History Main / UpgradeArtifact

** The second and final class changes in ''SeikenDensetsu 3'' are sealed, requiring characters to not only reach level 38, but to have an item to break the seal. The item is different for each and every class, and must be "grown" from a seed that RandomlyDrops from a few specific (though thankfully unlimited) monsters. [[GuideDangIt That last part is never explained in-game.]]

* In ''WebAnimation/TurnaboutStorm'', [[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Phoenix's]] mystical LieDetector, the Magatama, ended up working like this when [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight]] made contact with it [[WrongContextMagic through her magic]]. It gave her the ability to see Psyche-Locks[[note]]Visual representation of how deeply someone is hidding a secret[[/note]] without needing to hold the Magatama with her.

* In ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'', Father Anderson, while otherwise an ImplacableMan, simply cannot muster enough gumption to go against Alucard, so he decides it's TheLastDance for him. [[spoiler: Focused on killing the vampire, he tributes his humanity to God by stabbing himself with the Nail of Helena, turning him into a divine monster on par with Alucard and a HumanoidAbomination.]]

* In ''Manga/Hellsing'', Father Anderson, while otherwise an ImplacableMan, simply cannot muster enough gumption to go against Alucard, so he decides it's TheLastDance for him. [[spoiler: Focused on killing the vampire, he tributes his humanity to God by stabbing himself with the Nail of Helena, turning him into a divine monster on par with Alucard and a HumanoidAbomination.]]

* ''SecretOfMana'' (''SeikenDensetsu II'') had you collect eight orbs each for your eight weapons. Once hammered into place by a trusty dwarf, you could then proceed to ... wait a bit longer for your strongest charge attack (it also increases the base attack of the weapon).

* ''{{Munchkin}}'' has any number of "gain a level" cards, with excuses like "pay for the pizza", "shut up about your character", and "convenient addition error".

* ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}'' 'verse has an Ancient library that can imprint itself into a human mind, resulting in major technological advances. The drawback is [[spoiler: the human brain can't handle it and the Ancient knowledge must be removed before there's permanent damage.]]

* ''MageTheAwakening'' features grimoires, books of magical knowledge that allow those who read them (and have the proper Arcana) to instantly learn spells. Somewhat justified in that a grimoire is created when one mage removes all knowledge of a spell from his mind and puts pen to paper, allowing for ease of instruction and duplication; in addition, the ''mage who created the grimoire'' can use it to relearn the spell, and having it around afterwards allows for easier casting of the spell, since you can use it to lighten the mental workload.

* ''KamenRiderRyuki'' averts this. Main protagonist Shinji Kido, who gains the power to become a Kamen Rider but still has the martial arts ability of a civilian. He slowly develops his abilities as the series progresses, eventually becoming quite a proficient fighting.

** The ''KamenRiderDouble Returns: Accel'' has the Gaia Memory Enhancing Adapter which triples the power output of any Gaia Memory it is attached to. When attached to the Accel Memory allows Ryu to become Kamen Rider Accel Booster.
** ''KamenRiderFourze'' also averts this as protagonist Gentarou Kisaragi has no real martial arts ability and usually just fights by the seat of his pants even after becoming a Rider. Later on, he ends up taking some kickboxing lessons. However, when he becomes Kamen Rider Fourze Meteor Fusion States, he ends up gaining the Jeet Kun Do skills of his ally.

** The first one is possibly the most notable, in that the UpgradeArtifact in question is a ''rat's tail''. As in the literal tail of a rat, which you give to Bahamut to upgrade all four of your characters.

** ''FalloutNewVegas'' brings back the implanted stat boosters, except this time you'll be back on your feet in a matter of hours. There are also some new, more situational implants in the ''Old World Blues'' DLC that do things like making you move faster while sneaking.

** The [[MacGuffin Hougyoku]] does this to anyone it comes in contact with. Not only is it responsible for Aizen's MANY {{Squick}} and {{Narm}} filled transformations in the Deicide Arc, but its presence in Karakura was also partly responsible (along with contact with Ichigo's overactive reiatsu) for Chad and Orihime developing powers in the first place.

* The Hogyoku in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''.

* ''InazumaEleven'' features skill manuals, items that instantly teach a character the new skill, which becomes a plot device as the rookie Raimon team keep relying on getting new GameBreaking ability every chapter to climb up the tournament. It doesn't work by the half of the game and the heroes are finally told they need to train properly instead of spending times looking for papers.

* ''InazumaEleven'' features skill manuals, items that instantly teach a character the new skill, which becomes a plot device as the rookie Raimon team rely on getting GameBreaking ability every chapter in order to climb up the tournament. It doesn't work by the half of the game and the heroes are told them need to train properly instead of spending times looking for some papers.

** It pulled double-duty as a SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:neither Sifu nor Tai Lung, nor even Po at first, could figure out why it was "empty," just apparently a blank but rather reflective scroll. It took learning there is no secret ingredient to [[ChekhovsGun Secret Ingredient Soup]] for Po to realize that the scroll didn't MAKE you the Dragon Warrior, but made you realize you had it all inside of you already.]]

* The Stand Arrow from ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. Normally, it's used to turn normal people into [[PsychicPowers Stand users]]. However, someone who is already a Stand user will gain additional powers if shot by the arrow again (Yoshikage Kira gained the ability to create time loops near the end of Part 4 to try and escape the heroes), and when a ''Stand'' is shot by the arrow, it becomes a MUCH more powerful version of itself, as seen when Polnareff's [[RoyalRapier Silver Chariot]] becomes Silver Chariot Requiem and gains FreakyFridayFlip abilities. Likewise, Giorno's Gold Experience becomes Gold Experience Requiem and goes from being able to transmute objects into being able to DivideByZero, thereby thoroughly trouncing [[BigBad Diavolo]] and his timeskipping abilities.

* In ''FanFic/TurnaboutStorm'', [[VisualNovel/AceAttorney Phoenix's]] mystical LieDetector, the Magatama, ended up working like this when [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Twilight]] made contact with it [[WrongContextMagic through her magic]]. It gave her the ability to see Psyche-Locks[[note]]Visual representation of how deeply someone is hidding a secret[[/note]] without needing to hold the Magatama with her.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Evon}}'', a good spellbook are this for magic users. Not only do the books give the user access to a wider range of spells, but by studying and meditating on the spells within, a caster's understanding of magic, and with it, his power, increases. Evon was a much stronger caster with just a couple of days with her father's book.

* Subverted/averted in ''Manga/DragonBall Z'':