You've probably seen them. Clunky, corroded, and looking like they belong in a scrap heap rather than the hands of a legendary hero. When you first stumble upon a rusty weapon in Octopath Traveler 2, it feels like a bit of a letdown. Why am I lugging around a "Rusty Sword" when my Warrior is already swinging a blade made of literal sunbeams?
The short answer? These aren't junk. They're actually the Divine Arms, the absolute strongest equipment in the game, provided you can find the right guy to polish them up.
Basically, these six weapons are the key to the Armsmaster secret job. Without them, the Armsmaster is just a guy with a fancy outfit and no skills. Every single skill in that job’s repertoire is hard-locked to a specific rusty weapon. You find the Rusty Polearm? You get the polearm skill. You ignore the Rusty Axe? Well, your Armsmaster is going to have a very quiet turn when it’s time to chop something down. It's a scavenger hunt that spans the entire map of Solistia, and honestly, some of these are tucked away in places you’d never think to look unless you were actively trying to get lost.
Where to Find the Retired Blacksmith
Before you go hunting, you need a home base. You can’t just go to any old shop in Oresrush and ask them to fix a legendary relic. You need Porta, the Retired Blacksmith.
He’s chilling in Gravell. This is a high-level area in the Wildlands, so if you’re trying to rush this at level 15, you’re going to have a bad time. Once you get to Gravell, you’ll find a house guarded by a debt collector. Knock him out—Path Actions like Throne’s Ambush or Castti’s Soothe work wonders here—and head inside. Porta will see your rusty gear and realize he’s finally got something interesting to do with his retirement.
Once he reforges a weapon, it transforms. That Rusty Sword becomes the Conqueror's Sword. The Rusty Bow becomes the Hunter's Bow. And suddenly, your damage numbers start getting very, very silly.
The Hunt for the Rusty Sword (Conqueror’s Sword)
This is usually the first one people find because it’s tied to a side story you can’t really miss if you’re a completionist. You need to head to Winterbloom. There’s a girl there who wants a specific sword pulled from a stone.
It’s the "The Sword in the Stone" trope, but with a JRPG twist. You don't just pull it out. You need a Pickaxe. You can get one by using a Path Action on a specific NPC in Oresrush (the town where Partitio starts). Bring the pickaxe back to Winterbloom, and boom—you have the Rusty Sword.
When Porta fixes this, it becomes the Conqueror’s Sword. It has a unique effect where it increases your physical attack based on how many secondary jobs you’ve unlocked. It’s the bread and butter of the Armsmaster’s "Cosmic Roar" ability.
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Tracking Down the Rusty Polearm (Warlord’s Spear)
If you want the Rusty Polearm, prepare for a bit of a hike. It’s hidden in the Timberain Castle area, specifically in the Western Gravell Wilds. You’re looking for a dungeon called the Sunken Vessel.
Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.
Actually, the Polearm is in a chest in the Timberain Castle: Town Square. You have to go all the way to the left, find a hidden path behind some stairs, and it’s just sitting there in a red chest. It’s surprisingly easy to miss because the perspective of the camera hides the walkway.
Once reforged into the Warlord’s Spear, this thing is a beast. It restores your BP when you break an enemy. In a game where BP is the literal lifeblood of your strategy, having a spear that feeds you extra turns is borderline broken. Hikari with this spear is a nightmare for bosses.
The Rusty Bow and the Behemoth (Hunter’s Bow)
This one is a genuine pain. You have to go to the Sinking Ruins in the Toto'haha region. To even get to the chest, you have to fight a boss called the Behemoth.
The Behemoth is no joke. It has a nasty habit of petrifying your party members. If you aren't prepared with Herb of Grace or a Cleric who can cleanse status effects, you’ll end up with a collection of statues instead of a winning team. After you put the beast down, the Rusty Bow is yours.
Porta turns this into the Hunter’s Bow. Its special effect? It has a chance to reduce a random stat of the enemy whenever you hit them. Since the Armsmaster’s bow skill hits multiple times, you’re basically a walking debuff machine.
The Rusty Axe and the Quicksand Monster (Lionheart's Axe)
For the axe, head over to the Hinoeuma region. There’s a spot called the Quicksand Gaol.
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Deep inside, you’ll find the Lord of the Sands. It’s a giant worm-looking thing that loves to hide underground and mess with your targeting. Once you kill it, the Rusty Axe is in the chest behind it.
The reforged version is Lionheart’s Axe. This weapon is fascinating because it increases your Max HP. It’s not just a stat stick for attacking; it makes your glass cannon Armsmaster surprisingly tanky. It also powers the "Oni Bane" skill, which is one of the better AOE (area of effect) axe attacks in the game.
Finding the Rusty Dagger (Maiden’s Dagger)
The Rusty Dagger is tucked away in the Shipwreck of the Empress in the Brightlands sea. You’ll need the boat for this. Partitio’s "Scent of Commerce" questline is mandatory here because you can’t get the dagger without your own vessel.
Once you sail to the shipwreck, it’s a fairly straightforward dungeon crawl. No massive boss fight is required just to reach the chest, but the random encounters in the water can be spicy if you’re underleveled.
Porta turns this into the Maiden’s Dagger. This weapon is a magical powerhouse. It gives a massive boost to Elemental Attack, making it the go-to choice if you’re running a magically inclined Armsmaster (which is rare, but viable with certain builds).
The Rusty Staff (Spirit Lord’s Staff)
Finally, the staff. You’ll find this in the Seat of the Sea Knight, another boat-accessible dungeon.
This one is located in the Divide Ocean. Like the dagger, you need the boat. It’s tucked away in a chest at the end of the dungeon.
The Spirit Lord’s Staff is incredible for resource management. It restores SP based on a percentage of the damage you deal. If you’ve ever felt the frustration of running out of SP right before a boss’s shield breaks, this staff is the solution. It makes the Armsmaster almost entirely self-sufficient.
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Why Most Players Struggle with the Armsmaster Job
A common mistake is thinking you can just slap the Armsmaster job on anyone and win. It doesn't work that way.
The Armsmaster is unique because its skills are tied to the weapons. If Hikari is your Armsmaster but Ochette is holding the Hunter’s Bow, Hikari cannot use the bow skill. The weapons and the job are tethered.
Pro Tip: Give the Armsmaster job to someone with high natural physical attack. Hikari is the obvious choice, but Oswald as a physical Armsmaster is a hilarious (and surprisingly effective) meme build if you give him the right gear.
The real power comes from the Sixfold Strike. This skill uses all six Divine Arms to hit every single weapon weakness on an enemy. It’s the ultimate shield-breaker. But remember: if you haven't found the rusty versions and had them fixed, Sixfold Strike will do significantly less damage and won't feel nearly as "ultimate."
Final Steps for Your Legendary Build
Once you have all six weapons, you aren't quite done. To truly maximize the rusty weapons in Octopath Traveler 2, you need to look at your support skills.
- Deal More Damage: This is mandatory. The Divine Arms will easily push you past the 9,999 damage cap. Without this skill from the Warrior class, you’re wasting all that legendary potential.
- Peak Performance: If your health is full, you deal extra damage. Since the Spirit Lord’s Staff and Lionheart’s Axe help with HP and SP, keeping your health topped off is easier than usual.
- A Step Ahead: This Inventor skill lets the Armsmaster go first. Use this turn to buff or start breaking shields immediately with Sixfold Strike.
Get to Gravell, talk to Porta, and start checking those dungeons. The difference between a "Rusty" blade and a "Divine" one is exactly what you need to take down the game’s terrifying secret ending boss.
Go to Oresrush and buy that Pickaxe from the NPC near the weapon shop. If you don't have it, you can't get the sword in Winterbloom. After that, head to the Sinking Ruins in Toto'haha for the bow—it's the hardest one to get due to the Behemoth, so bring plenty of Herb of Grace. Finally, make sure you have Partitio’s boat ready; the dagger and staff are waiting in the middle of the ocean. Once you have all six, the Armsmaster becomes the most versatile force on your team.