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, because the last step of each tier succeeds only one time in ten. Here are the tables, the total cost per rarity and where the stones come from.
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. Within each tier the success chance drops 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 with 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 | 1,000 |
| +2 | +35.5 % | 60 % | 2× Faint | 1,425 |
| +3 | +53.3 % | 40 % | 4× Faint | 1,900 |
| +4 | +71 % | 20 % | 6× Faint | 2,565 |
| +5 | +88.8 % | 10 % | 8× Faint | 3,420 |
| +6 | +112.4 % | 100 % | 1× Vivid | 4,560 |
| +7 | +136.1 % | 60 % | 2× Vivid | 6,080 |
| +8 | +159.8 % | 40 % | 4× Vivid | 8,170 |
| +9 | +183.5 % | 20 % | 6× Vivid | 10,925 |
| +10 | +207.2 % | 10 % | 8× Vivid | 14,535 |
| +11 | +236.8 % | 100 % | 1× Brilliant | 19,380 |
| +12 | +266.3 % | 60 % | 2× Brilliant | 25,840 |
| +13 | +295.9 % | 40 % | 4× Brilliant | 34,390 |
| +14 | +325.4 % | 20 % | 6× Brilliant | 45,790 |
| +15 | +355 % | 10 % | 8× Brilliant | 60,990 |
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) | 2,195 | 12,550 | 56,820 |
| Uncommon | 1-2-4-6-8 (21) | 10,310 | 54,580 | 240,970 |
| Rare | 1-3-6-9-12 (31) | 29,885 | 156,995 | 688,425 |
| Epic | 1-4-8-12-16 (41) | 86,995 | 451,795 | 1,972,745 |
| Legendary | 1-5-15-20-25 (66) | 192,520 | 996,220 | 4,343,640 |
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 each tier takes about 20 attempts on average – for Uncommon weapons roughly 124 stones of each kind and about 55,000 gold to +5, 290,000 gold to +10 and 1.28 million gold to +15. For Rare it is about 186 stones of each kind and 3.6 million gold to +15. The last step of each tier eats the lion’s share: +5 on an Uncommon weapon takes ten attempts on average, which means 80 Faint stones.
Armor and Lunastones
Armor stops at +10 and has three tiers: +1 to +3 Faint, +4 to +6 Vivid (100, 60 and 20 % each) and +7 to +10 Brilliant (100, 40, 20 and 10 %), always with the Armor versions such as Faint Armor Tempering Stone. The gold cost for steps +1 to +10 matches weapons of the same rarity. For Roughbone Hat (Rare), the lucky case to +10 takes 10 Faint, 10 Vivid and 19 Brilliant Armor Tempering Stones plus 156,995 gold. 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 | 657 enemies, often 20 % | Liben, Didie: 6, limit 5 |
| Faint Armor | 657 enemies, often 80 % | Kaimder, Didie: 3, limit 10 |
| Vivid Weapon | 93 enemies, often 4 % | Liben, Didie: 12, limit 1 |
| Vivid Armor | 93 enemies, often 16 % | Kaimder, Didie: 6, limit 2 |
| Brilliant Weapon | none, but a chest and a trade route | Black Market Dealer, Trieg: 48, limit 2 |
| Brilliant Armor | none, but a trade route | Black Market Dealer, Trieg: 24, limit 4 |
Faint stones are bulk goods: the same enemies drop both kinds, Armor four times 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 42 and up, many of them in Reedwind.
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 four times 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, plus Archeum and, depending on rarity, ingots, leather, textile or lumber. A few examples from the item pages:
- Pirate’s Longsword (Uncommon): 4 Hereafter Stone, 50 % for 2 Standard Archeum
- Martyr’s Fang (Rare): 7 Hereafter Stone, 50 % for 1 Vivid Weapon Tempering Stone
- Bloodfeast (Uncommon): 4 Hereafter Stone, 50 % for 1 Faint Weapon Tempering Stone
- Unyielding Resolve (Epic): 14 Hereafter Stone, 1 Superior Archeum, 60 % for 2 Superior Ingot
- Lunastones: 1 Archeum Shard
For armor, the chest piece gives the most and shoes the least: Roughbone Hat yields 3 Hereafter Stone, Roughbone Light Armor 5.
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.
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 10 % step 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.
- Rare weapons such as Martyr’s Fang can disassemble into Vivid stones with a bit of luck. Don’t sell retired pieces, take them apart.
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 240,970 gold and 21 each of Faint, Vivid and Brilliant Weapon Tempering Stones for Uncommon, and 4,343,640 gold and 66 stones each for Legendary. With failures, roughly five times that on average.
