Which Armor Matrix Upgrades To Get First in Saros

Saros has launched, and it’s a significant improvement over Returnal, featuring both major new features and subtle refinements. Although my review already explains why I think it’s a strong contender for Game of the Year, today we’re going to take a detailed look at one of the game’s new systems.

In Housemarque’s new Bullet Hell Roguelite, the Armor Matrix provides a way to make lasting progress. After each run, players can return to The Passage and use Lucenite to permanently upgrade Arjun’s stats and abilities.

Want to know which skills are best to unlock first in Returnal? You’re in the right place! This guide is designed to help you get a strong start, and it’s written by someone who’s completed the game and achieved top scores in the Tower of Sisyphus.

Which Armor Matrix Upgrades to Prioritize

Resilience Nodes and Resilience Attribute Enhancers

In Saros, your health (HP) is incredibly important. The game constantly challenges you, slowly wearing you down until you eventually fall. Since healing with Aether isn’t very effective at the start, investing in Resilience nodes for Arjun within the Armor Matrix is a smart move early on.

This will make you more durable, allowing you to take a few extra hits during battles before being defeated. Enhancing your attributes is also important, as it lets you increase Arjun’s Resilience, helping him survive longer.

Drive Nodes and Drive Attribute Enhancers

When it comes to spending in Roguelites, you can always use more of the main currency, and Saros is no different. Drive is a key stat that affects how fast you can build up your Weapon Proficiency after collecting Lumenite from enemies.

Finding better weapons with improved attachments is a key part of building up Arjun’s arsenal, and maintaining a high Drive level is essential for this. In fact, I believe Drive should be just as important as your Resilience stat.

Command Nodes and Command Attribute Enhancers

I highly recommend focusing on upgrading Command as your third choice in the Armor Matrix. It directly improves your shield capacity and how effectively you use power weapons. While shields are important, it’s more beneficial to use them specifically to absorb blue orbs, which fully recharge your power weapon gauge.

Getting more Command points lets you use your Power Weapon more frequently, which can be crucial for turning the battle in your favor during intense fights in Saros.

Proficiency Segments

As a player, I really like the Proficiency Segments! They’re pretty straightforward – they let you boost how high your Weapon Proficiency can go at the start of a new run. Basically, it makes it way easier to get your hands on those better, higher-proficiency weapons, so you can deal more damage and build a really strong loadout right from the beginning.

Finding the Proficiency Segments early on will quickly guide you to the Second Chance upgrade, which is very helpful at the beginning of Saros.

You’ll mainly find these towards the end of each section on the Armor Matrix. If you have any Lumenite left over, it’s a good idea to spend it on these, particularly as you progress into the middle and later parts of the game.

Restoration Upgrade

After you defeat Prophet, the first major boss, you’ll unlock better armor upgrades. One of these, called the Restoration Upgrade, makes the healing items you find in the game restore more of your health.

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This node will always be near other, smaller nodes that help you find Aether more often. Focus on improving its stats first, but do so gradually when you don’t have those smaller Attribute nodes available.

Key Storage

Once you reach the first level of the Armor Matrix, be sure to unlock the Key Storage node. This will give you an extra Carcosan Key at the beginning, which is helpful for opening more chests and rooms as you explore the different areas.

You’ll probably acquire this upgrade last, as you’ll need to build up your stats with the earlier multi-attribute enhancers first. Save it for when you have plenty of Lumenite to spare.

2026-05-03 23:39