Enchanting & Upgrading Equipment — Lineage II Guide

Enhance your combat prowess in Lineage II by mastering equipment enchanting and upgrading processes. Learn item requirements and strategies.

Welcome, adventurer, to the essential guide to enhancing your gear in Lineage II! As you journey through Aden, your equipment is your lifeline. Mastering the art of enchanting and upgrading will significantly boost your combat prowess and survivability. This detailed section will walk you through the processes, item requirements, and strategic considerations for maximizing your equipment's potential.

Understanding Enchanting

Enchanting is the primary method to increase the base stats of your weapons and armor. Each successful enchant level adds a bonus to your item's attack power (for weapons) or defense (for armor). However, beware: enchanting carries a risk of failure, which can have dire consequences.

Enchant Scrolls: Your Tools of Power

The core component for enchanting is the Enchant Scroll. These come in various types, each with specific applications:

• Scroll: Enchant Weapon (Grade): Used for weapons of a specific grade (e.g., Scroll: Enchant Weapon (D-Grade), Scroll: Enchant Weapon (C-Grade)).
• Scroll: Enchant Armor (Grade): Used for armor pieces of a specific grade (e.g., Scroll: Enchant Armor (D-Grade), Scroll: Enchant Armor (C-Grade)).
• Blessed Scroll: Enchant Weapon (Grade): A safer alternative. If enchanting fails, the item's enchant level resets to 0 instead of crystallizing.
• Blessed Scroll: Enchant Armor (Grade): Similar to the Blessed Weapon Scroll, it prevents crystallization upon failure, resetting the enchant level to 0.
• Crystal Scroll: Enchant Weapon (Grade): A rare and highly sought-after scroll. It has a higher success rate and, upon failure, the item's enchant level is reduced by only one, rather than resetting or crystallizing.
• Crystal Scroll: Enchant Armor (Grade): The armor equivalent of the Crystal Weapon Scroll, offering increased success and a less severe penalty on failure.

The Enchanting Process: Step-by-Step

1. Acquire Equipment: Ensure you have the weapon or armor piece you wish to enchant.
2. Obtain Enchant Scrolls: Enchant Scrolls can be dropped by monsters, purchased from the Grand Olympiad Manager with Noblesse Gate Passes, or acquired through various in-game events.
3. Open Inventory: Access your inventory (default key 'I').
4. Right-Click Scroll: Right-click on the desired Enchant Scroll. Your cursor will change to an enchanting icon.
5. Select Item: Click on the weapon or armor piece in your inventory that you wish to enchant.
6. Confirm Enchant: A confirmation window will appear. Review the item and the potential outcome, then click "OK" to proceed.

Enchanting Success & Failure

• Success: The item's enchant level increases by +1 (e.g., from +0 to +1, +5 to +6).
• Safe Enchant Limit: For weapons, the safe enchant limit is +3. For armor (including shields and accessories), it's +3 for full body armor and +4 for individual pieces. Enchanting within this limit has a 100% success rate.
• Beyond Safe Enchant: Once you exceed the safe enchant limit, the success rate decreases significantly.
• Failure (Standard Scroll): If a standard Scroll: Enchant Weapon/Armor fails beyond the safe enchant limit, the item will crystallize, turning into a varying amount of crystals of its respective grade. These crystals are valuable for crafting.
• Failure (Blessed Scroll): If a Blessed Scroll fails beyond the safe enchant limit, the item's enchant level will reset to +0, but the item itself will not be destroyed.
• Failure (Crystal Scroll): If a Crystal Scroll fails beyond the safe enchant limit, the item's enchant level will decrease by only one level (e.g., from +7 to +6).

Attribute Enchanting

Beyond basic enchanting, you can further enhance your equipment with elemental attributes. This is a crucial late-game mechanic that adds significant damage or defense against specific elements.

Attribute Stones & Crystals

Attribute enchanting requires specific Attribute Stones or Crystals:

• Attribute Stones: These are the basic attribute items (e.g., Fire Stone, Water Stone, Wind Stone, Earth Stone, Holy Stone, Dark Stone). They add a smaller amount of attribute power.
• Attribute Crystals: These are upgraded versions of Attribute Stones (e.g., Fire Crystal, Water Crystal). They add a significantly larger amount of attribute power per enchant.

The Attribute Enchanting Process

1. Acquire Equipment: The item must be a weapon or armor piece that can be attributed.
2. Obtain Attribute Stones/Crystals: These are typically dropped by high-level monsters in specific zones (e.g., Forge of the Gods for Fire/Water Stones, Imperial Tomb for Holy/Dark Stones) or purchased from Attribute Masters in towns.
3. Visit an Attribute Master: Locate an Attribute Master NPC in any major town (e.g., Aden Castle Town, Goddard Castle Town).
4. Select "Attribute Enchant": Speak to the Attribute Master and choose the "Attribute Enchant" option.
5. Place Item and Stone/Crystal: Drag your weapon or armor into the designated slot, then drag the appropriate Attribute Stone or Crystal into its slot.
6. Confirm Enchant: Review the potential outcome and click "OK".

Attribute Enchanting Mechanics

• Weapons: Can be enchanted with one offensive attribute (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Holy, Dark). This adds bonus damage against targets weak to that element.
• Armor: Can be enchanted with defensive attributes. Each piece of armor can hold a defensive attribute, reducing damage taken from that element. You can mix and match defensive attributes across your armor set.
• Success Rate: Attribute enchanting generally has a high success rate for the initial stages. However, reaching maximum attribute values can be challenging and expensive.
• Failure: Unlike regular enchanting, attribute enchanting typically does not destroy the item upon failure. Instead, the attribute value may decrease, or the stone/crystal may be consumed without an increase.

Augmenting Equipment

Augmenting is a unique system that adds random, temporary or permanent bonus stats to your weapons. This can be a powerful way to customize your gear, but it's also highly luck-dependent.

Life Stones & Gemstones

To augment an item, you will need:

• Life Stone (Grade): These come in various grades (e.g., Life Stone (C-Grade), Life Stone (B-Grade), Life Stone (A-Grade), Life Stone (S-Grade)). Higher grade Life Stones offer better potential augmentations. They are dropped by monsters.
• Gemstone (Grade): These are required in varying quantities depending on the item's grade and the Life Stone's grade. They are obtained by crystallizing equipment or purchased from merchants.

The Augmenting Process

1. Acquire Weapon: Only weapons can be augmented.
2. Obtain Life Stone & Gemstones: Gather the necessary materials.
3. Visit a Blacksmith or Maestro: Locate a Blacksmith (e.g., Blacksmith of Mammon, Blacksmith of Aden) or Maestro (e.g., Maestro Ishuma).
4. Select "Augment Item": Speak to the NPC and choose the "Augment Item" option.
5. Place Weapon, Life Stone, and Gemstones: Drag your weapon, Life Stone, and the required Gemstones into their respective slots.
6. Confirm Augment: Review the cost and click "OK".

Augmentation Outcomes

Upon successful augmentation, your weapon will gain a random bonus. These bonuses can include:

• Active Skills: Skills that can be used during combat (e.g., Active: Might, Active: Shield).
• Passive Skills: Always active bonuses (e.g., Passive: Focus, Passive: Haste).
• Chance Skills: Skills that activate with a certain probability (e.g., Chance: Stun, Chance: Silence).
• Stat Increases: Direct increases to stats like P. Atk, M. Atk, P. Def, M. Def, HP, MP, CP.

The quality and type of augmentation are entirely random. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can re-augment the weapon, which will overwrite the previous augmentation.

Upgrading Equipment (Masterwork/Rare Items)

Certain high-grade equipment can be upgraded into "Masterwork" or "Rare" versions, offering significant stat bonuses and sometimes unique appearances. This process is typically more complex and resource-intensive.

Masterwork Items

Masterwork items are enhanced versions of regular high-grade gear. They often provide increased base stats and sometimes additional passive effects.

• Acquisition: Masterwork items are usually crafted by high-level Dwarven crafters using specific Masterwork recipes, which are rare drops from raid bosses or high-level monsters.
• Materials: Crafting a Masterwork item requires a large quantity of high-grade materials, including rare components like Varnish of Purity, Metallic Fiber, or specific Gemstones.

Rare Items (Dynasty, Icarus, Vesper, etc.)

Rare items, often referred to by their set names (e.g., Dynasty, Icarus, Vesper), are top-tier equipment that offer substantial bonuses when worn as a full set. These items often have multiple upgrade stages.

• Acquisition: Rare items are typically obtained through specific quests, raid boss drops, or by upgrading existing high-grade equipment at specialized NPCs.
• Upgrading Process (Example: Dynasty Armor):
  1. Obtain Dynasty Armor Piece: Acquire a regular Dynasty armor piece (e.g., Dynasty Tunic).
  2. Gather Materials: You will need a specific amount of materials, often including Adena, Crystal of Purity, and unique items like Dynasty Essence or Icarus Essence, which drop from specific raid bosses or high-level hunting zones.
  3. Visit a Blacksmith of Mammon or Maestro Ishuma: These NPCs are usually found in the Necropolis or Catacombs, or in specific towns during certain event periods.
  4. Select "Upgrade Item": Choose the appropriate upgrade option for your item.
  5. Confirm Upgrade: Place your item and materials, then confirm the upgrade. The item will transform into its Rare version (e.g., Dynasty Tunic (Light)).
• Set Bonuses: Wearing a full set of Rare equipment provides powerful set bonuses, which are crucial for end-game content.

Strategic Considerations

• Prioritize Weapons: For damage dealers, focus on enchanting your weapon first, as it provides the most significant boost to your offensive capabilities.
• Armor for Survivability: Tanks and healers should prioritize armor enchanting to increase their P. Def and M. Def.
• Attribute Matching: Research common monster weaknesses in your hunting zones and attribute your weapon accordingly for maximum efficiency. Similarly, attribute your armor defensively against common elemental attacks in challenging areas.
• Risk vs. Reward: Decide whether to use standard or blessed scrolls based on the item's value and your risk tolerance. For extremely valuable items, blessed scrolls are often worth the extra cost.
• Augmentation for Specific Builds: Augmenting can provide unique skills or stat boosts that complement your class and playstyle. Don't be afraid to re-augment if the initial outcome isn't ideal.
• Plan for Upgrades: If you aim for Masterwork or Rare gear, start collecting the necessary materials early. These often require significant time and effort to acquire.

By diligently following these steps and understanding the mechanics, you will transform your humble gear into powerful artifacts, ready to face the greatest challenges Lineage II has to offer!