Guide to gear and upgrading
This is intended to be a thorough guide of how gear and upgrading gear works. Thank you to the wonderful SWL reddit community for helping me fill this out!
#FAQ
Q: Will I be wasting experience if I empower an item that isn't Mk III or Radiant? Should I wait until I get one?
A: Nope! You will eventually be able to use all of the experience you put into your first item, regardless of how bad that item is, so go ahead and upgrade freely. See the Fusion section for details.
.
Q: What does best in slot (BiS) gear look like?
A: A set of BiS gear, at any gear level, is seven 3-dot extraordinary talismans, two 3-dot extraordinary weapons with good suffixes, and a good gadget. All 9 pieces (if blue or better) should be fitted with 3-dot glyphs, and the 7 talismans (if purple or better) should be fitted with signets.
While build advice is outside the scope of this guide, you can check the SWL Gear and Theorycraft spereadsheet (linked in More Information) for a rundown of the available gear bonuses in the game, and there is build advice elsewhere here on reddit.
.
Q: What levels of gear do I need to play through the game? What about endgame?
A: You will only need blue gear to play through the game's story and missions, at time of writing. By that point, you should be looking to upgrade from blue to purple, if you haven't already. High-level blue gear is the minimum needed for endgame content initially, although aim for purples if possible. Orange and red gear are cost-prohibitive to acquire and level; please do not think you need these tiers of gear to enjoy everything SWL has to offer.
.
Q: What weapons should I choose/use?
A: For playing through the game's story and missions, any two weapons will work together, so don't worry about it! If you're looking to pick for later doing group content, consult the Group Roles guide linked in the More Information section.
#Types of Gear
##Weapons
Your starting class determines which two weapons you will have available initially, but you are free to mix and match among any of the weapons you have unlocked. One weapon will be your primary weapon, and the other will be your secondary. The only differences between these are that your primary weapon will regenerate energy twice as fast as your secondary and that your Basic attack must be from your primary weapon.
You will be able to equip any (non-Basic) unlocked skill from either your primary or your secondary weapon on your skillbar, and passive abilities will target one of your weapons (frequently, boosting one single active ability for that weapon).
Weapons come in three overarching classes (melee, magic, and guns) and have a general role-specific focus (dps, tank, healer), although this can be flexible, depending on weapon, role, and whether it is your primary or secondary weapon.
Notably, any weapon can function in a dps role, and off-role secondary weapons can be excellent choices for many builds.
| / | DPS | Tank | Healing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melee | Blade | Hammer | Fist |
| Magic | Elementalism | Chaos | Blood |
| Gun | Pistols | Shotgun | Assault Rifle |
Additionally, each type of weapon will either be a melee or ranged weapon, as follows:
- Melee: Sword, Hammer, Fist, Chaos
- Ranged: Pistols, Shotgun, Assault Rifle, Elementalism, Blood
What weapons are considered best for endgame builds is outside the scope of this guide.
##Talismans
Talismans are the "armor" of SWL. There are seven talisman slots, grouped into three different subgroups: the head talisman, three major talismans, and three minor talismans. Talismans will have one of three possible stat combinations, named after their primary stat: Attack (dps) talismans, Health (tanking) talismans, and Heal Rating (healing) talismans.
- The head talisman is one slot, and comprises 25% of your stats from talismans.
- Major talismans are the finger, neck, and wrist talismans, each comprising 15% of your stats from talismans (45% total).
- Minor talismans are the occult, waist, and luck talismans, each comprising 10% of your stats from talismans (30% total).
##Gadgets
You have one gadget slot. Gadgets offer you a skill on your skillbar which can provide a variety of useful effects. Gadget skills typically have a cooldown of 30 seconds, though some are longer.
Unlike other forms of gear, gadgets cannot be upgraded.
##Glyphs and Signets
Glyphs and signets are upgrade components that you can slot into gear. See the Glyphs and Signets section for more information.
#Item Attributes
##Level
An item's level is represented by the number in the top left of the item icon. The higher an item's level, the better stats it provides.
##Rarity
An item's rarity is represented by the color of the item icon. Better rarity items have significantly better stats than lower rarity items. There are six rarities:
| Rarity | Color | Max level |
|---|---|---|
| Worn | White | N/A |
| Standard | Green | 20 |
| Superior | Blue | 25 |
| Epic | Purple | 30 |
| Mythic | Orange | 35 |
| Legendary | Red | 70 |
Most items you receive will be of green (Standard) rarity.
##Quality
Quality is represented by the number of dots at the bottom of the item icon; items will have either 1, 2, or 3 dots. An item's quality will also be represented in its name, depending on the type of item.
| Gear class | 1-dot | 2-dot | 3-dot | Effect of higher qualities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Mk I | Mk II | Mk III | More powerful suffix effects |
| Talisman | Faded | Luminous | Radiant | More primary stat points (attack, health, or heal rating) |
| Glyph | Crude | Simple | Intricate | More added stats |
You may upgrade any item to 3-dot quality without changing its other attributes using an Anima Imbuer, which can be purchased from the fusion window for 2,500 Aurum. This is the only way to modify an item's quality.
##Suffixes
Every weapon will have a suffix, represented by "of X" in the weapon name, which provides a bonus when wielding or using that weapon. The suffixes are:
| Suffix | Effect |
|---|---|
| Alacrity | Increased movement speed by 10/15/20% in combat |
| Destruction | (0.15/0.30/0.45)*Combat Power damage to enemies under 35% health on hit |
| Energy | An 11/22/33% chance to restore 1 energy on power ability |
| Efficiency | A 50% chance to reduce elite skill cooldowns by 2/3/5% on attack |
| Havoc | 2.5/5/7.5% increased crit power (damage and healing) |
| Restoration | A 50% chance of healing 0.75/1.5/2.25% of your max hp on hit |
| Recovery | 1/2/3% increased incoming healing |
| Warding | 150/300/450 increased protection while wielded |
##Extraordinary bonuses
Extraordinary gear, also known as dungeon gear, refers to weapons and talismans that drop from dungeon chests and/or caches. This is represented by a faded red background behind the item icon. These items have a unique, special bonus on top of everything else that normal gear does not have; all else equal, they are strictly better than regular gear.
##Item power
Item power is an aggregate value of how powerful an item is at a glance, and depends on rarity or level. Characters who have progressed their gear further will have a higher total item power than others. Some endgame content, such as elite dungeons, requires you to have passed certain levels of total item power to enter; this functions as a check on your gear relative to the difficulty of that content.
##Stats
Item stats are not freeform in SWL, and an item's stats can be calculated from knowing all of the above attributes. All level 4 green shotguns, for example, will have the same attack power. Similarly, all radiant level 12 blue healing belts will provide the exact same raw stats. There is no way that, for two otherwise identical items, one will be better than the other.
#Empowerment
Empowerment is the process by which you increase item level. When you empower an item, you sacrifice 1-5 other items and pay anima shards to add experience to that item. Those items will be completely destroyed and, other than adding item experience, will not affect the item you are empowering in any way.
The max level, the amount of experience needed per level (which remains static as you level gear), and the number of anima shards required for each empowerment are dependent on rarity:
| Rarity | Max level | Experience per level | Shards per empowerment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 20 | 200 | 200 |
| Blue | 25 | 500 | 400 |
| Purple | 30 | 2,500 | 600 |
| Orange | 35 | 10,000 | 800 |
| Red | 70 | 250,000 | 1,000 |
Empowering using an item of the same type will grant a 2.5x bonus to the experience from that item. For weapons, that means any weapon of the same type. For talismans, that means a talisman of the same slot and the same primary stat (attack, health, or heal rating).
Rarity affects the amount of experience earned through empowerment, though using higher rarity gear to empower is not recommended. No other factors (item level, quality, glyphs, etc) have an effect on the experience earned, and these attributes on items used to empower will be destroyed for no added benefit.
##Distillates
Distillates are consumable items used in empowerment. They can take up a lot of inventory space and are meant to be used, so use them. Note that empowering items of higher rarities costs more anima shards with each empowerment, so if you are concerned about conserving anima shards, it can be a good idea to use higher experience distillates on empowering purple or better items.
##Critical Empowerment
There is a chance on empowering that you will get a critical empower, which will increase the experience earned for that empowerment by 50%, regardless of the number of items used to empower.
#Fusion
Fusion is the process by which you increase item rarity (color). This is done by taking two same-type max-level items (or one item and a catalyst) of a certain rarity and "combining" them into a level 1 item of better rarity.
In reality, you are upgrading one of the two items and sacrificing the other. The resulting item will have the same quality, suffix, glyph, signet, and extraordinary bonus of the top item in the fusion window. The item you sacrifice will not affect the result of fusion in any way, and any glyphs or signets slotted into it will be destroyed.
Fusion has a level requirement based on tier, and also requires Marks of Favor:
| Fusion | Requ. Level | Cost (Marks of Favor) |
|---|---|---|
| Green => Blue | 25 | 1,000 |
| Blue => Purple | 50 | 2,000 |
| Purple => Orange | 50 | 5,000 |
| Orange => Red | 50 | 10,000 |
What items are compatible for fusion?
- Weapons: Two weapons of the same type (e.g. any two pistols)
- Talismans: Two talismans of the same slot (e.g. one attack neck talisman and one heal rating neck talisman)
- Glyphs: Two glyphs of the same base name (e.g. a Crude Accurate Glyph and an Intricate Accurate Glyph)
- Singets: Two signets of the same name (e.g. two Signets of Quick Draw)
##Catalysts
Catalysts are items you can use in place of max-level item of certain rarity when fusing. Catalysts can be purchased for 1,500 Aurum via the fusion interface, but spending Aurum on catalysts is not required for any tier of the fusion process.
##Free Gear for Fusion
You will receive two "free" level 20 greens, one for the first green weapon you level to 20 and one for the first green talisman you level to 20. You will be required to use one of these immediately. If you're looking to optimize your gear by the time you get to blue, keep this in mind.
##Upgrade Strategy Tips
Since it doesn't matter what order you level the items, you can for example equip and level a Mk I green weapon from the beginning. Since you need two max-level green weapons to fuse up, you can level a Mk III green weapon that you're happy with second after maxing out your first weapon. Then, when fusing, choose to upgrade the Mk III weapon and sacrifice the Mk I weapon that you leveled first.
It is not generally advisable to switch out gear you are leveling for new pieces you get through drops, as item level is far more important than anything else in terms of how useful early tiers gear will be. Instead, wait until you're ready to fuse to the next tier, and use the fusion process to your advantage to improve your gear.
Whether you "correct" items at the green => blue phase, the blue => purple phase, or higher is up to you. It is strongly recommended that your purple items are at the very least solid in terms of suffix, quality, and bonus, even if they are not completely optimal.
#Glyphs and Signets
Glyphs and signets are upgrade components that can be slotted into gear to provide bonuses and effects. This can be done via the fusion tab, at no cost. You may destroy a slotted glyph or signet for free, but removing one without destroying it costs 20,000 Marks of Favor.
You can empower and fuse glyphs and signets either before or after slotting them into gear. To do so afterward, put the gear piece in the empowerment window and put the glyphs you want to empower with in the slots below.
Unlike weapons and talismans, glyphs and signets max out at level 20, regardless of rarity. When upgrading an item containing a glyph and/or signet through empowerment or fusion, the glyph/signet will be preserved as-is.
Note that the flexibility you have with fusing weapons and talismans does not apply to upgrade components, once slotted. The glyph/signet that you are upgrading through fusion will always be the one slotted in your weapon/talisman; you will not be able to sacrifice the slotted glyph in order to fuse a different glyph without first paying to remove it from your weapon.
##Glyphs
Glyphs can be slotted into weapons and talismans of blue rarity or better. These glyphs are available:
| Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Accurate | Increased hit rating |
| Fierce | Increased crit rating |
| Devastating | Increased crit power rating |
| Elusive | Increased evade rating |
| Stalwart | Increased defense rating |
##Signets
Signets can be slotted into talismans of purple rarity or better, at no cost. Signets do not have a quality rating, and each type of signet can only be slotted into a specific talisman slot (e.g. there are neck signets).
Here is a general overview of what signets for each talisman slot do:
Slot|Effect :--|:--|:-- Head|Improved elite abilities for a specific weapon type Neck|Improved power abilities for a specific weapon type Finger|Improved basic abilities for a specific weapon type Wrist|? Occult|Effects that augment your active dodge Waist|Effects that augment your gadgets Luck|Beneficial effects when you critically hit or heal
#Quick Reference - Crafting Costs
This is an overview of the total cost necessary to create gear of each rarity starting from only greens.
Costs in Anima Shards are based on empowering exclusively with same-type greens or 250 exp distillates. Critical empowerments are not accounted for, and will reduce the given Anima Shard costs.
Higher-tier distillates will reduce anima shard costs as well, whereas using differently typed gear will increase it. Using exclusively 1k experience distillates, for example, will divide the required anima shards by 4 (1,000 / 250). The extreme costs in anima shards for later tiers of gear can be mitigated somewhat by the higher levels of distillates you will get from endgame content.
##Weapons and talismans
| Rarity/Level | # of Greens | Experience | Marks of Favor | Anima Shards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lv 20 | 1 | 3,800 | 0 | 3,040 |
| Blue Lv 1 | 2 | 7,600 | 1,000 | 6,080 |
| Blue Lv 25 | 2 | 19,600 | 1,000 | 25,280 |
| Purple Lv 1 | 4 | 39,200 | 4,000 | 50,560 |
| Purple Lv 30 | 4 | 111,700 | 4,000 | 224,560 |
| Orange Lv 1 | 8 | 223,400 | 13,000 | 449,120 |
| Orange Lv 35 | 8 | 563,400 | 13,000 | 1,088,000 |
| Red Lv 1 | 16 | 1,126,800 | 23,000 | 2,176,000 |
| Red Lv 70 | 16 | 18,376,800 | 23,000 | 73,507,200 |
##Glyphs and signets
| Rarity/Level | # of Greens | Experience | Marks of Favor | Anima Shards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Lv 20 | 1 | 3,800 | 0 | 3,040 |
| Blue Lv 1 | 2 | 7,600 | 1,000 | 6,080 |
| Blue Lv 20 | 2 | 17,100 | 1,000 | 21,280 |
| Purple Lv 1 | 4 | 34,200 | 4,000 | 42,560 |
| Purple Lv 20 | 4 | 81,700 | 4,000 | 194,560 |
| Orange Lv 1 | 8 | 163,400 | 13,000 | 389,120 |
| Orange Lv 20 | 8 | 353,400 | 13,000 | 997,120 |
| Red Lv 1 | 16 | 706,800 | 23,000 | 1,994,240 |
| Red Lv 20 | 16 | 5,456,800 | 23,000 | 20,994,240 |
#More Information
[SWL Gear and Theorycraft spreadsheet] (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HVgBeFTbXH0eZ5dJVtzXXm6HyITMHLUyM8avntoPOSI) - Data on extraordinary bonuses, signets, glyphs, gadgets, etc.
[Guide to SWL group roles] (https://www.reddit.com/r/SecretWorldLegends/comments/6m3tt2/guide_to_swl_group_roles/) - Includes analysis on how each weapon plays in group content
[Guide to endgame stats] (https://www.reddit.com/r/SecretWorldLegends/comments/6lb47o/guide_to_endgame_stats/) - Overview of endgame build stats
[Guide to all things SWL] (https://www.reddit.com/r/SecretWorldLegends/comments/6j2qkc/hopefully_complete_guide_to_all_things_swl_made/) - Overall guide to basics and game mechanics
#Outstanding Questions
There are a few things I don't know yet. I will edit this as I get new information; if you have the answers to these questions, or anything else that I can improve, please let me know!
- What sorts of effects do wrist signets have?
Posted Jul 2, 2017, 2:41 AM UTC · edited