Polishing raises weapons, armor and Lunastones in ArcheAge Chronicles one step at a time: weapons go up to +15, armor up to +10. Every attempt costs gold and Tempering Stones, and from +2 onwards it can fail. Nothing breaks, according to the polishing table – the “Break” column reads 0 % for every item and every step. It still gets expensive: the last step of the first two tiers succeeds only one time in five, and +15 only one time in ten. Here are the tables, the total cost per rarity and where the stones come from – all up to date for Early Access.
How polishing works
The polishing table sits on the page of every item that can be polished in our item database, and all of them together in the tempering window on our Crafting page. For each step the table lists the bonus, the chance of success and failure, the materials and the gold cost. Weapons have 15 steps in three tiers of five: +1 to +5 with Faint Weapon Tempering Stone, +6 to +10 with Vivid Weapon Tempering Stone and +11 to +15 with Brilliant Weapon Tempering Stone. In the first two tiers the success chance drops from 100 to 60, 40, 30 and finally 20 %, in the last tier from 100 to 60, 40, 20 and finally 10 %.
Accessories (rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets), costumes, tools, bags and gliders have no polishing table. Costs depend only on rarity, not on item level: a level 15 Rare sword costs exactly as much as Martyr’s Fang at level 25. Values may still change over the course of Early Access.
Example: Pirate’s Longsword (Uncommon)
The full table for Pirate’s Longsword, a level 6 Uncommon weapon. Each item page lists its own bonus, and it differs from weapon to weapon.
| Step | Bonus | Success | Materials | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1 | +17.8 % | 100 % | 1× Faint | 500 |
| +2 | +35.5 % | 60 % | 2× Faint | 500 |
| +3 | +53.3 % | 40 % | 4× Faint | 1,000 |
| +4 | +71 % | 30 % | 6× Faint | 2,000 |
| +5 | +88.8 % | 20 % | 8× Faint | 3,500 |
| +6 | +112.4 % | 100 % | 1× Vivid | 4,500 |
| +7 | +136.1 % | 60 % | 2× Vivid | 6,000 |
| +8 | +159.8 % | 40 % | 4× Vivid | 8,000 |
| +9 | +183.5 % | 30 % | 6× Vivid | 16,500 |
| +10 | +207.2 % | 20 % | 8× Vivid | 29,000 |
| +11 | +236.8 % | 100 % | 1× Brilliant | 19,500 |
| +12 | +266.3 % | 60 % | 2× Brilliant | 26,000 |
| +13 | +295.9 % | 40 % | 4× Brilliant | 34,500 |
| +14 | +325.4 % | 20 % | 6× Brilliant | 46,000 |
| +15 | +355 % | 10 % | 8× Brilliant | 61,000 |
The fail chance is always the remainder to 100 %, the break chance 0 %. When an attempt fails, the game keeps your tempering level as it is (“Tempering level remains the same”) – you never drop back.
Tip: In the tempering window you pick your weapon, armor piece or Lunastone on the left, just like in the game. The middle shows the success rate, stat bonus, Tempering Stones and gold for the next step, and below that the total up to your target step in the best case, without failures. Use ‹ and › to move between steps; the item card sits on the right.
Cost per rarity
Chances and structure are the same for every weapon, only the gold cost and the number of stones rise with rarity. The stone column applies to each of the three tiers, so you need that amount once in Faint, once in Vivid and once in Brilliant.
| Rarity | Stones per tier | Gold to +5 | Gold to +10 | Gold to +15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 1-2-3-4-5 (15) | 1,800 | 17,300 | 61,300 |
| Uncommon | 1-2-4-6-8 (21) | 7,500 | 71,500 | 258,500 |
| Rare | 1-3-6-9-12 (31) | 22,000 | 206,000 | 738,000 |
| Epic | 1-5-15-20-30 (71) | 63,000 | 591,000 | 2,113,000 |
| Legendary | 1-10-20-30-40 (101) | 140,000 | 1,305,000 | 4,652,000 |
That is the lucky case: every step on the first try. A simple average is more realistic: a failure keeps the current step, and we count the full cost for every attempt. Then the first two tiers take about 13.5 attempts each on average and the last one about 20 – roughly 47 attempts to +15 in total. For Uncommon weapons that means about 74 Faint, 74 Vivid and 124 Brilliant stones plus about 28,000 gold to +5, 262,500 gold to +10 and 1.25 million gold to +15. For Rare it is about 111, 111 and 186 stones and 3.57 million gold to +15. The last step eats the lion’s share: +15 on an Uncommon weapon takes ten attempts on average, which means 80 Brilliant stones and about 610,000 gold – almost half of the total.
Armor and Lunastones
Armor stops at +10 and has three tiers: +1 to +3 Faint, +4 to +6 Vivid (100, 60 and 40 % each) and +7 to +10 Brilliant (100, 40, 30 and 20 %), always with the Armor versions such as Faint Armor Tempering Stone. The gold cost for +1, +2 and +7 to +10 matches weapons of the same rarity; the tier-closing steps +3 and +6 cost more on armor, +4 and +5 less. For Roughbone Hat (Rare), the lucky case to +10 takes 10 Faint, 10 Vivid and 19 Brilliant Armor Tempering Stones plus 215,000 gold. With failures it is about 22 attempts to +10 on average. Armor bonuses rise evenly – Pillager’s Hat gains 31 % per step.
Lunastones follow exactly the same tables: weapon Lunastones such as Ruins Restoration go to +15 with Weapon stones, armor Lunastones such as Constellation of Vitality to +10 with Armor stones, each at the cost of their rarity.
Where Tempering Stones come from
| Stone | Drops | Vendors (Hersander Token, limit) |
|---|---|---|
| Faint Weapon | 664 enemy types, mostly 5 % | Liben, Didie: 6, limit 5 |
| Faint Armor | the same enemies, mostly 10 % | Kaimder, Didie: 3, limit 10 |
| Vivid Weapon | 88 enemy types from level 39, mostly 1.7 % | Liben, Didie: 12, limit 1 |
| Vivid Armor | the same enemies, mostly 3.3 % | Kaimder, Didie: 6, limit 2 |
| Brilliant Weapon | 4 major bosses, chests, a trade route | Black Market Dealer, Trieg: 48, limit 2 |
| Brilliant Armor | the same 4 bosses, chests | Black Market Dealer, Trieg: 24, limit 4 |
Faint stones are bulk goods: the count covers enemy types in Diamond Shores, Gylden Ruins and Astron Plains. The same enemies drop both kinds, Armor twice as often as Weapon. They are guaranteed from Mad Anchor Krogal (Weapon) and Poldat (Armor) in the Cliffs of Madness. Chests and quests such as A Handsome Reward add more. Vivid stones only drop from tougher enemies of level 39 and up, almost all of them in Astron Plains. Brilliant stones drop from just four major bosses: Shemitt (level 77), Fetid Prince (89), Enduring Nightmare Celtak (90) and Karshid, Tyrant of the Ruins (100).
The trade routes turn armor stones into weapon stones: the Faint Armor Tempering Stone Chest (2 Faint Armor) pays 1 Faint Weapon Tempering Stone from Jubilant Village to Watcher’s, the Vivid Armor Tempering Stone Chest (2 Vivid Armor) pays 1 Vivid Weapon from Stargazer to Waterdrift, and the Brilliant Armor Tempering Stone Chest (2 Brilliant Armor and an Arcane Sealed Chest) pays 1 Brilliant Weapon from Shadowpath Temple to Seaglass Harbor.
Tip: Armor stones cost half as much at the vendor and drop twice as often. If you need weapon stones, buy armor stones and convert them on a trade route – the 2 to 1 ratio matches the half price exactly.
The game also has Tempering Additives that, according to their description, raise the success rate: Reinforced by 10 %, Arcane by 50 % and Mystical by 100 %. No source for them is known yet.
Disassembling: what old gear gives you
Whatever you no longer wear, you take apart. Almost everything yields Hereafter Stone – 1 to 14 depending on rarity – plus a refined material that fits the piece: metal weapons give ingots, bows, crossbows and staves give lumber, armor gives leather, ingots or textile depending on its type, and accessories give Archeum or Bonecraft. Epic boss gear adds the matching boss material on top. Disassembling no longer yields Tempering Stones, and Hereafter Stone cannot be sold to vendors. A few examples from the item pages:
- Pirate’s Longsword (Uncommon): 4 Hereafter Stone, 50 % for 1 Standard Ingot
- Martyr’s Fang (Rare): 7 Hereafter Stone, 50 % each for 1 Fine Archeum and 3 Fine Ingot
- Bloodfeast (Uncommon): 4 Hereafter Stone, 50 % each for 1 Fine Archeum and 2 Fine Ingot
- Unyielding Resolve (Epic): 14 Hereafter Stone, 1 each of Superior Archeum, Superior Ingot and Shatigon’s Hammer
- Lunastones disassemble like the gear they belong to: Tarnished Ancient Longsword Lunastone (Rare) gives 7 Hereafter Stone, 1 Fine Archeum and 3 Fine Ingot
For armor, the chest piece gives the most and shoes the least: Roughbone Hat yields 3 Hereafter Stone, Roughbone Light Armor 5 and Roughbone Boots 2 – each with a 50 % chance for Fine Archeum and Fine Leather.
Repair
Every piece of equipment has 10,000 durability. Repair costs depend on rarity and slot:
| Slot | Common | Uncommon | Rare | Epic | Legendary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | 150 | 500 | 2,500 | 12,500 | 25,000 |
| Chest | 150 | 375 | 2,250 | 7,500 | 11,250 |
| Gloves | 75 | 225 | 1,500 | 5,250 | 6,750 |
| Helmet, shoes | 75 | 150 | 750 | 2,250 | 3,000 |
Accessories cost between 75 and 3,000 gold, costumes a flat 10 gold. In Early Access dying costs durability too – the game says you lose some currency and equipment durability upon death.
Our advice
- The 100 % steps (+1, +6, +11) are cheap and guaranteed. Take them as soon as you have the stones.
- Polish Uncommon and Rare pieces you will soon replace to +4 at most. The 20 % step to +5 only pays off on gear you keep for a while.
- Weapon first: it goes to +15, and its repair is the most expensive – one more reason not to swap all the time.
- Take retired pieces apart: Hereafter Stone and refined materials such as Fine Archeum and Fine Ingot come out reliably.
Work out what your piece costs up to your target step in the tempering window, and try out which pieces are worth it for your build in the build planner.
Frequently asked questions
Can gear break while polishing?
Practically no. The game does have a critical failure that destroys the gear, but its chance is 0 % for every item and every step. A normal failure keeps the tempering level.
How far can you polish?
Weapons and weapon Lunastones to +15, armor and armor Lunastones to +10. Accessories cannot be polished.
Do costs depend on item level?
No, only on rarity. All Rare weapons cost the same, whether level 15 or 30.
What does a weapon cost to +15?
In the lucky case 258,500 gold and 21 each of Faint, Vivid and Brilliant Weapon Tempering Stones for Uncommon, and 4,652,000 gold and 101 stones each for Legendary. With failures, roughly five times the gold on average.
What changed about polishing in Early Access?
Compared with the demo, the hard steps succeed more often: on weapons +4/+5 and +9/+10 at 30/20 instead of 20/10 %, on armor +3 and +6 at 40 instead of 20 % and +9/+10 at 30/20 instead of 20/10 %. The first steps cost about half, +9 and +10 about 1.5 to 2 times as much, and Epic and Legendary pieces need more stones per attempt. Reaching the maximum takes fewer attempts on average: about 47 instead of 60 for weapons and about 22 instead of 34 for armor.
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