This is just the basics of when to upgrade. Be flexible when reading. Prices change and adjust accordingly if possible. The good think is that in the Next paragraph, i mention HS selling for 900k and they sell for 2.5 mill in Sarissa now. So you could buy weapons and have change left over now. Prices go up, but the armor and weapon prices have stayed the same.

NOTE: In Randol you buy the low level set of armor and weapons, then go to Merac/Dratan for the next level, then Eghea/Strayana for the next level, and then Mondshine. Mondshine sells the level 40x and 45x set of armor. This is the highest level sold by any armor trader now.


+1 - +3 -- From level 2 to level 37, you can use smelting stones gathered from weapons. You buy the level of weapon you would want to upgrade, then go to the transmuter and transmute and get TWO smelting stones. Now a level 33 weapon bought in Egeha costs about 55k and change. In the Sarissa server, 1 HS sells for about 900k, so you could buy at least 18 weapons to get 36 smelting stones. Of course you would not need that many. Anyway, you can buy say 9 weapons but smelt 3 at first. Try to get to +3, then smelt one weapon at a time to get the +3 you want. You can always sell the extra weapons you have now. One little trick is to buy Knight weapons as these seem to resell the fastest.

Now level 37 weapons are a hit and miss thing. Sometimes easy to find and sometimes hard to find the Level 37 weapons. But if you can get a ride to Mondshine, they sell the L40x weapons there. If you have maxed weapons smith you could make your own level 37 weapons to get smelts. Again, it is a little cheaper to use level 37 and level 41 smelts now. Just look at the price of 2 weapons and if you can buy them after selling one HS. 4 smelts usually get you one +. Again, look at the cost ratio now.

+4 to +6 -- You can use Lucky Smelting Stones to guarantee you to get +6. (You could use HS, but again a chance of item breaking unless you have RoP I. But then look at the price of buying the upgraded armor/weapons too. Remember, to start buying the L85x set of armor and weapons when you can. Think Ahead. Sometimes, depending on the class, you can find cheap armor. I have found L85 G5+15 bow for as low as 250 meal.

To upgrade from +6 to +15 --

1st) You can use HS by themselves. Make sure you read other section on how to upgrade with HS now.

2d) You can use Chaos Smelting stones to guarantee you the upgrade to +12. Then I usually try to use a RoP II with HS to +13, then the ES to get +14 and stop. Now the only time I try for +15 is if I have a 2d item at +14 already.

3rd) You can use Runes of Protection with HS upgrading. This method is VERY expensive. But can guarantee you that you will NOT ruin your item. Sometimes it may be cheaper to buy the + item, instead now.

4th) You can buy Chaos Smelting stones to guarantee you up to +12. Use an Extreme Stone to get to +13. Go to item mall to buy either the weapon cover or gang outfit for the item you want to upgrade. Then use a Bonus Book of Meld to get a +2 Bonus Book of Meld, as this will give you +15.

5) Do not forget about the Extreme Stones. They will guarantee One Plus up to +14. You can not get +15 using an extreme stone now. But if you get a weapon/armor up to +12, then you could possible use the ES to get to +13. Then if you have any spare +2 Bonus meld books then use one to get you to +15. Again, this depends on what you have, your financial situation, and if you feel lucky too, lol.

TIP - One way after you level up to +12. Buy the Bonus Book of Meld first. If you get the +3 on the first try, you will not have to buy or use an Extreme Stone. Happened to me once that I got +3 on the first time now. Also if you plan to get Bonus Books of Meld for ALL your armor, you may want to get the books first. You would need a minimum of 4 - +2 Bonus Meld Books for the 4 items you have to +12. Then in all this buying you are surely able to get one +3 book at least. Again, depend on your money too. If you upgrade one piece at a time, you can use this technique now.

The new thing is the Chaos Smelting Stone which you can upgrade to +12. But they are expensive now so depends if you are rich or your folks have money to let you have for the game. One thing is to buy a package deal with the smelts in them.

HS Upgrade Events are usually held after every Sunday quiz and at other times during the week. They have had unannounced upgrade events and sometimes the events are in the calendar. So that is one reason to go to the Homepage and read.

So this is just the basics on upgrading your weapon or armor now. Read the section on "Upgrading with Heaven Stones" and remember these are just guidelines to give you food for thought. You can always do what you want. I just put these facts down so you can hopefully learn what to do the easy way and not waste money trying to figure out what to do.

Summary: Upgrade from +1 to +3 with smelts. Use LSS to get to +6. Use HS with RoP I, to get to +10. Then from +10 to +15 with RoP II.


ITEMS FOR UPGRADING

Smelts - Smelts must be same level or above to upgrade weapon. Use until +3, otherwise weapon breaks if you fail to get +4. Use weapons for smelts as you get 2 smelts versus 1 smelt for armor.

Heaven Stones - About 50% of upgrading. Can use to +3 without breaking. From +4 on up the following actions may take place for each attempt to upgrade with the HS: 1) chance of breaking or ruining item. 2) getting a +1, 3)Decrease item one plus, example from +6 to +5, 4) or doing nothing.

Lucky Smelting Stones - Guaranteed to give +1 for each LSS, up to +6. If you try to upgrade past +6, the LSS will not work.

Chaos Smelting Stone - Guaranteed to give +1 for each CSS up to +12. If you try to upgrade to +13, CSS will not work.

Platinum Refining Stone - The PRS you buy is unopened or not identified. . You need to click it and then you will get +1, +2, or +3. You can barely see it in the red. Only when using the PRS on an uncovered weapon can you possible get +16 max. The effects are good for 24 hours. If you have a plain +14 weapon and use a +2 PRS, then you will get +16. If you use a +3 PRS, you still get only a +16. Remember, if the weapon or armor is covered you can not use the PRS. The original PRS and PRS showing the +, are tradeable.

Runes of Protection I - The RoP I is used to ensure the item will NOT break from +1 to +9. Of course, you would use this from +4 to +9 upgrading. Using it on +1 to +3, your item will not break anyway, so your RoP I is wasted if you try to use it from +1 to +3.

Runes of Protection II - The RoP II is used to ensure the item will NOT break from +10 to +14. If the item were to break, then your weapon returns to +10. NOTE: Just a rumor I have heard and NOT tried it yet. But some persons have said, not to use it when you try to get +15. They said your weapon will not break. I will have to try this rumor out next time. Sometimes, there are small glitches like this that might be good to know. If you do try this and it breaks going to +15 let me know. Again, this is a LC urban legend.

Bonus Book of Melding - You have to click the Bonus Book to get either +1, +2, or +3. This is used in conjunction with a cover, eg. weapons cover, or gang suit. The max effect is +15. Because it is covered, you can not use a PRS on it. But you can upgrade with it. I was sleepy and upgraded a covered +12 weapon twice. What eventually happened is that my weapon went from +12 to +14 after the cover wore off. Now when i upgrade I take ALL items off. I could have failed a broke my weapon too, but was lucky. You can not show, trade, or sell any item with the Bonus Book of Meld on it. You have to buy a Bonus Book of Unmeld to take the cover off in case you level early or need to sell your armor or weapon. Effects lasts 30 days in which the item goes to its original state. The bonus book of melding + is also lost. Original Bonus Book of Melding is tradeable. Once you identify or click Bonus Book of Melding showing the +, then it is NOT tradeable


Note: I tried to upgrade once a weapon that was +9 with a +3 cover. I used the RoP II. The weapon broke and went to +10 total. The surprise was when the cover wore off my weapon was +7. So the RoP II takes the total effect in, that is , it treats my weapon like a +12, but the +3 cover is not changed but the weapon + is.

Book of Melding - This is just a plain book of melding used to put covers on without any + on this book of melding. If you had a +15 weapon and you just want to put a cover on just for looks. I like the Knights dual covers which look like fish bones, whereas the single sword cover is just a plain bat look. Same rules apply as far as not trading, selling, and you need book of unmeld to take cover off, if the time has not expired yet. Effects last 30 days.

Covers, Uniforms, Gang Outfits - In the Item Mall are numerous covers to aid you in upgrading or if you just want something different from the usual armor. The items that say level 3 or level 17 is the level for that armor now. So Buying level 3 Japanese armor is not worth it as when you get to level 10 you would want armor with more protection. Also, new western outfits and Samba outfits are available in that they have head cover that you can meld. The other outfits do not have head cover to meld.

NOTE: Chaos Smelting Stones are expensive and hard to come by. I suggest to save them for the level 85 weapon and armor set. You can always shop around and start pricing armor and weapons in the Level 85 level. Depending on money and stuff, you can hopefully get enough hs, lss, and css. Use hs to get from +1 to +3, Lss to get to +6, then Css, to get to +12. Now the option is to use an ES to get to +13 an then use +2 bonus book with cover to get +15. This will last 30 days.