Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades
⚪ Last updated 2021Preview
🔍 Analysis
- 👍 3.5% endorsement rate — high engagement, a strong quality signal
- 🏆 #21 of 389 Gameplay mods in this game by downloads
📋 About This Mod
Description
One of my favorite changes in Legendary Edition was how it made the Insanity difficulty available even for a first-time playthrough of all three games. Unfortunately, the relaxed NG+ restrictions didn't include upgrading weapons in LE3, which remain capped at rank 5 on a first-time playthrough. If the completionist in you is also bothered by the need to play the game twice to get the definitive, max power Insanity playthrough you want, Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades (UWU) is here for you.
UWU (yes, I know) tricks LE3 into thinking even a fresh playthrough is NG+, thus allowing you to upgrade all your weapons to maximum rank so long as you have the credits to afford it. Play Insanity the way it was meant to be played! Or bust the game wide open on Narrative difficulty - I'm not judging you.
As a side effect of enabling NG+, new weapons obtained during missions will start at rank 3 (or have their rank increased by three if you already had the weapon). I'm still working on a way to make this an optional feature, since it does affect game balance by saving you a not inconsiderable amount of credits.
Installation and Removal
Import and install through ME3Tweaks Mod Manager. To uninstall, quit the game, and use ME3Tweaks Mod Manger to remove UWU:
- []With LE3 selected in the installation dropdown, click on Manage Target.
[
]Click on the Delete button next to Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades.[]Close the window, and try to cope with the prospect of a life without UWU.
Compatibility
UWU works by altering multiple basegame plot conditionals to always return true ("This_Is_New_Game_Plus" and all the "_NGP_Acquired" conds for weapons). Any mod that also alters these conditionals or relies on their output is likely to produce strange ingame behavior. If you have issues using UWU with other mods, let me know and I'll see about making a compatibility patch.
Unrestricted Weapon Upgrades removes the New Game Plus requirement for upgrading weapons to rank 10 in the game. This quality-of-life mod is for players who want max-level gear without replaying the campaign. With 3,452 endorsements and 98,650 downloads, it's a popular and straightforward fix.
✨ Key Features
📊 Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Huge community trust (3,452 endorsements) — clearly does what it says.
- Saves you an entire playthrough just to hit max weapon rank.
- Lightweight and focused — no bloat, just removes the NG+ gate.
⚠️ Cons
- Last updated in 2021 — might not work with the latest game patches.
- Only affects weapon upgrades — if you wanted other NG+ unlocks unlocked, this won't help.
For players who've beaten the game once and want to experiment with maxed-out weapons without grinding another playthrough. Also for completionists who hate NG+ gates. Skip if you enjoy the challenge of earning upgrades through NG+ cycles.
💡 Beginner Tips
- Check if the mod requires a script extender or mod loader — if so, install that first.
- Make sure to back up your save before installing, just in case the mod conflicts with your current progress.
- If the mod doesn't work after a game update, check the mod page for patches or user fixes in the comments.
📊 Mod Details
- Game
- Mass Effect Mods
- Author
- columnFive
- Version
- 1.0
- Downloads
- 98,650
- Endorsements
- 3,452
- Category
- Gameplay
- Created
- 8/13/2021
- Updated
- 8/13/2021
🔧 How to Install Mass Effect Mods
Download from Nexus.
📖 Full step-by-step install guide for Mass Effect →
Visit the official mod page for specific installation instructions for this mod.
🎮 Need cheat codes or console commands? Check ur gaming wiki for Mass Effect commands, item IDs, and more.
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