Enhancive Badge Testing

[Fallen]

Here is my post from the officials. I wrote this at 2AM, so lay off if the grammar blows.
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Alright. Here is some craziness. I got a new badge, and updated the binding to its max. This yielded very poor results. Whether or not I can train in two enhancive abilities, I could NOT enhance Spirit Recovery AT ALL. The other benefits weren't even capped. This was with MAX Binding. It took +3 upgrades to the Material WITH a max binding to start maxing out Skill bonuses, not even all of them, and the ranks were still low. At maxed Binding and +3 in Material, I could enhance spirit +1. I stopped at level 4 as I ran out of points.

I then paid a hefty fee of 10k BPs for a new badge and upgraded it in order. At level 4 in EVERYTHING, I could get +10 to all Bonuses, and (nearly) all stats. Bonuses were around 4. I then trained up to all level 5 skills except for the gem, where I then ran out of points with approx 710K BPs. This allows me +5 to all stat bonuses, and around +5 for the bottom set of Skill RANKS, +4 for Lore RANKS, And a mix of between +3 - +5 for the upper skill ranks. I picked up some skills, and depending on how they were weighted in terms of value (which I will explain in a moment) it determined how much I could enhance for my second set of enhance bonus.

Some important notes:

1. Upgrading in order produced better results. I was able to get more skills/bonuses/rewards faster.

2. You DO NOT need to max out an aspect of your badge to get a secondary enhancive on your badge. Krakiipedia is wrong on that. Doing so is a waste of your points.

3. Actual ranks of skills are HIGHLY valued. At 710k points, the most I could manage is 5 actual ranks of pick pocketing, 4 ranks of a lore, and between 3-5 ranks of the upper combat skills.

4. Some skills are worth much more than others. Highly weighted skills are MOC, MIU, and Arcane Symbols.

5. The Wisdom and Aura bonus/stats are weighted more than the other stats, with Aura being weighted the most.

6. Spirit recovery is without a doubt the most expensive skill. At 710k points I am unable to get +2 to spirit recovery through maxing out the Binding, and then going to level 4 in the material, or upgrading everything in order 5 times except for the gem. No idea when the hell I am going to get that skill, but I KNOW it will be better for me to upgrade in order to get it.

7. I highly suggest getting a new badge if you upgraded out of order and getting each upgrade step by step. Your first badge replacement should be free if you haven't dont it in a while. All it will cost you is the BPs it took to charge your badge if it is already charged.

One thing I did not test is when you can start getting a second enhancive added to your badge. I think it is somewhere between upgrading everything 3-4 times, and it would vary on what you enhanced. I wouldn't sweat it, though. It is better to wait and get a good +7-10 bonus on something. Shortly thereafter you can start enhancing a second aspect of your badge.

Hope this information proves useful. Upgrade your badge in order, folks.


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Evarin and his Mis'ri

Scroll Infusion Collection Guide:
http://www.krakiipedia.org/wiki/Spell_Collection_Guide_%28scroll_infusion%29

Solutions for your Scroll Based Needs:
http://www.playershops.com/Merjinia - *RESTOCKED* 23 May 07

[StrayRogue]

I don't see the thing with spirit.

I'm going (whenever I even bother to use/upgrade my badge):
CM
Strength
Two-Handers.

[Fallen]

For DE sorcerers, or any other class that relies on CS attacks, wracking is very important. Faster you get spirit back, faster you can wrack. Once I get +3 Spirit recov (+2 badge, +1 Knuckle blade) I can stay out in the field forever.
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Stray, expect very, very heavy costs to keep that badge charged with 3 separate enhancive abilities in one badge. I hear the charges go super fast and cost a ton to recharge.

+10 CM Bonus is a good way to go for squares that aren't ranged. You dont get any CMAN points for it, though.

[StrayRogue]

Ah I thought there was a cap on the bonus you could get. IE, you have to get a different bonus eventually.

CM would be to avoid the maneuvers. Annoying as it is an open roll, but helpful nonetheless.

[FinisWolf]

Good info, thanks Fallen.

Finis

[Fallen]

> Does upgrading certain parts of your badge increase the amount of charges it holds? - Evarin

No, that's a constant.

-Strath

[Fallen]

Also, though this is somewhat common knowledge, a badge can be fully upgraded at 2.75 Million bounty points.

[AestheticDeath]

I am lost. Havent played with the badges really. But what do you mean by the different levels, and upgrading in order?

[Ignot]

I am lost. Havent played with the badges really. But what do you mean by the different levels, and upgrading in order?

:yeahthat:

[Tolwynn]

Your badge has a number of components: gem, motif, binding, etc. Each component costs so many points to upgrade. Long story short, always upgrade the component that costs the least points and that'll keep you upgrading them more or less in order, thereby maximizing your efficiency.

[AestheticDeath]

Seems stupid that you have to upgrade the looks on your badge to be able to get the higher bonus on things.

[Fallen]

Alright, Updating badges.

Updating your badge allows for you to increase the potential enhancive qualities it offers. There are 5 ways to upgrade your badge. The Binding, The Material, The Device, The Motif, and the Gem.

Each upgrade has 3 choices you can make, so you can customize how your badge looks. However, what option out of the three you pick means nothing. Only that you actually did upgrade that part of your badge.

Now, you have never ONCE upgraded your badge. You have 500k Bounty points. The correct way to upgrade your badge is to ask the prizemaster about UPGRADE. You then Upgrade the Binding from level 0 to level 1. Then, you Upgrade the Material, Then you upgrade the Device. Then you upgrade the Motif. Then you upgrade the Gem. If you still have points, you start all over again and upgrade the Binding to Level 2.

Essentially, you upgrade in that Order. Binding once, Material once, Device once, Motif once, then Gem once. Then repeat. After each upgrade, you will then want to ask the prizemaster about the BOOST LIST. This is the list of skills you can choose for your badge to enhance. After each upgrade, you will see a slight rise in the amount of Skill Ranks, or Skill Bonuses you can put into your badge. There is also crazy stuff like Upping your total health, total mana, total spirit, total stamina, and upping the recovery rates of all of those. Finally, you can also choose to upgrade your Stats, or your Stat bonuses.

- Understand that upgrading your badge COST NOTHING. You buy the upgrades with points you earn, but they are just benchmarks you must reach before you can upgrade an item again.

- Selecting what you want to enhance COST NOTHING, and can be cleared away WITHOUT getting a new badge.

- The only time you spend points is when you ask the prizemaster to charge your badge.

[AestheticDeath]

Thanks - will help a ton when I start doing that.

[Fallen]

If you are 1xed in a skill to the point where you are getting +1 per rank that you train in, you will want to enhance the Skill Bonus, and not the Skill ranks. Skill bonuses are much more cheaply obtained. Skill ranks are expensive as hell.

At 710k, the most I can manage is like 5 ranks of pickpocket. I can get 10 skill bonus in every skill. I believe the cutoff is if you have 40 ranks or more in a skill before you will receive just as much benefit to enhancing the skill bonus as the Skill rank.

Now, it is the OPPOSITE for stats. For stats, you will want to increase the Stat Bonus. Stat bonuses apply for Double to the actual stat. If you have a +5 Aura Bonus, you will have a +10 to the stat as well. Having 105 Aura (stat) will net you 11 spirit. You can get it by enhancing the stat by 5 if you already had your stat maxed, or, you can get an Aura bonus of +3, which would give you 106 Aura. On average, your Stat Bonus is taken to account more often than the stat itself in mechanics.

For spirit recovery, you can get +1 or +2 from your badge. +2 is insanely expensive. I can't get it yet with 710k BPs. You DO NOT get +2 spirit back per pulse. Instead, you are bumped up into the next race bracket for spirit regeneration. For instance, a dark elf with +3 (the max you can get) to Spirit recovery will regenerate spirit as fast as a halfling. A halfling with +1 - +3 Spirit regeneration would still regenerate faster than normal, but you are going to run into diminishing returns fairly quickly.

[Fallen]

Finally, I will list (in my opinion) some good ideas for what to have enhanced by your badge.

For anyone that swings a weapon, I highly recommend getting +10 to CM skill bonus (If you are 1x+ in the skill already). This will net you a higher AS, better results with your CMANs, and some maneuver defense. You will NOT receive CMAN points.

For any CS using character that is in COL, I would suggest using the badge to enhance your Aura to 11, or even to 12. The thresholds are 105 for 11 spirit, and 115 for 12 spirit. Spirit recovery is also a good choice for low regen races, but getting +1 spirit recovery takes 270k BPs if you update in order, and I have no idea how much +2 will take.

Other good choices for your badge is MOC ranks (not bonus) for Sorcerers and any class that uses bolts. It will allow you to hit more targets with splash damage, cause your focused implosion to stun more targets, and will help with FoF. It is also a very expensive skill, yet as little as 3-5 ranks can make a big difference.

For squares that already have +10 to their CM, I suggest geting +10 in their weapon skill bonus. This will net you additional AS.

Anyone care to share what they enhance, or think is a good idea?

[Drisco]

Okay... I never even noticed yah can update your badge heh. I want spirit regen bonus. How do I go about getting just that, and how long will it last?

[Stunseed]

< Anyone care to share what they enhance, or think is a good idea? >

Logic.

[Fallen]

Okay... I never even noticed yah can update your badge heh. I want spirit regen bonus. How do I go about getting just that, and how long will it last?

Keep upgrading your badge in order. You will need to earn about 270k BPs. It is very hard to tell how hard the enhancive lasts per charge without a bard.

[LMingrone]

Great post Fallen. Thanks for the info.

[Celephais]

Fallen, the "upgrade in order" deal... if I upgrade binding twice, then each of the other four once, is that the same as upgrading each once and then binding to level 2? Does it "recover" from not upgrading in order, or if I've already upgraded something twice (but really don't plan on using my bonus until I've gotten 6+ upgrades anyway) am I okay?

[Jayvn]

Thanks for the info, you pointed out some things are weighted however you didn't say if that was from one person or a few classes... like..does dodge ranks cost more for wizards than warriors... being that a wizard is 20/20 for dodge... do the choices you make for the upgrades affect things as well? or are they just aesthetic sp? Thanks just as much though, I wouldn't have been happy upgrading one thing and wasting all that time.
Jayvn

[Fallen]

A GM announced that costs are flat across all professions. As I said earlier, the actual type of binding upgrade, or gem upgrade doesn't matter, just as long as you get the actual upgrades.

[Fallen]

Fallen, the "upgrade in order" deal... if I upgrade binding twice, then each of the other four once, is that the same as upgrading each once and then binding to level 2? Does it "recover" from not upgrading in order, or if I've already upgraded something twice (but really don't plan on using my bonus until I've gotten 6+ upgrades anyway) am I okay?

As for specifics like this, I am unsure. I know that when I maxed out one part, then started working on another it yielded poorer results. My recommendation is just to get a new badge for free and upgrade it in order. Otherwise, there MAY be a more effective way to upgrade your badge, but I am fairly certain I remember a GM stating at the release of the Adventurer's guild that updating in order is the best way to go.

[AestheticDeath]

How many bounty points do you have to earn before you can get +1 to your aura bonus?

[Silique]

trying to get a new badge - im at a loss.

[You have requested a new badge. You must CONFIRM this option.]

Ive tried everthing to confirm...

[Stanley Burrell]

Does anyone know if the phantom SURGE bonus, at least strictly AS, was fixed what with the whole non-stacking w/ badge + other strength bonus enhancives? Or did enough people drop it after nerfage to SURGE? Right then.

[Necromancer]

Actually, a quick note...

The system is designed so that you can either maximize the number of overall enhancements your badge can hold or maximize the bonus you can get to one particular enhancement. The idea being that if you upgrade each material at the same rate evenly, your badge will be able to hold multiple enhancements more quickly. But if you upgrade one particular part of the badge over everything else, you'll hold fewer enhancements but will be able to achieve a higher bonus faster. With spirit regen, it's so incredibly expensive and restricted that you don't really notice the difference as much. It comes into play mostly with other skills.

[Fallen]

Actually, a quick note...

The system is designed so that you can either maximize the number of overall enhancements your badge can hold or maximize the bonus you can get to one particular enhancement. The idea being that if you upgrade each material at the same rate evenly, your badge will be able to hold multiple enhancements more quickly. But if you upgrade one particular part of the badge over everything else, you'll hold fewer enhancements but will be able to achieve a higher bonus faster. With spirit regen, it's so incredibly expensive and restricted that you don't really notice the difference as much. It comes into play mostly with other skills.

Have you done any testing with this? Mine proved just the opposite. I gained the ability to put higher rank/bonus/etc in my badge by upgrading evenly than I did when I maxed out one section of a badge and moved to another. I distinctly remember a GM stating it was best to upgrade the badge in order, and my testing showed just that.

[The Ponzzz]

I thought the bonus was directly related to level. Like right now at 55, I have a +5 bonus(or +2 for those that are halved). Increasing one part and only one part brings length of charge while Increasing each evenly gives a balanced duration to all things on the badge?

[Fallen]

It is related to your level. If you are level 70..I believe it caps out at +7 to your badge. How quickly you GET to that cap, however, is determined by how you upgrade your badge.

[Necromancer]

Yes, maximum bonus is +1/10 levels.

And I had my info backwards, but a GM stated initially that there was a two-tier system that gave flexibility depending on what you ultimately wanted. There are 5 different upgrades available. Which one in particular you upgrade doesn't actually matter, fyi. There's no official 'order' to it. The only thing that matters is what level that part ends up at. Taking the same two or three parts as high as you can at the expense of others will unlock the badge's ability to hold more than one enhancement more quickly. Unlocking it evenly will unlock the maximum available bonus for any given enhancement more quickly. (reverse of what I previously posted)

So if you're trying to max out one particular enhancement, then you want to focus on upgrading your badge evenly. But if you're trying to nab two or three enhancements as quickly as you can, then you want to focus on upgrading two or three parts as high as they can go.

[Silique]

Sorry to ask this again, but im still stuck on this.

Ask Falstronne about new badge.

Falstronne says, "Are you sure? You should already have a badge, and if I were to give you a new one, the old one would cease functioning."

[You have requested a new badge. You must CONFIRM this option.]

Everythng I have tried thus far does not confirm. Any help would be appreciated.

[Fallen]

<<<Taking the same two or three parts as high as you can at the expense of others will unlock the badge's ability to hold more than one enhancement more quickly. Unlocking it evenly will unlock the maximum available bonus for any given enhancement more quickly. (reverse of what I previously posted) >>> -- (I tried editing down the amount of crap I was going to quote and broke it.) --- Necromancer


I suppose this could be true, but believe me, my results showed this to be a bad idea. I raised 1 part all the way, and a second part I think over half way and had crap results. Perhaps I could have unlocked a second enhancer a few steps earlier, but the bonuses would have been crap. Maybe concentrating on the first 3 all together would be a healthy mix, but in the end I believe upgrading in order is the best way to go. However, to each their own.

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<<<Sorry to ask this again, but im still stuck on this.

Ask Falstronne about new badge.

Falstronne says, "Are you sure? You should already have a badge, and if I were to give you a new one, the old one would cease functioning."

[You have requested a new badge. You must CONFIRM this option.]

Everythng I have tried thus far does not confirm. Any help would be appreciated. >>>

I know one poster here had a problem with this and eventually got it to work. What *I* recommend you do is log on to Storm Front. I know it will look horrible and you're unused to it, but with the point and click system, you can literally click on the word confirm in your story window to get the command to go through. You will completely bypass the awkward syntax. Then, just log back into Wizard.

[Silique]

Eureka! Thank you. And yes SF looks horrible and busy to me...




...Slinking back to my old and comfortable Wizard FE now

[Fallen]

Heh. It takes a lot of getting used to, but once you've tweaked it enough I find it to be better in some ways, though certainly not all.

[Necromancer]

Yeah, that's the point. You can't unlock just one, you need to unlock two or three and push them up as quickly as you can. Looks like total upgrades affects one thing and highest upgrade affects another.

[Fallen]

The theory I have seen passed about is the First three badge parts, the Binding, the Material, and the Device determine the 3 separate enhancives you can apply to your badge. It was believed that you had to MAX OUT the first part of your badge, the Binding, to get a second enhancive option. This was incorrect.

If someone wished to do testing by upgrading ONLY the first three parts of their badge in order vs. Upgrading all parts of the badge equally to see if that allows you faster access to 2 possible enhancives at the same time, go right ahead. I am content for now to upgrade my badge in order, and I can confidently recommend everyone do the same.

[AestheticDeath]

>ask dua about new
Duane says, "Are you sure? You should already have a badge, and if I were to give you a new one, the old one would cease functioning."

[You have requested a new badge. You must CONFIRM this option.]
>ask dua about new confirm
Duane quickly locates a tin-bound ceramic Adventurer's Guild badge and puts it in your hand. "Here you go," he says.

[AestheticDeath]

Its probably in here somewhere, but I didnt find it exactly.

Assume I had a badge, its already boosting something to the max, and already charged.

I want to change the thing it boosts. I need to remove the current, and then boost the other skill.

Will doing this remove the current charges?

[Fallen]

Yes. As you will need to recharge the NEW enhancive.

[Fsunoleco2006]

Alright we know there is a balance issue between gradually raising levels in the various areas of the badge... but is there any difference in the end game of all area being at level 10? getting them all there one at a time, or the gradual walk up through the level process?

[Fallen]

At level ten, you can only get a +1 to your badge, not including the random enhancives like +mana and +stamina. Just remember, you wont be level 10 all that long.

[Celephais]

I think he means upgrading a particular aspect of a badge to "level 10" not character level 10.

[Fallen]

OOh. All areas of the badge being at the tenth level/step. Well, that takes around 2.4? million BPs. There are 2 people IG that I know of who have done this. In terms of upgrades, I believe Tsin went in order, First upgrading the Binding, then the Material, then the device, etc, but he gained so many points so fast that it didn't really matter. The other person waited UNTIL he maxed his badge to pick his enhancives. So it is hard to say.

The ONLY possible advantage in upgrading one part of your badge at a time is it may allow for Multiple enhancives at the same time being obtained faster. It isn't worth it, IMO. What you CAN enhance will be crappy.