Disclaimer
Everything seen on the preview server, Lamannia, is not final and is subject to change or removal before live release.

Update 50 includes the complete refactor of the Seal/Scroll/Shard crafting system, which is usually abbreviated to s/s/s. There's a lot to get into, so let's dive right in.

All of the rest of the Heroic items from the s/s/s item packs will be revamped as part of this pass. This includes the following adventure packs:

    Web of Chaos
    The Vault of Night
    The Chronoscope
    The Sands of Menachterun (NOTE: Not present in this preview!)
    Phiarlan Carnival (already completed in U39)
    The Red Fens (already completed in U36)
    Sentinels of Stormreach (already completed in U40)



All of the Epic items from the above packs will also be revamped to bring them up to appropriate scaling values (as with our other revamps).

Finally, all of the above packs will get level 30 Legendary versions of their items that will be competitive for endgame play.

So, what's changing with the upgrade flow?

Heroic items will continue to drop as-is.

Epic items are obtained in the Altar of Epic Rituals with the following recipe: Heroic Item + 50 Pack Ingredients* ( + 5 Greater Tokens of the Twelve if the item is from a Raid)

Legendary items are obtained in a new Altar of Legendary Rituals with the following recipe: Epic Item + 100 Pack Ingredients + 5 Star Fragments** ( + 250 Threads of Fate if the item is from a Raid)

*: Pack Ingredients will drop wherever Seals or Shards would drop in a moderate amount. It will likely take 2-3 runs of a quest to get enough of the material for 1 item. These ingredients are Pack Specific - for example, the Pack Ingredient for the Chronoscope would be a Broken Sliver of Time, etc. You'll likely collect quite a bit of these, as they're a guaranteed drop and they're also obtained elsewhere, as specified below.

**: Star Fragments will be an uncommon drop from Legendary Saltmarsh to start, and will become more available later on (just like how Empty Soul Vessels will be joining the list of Threads of Fate purchasable items as of Update 50). Our goal is that it will not be hard to find enough of these to upgrade your items.

What about our existing materials?

You will be able to crunch unused seals, scrolls, and shards down into some amount of Pack Ingredients of the appropriate type.

Why not just let the Epic Items drop as-is?

Since the s/s/s is a crafting system, we don't want to invalidate previous progress. If someone has spent 10 years grinding the ESoS, we don't want to tell that person to keep farming for it, we want to actually let them get that item as soon as the update drops. They've already done the time, we need to let them turn those spare materials (which in this instance represent time they're already spent grinding) into a tangible reward.

What are you going to do about the ESoS?

Nothing, I actually don't think that item needs changing. If people can finally get and use it, that's great, I'm genuinely happy to make something that cool more accessible.

Are you worried that by making those items, which have for so long been so rare, so much easier to obtain, that you'll be invalidating the years of grinding already spent?

That's something only the players can really answer for me.

What are you going to do with the legendary SoS?

We are not going to be creating a functional Legendary version of the Sword of Shadows. If we were to create a version that kept the large expanded critical profile that it is known for it would be incredibly hard to create other comparable legendary weapons that didn't also feature that same expanded critical profile. If we were to make a functional greatsword that used the Sword of Shadows name but didn't have that expanded critical profile it would feel like a pale imitation of the lower level variants. With that being said, the plan currently is to create a cosmetic version of the Sword of Shadows featuring brand new art inspired by the current model that can be earned and shown off. We know this solution will not fit all desires but believe it necessary to avoid painting our item design into a corner.

If we have old Epic items, will we need to reobtain them?

There is already a stone-of-change recipe that will let you turn any epic s/s/s item into a new version, so no, just throw it in the stone of change, it'll fix itself. Be aware, this will effectively delete your item and give you a new one, so take care if you have Augments or Sentient Filigree that you'd want to keep.

What about Mythic Bonuses?

Since we aren't "dropping" these items, we can't rely on our existing mythic tables, so we're probably going to need to get fancy. Current plan:

Players will be able to turn a large chunk of Threads of Fate into an item that, when combined with an Epic or Legendary version of an item, upgrade it to Mythic and then Mythic +3 (or +4). Sorta like the Schism Shard recipes but more generic (so we don't need 900 different crafting recipes). Note: This is not present in this preview.

How does Saltmarsh fit into this?

Saltmarsh will contain new, level 3 heroic items, that you will then be able to upgrade into level 20 and then level 30 versions through Epic and Legendary Crafting. Saltmarsh's Legendary content will still contain a few standalone level 29 items, as well as new Augments, but a portion of Saltmarsh will require engagement with the revamped s/s/s system. Feel free to take a look at the items in this preview in the Saltmarsh Itemization post!

Note: There is also something special with certain Saltmarsh items in this system that will get to do something a little differently, but that part wasn't quite ready for this preview.

Can we walk through an upgrade process just to be sure?

Sure! Here's how someone would obtain a copy of the Legendary Kundarak Delving Boots. First, they would do the raid The Vault of Night and its subsequent raid, The Plane of Night. In the end chest on any difficulty (heroic and epic), there is a chance to obtain a copy of the heroic level Kundarak Delving Boots. From there, they would take the Kundarak Delving Boots, 50 Vault Keys (found within any Vault of Night chest that could have dropped a Seal or Shard), and 5 Greater Tokens of the Twelve, and combine them in the Alter of Epic Rituals found within The Twelve to obtain the Epic Kundarak Delving Boots. With those, they would take their new Epic Kundarak Delving Boots, 100 Vault Keys, 250 Threads of Fate, and 5 Star Fragments, and combine them in the Alter of Legendary Rituals to obtain the Legendary Kundarak Delving Boots. If you had a copy of the current Kundarak Delving Boots or Epic Kundarak Delving Boots, you can skip right ahead to whichever part of this process, as the old items from before the revamp will work with this new system.

The S/S/S changes don't suck.

The ED and the gear nerfing changes suck, but the S/S/S changes sound like exactly what we've been asking for since Epic levels were introduced.

There is and always will be a degree of fuckery with RNG.

Now, I don't know how SSG will fuck this up but they actually took a step in the right direction with this revamp. We all remember how godly it was to run a chain 3 times and get a list of named items, right?

Nobody wants to run a quest 50 fucking times to get something, especially when that something can make/destroy a build.

Shit, they are going to fuck up a system that worked somewhat well.

Why couldn't they leave it alone ? It's working fine, the loot is outdated, but it doesn't matter the system was sound and strangely not bugged to hell  ( even if required luck and some grinding )

They most likely don't know what number controls the drop rate.

We are talking about the company that brought us Ghostbane.

Shit, they are going to fuck up a system that worked somewhat well.

Why couldn't they leave it alone ? It's working fine, the loot is outdated, but it doesn't matter the system was sound and strangely not bugged to hell  ( even if required luck and some grinding )

The old S/S/S system was superior in terms of it's value as a role-play mechanic. The issue was the obscenely terrible drop rates which SSG apparently does not fucking understand. Gathering hundreds of generic "ingredients" is better mechanically, but shitty in terms of role-playing.

The old S/S/S system was superior in terms of it's value as a role-play mechanic. The issue was the obscenely terrible drop rates which SSG apparently does not fucking understand. Gathering hundreds of generic "ingredients" is better mechanically, but shitty in terms of role-playing.

He's right, though. The fantasy of finding very specific materials to empower your trusty whatever has a much greater thematic/narrative/what the fuck have you weight than "apply fifty units of desert MacGuffin Juice to your latest acquisition".

That said, this roleplay weight is the only advantage the old system had.

Well I guess those huge bags of seals, scrolls and shards will come in handy if I ever start playing again. Which reminds me, I'm gonna have to transfer my dork off HC in the next couple of days, anyone know if the Daily Dice xp stones transfer or will I have to use em first?