The Mastery Level is a measure of how experienced a player is with their weapon, and it is gauged through usage in combat. Screamers, Haters, Defenders, Tubers, Mid-Bosses, and Dons can increase your mastery when killed by a non-mastered weapon. Each level of mastery takes a different amount of ABP (Ability Points) to reach, with certain weapons having different amounts of ABP required to reach each of their levels. Every weapon has a maximum mastery level of 20.
Bonuses for reaching mastery levels include:
- Increases in weapon damage
- Kill Coin drop rate during goretastic finishers
- Additional EXP gain from goretastic finishers
- Decreases in stamina loss from attacking
- Increased rage move damage
- Increased fire-rate, throw speed, range, or reduced charge time for ranged weapons
- Hit-chaining (additional ticks of damage or attack extensions on a button press)
- Skill moves (additional attacks for your weapon activated by an alternate button press)
- Combo moves (additional attacks for your weapon activated by pressing an attack button after a previously chained attack)
- Charge moves (additional attacks for your weapon activated by holding an attack)
- Various other unique bonuses for certain weapons, listed in the table below:
| Weapon | Mastery Level | Bonus Title | Attack Name (If Given) | Additional Bonus Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axe | 6 | Atk 1: Special + | - | You now flinch less when hit by enemies. |
| Knife | 10 | Atk 2: Down Attack | Fatal Judgment | X when an enemy is down. |
| Fists | 8 | Atk 2: Block + | - | You can now guard against weapons with your fists. |
| Buzzsaw | 10 | Atk 2: Block + | Buzzguard | Block with the saw running using O. |
| Magnum | 6 | Atk 1: Bullet + | - | Bullet penetration increased. Enemies cannot guard against them. |
| Stun Rod | 10 | Atk 2: Charge + | Human Power Plant | You can now charge up to 3 times. |
| Shotgun | 6 | Atk 1: Atk + | - | Bullet power increased. Hitting enemies at close range now downs. |
| Flail | 6 | Atk 1: Special + | - | You can now walk while swinging the ball. Move while pressing L2 or R2 |
| Sniper Rifle | 6 | Atk 1: Aim + | - | Your aim has improved. Scope blur decreased. |
| Fire Rod | 6 | Atk 1: Atk + | - | Flames upgraded. Hitting walls or the ground sets them on fire. |
| Assault Rifle | 6 | Atk 1: Full Auto | - | Unlocked full auto mode. |
| Drill | 10 | Atk 2: Down Attack | Armadillo Attack | X when an enemy is down. |
| Stun Gun | 6 | Atk 1: Electrode + | - | Electrodes have been upgraded. Effect duration has increased. |
| M2G-87 | 6 | Atk 1: New Ammo | - | New ammo added: Grenade Shells |
| M2G-87 | 10 | Atk 2: New Ammo | - | New ammo added: Knives, Rocket Shells |
| Mortal Bobslayer | 10 | Atk 2: Blunt Skill + | Blunt Skills | Attack Power awakened. |
| Jackal Blaster | 6 | Atk 1: Homing + | - | Laser tracking improved. |
Decals[ | ]
For a full list of decals and ways to obtain these, please reference the Skill Decals page.
| Stars | Name | Icon | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★ | Super Squeezer | 
|
Resource Accrual | Increases ABP gained by 40% |
| ★ | Squeezer | 
|
Resource Accrual | Increases ABP gained by 10% |
Sources Of ABP[ | ]
| Type Of Enemy | ABP Dropped On Kill |
|---|---|
| Screamer | Fluctuates based on level. Usually ranges from around 25 to 37. |
| Tuber | 25 |
| Hater | Minimum 50 (can be more slightly more depending on location) |
| COEN (3F and Tengoku) | 70 |
| COEN (26F) | 74 |
| COEN (34F) | 76 |
| COEN (40F) | 76 |
| COEN (TDM) | 70 |
| JIN-DIE (6F and Tengoku) | 70 |
| JIN-DIE (16F) | 72 |
| JIN-DIE (26F) | 74 |
| JIN-DIE (38F) | 76 |
| GOTO-9 (Tengoku) | 70 |
| GOTO-9 (11F) | 72 |
| GOTO-9 (23F) | 74 |
| GOTO-9 (36F) | 76 |
| U-10 (Tengoku) | 70 |
| U-10 (32F) | 76 |
| Max Sharp (10F) | 70 |
| Max Sharp (Tengoku) | ? |
| Colonel Jackson (20F) | 72 |
| Colonel Jackson (Tengoku) | ? |
| Mr. Crowley (30F) | 74 |
| Mr. Crowley (Tengoku) | ? |
| Taro Gunkanyama (40F) | 76 |
| Taro Gunkanyama (Tengoku) | ? |