Open the equipment-improvement service
One documented stop is the blacksmith in central Maragir, south of Maragir Wealds. Visit during the day and look for the outdoor vendor stall; All Things How warns that a marked stall may be closed at night.
At an available blacksmith or armorer, choose the dialogue for improving equipment rather than opening the buying-and-selling list. Select the owned piece you want to raise.
All Things How’s walkthrough describes choosing a target level and holding the confirmation input. Use your own on-screen prompt, and keep the preview open long enough to compare the cost and resulting stats before paying.
Read current level, target level and cost separately
The upgrade preview lets you compare an item’s level and base stats against the target. The cited guides describe the target as capped by Coen’s current level. Select a lower target if the menu allows it and the displayed full cost is beyond your budget.
In ESO’s 0:40–0:55 demonstration, Ambrus’s Cuirass is previewed at level 50 with 419 Armour for 36,215 Denarii. The same panel warns that this character is not proficient with Heavy Armour and that stats are lowered by 30%. The 419 Armour is therefore this character’s displayed preview, not an unpenalized base value. This is one high-level example, not a price list. The later zero-cost display accompanies Reached Max Level; it does not mean the preceding upgrade was free.
Verify the purchase and separate proficiency
After confirming, reopen the same item and check its level and base stats. If you only moved the preview slider, you have not verified a purchase. If it has not changed, check the target, available Denarii and confirmation prompt before repeating anything.
Raising an armor item’s level is separate from learning medium or heavy armor proficiency. For a proficiency warning, follow Second Skin and armor manuals; paying an equipment vendor does not replace that training.
Choose what to keep without assuming a universal scaling rule
ESO recommends maintaining one useful legendary sword early and delaying some legendary armor purchases to reduce repeated upgrade spending. Treat that as a budget strategy: compare the item you already own, the cost shown today and the benefits you actually use.
The exact moment that a found item’s level is set is not established here. One other recorded item, Durandal, shows character level 8, item level 15 and a required level of 11. That prevents a universal rule that every found item always equals Coen’s level.
Sources also disagree about how bonus attributes change on upgrades. Inspect the actual before-and-after bonuses instead of budgeting around an unverified every-ten-level increase or a promise that all bonuses stay fixed.
Related guides
Sources and coverage
- The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Upgrade Weapons and Armor — Checked 7 September 2026; game build unverified. Used for: Open the equipment-improvement service, Read current level, target level and cost separately, Verify the purchase and separate proficiency, Choose what to keep without assuming a universal scaling rule.
- ESO: Things I Wish I Knew — Used for: Open the equipment-improvement service, Read current level, target level and cost separately, Verify the purchase and separate proficiency, Choose what to keep without assuming a universal scaling rule.
- KhrazeGaming: Legendary Weapons — Used for: Choose what to keep without assuming a universal scaling rule.
- The Blood Of Dawnwalker: How to Upgrade Items (All Witchcraft Vendor Locations & Items) — Used for: Choose what to keep without assuming a universal scaling rule.
Reviewed September 7, 2026. This guide combines the attributed launch-version walkthroughs and footage; it is not a report of a separate playthrough by this site. Check your current quest journal and action-cost prompts when a patch or choice changes the route.