Swords of Chult Preview and Guide: Enchantment and Runestone Refining Progression

In this article we go over the specifics of the enchantment and runestone progression in the new refining system that’s coming with Neverwinter’s Swords of Chult update. It’s unfortunately not as easy to see through as with artifacts or artifact gear. On top of the tweaks to the system itself, the devs added new levels up to rank 14. Does this mean the way to best-in-slot just got longer? Or are lower levels now easier to achieve to come up for it? We have all the answers!

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Spreadsheet and Disclaimer

First of all, I’ve prepared a spreadsheet that lines out the costs of the old system vs. the new one. Everything in this article is based on those numbers, so make sure to open it in a separate tab or window. If you want to change numbers in the sheet, please do not request access. Either import it to your own google docs or download it. Also please note that this article will not go over the stats and effects of the new levels or Bonding changes. This will be done in a separate article in the next days.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the spreadsheet! A few values, the bold ones, on the “Prices” tab can be tweaked to match the economy of your platform. The sheet then takes care of everything else automatically.

The Changes

The big change in terms of progression is that you no longer need an identical enchantment or runestone as reagent for some levels. This majorly streamlines the process as you don’t have to refine additional gems as you move up the ranks. Also enchantments and runestones profit from the greater variety of possible refining stones with matching bonuses gone. Players can now freely use Silvery Enchantments to refine Radiants et cetera.

The reagents for normal enchantments and runestones stay the same, but the new ranks require an Ultimate Enchanting Stone that only drops from Tomb of the Nine Gods or lockboxes. The other Enchanting Stones just replace the Marks of Power/Union/Stability and drop from the same places like before. For weapon and armor enhancements the amount of marks significantly rises, but don’t forget that you save a ton of Coalescent Wards because you no longer need an identical enhancement as reagent.

The New Best-In-Slot

Let’s go on and compare the best-in-slot cases. Under the old system, rank 12 would cost 1.46M ADs given the standard values I chose. In the new system rank 14 is almost +75%. The main culprits are the 1% upgrade chance from R13->R14 and the new Ultimate Enchanting Stones. That latter obviously is a bit hard to project as much depends on its actually drop rate within the Tomb of the Nine Gods. This could be way better or way worse and it’s probably safe to assume that you should wait with maxing until there’s a sufficient supply and the prices settle.

It’s a different story for new unparalleled vs. old transcendent (unless the Ultimate Enchanting Stone will be super expensive). Weapon and armor enhancement are getting cheaper across the board although they require much more marks to upgrade. But the amount of ADs you save from no longer needing an identical enhancement as reagent more than makes up for it. One enhancement is still four times as expensive as one normal enchantment or runestone.

Lower Levels

For everyone not striving for the absolute best-in-slot, the new system is generally good news. Rank 10 used to cost 442k and is now 334k, Rank 11 goes from 797k to 607k. It’s even better for weapon enhancements. A greater was 3M, which is now nearly enough to buy a pure version.

Overall upgrading enchantments and runestones is getting cheaper. You’ll need to invest less ADs to get to the same level as before. The one exception is the new rank 14, which is a massive investment. The devs certainly want the players to pay a lot for that “bis” tag! It looks like full rank 14 will become a tier of its own as upgrading that one level is as expensive as all previous levels combined. That’s also why, all enchantments and runestones included, the cost for a full toon approximately goes up from 32M to 57M.


Do you like the changes or do you think rank 14 is a bit hard to achieve? Share your thoughts in the comments below and visit the corresponding thread on our message board!

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j0Shi

j0Shi plays the Neverwinter MMORPG since the open BETA in 2013 and is a regular contributor to the blog and the whole UN:Project. Originally a Guardian Fighter, he has built up ALTs of all classes and plays on BIS/near-BIS level.

9 thoughts on “Swords of Chult Preview and Guide: Enchantment and Runestone Refining Progression

  • October 17, 2017 at 9:54 am
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    I really see these changes as a step in the right direction. with the new Ultimate Enchanting Stone dropping in end game dungeons like TONG it will give mid level players a reason to do it when it is no longer any good for end gamers.

    This will solve a massive problem that is currently rendering Dungeons like MSP and FBI(esp since it is no longer needed for msva) Useless for mid level players that can now only start playing it

    • October 17, 2017 at 10:30 am
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      The Ultimate Marks only drop from TONG though. Outside random queues there is no additional incentive to run FBI or mSP.

  • October 18, 2017 at 12:45 pm
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    The prices listed under the New System tab are off. Looking at your M Column data, you’re dividing the RP value by the old Peridot RP value of 500 rather than 50 under the new system. Correcting M2, it should read:

    =B2*(Prices!$B$15/50)+D2*Prices!$B$2+E2*Prices!$B$3+F2*Prices!$B$4+G2*Prices!$B$8+H2*Prices!$B$9+I2*Prices!$B$10+J2*Prices!$B$11+L2*Prices!$B$5

    You accurately calculate the number of Peridots in N2. The formula could be simplified to:

    =D2*Prices!$B$2+E2*Prices!$B$3+F2*Prices!$B$4+G2*Prices!$B$8+H2*Prices!$B$9+I2*Prices!$B$10+J2*Prices!$B$11+L2*Prices!$B$5+N2*Prices!$B$15

    Your New Systems tab cell M10 has a random “+4*Prices!$B$17” that doesn’t belong in it as you already account for the data from K10. It appears to be a carryover from the Old System tab L8 data where you account for the data in J8 and then add 4 more of the same.

    The Old System tab data appears to be assuming double RP weekend, which is a good assumption as that was when most people would be making upgrades and the New System appears to be double RP all the time.

    One factor not utilized is that under the old system you could use other enchants rather than Peridots for enchant upgrades. The cost/RP using enchants was significantly more advantageous than using Peridots so a comparison based on Peridots is flawed when determining the actual cost difference for enchant upgrades under the Old System. Even more so when you consider that matching was available as an option on some of the more common enchants. However, a simplified comparison is likely valid given that the change is inevitable at this point.

    The overall analysis is also assuming the value of Peridots will remain fixed. I predict they will fall, which should further reduce the costs of upgrades. They will fall because after the initial-release-enchant-upgrade-phase-by-BIS-users ends, the demand will drop because the supply rate will exceed the much lower RP need under the New System. The simplified refining system also narrows the pools where the items can be placed on the auction house, which will also simplify searching for the lowest-available RP price. This will have a negative impact on those who make a profit off Leadership and other RP production sale methods (or who flip under-valued Auction House posts), but will be good for those seeking upgrades.

    The analysis also assumes an optimistic value on the Ultimate Enchanting Stone, which will be a limiting factor on Rank 14/Unparalleled upgrades after 12B release. I will be surprised if these actually do sell for anywhere close to 75,000 as the initial starting price is likely to be significantly higher and remain that way for a period of several weeks until the amount available in the economy starts to nudge prices down.

    • October 18, 2017 at 1:35 pm
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      Thanks! We have corrected the sheet and the values in the article. Much will depend on the drop rate of the Ultimate Enchanting Stone. As stated, it’s really hard to project at this point and who wants to rush probably has to pay much more.

  • October 18, 2017 at 1:04 pm
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    I should have caught this in my first look, but your Old System price data for Column L is also off. For some reason it is assuming 5000 for the RP value of a Peridot. It currently reads:

    =B2*(Prices!$B$15/(5000*IF(Prices!$B$20=1,2,1)))+D2*Prices!$B$2+E2*Prices!$B$3+F2*Prices!$B$4+G2*Prices!$B$8+H2*Prices!$B$9+I2*Prices!$B$10+K2*Prices!$B$5

    It should likely instead be:

    =B2*(Prices!$B$15/(500*IF(Prices!$B$20=1,2,1)))+D2*Prices!$B$2+E2*Prices!$B$3+F2*Prices!$B$4+G2*Prices!$B$8+H2*Prices!$B$9+I2*Prices!$B$10+K2*Prices!$B$5

    OR

    =D2*Prices!$B$2+E2*Prices!$B$3+F2*Prices!$B$4+G2*Prices!$B$8+H2*Prices!$B$9+I2*Prices!$B$10+K2*Prices!$B$5+N2*(Prices!$B$15/IF(Prices!$B$20=1,2,1))

  • October 22, 2017 at 2:26 am
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    So Mark of Potency will remain as Reagent for enchantment, and union, stability, power will be merged for artifact, isn’t it?

  • October 24, 2017 at 7:18 am
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    You guys probably don’t get this enough, but thank you and the rest of the NWO_Unblogged team for your continuing efforts to share available information and ideas to improve our gaming experience.

    • October 24, 2017 at 8:45 am
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      Thanks, appreciate it!

  • October 27, 2017 at 5:43 am
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    Peridot prices have tanked, even earlier than I expected. On PC, they were 350 AD each on Monday. Now they are under 90 AD each and dropping. Part of it is because the x2 Enchant drop event is working for all gems as well as enchants, which is essentially doubling Leadership production for enchanted coffers, thaum bags, etc. I can’t tell if that is a bug or if it is intended. Now is a good time to open if you were hoarding, though selling now may not be optimal due to the overall glut in the market. However, if players are already RP-saturated (I am on my main as I have topped off all my enchants), then the price may not recover much. Part of the price drop may also be that people are clearing inventory to buy the Ultimates, which appears to partially be the case as the zen purchase backlog has fallen some and that may be people stretching to get AD rather than additional zen purchases.

    Ultimate Enchanting Stones started for over 1 million AD each, but have since fallen to just under 1 million AD each.

    Now is a good time to buy Ultimate Marks of Potency because of the cost reduction linked to the AD store event. You need 101 to fully upgrade from rank 12 to rank 14 so any discount cuts the pain of shelling out what would otherwise be close to 9 million AD just for Marks (more if you aren’t VIP with full discount).

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