One of the most confusing aspects of player-based choices is item reinforcement and the options that come with it. Sometimes, you have too little resources and too many characters to work on; You just don't want to end up wasting those resources on uninformed or poor choices. Here, I will give you some insight in making informed choices and knowing what to expect from my experience.
In this 5-part article, I cover-
- Socketing
- Property Reset
- Reinforcement
- Transmutation
- Extraction
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Serdin Refinery
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| The revamped Refinery. Looks nice and techy |
The Serdin Refinery, run by its keeper Lillian Arquemeece is a place where key reinforcement operations are performed. The Refinery is only available from Ellia Continent onwards. First up let us look into the basic processes of reinforcement and then the supplementary items used in the processes.
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The Processes:
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| Step 1: Selecting Equipment |
The revamped interface shows quite clearly the steps to take and it's the same across the other functions. First up, click on the lit orange panel and select an armor piece you desire from the inventory slots on the right. In case you see nothing, remember to look at the top left for a drop down box that lets you select the correct armor type or weapon, then click on the orange panel again.
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| Step 2: Differences - Not Reinforced (Left), Reinforced (Right) |
After selecting an armor piece, depending on the state of the armor you will see either one of the relevant images above. Note that equipped armor parts can also be reinforced, without having to be removed first.
(Left) Not Reinforced
This example uses a raw helmet without a reinforcement stone attached. As such, the Reinforcement Stone panel lights up. Clicking on the blue panel allows you to select a Common or Epic grade reinforcement stone from your inventory list. After placement of the stone, you will see the resultant picture on the right.
(Right) Reinforced
This example uses an already reinforced helmet or one that was just equipped with a stone. So instead the Scroll panel lights up. From here, you can choose to use any of the scrolls available in your inventory. But take note of the lit-up Reinforce button here (red box). It is advisable to be very careful at this stage as a careless and hasty click can have detrimental consequences on your stone before you have a scroll prepared.
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| Step 3: Selecting respective Reinforcement item types |
Once selected, simply click on Equip/Reinforce to continue the process. For stone reinforcement, each stone is a single item and is consumed upon use. For scrolls however, the Scroll stack stays in the panel until it is completely exhausted. This is different from the old Refinery where every reinforcement phase was a tedious manual task. ┐(￣ヘ￣）┌
*The new Reinforcement process no longer consumes Gems, and only requires GP to perform. The cost increases depending on the level of the equipment being reinforced into, not by the Stone's grade.
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Reinforcement Support Items:
Reinforcement Stones:
For Stone Reinforcement, there are no rules to follow. The only requirement is an empty armor/weapon piece and a stone of any Level (0 - 17) and Grade (Common/Epic). Once Reinforcement Stones are equipped on armor and weapons, they cannot be removed without the aid of Removal Scrolls.
 | Reinforcement Stone | The standard and most common Stone available. They bestow set bonuses to the respective armor types they are attached to (Atk/Def/Vit). No special properties. |
 | Epic Reinforcement Stone | The improved version of a Stone. They provide slightly higher stats per grade and comes with one added property depending on the armor type it is attached to. You can find this list at GC Wikia. Note: Removing and then re-equipping the same Epic Stone will change the property roll on that same item. i.e. You may or may not get the same property again. |
Reinforcement Stones and their Epic versions can be created in the Forge using Gate Ores, Crystals and Gems. Gems can bought off the GP Shop, but Gate Ores and Crystals need to be earned via Dungeon runs.
| Common Grade |  |  |  |
| Epic Grade |  |  |  |
Author's Note: After assessing the list of Epic Stone properties, I believe those properties gravitate greatly towards PvP usage.
- The fact that Lower Armor can provide Throw Damage resistance is a painfully obvious sign.
- A lot of those properties require players to enter "Fatal" state. A very COMMON status to be in during PvP. Think about this: What good would such properties do for a dungeoneer; Who in the right mind would stay in Fatal status when potions are available?
- Looking at their chart, only properties of Gloves, Shoes, Cloaks and Weapons have a dungeon benefit, no matter how small their bonuses are. Problem is, you still have to contend with the [Fatal] set of properties which may appear 50% - and then it gets frustrating.
Reinforcement Scrolls:
 | Refinery Scroll | Effective for use up to Grade 9, but up to Grade 6 as recommendation. These scrolls are best used starting from Grade 3 onwards, to aid in smooth reinforcement up till Grade 6. Due to their limited usefulness at later stages of upgrading, there is no point in hoarding these... Like I did?* |
 | Special Refinery Scroll | Effective for use up to Grade 9, with better success rates. These improved scrolls are best used from Grade 6 onwards, where the risk of resetting to Grade 0 upon failure begins. These scrolls cannot protect against failure or resetting, only serving to increase the success rate. |
 | Refinery Protection Scroll | Effective for use up to Grade 14, and protects the stone from degrading, resetting or even from being destroyed. 2nd rarest of scrolls, that is best used from Grade 9 onwards. |
 | Premium Reinforcement Protection Scroll | Effective for use up to Grade 17, and protects the stone from degrading, resetting or even from being destroyed. The rarest of scrolls, that is best used from Grade 14 onwards. |
 | Grade "X" Refinery Scroll | Where "X" is a set number, these scrolls directly upgrade a stone to the specified number with absolutely no risk. The only requirement is a piece of equipment with a stone in it regardless of its Grade. Further reinforcement after using scroll requires you to still follow the rules of reinforcement. Currently in distribution history, Grade 7 to Grade 15 scrolls have been verified and obtained. |
*Actually, most of these were from the Season 4 (Rebirth) inventory overhaul and conversion of items, amongst other similar resource items like Crystals and Gems.
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Reinforcement Recommendations:
Like most crafting done in MMOs, reinforcement in GC is a tense game of gamble on its own. The process often requires a lot of patience (and nerves) and resources, so make sure you're ready to sit in for it!
| From | To | Risks | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Grade
0 |
Grade
3 | Nil | Assured success almost 90% of the time. There are odd chances of failure even at Grade 1. |
Grade
3 |
Grade
6 | Degradation | The first stage of annoyance where the Grade can jump back and forth for a while, or a straight streak to Grade 6 if you're lucky. |
Grade
6 |
Grade
9 | Degradation Resetting | The second stage of struggle with an added rule where the Grade can instantaneously drop to 0. |
Grade
9 |
Grade
14 | Degradation Resetting Destruction | The third stage of tension. Not using the scroll usually results in failure, with degradation, resetting and destruction waiting right behind you to destroy the unprotected stone. |
Grade
14 |
Grade 17
| Degradation Resetting Destruction | The toughest challenge. Not using the scroll here would result in assured failure, compounded by the fact they are very rarely distributed for free, or expensive to purchase as well. Every successful upgrade from Grade 15 onwards will result in newsflash announcements for the public to see. Don't worry, it's nothing embarrassing either. |
Although reinforcement, by its process, should strengthen your character's parameters by a certain exponential margin, not all of them will provide a major stat boost.
Unfortunately, no detailed table has been produced thus far. (And I can only provide data consistently up till Grade 9 for the casual player level.
| Armor Type | Image | Grade 0 | Grade 1 | Grade 2 | Grade 3 | Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grade 7 | Grade 8 | Grade 9 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helmet |  | 653 (Defense) | 745 (+92) | 748 (+3) | 752 (+4) | 757 (+5) | 763 (+6) | 772 (+9) | 782 (+10) | 795 (+13) | 809 (+14) | 156 |
| Upper Armor |  | 761 (Defense) | 868 (+107) | 871 (+3) | 876 (+5) | 882 (+6) | 890 (+8) | 900 (+10) | 912 (+12) | 926 (+14) | 944 (+18) | 183 |
| Lower Armor |  | 761 (Defense) | 868 (+107) | 871 (+3) | 876 (+5) | 882 (+6) | 890 (+8) | 900 (+10) | 912 (+12) | 926 (+14) | 944 (+18) | 183 |
| Gloves |  | 1305 (Attack) | 1320 (+15) | 1325 (+5) | 1333 (+8) | 1343 (+10) | 1356 (+13) | 1372 (+16) | 1394 (+22) | 1419 (+25) | 1450 (+31) | 145 |
| Shoes |  | 870 (Vitality) | 878 (+8) | 881 (+3) | 884 (+3) | 889 (+5) | 896 (+7) | 905 (+9) | 915 (+10) | 929 (+14) | 945 (+16) | 75 |
| Mantle |  | 870 (Vitality) | 878 (+8) | 881 (+3) | 884 (+3) | 889 (+5) | 896 (+7) | 905 (+9) | 915 (+10) | 929 (+14) | 945 (+16) | 75 |
| Weapons |  | 3045 (Attack) | 3080 (+35) | 3093 (+13) | 3110 (+17) | 3133 (+23) | 3163 (+30) | 3202 (+39) | 3252 (+50) | 3312 (+60) | 3394 (+82) | 349 |
For the standard upgrading fare, Grade 9 is the safest level for unsupported reinforcement. Some interesting factors can be noticed-
- Weapons are the only equipment that have a fixed stat of 3045 attack across all characters and classes.
- Like all equipment, their default values vary depending on the character. The increment for each armor type in Grade-order is the same for other characters. These increment values also applies to low level items like a Lv5 Adventurer armor.
- E.g. Sieghart's PP Helmet has a higher default defense value than Lire's. Regardless, the increment is the same (as the chart shows) for both of them and all other characters.
- Quite curiously, the Grade 1 increment for defense items is indeed noteworthy.
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Specials:
Weapons are one of the most important parts of the equipment set, and reinforcing them to the highest magnitude is only natural; Indeed, and it comes with additional merit for doing so. Depending on the Grade of the stone attached, visual effects are applied to the character's presentation during the start of a dungeon run or taunting.
It's not just Grade 17 weapons that get you extra eye-candy. Different effects also appear for the player according to the weapon Grade. (And yes specifically, only weapons can bring these effects out)
| Grade 9-10 |  |
| Grade 11-12 |  |
| Grade 13-14 |  |
| Grade 15-16 |  |
| Grade 17 |  |
For a full list of Grade 15 & 17 sigils, do visit GC Wikia for the image gallery at the bottom of the page.
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