Welcome to the dusty wilds of Weird West, where survival doesn’t just come from your aim—it also comes from your armor. In this guide, we’re diving deep into the art of crafting legendary vests, what materials you need, where to find them, and how to work your way up to the highest-quality gear. If you’ve ever wondered how to make five-star protection a reality in this dark western world, this is the guide you’ve been looking for.

Starting the Crafting Process: Finding a Tanning Rack

To get started with vest crafting, you’ll first need to locate a tanning rack. These can be found in towns marked with a shirt icon on the map—towns like Grackle and others spread throughout the world. Once you have access to a tanning rack, the rest of the process begins with gathering hides—and that means hunting.

Hunting for Hides: Which Animals Drop What

To craft vests, you need hides. You can either purchase hides directly from vendors or go the hands-on route and skin animals yourself. For that, you’ll need to buy a skinning tool kit from a vendor. Then, head out to the wilderness:

• Deer – Found near the outskirts of town, where grassland meets forest
• Snakes – Typically found in deserts or swamps
• Bison – Often found near rivers
• Bears – Usually encountered in ambushes or around hunting camps

Once you down an animal, approach with the skinning kit in hand. You’ll usually receive a standard hide (e.g., Deer Hide, Bison Hide), but occasionally, and randomly, you’ll receive a Superior Hide, which is essential for crafting higher-tier vests.

Crafting and Upgrading Your Vest

With two standard hides of the same type, you can craft a one-star vest. For example, two bear hides will create a Bear Skin Vest (1-star). From there, the crafting process evolves:

• To upgrade to 2-star, combine your 1-star vest with three additional hides of the same type
• To go from 2-star to 3-star, you’ll need four more hides
• To reach 4-star, you need four Superior hides
• Finally, to make it Legendary (5-star), you’ll need five Superior hides

This means that legendary gear doesn’t come cheap—it’s the result of a full commitment to hunting and gathering materials over time. Every upgrade step increases not just protection but also special resistances, depending on the type of vest you’re working with.

Vest Types and Resistances

Here’s a breakdown of the resistances you get from each type of vest once it reaches legendary status:

• Bear Skin Vest – Highest physical protection (60), but no additional resistances
• Deer Hide Vest – Adds Lightning Resistance
• Snakeskin Vest – Adds Poison Resistance
• Bison Hide Vest – Adds Fire Resistance

Each one has a niche depending on the enemies and environments you encounter, so mix and match depending on your current objectives.

Important Crafting Details

There are a few mechanical quirks worth knowing:

• Tool Kits Break – Your skinning kit wears out over time, just like shovels and pickaxes. Always keep a backup or be ready to buy a new one.
• Superior Hides Are RNG-Based – You can’t guarantee you’ll get them every time you skin an animal, so bring patience.
• You Need Space – Your inventory fills up fast. Crafting requires material room, so always manage your inventory before heading out.

A Note on Weapons: Upgrades and Limitations

Though this guide focuses on vests, the same general upgrade path applies to weapons. The difference is that weapons require Copper, Silver, and Gold Nuggets to upgrade instead of animal hides. You can:

• Craft weapons up to 4 stars manually using nuggets
• 5-star legendary weapons, however, can only be bought from certain vendors

One such vendor, located in Fort Glen while playing as Jane the Bounty Hunter, was observed selling legendary bows. It’s unclear what game state or triggers determine when vendors offer legendary weapons, but repeated visits and bounties seem to help.

A 3-star bow, for instance, might require 10 Gold Nuggets to upgrade to 4-star. But once it hits 4-star, you’ll find no further upgrade options—unless you buy a legendary variant directly.

Closing Tips

• Always be hunting. The more animals you skin, the more likely you’ll collect enough Superior hides for late-game crafting.
• Visit vendors frequently to check for legendary item rotations.
• Consider storing hides and nuggets in a deposit box to keep inventory space free.

Crafting legendary gear in Weird West is a grind, but it’s one worth the effort. Whether you’re gearing up for a showdown or preparing for the unknown, your vests and weapons can make the difference between victory and an early grave. See you out there, and happy crafting.