Into The Hive Weapon Mastery Guide: Augments & Upgrades

Every bug-filled cave run gets easier when your gun keeps pace with the swarm, and that's exactly what Into The Hive weapon mastery is for. Each weapon and piece of equipment earns its own Mastery XP as you use it, and the milestones change how you build your loadout. Knowing when to upgrade, when to spin augments, and when to save for a bigger gun saves you thousands of Cash in your first few days.

How Mastery Fits Into Your Loadout

Mastery is tracked per item. Your rifle, your sentries, and the rest of your gear all level separately, so the gun you stick with is the one that grows.

The milestone that matters most early on is mastery level four. Hitting it on a weapon unlocks a second augment slot, which roughly doubles how much you can customize that gun. That's why committing to one weapon early pays off more than buying something new every run.

Upgrade Your Starter Rifle Before Buying Anything

After the tutorial mission you'll land in the lobby holding the standard AR 01. The armory immediately tempts you with the next rifle up, the AR 02, at 5,000 Cash. Skip it. It performs about the same as the AR 01, so it's a poor return on your first big pile of money.

Instead:

• Press the upgrade button on the AR 01 and keep investing Cash into it.
• Keep using it on missions so it builds Mastery XP toward that second augment slot.
• Bank the rest of your money for the 12K or 20K guns.

Weapon tier	Price	What to do
AR 01 (starter)	Free	Upgrade it and level its mastery
AR 02	5,000 Cash	Skip — nearly identical to the starter
Higher-tier guns	12K or 20K Cash	Buy once your upgrades, augments, and armor are set

Augments: Spin Early, Move Them Later

Augments are the customization layer you manage back at base, and they're where mastery shows its value. Hit spin to roll one. A common rarity is perfectly fine for the early game, so don't burn resources chasing high rarities right away.

Log in on your second day to grab a free epic augment. Slot it straight into your rifle. Augments can be removed at any time and transferred to a stronger weapon later, so nothing you equip now is wasted when you finally buy that 12K or 20K gun.

Once your rifle reaches mastery level four, fill the second slot with your next best roll.

The Spending Order That Works

Follow this order to stay strong without wasting Cash:

1. Upgrade the AR 01 with the upgrade button.
2. Spin for an augment and equip it, plus your free epic one on day two.
3. Spin for armor. Common armor is fine early.
4. Buy a 12K or 20K weapon, then move your augments onto it.
5. Round out the loadout with grenades and turrets.

Equipment Tokens are a separate currency. Spend them in the Equipment menu in the lobby on new guns, throwables, and sentries. Grab a free one with the code HIVE1: open the Shop from the lobby, enter it in the code box at the bottom of the window, and hit Redeem. The final character is the number 1, not a capital I or a lowercase L. New players need to finish the first mission before the lobby Shop is available.

Put Tokens toward sentries if you play support. A turret deployed in a tight cave tunnel covers your whole squad when the swarm pushes in.

Speeding Up Mastery With Game Passes

If you want to level weapons faster, the Mastery Booster is the pass built for it. It doubles Mastery XP on every weapon and piece of equipment and halves the Cash and ore cost of every equipment upgrade, so it speeds up both halves of the grind.

Game pass	Price	What it does
Mastery Booster	199 Robux	Double Mastery XP on every weapon and equipment; half the Cash and ore for every equipment upgrade
VIP	199 Robux	+50% Cash from missions, +50% Scrap, +25% Rank XP, VIP tag
Phoenix Armor	799 Robux	Once per mission, revive when downed, knock back nearby bugs, and gain a 5-second shield dome

Both the Mastery Booster and Phoenix Armor are permanent purchases. If you're only buying one pass to push mastery, the Mastery Booster's halved upgrade costs stack nicely with the "upgrade your starter first" plan above. You can grab passes from the Into The Hive page on Roblox.