(UPDATE) Refining System change and new Honing System feature

**Date Posted: 10th November 2017**

A new feature is making its way to Riders of Icarus. Along with this new system, we have worked with the developers to improve not only the new system, but an older system that is closely related. Current feedback and suggestions from the community were considered and we tried to come up with a solution that would be possible within the development. The inclusion of Jewelry Refining and the new Honing System should give Riders more possibilities and chances to further improve their gear.

While these changes are coming with the next update, we are still open to bring further changes and adjustments. There are already other additions that will be included in a following update that will further help support Riders in making use of Refining and Honing. We encourage fellow Riders to continue to contribute more feedback and suggestions after the update.

**Refining System Changes**

Some changes have been made to the Refining System to improve the experience and use. With these changes, we hope Riders find the system more accessible and beneficial.

* Ellun Cost Reduction
	+ Ellun cost for locking stats have been reduced by 50%
* Choice of Current or New Stats
	+ New stats are no longer automatically applied when Refining
	+ The UI will now display “Before Refining” and “After Refining” stats
	+ Riders have the option to choose to keep current stats or apply the new stats
* Jewelry can now be refined
	+ Jewelry must be tempered to +3 and higher
	+ Need a Jewelry Refining Stone of same grade or higher (i.e: Legendary Refining Stone for Legendary Equipment)

**Honing System**

The Honing System is a new feature being added that will allow Riders to fine-tune their equipment. The mechanics are very similar to the current Refining system. However, instead of changing the stat bonus type (i.e: Strength, Intelligence, Attack Damage, Health, etc), the Honing System will modify the stat value of the bonuses available. Now Riders will be able to modify their stats to obtain better bonuses on their equipment!

**Here is how the system works:**

**Location**

Casey - Item Refiner NPC in Hakain’s Crossing (Market District)

**Requirements**

* Tempered target equipment
	+ Armor/Weapon tempered to +15 or higher
	+ Jewelry tempered to +3 or higher
* Proper type and grade Honing Stone
	+ Weapon/Armor/Jewelry
	+ Heroic/Legendary

**Steps**

1. Speak to Casey and select “Item Honing”.

2. Select the equipment to Hone. The proper Honing Stone will be automatically inserted. Current stat bonus values will be shown in the Attributes window.

3. Stat values can be locked by clicking on the lock icon. This will prevent that stat from being modified through Honing. Locking stats will cost elluns.

4. Click on the “Hone” button to proceed.
!!!Honing Stone, gold, and Elluns will be consumed at this point!!!

5. An “Attribute Before Honing” will show the current stats of the equipment and “Attribute After Honing” will show the new stats that can be applied. Riders will now have a choice to keep current stats or apply the new stats. Select which stats to apply and click “Confirm”.

6. After confirming and apply the stats, Riders can select “Retry” to try again (requires another Honing Stone) or to close the UI.

*Update*

We would like to address the concern and uncertainty our community has expressed about the availability of Jewelry Refining Stones and the Honing Stones. Our community has asked if and how the items can be obtained in the current content.

Unfortunately, the additions of the stones in current content was not able to be pushed at the same time as the new features. We felt that the inclusion of the items in loot tables needed further review and possible updates/revamps, especially if we wanted to include them in various game activities, such as:

* Dungeon Loot tables
* Raid Loot tables
* Coin/Voucher Shop
* Fishing
* Familiar Adventure
* Braghin Mine

We felt that some activities needed to be updated to increase their appeal and benefits to players with the latest contents. We are also considering how to differentiate the various activities, so that there are different incentives that Riders could target. While not all activities may be updated/revamped to include the new content, Refining Stones and Honing stones are planned to be included in a coin/voucher NPC shop. Rider’s will be able to earn and directly obtain these stones for their efforts, just like the Dungeon Coins and World Boss Vouchers.

With the current event, refining revamp and reduced Ellun costs, Riders should be able to benefit greatly and further improve their gears. During this time, we encourage Rider’s to return any suggestions and feedback with the current changes. We will review the feedback and try to address any issues by the next update. When the next update rolls around, Riders will be more able to utilize the systems to develop even more powerful equipment. More features will be added to support current features and systems. All this will help prepare Riders for the next challenge to come!

Lastly, since we could not deliver the addition of the new stones within the content in the latest update, we will be setting up special log-in rewards soon for active Riders. We plan to distribute Jewelry Refining Stones and Honing Stones during the event period. Full details will be released soon. Once our fellow Riders begin to use the system more, we do encourage Riders to return suggestions and feedback so that we can further improve the experience.

**Special Login Event**

November 9, 2017 – November 22, 2017

A special event has been set up for our Riders. From now until November 22nd, eligible Riders will be able to earn some of the new Legendary Jewelry Refining Stones and Legendary Honing Stones! Here are the potential rewards:

* Dates are based on PST
* Rewards are per account
* Reward Eligibility
* Account must have been active between 11/1 – 11/9
* Account must have a character at least level 40

All rewards will be delivered to the Ellora’s Storage in the event tab on the first character that logs in after rewards are distributed. Be sure to log in with the character you would like to receive them. Rewards in Ellora’s Storage will expire after 7 days. All rewards are not tradable.