V Rising Gear Score: How does Gear Score work, and what is the max Gear Score?
Learn how Gear Score works and how to increase it in V Rising
Want to understand more about Gear Score in V Rising? Perhaps you're new to Stunlock's fantastic and blood-filled open-world survival game and want an introduction to the game's unusual levelling system. Or maybe you're a dozen hours into your latest playthrough and you'd like to know how far there is left to go until your vampire is as strong as can be?
The answers you seek are waiting just below. We'll walk you through what Gear Score means, how to increase it, and the maximum Gear Score you can reach in V Rising, which is now out of early access following the release of the version 1.0 update.
V Rising Gear Score explained
In a similar vein to RPGs like Destiny and New World, in V Rising you don't level up your character by accumulating experience. Instead, your level is determined purely by the Gear Score of all your currently equipped gear.
You can view your Gear Score at any time in V Rising either by accessing your inventory, or by checking the number by your health bar in-game. Your Gear Score changes as you equip and unequip certain items. So don't be surprised if you see your Gear Score change suddenly as you switch between different weapons on your hotbar.
Gear Score doesn't mean anything when you're fighting against other players, but it's very important when fighting NPC enemies. The amount of damage you inflict on an enemy depends on your current Gear Score relative to their level. If an enemy has a much higher level than your current Gear Score, you won't be able to deal much damage to them at all.
When you see an enemy, pay attention to the colour of their level and health bar, because they indicate how easy or hard it may be to defeat them. For instance, red tells you that the enemy is probably too tough to handle at the moment. And if an enemy's level is far enough above your Gear Score, their level will appear as a skull rather than a number.
What is the max Gear Score in V Rising?
The maximum Gear Score you can reach in V Rising is 80. Beyond this point, only consumables, abilities, planning, and skill will allow you to grow stronger.
Technically the maximum Gear Score is actually 81, because certain armour set synergy bonuses and the like give you an extra +1 Gear Score. But the baseline maximum is 80.
It's likely that as Stunlock Studios update their game and add more late-game regions to explore, the maximum Gear Score will rise beyond 80. But for now, that's as far as you can get, I'm afraid.
How to increase your Gear Score
You upgrade your Gear Score by, quite simply, equipping items with higher Gear Score values. You can check a piece of equipiment's Gear Score by hovering over it in the inventory. You can also check the Gear Score of an item before you've even crafted it by hovering over the recipe in the crafting window.
The easiest way to improve your Gear Score is to follow the quests given to you by the game, and by using your Blood Altar to track down and kill ever more powerful bosses. Slaughtering these bosses will unlock important structures and recipes which will allow you to craft stronger weapons and armour.
That wraps up this guide on the inner workings of the Gear Score system in V Rising. If you want to craft new weapons, make sure you know how to find iron and how to find copper in V Rising. If you're still struggling in combat, learn how to heal in V Rising to ensure you're always fit for the fight. If you need to get away fast, check out our guide on how to get a horse in V Rising.