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In the world of Blade and Soul NEO, your gear is your lifeline. From powerful weapons to stat-enhancing accessories, understanding how to optimize your equipment can make the difference between victory and defeat. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about acquiring, evolving, augmenting, and customizing your gear to ensure your character is battle-ready.
Weapons and Accessories: The Basics
Weapons and accessories are essential components of your character's build, providing both Attack Power and unique stat bonuses . Here's how you can acquire them:
Sources: Quests, Dungeons, Field Bosses, Wheels of Fate, Transmutation, and merchant NPCs.
Random Stats: When obtained, these items come with random sub-stats and a variable number of Mantra Stone and Soul Core slots.
To maximize your character's potential, it's crucial to upgrade your gear regularly. Upgrading not only increases Attack Power but also unlocks additional customization options like Mantra Stone and Soul Core slots.
Weapon and Accessory Evolution
Evolution is a key mechanic for enhancing Heroic-tier weapons and accessories. Each item can be evolved twice—to Awakened tier and then to True tier. Here's what you need to know:
How Evolution Works
Materials & Fee: Evolution requires specific upgrade materials and a silver/gold fee.
Random Enchantments: Each successful evolution applies a random enchantment effect, which can be re-rolled for a fee.
Stat Growth: Sub-stats may increase during evolution, offering further power boosts.
Slot Unlocks:
- Weapons: Chance to unlock additional Mantra Stone slots (up to 3) and 1 Soul Core slot.
- Accessories: Chance to unlock additional Mantra Stone slots (up to 3) and Skill slots (up to 3).
Evolution Risks
Evolution isn't guaranteed to succeed. Failure results in the loss of materials and fees but grants Evolution Progress. Once Evolution Progress reaches 100%, your next attempt is guaranteed to succeed. However, note that progress resets after a successful evolution or if the item is resealed.
Augmenting Your Gear
Augmentation allows you to further customize your weapons and accessories by adding Psyches, which provide additional stat bonuses.
Guaranteed Success: Unlike evolution, augmenting is always successful.
Material Cost: Augmentation requires materials and a fee.
Replacing Bonuses: If re-augmenting an already augmented item, you can choose between keeping the current bonuses or applying new ones.
Sealing and Trading
Want to trade your gear? You'll need to seal it first. Here's how it works:
Sealing Process: Requires Sealing Charms crafted by the Earthseers Crafting Guild.
Restrictions: If a weapon has a Soul Core equipped, it must be removed before sealing.
Tradeable Items: Once sealed, weapons and accessories can be traded with other players via BNS NEO in-game Marketplace for Divine gems .
Mantra Stones: Unlocking Additional Effects
Mantra Stones are powerful enhancements that can be slotted into weapons and accessories for extra effects.
How to Obtain Mantra Stones
- Cleared Heroic Dungeons
- Crafted by the Forgekeepers Crafting Guild
Customizing Mantra Stones
Fusing: Combine 5 Mantra Stones of the same tier for a chance to create a higher-tier stone.
Resetting: Once equipped, Mantra Stones cannot be extracted. Resetting them will remove all existing stones in the item.
Soul Cores: Power Up Your Weapons
Soul Cores are rare items that provide significant stat boosts and unlock unique boss skills when slotted into weapons.
Acquisition
- Dropped in specific regions and dungeons (eg, Devourer's Soul Core from Blackram Narrows).
- Transmuted from Soul Core Crystals obtained through salvaging other Soul Cores.
Customization
- Salvage unwanted Soul Cores for Soul Core Crystals.
- Use 20 Soul Core Crystals to transmute a new Soul Core.
Soul Shields: Boost Your Stats
Soul Shields enhance various stats like HP and are essential for survival in tougher battles.
Understanding Soul Shields
- Each set consists of 8 pieces, numbered 1 through 8.
- Equipping 3, 5, or 8 pieces from the same set grants additional set effects.
Enhancing Soul Shields
1. Fusing: Use Soul Shield Primers (crafted or purchased) to increase stats.
2. Reinforcement: Reinforce Soul Shields by using an identical piece as material.
Soul Badges and Mystic Badges
These badges boost the power and effects of your skills, making them crucial for optimizing your combat performance.
Soul Badges
- Enhance skill power with effects like Additional Damage.
- Can be enchanted up to +10 for better stats.
- Reroll stats for a fee or augment with Psyches for further customization.
Mystic Badges
- Enhance skill effects with bonuses like additional Fury Stacks.
- Can also be enchanted up to +10 for improved performance.
Both types of badges can be purchased from Dragon Trader NPCs using materials obtained from salvaging other badges, outfits, or Illusion weapons.
Final Tips for Gear Optimization
1. Prioritize Upgrades: Focus on upgrading your weapons and accessories first to maximize Attack Power.
2. Balance Risk vs. Reward: Understand the risks of evolution failure and plan your resources accordingly.
3. Experiment with Customization: Use Mantra Stones, Psyches, and Soul Cores to tailor your gear to your playstyle.
4. Leverage Set Bonuses: Equip matching Soul Shields to benefit from set effects that complement your build.
By mastering these mechanics, you'll be well on your way to becoming an unstoppable force in any battle. Equip wisely, evolve strategically, and dominate the battlefield!