Refining, guards and transfers
Refiner Hagane in Hidden Mist Village raises a weapon or rod, usually one level per roll, up to +10. Early levels are cheap and almost certain; from +7 the odds fall to single digits and a fail drops you a level. A Refinement Guard stops that drop, and since V0.18 you can refine a spare item and swap its level onto the one you use.
Every level’s odds and cost
The price depends only on the level, not the item: a +3 Spear and a +3 katana cost the same to raise. The ore switches from Refinement Ore to Mythic Refinement Ore at the +5 to +6 roll.
| Roll | Success | Great (+3) | Fail (−1) | Wen | Ore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0 → +1 | 90% | 10% | none | 125 | 2 Refinement Ore |
| +1 → +2 | 85% | 10% | 5% | 250 | 3 Refinement Ore |
| +2 → +3 | 80% | 8% | 12% | 500 | 5 Refinement Ore |
| +3 → +4 | 69% | 6% | 25% | 1,000 | 8 Refinement Ore |
| +4 → +5 | 51% | 4% | 45% | 2,000 | 12 Refinement Ore |
| +5 → +6 | 32.5% | 2.5% | 65% | 3,250 | 1 Mythic Ore |
| +6 → +7 | 20% | 1.5% | 78.5% | 5,000 | 2 Mythic Ore |
| +7 → +8 | 8% | 0.5% | 91.5% | 7,500 | 2 Mythic Ore |
| +8 → +9 | 5.5% | none | 94.5% | 12,500 | a few Mythic Ore |
| +9 → +10 | 0.75% | none | 99.25% | 25,000 | 4 Mythic Ore |
A fail costs a level. A Spear at +3 that fails goes back to +2, and a +7 that fails goes back to +6. The Wen and ore are gone either way.
A Great Success jumps three levels. A +2 can land on +5 in one roll. There is no Great line on the last two rolls, so from +8 the only way up is the plain chance.
At +10 the button reads Fully refined. What +10 is worth depends on the weapon; of the weapons below, the Nightfall line gains the most.
FAILED: the Spear was +3 a moment earlier and now reads Level 2 ▶ Level 3, back to 80%.
GREAT SUCCESS from +2: the Spear jumps to Level 5 ▶ Level 6 in one roll.
| Weapon | At +10 | Gained over +0 |
|---|---|---|
| Nightfall Katana | 17.25 damage | +11.5 |
| Volcanic Katana | 12 damage | +8 |
| Butterfly Katana | 7.5 damage, 20% speed | +5 damage, +10% speed |
| Blood Sickles | 6 damage | +4 |
| Serpent Katana | 4.5 damage, 10% damage | +3 damage, +5% |
What getting there costs on average
Because a fail drops you back, the real cost of a level is far above its sticker price. Pick where you are and where you want to be.
Average cost, no guard
56,358 Wen
About 28 attempts, 164 Refinement Ore, 11 Mythic Refinement Ore.
Every fail drops the item a level, so you pay again to climb back.
Average cost, every fail guarded
33,498 Wen
About 12 attempts, 37 Refinement Ore, 11 Mythic Refinement Ore.
A guarded fail keeps the level. Guards themselves are not counted here.
Averages hide long streaks: +9 to +10 is a 0.75% roll, so plenty of players pay far more than the figure above, and some pay less.
Refinement Guards
Arm a guard in the refine window before you roll. If the roll fails, the banner reads GUARDED and the item keeps its level. The slot reads Armed, no level loss on a fail, more greats: at +7, arming one moves the Great chance from 0.5% to 0.75%. It does not raise your overall chance of going up.
The refine window says guards are sold by the Black Marketer. Players also report them as a rare drop from bosses, Gyutai among them, and from World Events Chests.
The usual plan: refine to +7, then roll there with a guard armed, hoping for a Great Success that lands straight on +10. That roll costs 7,500 Wen against 25,000 for each attempt at +9.
Refinement Guard, Impossible: Insurance scroll for refinement. Burn it during an attempt to stop a bad result from lowering the blade.
Level 7 ▶ Level 8 with a guard armed: 7.75%, Great 0.75%, Fail 91.5%, 7,500 Wen, Mythic Refinement Ore x2, and Armed, no level loss on a fail, more greats.
GUARDED: the roll failed and the katana stays at Level 9 ▶ Level 10.
Transferring a refine level
Hagane’s Transfer tab swaps the refine levels of two items: the +7 goes to the other item, and whatever that one had comes back. It works across types, so a Gauntlet can swap with a fishing rod. It costs the same as the refine roll that reaches that level, and it can fail; a failed transfer loses only the fee, never the levels. Enough guards make it certain.
- +195% to succeed, or certain with 1 guard
- +560% to succeed, or certain with 5 guards
- +740% to succeed, or certain with 9 guards
- +830% to succeed, or certain with 11 guards
- +1015% to succeed, or certain with 15 guards
Gauntlet +8 → +7 and Legendary Fishing Rod +7 → +8: 30%, 7,500 Wen, Refinement guard x11.
Transfer: Butterfly Katana +5 → +0 and Serpent Katana +0 → +5, 60%, 2,000 Wen and Refinement Ore x12, or Refinement guard x5.
Nightfall Katana +7 → ?: 40% (Fail 60%), 5,000 Wen, and Refinement guard x9 to make it certain.
Nightfall Katana +10 → ?: 15% (Fail 85%), 25,000 Wen, Refinement guard x15.
Another route players use: refine a spare item until it hits, then swap the level over (at +10 that is a 15% roll, or certain with 15 guards). A V2 reforge halves the refine level, but upgrading a Nightfall weapon to the next tier keeps it, so a +7 T2 becomes a +7 T3.
Blacksmith Togane has a Transfer tab of his own. It swaps Firstlight or Nightfall tiers between two set pieces for a quarter of the upgrade cost: weapons and armour with each other, accessories with accessories, both unequipped first. The drawings and tier costs are on the Nightfall and Firstlight page.
Blacksmith Togane, Transfer tab: Tier Transfer, The two pieces swap tiers, with a Nightfall Katana Tier 2 → ?.
V0.18, Refiner & Blacksmith: A transfer costs the same as a refine and can fail (95% chance at +1, 15% at +10). If it fails, you only lose the fee, not your levels.
Where the ore comes from
Boss chests drop both kinds; players often end up holding thousands of plain Refinement Ore, so Mythic tends to run out first. Mythic Refinement Ore comes from Sealed Caches, World Events Chests, Snow and Lost Chests and fishing, and Ginzo pays one for every spare Mythic item you sell him. The details, and what else Ore buys, are on the Wen and Ore page. Which weapon is worth taking to +10 is on the weapons page.
Since V0.18, only the Top and Bottom of an armour set can be refined, and +10 doubles their health.
Level 9 ▶ Level 10: 0.75%, Fail 99.25%, 25,000 Wen and x4 Mythic Refinement Ore. No Great line at this step.
Watch it done
How To Get REAL MAX DAMAGE 100m1 ( No Clan ) Project Slayers 2
Refining a spare weapon, a fail, a Great Success, and the transfer window.
Nightfall Sickles +10 max, Fully refined; the Per level column tops out at Damage 17.25 (+11.5).