Augmentation

Augmentation Overview

Augmentation is not a skill itself, but is an important mechanic. While Transmutation lets you change the treasure effects (mods) on your gear, Augmentation lets you add one additional treasure effect (mod) to a piece of gear. With Transmutation you distill items into phlogiston and use a transmutation table to make changes. With Augmentation you decompose items into beads and baubles in order to extract a mod from one item and place it on a different item.

Along with Transmutation and Shamanic Infusion, Augmentation forms the mechanism for enchanting gear in Project Gorgon.

Learning Augmentation

Learning augmentation is a multi-step process. Visit Nightshade at the Kur Mountains Outpost to begin a series of quests that allow you to augment gear. There are four subcategories of augmentation taught by the following NPCs:

Training Augmentation

Jewelry Augmentation - Neck Augments and Ring Augments

Learn from Poe in the Myconian Cave. Requires 25 Alchemy, 25 Toolcrafting.

Weapon Augmentation - Main hand Augments, Glove Augments, and Off-Hand Augments

Learn from Malgath in the Wolf Cave. Requires 25 Alchemy, 25 Blacksmithing.

Armor Augmentation - Chest Augments and Leg Augments

Learn from Syndra in a barn in central Kur Mountains. Requires 25 Alchemy, 25 Leatherworking.

Ancillary-Armor Augmentation - Helm Augments and Boot Augments

Learn from Gribburn in the basement of Hogan's Keep. Requires 25 Alchemy, 25 Tailoring.

Some challenges must be completed before receiving skills from these sub-trainers. For example, Malgath is reached after defeating multiple Wolf Cave mobs; Poe is in an obscure corner of Myconian cave; Gribburn requires learning Goblinese and gaining favor with Hogan; and Syndra requires resolving a problem.

To learn Weapon Augmentation, for example, a player travels to Malgath in the Wolf Cave and gains his favor in order to train the first level skill called "Decompose Main Hand Weapon". This skill will allow the player to take any enchanted (green or above) main hand weapon and break it down into "beads". The level and rarity of the weapon determine how many beads the player receives. Decomposition also occasionally results in the creation of a Prism, which are reagents used in Transmutation.

Using Augmentation

Weapon Augmentation teaches the player to extract "mods" from weapons. Extracting a specific mod effect costs beads. The crafting menu says it costs up to one bead per level of the effect(e.g. a staff that requires level 60 fire magic would cost up to 60 beads for a successful extraction of a fire magic effect).

Extracting a specific effect requires a "crystal" as well. Putting the wrong type of crystal(e.g. using a redwall crystal because they're more readily available) will result in the item and crystal being destroyed, and the player will receive a message stating that they used the wrong type of crystal.

Using the right type of crystal requires matching up a specific gem's primary and/or secondary effect with the effect of the item. These effects are notated on the gems page.

For instance, extracting a psychology effect from a sword, the player uses tourmaline as the crystal in the extract augment recipe. The weapon and crystal are both destroyed in the process, but create an augment that can be placed on another weapon. The player's augmentation skill level determines the success of the extraction; the skill level should be within 10 levels of the weapon's level.(A player with level N Augmentation has a 100% chance of extracting a level N+10 power, but only a 10% chance of extracting a level N+20 power, and a 0% chance of extracting anything higher.) If you fail to extract an augment, the item is lost anyway. Even if the weapon and crystal are destroyed, the player still receives Weapon Augmentation experience

Assuming everything went right, the player receives an augment which can be applied to a different weapon. (In the past, augmentation resulted in oils, which are no longer used in the mechanic.)

Applying Augmentation

The next step of augmentation is applying the extracted mod to another item. The attachment skills are learned from Nightshade once you have sufficient favor. The recipes for attaching items fall under the lore skill-line. The recipe uses a reagent specific to the type of augment--a ring or neck augment requires an ectoplasm for example. You can apply one augment to an item using the lore recipe. For additional enchanting options, please see Transmutation.

Augment-Installation Services

Some NPCs can now install Augments for you! By using one of these NPCs, you do not need to have learned the various Augment Installation recipes from Nightshade. Learning Nightshade's recipes will eventually be a cost-savings for max-level players who do a lot of augment-installing, but at the current max level of 70, most players will find it cheaper to just use these NPCs. The following NPCs can install Augments for you:

- Joeh in Serbule can install level 0-20 Augments for 50 Councils.

- Kalaba in Eltibule can install level 21-40 Augments for 250 Councils.

- Urzab in Amulna can install level 41-60 Augments for 650 Councils.

- Rick Snapley in Gazluk can install level 61-80 Augments for 1000 Councils.

- Torgan in Gazluk can install level 61-80 Augments for 900 Councils. You must know Orcish.

- Preta in Sun Vale can install level 0-50 Augments for 350 Councils. You must be Close Friends or better.

- Tyler Green in Serbule Hills can install level 0-25 Augments for free. You must be Friends or better.

- Amutasa in Rahu can install level 0-70 Augments for 650 Councils. You must be Friends or better.

- Nightshade in Kur Mountains can install level 0-100 Augments for 2000 Councils.