Hello everyone! đź‘‹
Since our last update, we’ve been busy connecting all the dots in our gear progression system. The upgrade path now runs from your very first weapon at level 1 all the way through to Flawless (Mythic) gear, and we’ve connected Flawless gear to the progression system so it’s no longer limited to crafting.
Important: we're still in development. Values and mechanics may change as we test, balance, and gather feedback.
At a Glance
- Upgrade path covers the full journey from level 1 to endgame
- Every gear set connects to the next, no gaps in the chain
- New item: Potential Unlock Scroll, opens a path to Flawless gear from your existing equipment
- Missing enchant rolls added (weapon crit factor, prone damage, and more)
The Full Upgrade Path
In Part 1, we explained how the upgrade system lets you evolve your gear into stronger versions. Since then, we’ve been filling in the gaps to make the entire journey seamless.
Your character creation weapon can now be upgraded all the way through the progression chain. Every gear set connects to the next, with no gaps along the way.
Reaching Flawless Gear
In Part 1 we mentioned that Flawless gear is now Mythic-grade and can be enchanted up to +15. In original TERA, the only way to get it was through crafting, and that’s still available. But we wanted to add another way for players who have been investing in their current gear.
The challenge is that TERA’s evolution system only supports one upgrade path per item. Each piece of gear can only evolve into one specific successor, and that slot is already used by the normal next-tier upgrade. So we needed a way to branch the progression without breaking the existing path.
That’s where the Potential Unlock Scroll comes in. It uses the game’s inheritance system to transform your gear into an Unlocked version, which then has its own evolution path to the Flawless variant.
How It Works
When your gear reaches +9 refinement, you have two options:
- Normal upgrade: evolve to the next tier as usual (guaranteed, no risk)
- Potential Unlock: use the scroll to transform your gear into its Unlocked version, opening the Flawless evolution path
Your gear is never lost or damaged in the process. On success, it transforms into its Unlocked version, keeping your enchantment level. From there, you can evolve it into the Flawless variant with 1:1 enchant carry.
Whether the scroll will have a failure chance and at what rate is still being decided and will be adjusted based on testing.
Step by Step
1) Eligible gear shows a hint
Any gear that can be unlocked displays a [Potential Unlock] section in its tooltip, so you always know which pieces are eligible.
2) Using the scroll
Right-click the Potential Unlock Scroll and select your target equipment.
3) Success: gear is unlocked
Your gear becomes the “Unlocked” version. It keeps the same stats and enchantment level.
4) Evolution to Flawless
Once your unlocked gear reaches +9, you can evolve it into its Flawless version. The enchantment carries over 1:1, so a +9 unlocked weapon becomes a +9 Flawless weapon.
How Does This Fit Into Progression?
Flawless gear lets you reach the maximum power within a tier without moving to the next one. Crafting it from scratch is still an option, and the normal upgrade path remains untouched. The Potential Unlock Scroll is simply an additional path that rewards players who have already invested in refining their current equipment.
This is a standard part of gear progression that will expand as we release new content. As new level caps, dungeons, and gear sets are introduced, the unlock path will grow alongside them.
Worth noting: past Frostfire, gear sets stop using the “Flawless” naming. Instead, each patch cycle has its own uniquely named Mythic sets like Dreamkeeper, Visionmaker, and Nightforge. These are the best-in-slot (BiS) gear for their respective content, and they fill the same role that Flawless does during early progression.
We’re also working on upgrade paths from Flawless and Mythic gear into higher tiers, including possible enchant shortcuts and tier skips at higher refinement levels. The details may vary between leveling and endgame gear, so we’ll share more on this in a future article.
Missing Enchant Rolls
We also added a few enchant stat rolls that were missing from the previous update:
- Weapons: Crit Factor and Damage to knocked-down targets rolls
- Chest Armor: Decreased damage taken while knocked down roll
These were gaps in the roll pools that could leave some builds without key stats. Now every relevant roll is available on endgame gear.
See you next time! 🛠️