Where to find the Drillbreaker Weapon and How to Upgrade It

The Drillbreaker weapon is classed as machinery in FFXV and hence it occupies the same class as the Circular Saw, Gravity Well, Noiseblaster etc.. It is the strongest of the machinery group. In this guide you'll learn where to find the Drillbreaker weapon and the necessary steps to upgrade it.

Like other machinery weapons, the Drillbreaker has a charged attack variant that players can use by holding down the attack button then releasing it. This special charged attack inflicts repeated damage with piercing drills and costs 80 MP. This is perfect against stronger mechs that are invulnerable to other, lighter, forms of attack.

Where to find it

The Drillbreaker weapon is hidden inside the Formouth Garrison which is technically a dungeon in the game but it doesn't look much like one. Players should note that Formouth Garrison is a late game challenge that only becomes available after Chapter 8.

Once you reach this stage of the game, simply walk within a certain radius of the base and the quest appears. Use the image above to see the garrison's map location (yellow circle on map) - it's north of The Three Valleys and Hammerhead.

Towards the very end of the quest you'll come up against the MA-X Cuirass and the MA-X Dux, both of which are strong opponents. Take note of the enemies weakness - a vulnerability to machinery weapons. Hopefully you have followed my other guide and have some of the other machinery weapons to hand such as the Gravity Well.

Use charged shots to take down each of the targets one at a time.

Once the area is clear, it's now the perfect opportunity to raid the vicinity of any collectibles. Not only is the Strange Engine part in this area (centrally located) but the Drillbreaker is also here for the taking.

The exact location is to the north east of this final boss enclosure, sandwiched between the northern square shaped perimeter edge and the corner building. Although there are some enemies still around, take your time and find this excellent weapon.

How to Upgrade

Hopefully by now you're well acquainted with Cid who is revealed in Chapter 2 of the main story. This old fella helps Noctis upgrade a range of weapons including the Drillbreaker that we're interested in here.

As usual, he needs a base weapon (the Drillbreaker) but also upgrade parts to complete the upgrade process. In this quest, called "A Better Drillbreaker" he needs something called a "Magitek Core".

Magitek Core Locations

Thankfully, finding the Magitek Core is incredibly easy because it's a random drop from the same quest we just completed. The chance of dropping is:

MA-X Dux (100%)
MA-Patria (3%)

Important: You MUST wait 2 x quests or hunts between returning the material and claiming the Drillbreaker. This is because Cid needs time to upgrade it.

Stats

The upgraded Drillbreaker improves the base stats to the following levels:

Attack: 240
Critical: 2
Max HP Modifier: 12
Vitality Modifier: 13
Bullet Resistance: 13