Refinement System

Overview

Equipment in Ragnarok Online can be 'upgraded' or 'refined' by upgrade NPCs in each major towns to make them more powerful. All equipment has a maximum upgrade level of +20, starting from +0. +0 items do not have any prefixes, but once they are upgraded, the number of upgrade levels will be displayed on the equipment - e.g. +5 Stunner. Upgrades above +10 use a different system, and it is very unusual to see gear upgraded above +15.

Also, you can turn in Rough Oridecon and Rough Elunium to create single refined Oridecon and Elunium, which are needed for upgrading Lv. 3 / Lv. 4 weapons, items and armors, respectively. Additionally you can turn in three of either Oridecon or Elunium to make the respective Bradium or Carnium. The Kafra Shop offers the following cash shop variations of those ores:

• Enriched ores which increases the chance of successfully upgrading an item.
• HD ores which have the same rate as normal ores, but protect an item from breaking (only degrade by 1 refine level instead) in case of upgrade failure.

Upgrade NPC Locations

• Inside Prontera prt_in6360 and prt_in9072
• Inside Morroc morocc_in7338
• Payon payon144173
• Inside Alberta alberta_in2959
• Basement of Juno Armory juno119137
• 2nd floor of Einbroch Blacksmith Guild einbroch255108
• Basement of Lighthalzen Weapon Shop lighthalzen19435
• Malangdo malangdo224172

Upgrade Requirements

To upgrade equipment, make sure you have the following:

• Equipment
• Zeny
• Reagent (Ores)
• Blacksmith Blessing (optional, will preserve upgrade level in case of failure, usable from +7 up to +14)

To start refining, drag the items to be refined from inventory to the square box in the middle. The required ore will appear in the blue hexagon at the top. Blacksmith Blessing (when applicable) will appear in the red hexagon next to the ores. Select the ore to be used by clicking on the appropriate hexagon. You will have the option to use Blacksmith Blessing starting at +7 up to +14. The center blue hexagon will display the ore selected. The red hexagon will display Blacksmith Blessing if you chose to use it for this refine. Please note success rate for the refine will appear at the top of the display while the Zeny cost will be shown next to the Zeny icon at the Refine button.

Upgrade Level	Blacksmith Blessings Cost
	Normal
+7 -> +8	1
+8 -> +9	2
+9 -> +10	4
+10 -> +11	7
+11 -> +12	11
+12 -> +13	16
+13 -> +14	22

Not all item types can be upgraded. The following item types cannot be upgraded:

• Middle and Lower Headgears.
• Accessories.
• Costumes.
• Any items that are not equipment.
• Any equipment that specifically says it cannot be upgraded.

Reagents and Cost

In order to upgrade, you need to provide a reagent in order to upgrade your equipment. Reagent required differs depending on weapon level of the equipment. As for armors, they all take same reagent regardless of type.

Money taken also differs depending on weapon level of the weapons.

Following list shows reagent + money required.

Equipment	Reagent	Fee
Weapon Lv. 1	Phracon	50z
Weapon Lv. 2	Emveretarcon	200z
Weapon Lv. 3	Oridecon	5,000z
Weapon Lv. 4	Oridecon	20,000z
Weapon Lv. 5	Etherdeocon	50,000z
Armor Lv. 1	Elunium	2,000z
Armor Lv. 2	Ethernium	30,000z

Notes:

• If the player is using Enriched Oridecon / Enriched Elunium / HD Oridecon / HD Elunium from the Kafra Shop, the fee is 0z.

Refining Rough Oridecons and Eluniums

When you collect 5 Rough Oridecons and Rough Eluniums, you can convert them into a single Oridecon or Elunium by talking to an NPC in the upgrade shop.

• Note that you can make only one pure Oridecon or Elunium each time you talk to the NPC.
• This service does not cost any Zeny.
• Locas izlude155132 in Izlude will mass-convert rough ore into the pure ore.

  

Effects Gained

Weapons

An upgraded weapon will get the following bonuses (for conciseness, only ATK is written, though MATK is upgraded too):

• Level 1 - Every +1 upgrade gives 2 ATK, 0~3 ATK for every Over Upgrade pass the +7 Safety Limit, 16 High Upgrade ATK from +15 to +16, and 1 ATK for every High Upgrade pass +16.
• Level 2 - Every +1 upgrade gives 3 ATK, 0~5 ATK for every Over Upgrade pass the +6 Safety Limit, 32 High Upgrade ATK from +15 to +16, and 2 ATK for every High Upgrade pass +16.
• Level 3 - Every +1 upgrade gives 5 ATK, 0~8 ATK for every Over Upgrade pass the +5 Safety Limit, 32 High Upgrade ATK from +15 to +16, and 2 ATK for every High Upgrade pass +16.
• Level 4 - Every +1 upgrade gives 7 ATK, 0~14 ATK for every Over Upgrade pass the +4 Safety Limit, 48 High Upgrade ATK from +15 to +16, and 3 ATK for every High Upgrade pass +16.
  • A +20 Level 4 weapon has its ATK and MATK increased by 200~424.
• Level 5 - Every +1 upgrade gives 8 ATK and 2 P.ATK/S.MATK and no Over Upgrade variance.
  • For Level 5 weapon, the Grade of the weapon will increase the ATK gained from refine level.
    • No Grade - 8 ATK
    • Grade D - 8.8 ATK (10% increase)
    • Grade C - 10.4 ATK (30% increase)
    • Grade B - 12 ATK (50% increase)
    • Grade A - 16 ATK (100% increase)

Notes:

• The Over Upgrade bonus is random for every hit and gives a minimum of 0. This bonus is not shown on the Status Window or affected by the Maximum ATK from Critical Hit Damage and Maximize Power or the Maximum MATK from Recognized Spell.
• All upgrade bonuses are cumulative so refining a Level 4 weapon from +15 to +16 increases ATK & MATK bonus from 105~259 to 160~328 (7 for the upgrade, 0~14 for the Over Upgrade and 48 for the High Upgrade).

Level 1 Weapons
Upgrade Lv.	ATK & MATK Bonuses
	Base Bonus	Over Upgrade	High Upgrade	Overall Total
+1	2	-	-	2~2
+2	4	-	-	4~4
+3	6	-	-	6~6
+4	8	-	-	8~8
+5	10	-	-	10~10
+6	12	-	-	12~12
+7	14	-	-	14~14
+8	16	0~2	-	16~18
+9	18	0~4	-	18~22
+10	20	0~6	-	20~26
+11	22	0~8	-	22~30
+12	24	0~10	-	24~34
+13	26	0~12	-	26~38
+14	28	0~14	-	28~42
+15	30	0~16	-	30~46
+16	32	0~18	16	48~66
+17	34	0~20	17	51~71
+18	36	0~22	18	54~76
+19	38	0~24	19	57~81
+20	40	0~26	20	60~86

Level 2 Weapons
Upgrade Lv.	ATK & MATK Bonuses
	Base Bonus	Over Upgrade	High Upgrade	Overall Total
+1	3	-	-	3~3
+2	6	-	-	6~6
+3	9	-	-	9~9
+4	12	-	-	12~12
+5	15	-	-	15~15
+6	18	-	-	18~18
+7	21	0~5	-	21~26
+8	24	0~10	-	24~34
+9	27	0~15	-	27~42
+10	30	0~20	-	30~50
+11	33	0~25	-	33~58
+12	36	0~30	-	36~66
+13	39	0~35	-	39~74
+14	42	0~40	-	42~82
+15	45	0~45	-	45~90
+16	48	0~50	32	80~130
+17	51	0~55	34	85~140
+18	54	0~60	36	90~150
+19	57	0~65	38	95~160
+20	60	0~70	40	100~170

Level 3 Weapons
Upgrade Lv.	ATK & MATK Bonuses
	Base Bonus	Over Upgrade	High Upgrade	Overall Total
+1	5	-	-	5~5
+2	10	-	-	10~10
+3	15	-	-	15~15
+4	20	-	-	20~20
+5	25	-	-	25~25
+6	30	0~8	-	30~38
+7	35	0~16	-	35~51
+8	40	0~24	-	40~64
+9	45	0~32	-	45~77
+10	50	0~40	-	50~90
+11	55	0~48	-	55~103
+12	60	0~56	-	60~116
+13	65	0~64	-	65~129
+14	70	0~72	-	70~142
+15	75	0~80	-	75~155
+16	80	0~88	32	112~200
+17	85	0~96	34	119~215
+18	90	0~104	36	126~230
+19	95	0~112	38	133~245
+20	100	0~120	40	140~260

Level 4 Weapons
Upgrade Lv.	ATK & MATK Bonuses
	Base Bonus	Over Upgrade	High Upgrade	Overall Total
+1	7	-	-	7~7
+2	14	-	-	14~14
+3	21	-	-	21~21
+4	28	-	-	28~28
+5	35	0~14	-	35~49
+6	42	0~28	-	42~70
+7	49	0~42	-	49~91
+8	56	0~56	-	56~112
+9	63	0~70	-	63~133
+10	70	0~84	-	70~154
+11	77	0~98	-	77~175
+12	84	0~112	-	84~196
+13	91	0~126	-	91~217
+14	98	0~140	-	98~238
+15	105	0~154	-	105~259
+16	112	0~168	48	160~328
+17	119	0~182	51	170~352
+18	126	0~196	54	180~376
+19	133	0~210	57	190~400
+20	140	0~224	60	200~424

Level 5 Weapons
Upgrade Lv.	ATK & MATK Bonuses
	Base ATK/MATK	P.ATK/S.MATK
+1	8	2
+2	16	4
+3	24	6
+4	32	8
+5	40	10
+6	48	12
+7	56	14
+8	64	16
+9	72	18
+10	80	20
+11	88	22
+12	96	24
+13	104	26
+14	112	28
+15	120	30
+16	128	32
+17	136	34
+18	144	36
+19	152	38
+20	160	40

Armors

For Lv. 1 Armor, every upgrade increases Hard DEF by Floor[( 3 + Curr_Upgrade ) ÷ 4].

• Every +1 upgrade at +1 ~ +4 increases Hard DEF by 1.
• Every +1 upgrade at +5 ~ +8 increases Hard DEF by 2.
• Every +1 upgrade at +9 ~ +12 increases Hard DEF by 3.
• Every +1 upgrade at +13 ~ +16 increases Hard DEF by 4.
• Every +1 upgrade at +17 ~ +20 increases Hard DEF by 5.

For Example: a +10 Round Buckler will have its Hard DEF raised from 90 to 108; [90 + (1 + 1 + 1 + 1) + (2 + 2 + 2 + 2) + (3 + 3) = 108].

For Lv. 2 Armor, amount of Hard DEF gained is increased by 20%. Additionally, every upgrade grants 2 RES and MRES.

Armors
Upgrade Lv.	Lv. 1 Armor	Lv. 2 Armor
	DEF Bonus	DEF Bonus	RES/MRES Bonus
+1	1	1	2
+2	2	2	4
+3	3	4	6
+4	4	5	8
+5	6	7	10
+6	8	10	12
+7	10	12	14
+8	12	14	16
+9	15	18	18
+10	18	22	20
+11	21	25	22
+12	24	29	24
+13	28	34	26
+14	32	38	28
+15	36	43	30
+16	40	48	32
+17	45	54	34
+18	50	60	36
+19	55	66	38
+20	60	72	40

Upgrades are useful, as for weapon upgrade, it increases damage the player can inflict. For armors, it reduces damage the player will take.

Safety Level

The Safety Level is the maximum level of refinement that can be given to equipment with guaranteed success (0% chance of failure). Anything past the safety level has chance to fail, and failure means your equipment will be permanently destroyed, including any cards and other enchantments it may have had. You won't be refunded Zeny and the ore used to upgrade if it fails. Give careful thought before deciding if you want to upgrade a piece of equipment beyond its safety level.

Equipment	Safety Level
Weapon Lv. 1	+7
Weapon Lv. 2	+6
Weapon Lv. 3	+5
Weapon Lv. 4	+4
Armor Lv. 1
Shadow Gear
Weapon Lv. 5	+3*
Armor Lv. 2

*Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor will only be downgraded by 3 or 1 (depend on ores used) refine level when failing upgrades under +10. However, upgrading above +10 and failing will break the equipment.

Break Protection

The more you get beyond the safety level, the higher are the chances that your equipment gets permanently destroyed, along with its cards or other enchantments. However, Kafra shop items are available that allow you to upgrade items without risk of permanently losing the item.

HD Oridecon & HD Elunium

During an upgrade attempt using HD Oridecon or HD Elunium, upgrade failure will only degrade the item by 1 refine level instead of breaking.

Blacksmith Blessing

During an upgrade attempt using Blacksmith Blessing, upgrade failure will preserve upgrade level instead of breaking. Because it can be used with any ores, it is recommended to use with Enriched ores because of its higher success rate.

Enriched Oridecon & Enriched Elunium + Enriched Refine Event

Normally, Enriched ores have a chance of breaking the item. But during those events, in the case of upgrade failure the item will only degrade by 1 refine level instead of breaking.

Refining Certificate

With a refining certificate, the player can refine an item straight to the upgrade level written on the certificate. To use the certificate, talk to Refining Researcher prontera182174 in Prontera.

• They can upgrade any Lv 1 armor or Lv 1-4 weapon up to +19 depending on the certificate.
• Regardless of the current upgrade level, the item will be refined immediately to upgrade levels specified on the certificate.
• Refining certificate have 100% success rate.
• The player needs to equip the item which will be refined.

Upgrades beyond +10

As of the Renewal update, it is possible to upgrade equipment beyond +10, as high as +20. To upgrade beyond +10, the player must start with an item at +10 or higher.

• For Lv. 1 armor, the player must have 100,000z and 1 Carnium.
• For Lv. 1-4 weapons, the player must have 100,000z and 1 Bradium.

In the event of a failed upgrade attempt, the item may break, but more frequently, will lose three upgrade levels. The success rates of upgrading above +10 are very, very low, on the order of 20% for Level 1, 2 and 3 weapons and 10% on Level 4 weapons and armors.

The Kafra Shop sells HD Carnium and HD Bradium, which can be used on any refine NPC. Failing will result in losing one refine level, instead of three levels or breaking.

These exchange can be done by talking to Dietrich prt_in6369 and choosing Advanced refining ores.

Item	Zeny Cost	Materials
Bradium	50,000z	3 Oridecon
Carnium	50,000z	3 Elunium
Carnium	50,000z	1 Refined Bradium

Upgrade System for Level 5 Weapon and Level 2 Armor

These exchange can be done by talking to Dietrich prt_in6369 and choosing Ether refining ores.

• Reminder: Blacksmith Blessing can be used for downgrade and break protection for +7 and higher.

Item	Usage	Refine Level	Failure	Materials
Etherdeocon	Lv 5 Weapon	+0 -> +10	Refine level reduced by 3	10,000z	1 Ether Dust	1 Oridecon
Ethernium	Lv 2 Armor	+0 -> +10	Refine level reduced by 3	10,000z	1 Ether Dust	1 Elunium
Ether Bradium	Lv 5 Weapon	+10 -> +20	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 Bradium
Ether Carnium	Lv 2 Armor	+10 -> +20	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 Carnium
Enriched Etherdeocon	Lv 5 Weapon	+0 -> +10	Refine level reduced by 1	20,000z	2 Ether Dust	1 Enriched Oridecon
Enriched Ethernium	Lv 2 Armor	+0 -> +10	Refine level reduced by 1	20,000z	2 Ether Dust	1 Enriched Elunium
HD Etherdeocon	Lv 5 Weapon	+10 -> +15	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 HD Oridecon
HD Ethernium	Lv 2 Armor	+10 -> +15	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 HD Elunium
HD Ether Bradium	Lv 5 Weapon	+15 -> +20	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 HD Bradium
HD Ether Carnium	Lv 2 Armor	+15 -> +20	Equipment Break	50,000z	3 Ether Dust	1 HD Carnium

Success Chances

Success chance with normal metals

Chances to successfully refine an item on any iRO server (regardless of subscription status) or any other server with safe levels (typically subscription servers) with normal metals are:

Upgrade	Lv. 1	Lv. 2	Lv. 3	Lv. 4	Lv. 1 Armor	Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor	Shadow
+3 -> +4	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	60%	100%
+4 -> +5	100%	100%	100%	60%	60%	60%	60%
+5 -> +6	100%	100%	60%	40%	40%	40%	40%
+6 -> +7	100%	60%	50%	40%	40%	40%	40%
+7 -> +8	60%	40%	20%	20%	20%	20%	20%
+8 -> +9	40%	20%	20%	20%	20%	20%	20%
+9 -> +10	19%	19%	19%	9%	9%	9%	9%
+11 ~ +14	18%	18%	18%	8%	8%	8%
+15 ~ +18	17%	17%	17%	7%	7%	7%
+19 ~ +20	15%	15%	15%	5%	5%	5%

This chart explains the cumulative chance of upgrading.

Upgrade	Lv. 1	Lv. 2	Lv. 3	Lv. 4	Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor	Lv. 1 Armor & Shadow
+0 -> +5	100%	100%	100%	60%	36%	60%
+0 -> +6	100%	100%	60%	24%	14.4%	24%
+0 -> +7	100%	60%	30%	9.6%	5.76%	9.6%
+0 -> +8	60%	24%	6%	1.92%	0.1152%	1.92%
+0 -> +9	24%	4.8%	1.2%	0.384%	0.02304%	0.384%
+0 -> +10	4.56%	0.912%	0.228%	0.03456%	0.0020736%	0.03456%

Success chance with Enriched/HD Ores

Success chances using Enriched or HD Oridecon/Elunium are:

Upgrade	Lv. 1	Lv. 2	Lv. 3	Lv. 4	Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor	Armor / Shadow
+3 -> +4	100%	100%	100%	100%	90%	100%
+4 -> +5	100%	100%	100%	90%	70%	90%
+5 -> +6	100%	100%	90%	70%	60%	70%
+6 -> +7	100%	90%	80%	70%	60%	70%
+7 -> +8	90%	70%	40%	40%	40%	40%
+8 -> +9	70%	40%	40%	40%	40%	40%
+9 -> +10	30%	30%	30%	20%	20%	20%
+10 -> +11	18%	18%	18%	8%	8%
+11 -> +12	18%	18%	18%	8%	8%
+12 -> +13	18%	18%	18%	8%	8%
+13 -> +14	18%	18%	18%	8%	8%
+14 -> +15	18%	18%	18%	7%	7%
+15 -> +16	17%	17%	17%	7%	7%
+16 -> +17	17%	17%	17%	7%	7%
+17 -> +18	17%	17%	17%	7%	7%
+18 -> +19	15%	15%	15%	5%	5%
+19 -> +20	15%	15%	15%	5%	5%

• Note that red colored numbers mean no improvement over normal Oridecon or Elunium.
• Note its unknown when HD Oridecon/Elunium were patched to have same rates as Enriched ores.

This chart explains the cumulative chance of upgrading.

Upgrade	Lv. 1	Lv. 2	Lv. 3	Lv. 4	Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor	Armor / Shadow
+0 -> +5	100%	100%	100%	90%	63%	90%
+0 -> +6	100%	100%	90%	63%	37.8%	63%
+0 -> +7	100%	90%	72%	44.1%	22.68%	44.1%
+0 -> +8	90%	63%	28.8%	17.64%	9.072%	17.64%
+0 -> +9	63%	25.2%	11.52%	7.056%	3.6288%	7.056%
+0 -> +10	18.9%	7.56%	3.456%	1.4112%	0.653184%	1.4112%

Originally, the Blacksmith's skill Weaponry Research was believed to add 1% refining chance per skill level (up to 10% at skill level 10) to the Blacksmith. This has been proven to be false. However, the Mastersmith skill Upgrade Weapon will increase self-weapon refining chance by 0.5% per job level after job 50. At job 70 the smith has a +10% better chance to successfully refine a weapon than an upgrade NPC does.

iRO Refine Events

Enriched Refine Event

Normally, Enriched ores have a chance of breaking the item. But during those events, in the case of upgrade failure the item will only degrade by 1 refine level instead of breaking.

Refine Rate Increase Event

Refine Rate Increase Event (previously known as Mad Bunny Refine Event and Refine Event Rave) increases the refine success rate when using Enriched Oridecon/Elunium and HD Carnium/Bradium.

Note:

• +1 ~ +10 success rate using normal Oridecon/Elunium or HD Oridecon/Elunium are not affected by the Refine Rate Increase Event in Renewal servers.
• This event only affects Enriched Oridecon/Elunium and HD Carnium/Bradium rate.

Refine Event Success Rates with Enriched Ores

Chances to successfully refine using Enriched Oridecon/Elunium during Refine Rate Increase Event (previously known as Mad Bunny Refine Event and Refine Event Rave) are:

• Note that red colored numbers mean no improvement over normal Oridecon or Elunium.

Upgrade Lv. 1 Lv. 2 Lv. 3 Lv. 4 Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor Armor & Shadow +3 -> +4 100% 100% 100% 100% 90% 100% +4 -> +5 100% 100% 100% 95% 70% 95% +5 -> +6 100% 100% 95% 80% 60% 80% +6 -> +7 100% 95% 90% 80% 60% 80% +7 -> +8 95% 85% 70% 60% 40% 60% +8 -> +9 85% 60% 60% 50% 40% 50% +9 -> +10 55% 45% 45% 35% 20% 35% Refine Event Success Rates with HD Carnium and HD Bradium (HD Ethernium and HD Etherdeoecon for Level 5 Weapon and Level 2 Armor) Chances to successfully refine using HD Carnium/Bradium during Refine Rate Increase Event (previously known as Mad Bunny Refine Event and Refine Event Rave) are: Upgrade Lv. 1 Lv. 2 Lv. 3 Lv. 4 Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor Armor +10 ~ +11* 40% 40% 35% 20% 15% 20% +11 ~ +12 40% 40% 35% 20% 15% 20% +12 ~ +13 35% 35% 30% 16% 15% 16% +13 ~ +14 35% 35% 30% 16% 15% 16% +14 ~ +15 30% 30% 25% 15% 10% 15% +15 ~ +16 30% 30% 25% 15% 10% 15% +16 ~ +17 20% 20% 20% 14% 10% 14% +17 ~ +18 20% 20% 20% 14% 10% 14% +18 ~ +19 15% 15% 15% 10% 7% 10% +19 ~ +20 15% 15% 15% 10% 7% 10% *IRO exclusive feature prior to September 7, 2023 - all upgrades with any ore when at +10 have 100% Success. Refine Event Success Rates for Grading Chances to successfully Grade during Refine Rate Increase Event increase by 10% at each level: Grade Lv. 5 Weapon/Lv. 2 Armor Normal Event No Grade -> D 70% 80% D -> C 60% 70% C -> B 50% 60% B -> A 40% 50% Blacksmith Blessing Discount Event The cost of Blacksmith Blessing is reduced for certain refine levels during the event. Upgrade Level Blacksmith Blessings Cost Normal Event +7 -> +8 1 1 +8 -> +9 2 2 +9 -> +10 4 3 +10 -> +11 7 4 +11 -> +12 11 7 +12 -> +13 16 11 +13 -> +14 22 16 See Also Upgrade Weapon (Mastersmith Skill) Grade Enchantment Refinement and Cost calculator --JuicyJuices (talk) 03:34, 16 February 2017 (UTC) References Refine Rates (Normal): https://forums.warpportal.com/index.php?/topic/201269-good-morning-9-12-2016/?p=2502065 https://probability.gnjoy.com/RO/SMELT/SMELT/0001