Avowed: Forged in Starmetal Quest Guide – Sword vs Arquebus Choice and Upgrade Paths

Forged in Starmetal is one of those quests that begins with a quiet spark of curiosity and slowly unfurls into a blaze of decision-making. The moment an envoy picks up that first rough sliver of Starmetal—glowing with an otherworldly, pale-cyan luminescence like a fallen sliver of frozen starlight—a new quest entry appears. Yet the objective remains vague: find a smith capable of shaping this volatile material. At first blush, the obvious candidate is Gweneth in Dawnshore, the cheerful artisan encountered early in the Living Lands. She speaks with admiration of rare metals, and her anvil seems hungry for novelty. Unfortunately, she will only shake her head, explaining that Starmetal is far beyond her skill. She suggests seeking someone with more experience, a rejection that lands like a gentle gate closing, rerouting the envoy toward the rugged peaks of Galawain’s Tusks.

The true crucible of this quest waits within Solace Keep, the final major hub opened before the point of no return. Deep in the Main Hall, down a short flight of steps at the back of the room, stands Forgemaster Dela—a dwarf whose beard carries the soot of a thousand forgings and whose eyes light up with a feverish intensity upon hearing the word “Starmetal”. Approaching him is like unwrapping a gift in the presence of a child; he leaps into an excited tangent about the metal’s origins, its temperament, and the sheer audacity of trying to work it. The envoy can indulge every word or politely hasten him, but the outcome remains the same: Dela will offer to craft a weapon from the single fragment. The choice is stark and immediate—a sword or an arquebus.

Deciding between the Meteor Blade and the Moonstrike is not merely a tactical pivot but a philosophical fork. Opting for the sword means wading into combat with a blade that hums with kinetic fury; every swing delivers a solid 120 physical damage and a stun of 100, at a modest stamina cost of 11. Its critical hit chance sits at 3%, a constant whisper of potential lethality. The arquebus, on the other hand, is a thunderclap made metal. Moonstrike unleashes 380 physical damage and 280 stun from a distance, but demands 25 stamina per shot—a deal that feels like trading a steady heartbeat for a cannon blast. Both weapons share that 3% critical chance, yet their identities could not be further apart. As Dela himself might mutter over his forge, choosing between them is akin to deciding whether to hold lightning in your palm or hurl it across the horizon.

A crucial nuance sits unspoken until the first weapon is forged: the Living Lands conceal more than one Starmetal fragment. The envoy can collect enough of this celestial scrap to eventually own both the blade and the gun. This transforms the initial choice from a permanent sacrifice into a matter of timing. However, the real alchemical twist arrives when it comes time to upgrade. Dela will craft a second-tier version of each weapon, but with a chilling condition—the original weapon must be surrendered as the raw material. The Meteor Blade can be reforged into Ondra’s Offense, a superior sword dealing 141 physical damage and 110 stun while retaining its efficient stamina cost of 11. The Moonstrike evolves into Heavenstrike, an arquebus that alters the balance slightly, dealing 361 physical damage but a generous 308 stun, still at 25 stamina. This process of refinement is less like sharpening a blade and more like feeding a star so that it collapses into a denser, brighter form; the old weapon is consumed, and the envoy must be completely ready to part with what once felt irreplaceable.

For min-maxers and lore-hunters alike, as of 2026, the meta remains beautifully stable. The sword line rewards aggression and rapid repositioning, carving through shields and flesh with a rhythm that feels like dancing on the edge of a volcano. The arquebus line transforms careful positioning into devastating alpha strikes, its roar echoing across Galawain’s Tusks like a declaration of intent. Whenever resources allow obtaining both weapons, the envoy becomes a dual-threat force capable of switching identities mid-stride. Yet the emotional weight of upgrading never fully fades. Handing over a weapon that has witnessed the fall of bosses and the quiet victories of exploration is a small grief, woven into the fabric of Avowed’s design philosophy.

Ultimately, Forged in Starmetal is more than a fetch-and-craft errand. It is a slow-burning riddle that begins in a volcanic wasteland and ends inside the heart of a master smith’s passion. The weapon choice mirrors the envoy’s evolving spirit, and the mandatory sacrifice upon upgrading challenges any hoarder’s instinct. For those who have wandered the Dawnshore and wondered what secret the shimmering sky-iron holds, Dela’s forge is where that mystery finally becomes blood, steel, and gunpowder.