notes). The general rule: the higher the threat, the more Antimass and Saxonite drop, and the harder the enemies. A Threat 7 Amalgamation Hunt is a fundamentally different experience from a Threat 1 Population Control, both in enemy density and in payout.

Incursion is the single most reliable Antimass farm because it is the only mission type the developer has officially tied to that resource. If you want to push Pattern Infusion beyond Rare into Epic territory, the loop is: level to 13, queue Incursion, finish, return to the HUB, spend Antimass at the Pattern Infuser.

Ouroboros: The Exotic+ Engine

Ouroboros is the roguelike mode, and its short variant Ouroboros Blitz runs through 13 rooms. This mode is the developer's intended source for Contraband (exclusive to Ouroboros), Oddity (common in Ouroboros), and many Exotic+ rolls. Because the room count is fixed and the mode is short, it is also a strong candidate for farming Strange Components, since you can run several Blitz attempts per hour and dismantle unwanted Contraband items at the HUB.

X11-B and 1.0 High-Difficulty Content

X11-B is a moonlet of New Atlas, the 1.0 high-difficulty region. The developer has confirmed that enemies there are tougher, and that periodic electromagnetic storms disable abilities during the run. The room counts and enemy list for X11-B are not published, so the only confirmed carrot is the Snowball Grenade unlock, which drops from X11-B content and comes with the developer's hint that a favourite upgrade lets you "roll it down a hill to gain size like a cartoon." Past that, the room totals and per-run Antimass yield are not in any official source at the time of writing.

Farming Saxonite: The Currency That Runs the HUB

Saxonite is the resource that ties most of the upgrade loop together. You spend it at vendors, at the Lottery Larry reroll NPC, and indirectly at other stations. The developer has published a specific drop rate for the highest threat band.

Saxonite Drop Rates by Threat

The official systems list states that Saxonite has a roughly 60% drop chance at Threat 7. Lower threats drop less frequently and in smaller quantities, so the fastest Saxonite farming is the highest threat band your squad can clear consistently. If you cannot reliably finish Threat 7, a steady stream of Threat 4–5 runs is more Saxonite per hour than wiping at Threat 7.

Where to Spend Saxonite

Saxonite is the soft currency of the HUB, and several stations take it. Lottery Larry Tokens can be rerolled at the Lottery Larry NPC in the HUB for skin and cosmetic options. The Lost Loot Terminal helps recover items that were lost mid-mission, and several vendors accept Saxonite directly for cosmetic or convenience items. Because Saxonite also drops from cargo pods and special assignments like Saxonite Transport missions, running those mission types on a high threat band is a dual-purpose farm: you finish the mission and you carry the cargo at the same time.

Boosting Upgrades With Saxonite-Side Resources

The 1.7.2 patch note specifies that boosting non-exotic upgrades costs "resources" — the developer has not published the exact list, but the natural pairing in the economy is Saxonite for the most basic boosts, Antimass for higher tiers, and Strange Components for the exotic end. If a Standard upgrade is your target, the cheapest boost path is Saxonite plus a small amount of Antimass; if a Rare is your target, expect to lean harder on Antimass; for Epic, Antimass is the bottleneck.

Unlocking New Weapons: Confirmed Paths Only

The "Mycopunk how to unlock weapons" question branches into three distinct grind paths: employee-level weapons unlock automatically as your operator ranks up through completed anomaly shifts, mission-gated weapons require you to finish a specific Story or Hard contract before they appear in the armory, and weekly reset weapons are tied to Saxonite currency, so the actual farm target depends on which lock icon you see on the weapon you want.

Level-Gated Weapons

Several weapons are confirmed to unlock at specific employee levels. The clearest example is the Diffraction Driver, a 1.0 ion scattergun that unlocks after reaching level 10. Its only confirmed details are: (a) it fires a short-range cone by default, (b) holding alt-fire spins up its halo to tighten the cone and extend range, and (c) the unlock level is 10. The upgrade names for the Diffraction Driver are not published, so any list you see claiming otherwise is speculation.

For a deeper look at which weapons are worth leveling first and the full roster, the Mycopunk weapons list and unlock order pairs each entry's confirmed unlock method — like Shocklance's Overtime Assignment tie-in or Snowball Grenade's X11-B content gate — with the upgrade names that have actually shipped, so you can cross-reference which farming path (Saxonite grinding, employee XP, or weekly resets) feeds into which weapon's progression before committing resources.

Mission-Reward Weapons

A small set of weapons is gated behind specific missions rather than levels. The Shocklance is the clearest case: it unlocks via the Overtime Assignment, and the developer has officially named "Storm's Eye" as one of its upgrades (1.9.8 announcement). The Snowball Grenade, which is technically a grenade rather than a weapon, unlocks through X11-B content; the developer has hinted that one of its favourite upgrades lets you "roll it down a hill to gain size like a cartoon" but has not published the full upgrade list.

Weekly Reset and Unlock Order

The official systems list includes a weekly reset, and several weapons are tied to it. The full weapon-level reward point is level 32, which is the milestone at which the developer has confirmed a reward is granted. Because the reset is weekly, the fastest path to those weapons is logging in each reset and pushing your highest-priority employee toward 32 first. The full rotation of which weapons drop at which reset is in the Mycopunk weapon leveling and unlock order page.

Strange Components and the Turbocharge Loop

Strange Components are the third currency in the upgrade economy, and they are the only way to push Exotic and Exotic+ upgrades further via Turbocharge. The 1.7.3 patch specifically fixed a bug where boosted upgrades could drop Strange Components when dismantled — before that fix, players could effectively farm Strange Components by dismantling every boosted roll. After the fix, the economy is healthier but Strange Components are scarcer.

Where Strange Components Come From

The developer has not published a specific Strange Components drop table, but the confirmed sources are: dismantling Exotic+ and Contraband items, Ouroboros runs, and select high-threat mission rewards. Because Contraband is Ouroboros-exclusive, and Oddity is Ouroboros-common, running Ouroboros Blitz (13 rooms) is the most efficient Strange Components farm in terms of time-per-component.

Why You Should Save Exotic+ for Turbocharge

A common mistake is treating Exotic+ drops as "build complete" items. Because Turbocharge consumes Strange Components per roll and the currency is scarce, the smart play is to identify one or two Exotic+ slots you actually want and only Turbocharge those. Dismantling spare Exotic+ items is your Strange Components income, and the upgrade economy punishes players who spread their rolls too thin. The deeper dive on Antimass, Strange Components, and Pattern Infusion is covered in the undiscovered upgrades and Pattern Infusion guide.

Grenade Upgrades and Element Interactions

Grenades are the most upgrade-dense part of any Mycopunk build, and the 1.0 rename of two grenades has caused confusion. Acid Grenade is now Caustic Grenade, and Shock Grenade is now Voltaic Grenade. The old names no longer refer to in-game items. The new Snowball Grenade joins them as a 1.0 addition unlocked from X11-B content.

The Confirmed Grenade Roster

For the full breakdown of the Voltaic Grenade, the Caustic Grenade, and the Snowball Grenade — including the official "roll it down a hill" tease — the Mycopunk Voltaic and Cryo grenade guide covers each one's confirmed behaviour.

Elements: A Partial List, Not a Closed Set

The developer has never published a closed element list, so writing "the game has N elements" would be wrong. The confirmed element/status interactions from official sources include cryo (freeze/shatter), plasma, acid, rot, blood, shock, bees, and water, but the developer has not stated that this list is complete. Treat any third-party table that claims a closed element count as unverified.

Putting It All Together: A Practical Farming Route

Now that every relevant system is mapped, here is a concrete route a solo or squad player can run to climb from a fresh save to a fully upgraded employee. Begin by prioritizing the Stinger SMG unlock on Day 1 so your basic scrap and Saxonite hauls survive the first biome, then chain Biome 1 contracts until your workshop has at least one tier-2 station online. Once those stations are producing forged frames and upgraded optics, push into Biome 2 to unlock the research tree branches that gate higher-tier weapon mods, and reroute every surplus Saxonite into those branches before spending any on cosmetics.

Phase 1: Levels 1–12 — Build the Standard Pool

From level 1 to 12, your only goal is to hit employee level 3 for Standard upgrades, level 8 for Rare, and level 10 for the Diffraction Driver unlock. The best missions here are Population Control and Amalgamation Hunt on Threat 1–3, where the enemy density is forgiving and the Antimass payout, while small, is enough to start infusing Standard rolls at the Pattern Infuser. Save every Saxonite you find; you will need it later for boosting and Lost Loot recovery.

Phase 2: Levels 13–29 — Antimass and Rare Rolls

Once you hit player level 13, Incursion unlocks. This is the inflection point of the entire upgrade economy because Antimass Substrate is now a real, repeatable resource. Queue Incursion at the highest threat band your squad can finish, return to the HUB, and spend Antimass at the Pattern Infuser to chase Rare and eventually Epic rolls. At level 16, Epic unlocks, and you should have enough Strange Components from incidental drops to start thinking about Exotic+. The full list of mission modifiers you should be watching for during this phase is documented in the Mycopunk mission modifiers and mission select guide.

Phase 3: Level 30+ — Exotic+ and Ouroboros

At level 30, Exotic+ rotates in, and the natural pivot is to Ouroboros and Ouroboros Blitz (13 rooms). Each run drops Contraband and Oddity items that you can dismantle for Strange Components, and the consistent Exotic+ drops are what you feed into the Turbocharge station. This is also the phase where you should be running X11-B content for the Snowball Grenade and any other 1.0 high-difficulty rewards. From here, the loop is steady-state: Ouroboros for components, Incursion for Antimass, Threat 7 for Saxonite, and Turbocharge for the one or two Exotic+ slots you actually want to perfect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the fastest way to farm upgrades in Mycopunk?

Incursion missions at the highest threat you can clear are the fastest confirmed Antimass Substrate farm, and Antimass feeds Pattern Infusion for Standard, Rare, and Epic rolls. Pair that with Ouroboros Blitz runs for Strange Components, and you have the only two officially published upgrade-currency loops. Saxonite supplements both at roughly 60% drop chance per Threat 7 run, which is the published rate from the official systems list.

How do you unlock new weapons in Mycopunk?

Weapons unlock through three confirmed paths: reaching a specific employee level (Diffraction Driver at level 10), completing a specific mission (Shocklance via the Overtime Assignment, Snowball Grenade via X11-B content), and the weekly reset rotation. The full weapon reward point is level 32, which is when the developer has confirmed an additional reward is granted.

How do you get Saxonite in Mycopunk?

Saxonite drops from high-threat missions at a roughly 60% chance per Threat 7 run, and the Saxonite Transport mission type is themed around carrying the resource as your objective. It is also accepted at the HUB for boosting upgrades after the 1.7.2 patch and at the Lottery Larry NPC for cosmetic rerolls, so it is the soft currency of the upgrade economy.

What are Strange Components used for in Mycopunk?

Strange Components are spent at the HUB Turbocharge station to push Exotic and Exotic+ upgrades further. The 1.7.3 patch fixed a bug where boosted upgrades could drop Strange Components when dismantled, so the current intended sources are dismantling Exotic+ and Contraband items, with Contraband dropping exclusively from Ouroboros runs.

Can you boost non-exotic upgrades in Mycopunk?

Yes, the 1.7.2 patch confirmed that non-exotic upgrades can be boosted by spending resources, and boosted upgrades gain increased stats. The developer has not published the exact resource cost per boost tier, but the natural pairing in the economy is Saxonite for lower boosts, Antimass for mid-tier boosts, and Strange Components for the exotic end.