The first thing to know about lumina upgrades is the timing of when you collect colour of lumina - it appears right after clearing certain mob packs and in specific spots across each zone. You'll want to check behind structures and along cliff edges, since the resource often spawns in these less obvious positions. The drop rate from elite mobs is roughly 15-20% so don't expect it from every fight.

For the pictos system mechanics, there's a precise 4-battle requirement to unlock each passive effect. Watch the top right corner during combat, as a small counter tracks your progress and flashes when you hit the threshold. The exact timing window to see the "lumina learnt" notification is about 3 seconds after the last battle ends, so don't skip through too quickly or you might miss it.

When you're ready to apply upgrades, the curator becomes available in the cave after completing the third story quest. His upgrade menu has specific level requirements - you'll need character level 5 for the first tier, level 10 for second, and so on. Position yourself near the crafting table since that's where the upgrade animation plays out. Good to know that the chroma catalyst enhancement requires standing in this exact spot or the upgrade option stays greyed out. The interface can be a bit finicky so make sure to click directly on the upgrade icons rather than just the general menu area.