Transcendence is an endgame progression system in Lost Ark designed to significantly enhance your character’s power. It operates through gear enhancement, boosting raw stats and unlocking special combat effects. Think of it as a gold sink aimed at rewarding dedicated players with substantial damage increases via a two-tiered system: Transcendence Levels and Transcendence Grades.
Transcendence Level
- This system features seven levels for each armor piece and your weapon.
- Clearing a Transcendence Level on an armor piece grants a permanent increase to your character’s Strength, Dexterity, or Intelligence, depending on your class.
- Successfully completing a Transcendence Level for your weapon directly boosts your Weapon Power.
Transcendence Grade
- Each Transcendence Level is further divided into three Grades per gear piece.
- Achieving Transcendence Grades unlocks unique combat effects tailored to each specific gear piece.
- To reach the coveted Grade 3 within a level, you must complete the Transcendence minigame while staying under a specific step limit.
- The Grades you achieve in each level accumulate, contributing to the total Grade of that gear piece. Reaching Grade milestones at 5, 10, 15, and 20 unlocks powerful additional bonuses.
- Importantly, Transcendence Grades do not influence the stat bonuses granted by Transcendence Levels; they are separate enhancements.
Unlocking Transcendence and Gathering Materials
Engaging with the Transcendence system requires specific materials, obtainable from endgame content:
-
Dark Fire
- This material is crucial for unlocking Armor Transcendence. Each Dark Fire grants one free attempt at the Transcendence minigame for a specific armor piece.
- Dark Fire is consumed individually for each armor piece and each Transcendence Level you wish to unlock.
- You can acquire Dark Fire directly from the Thaemine Legion Raid.
-
Behemoth’s Scale
- Behemoth’s Scale serves the same purpose as Dark Fire but for Weapon Transcendence, providing a free minigame attempt for your weapon.
- Similar to Dark Fire, it is used individually for each Weapon Transcendence Level.
- Obtain Behemoth’s Scale from the Behemoth Epic Raid.
-
Ancient Soundstone
- When aiming to improve the Grades within a Transcendence Level, each subsequent attempt at the Transcendence minigame requires an Ancient Soundstone.
- You can craft Ancient Soundstones using the recipes detailed below.
-
Soundstone Fragment
- Soundstone Fragments are a component in crafting Ancient Soundstones.
- These fragments are acquired in several ways: by stopping the Transcendence minigame prematurely, or by completing the minigame for a level you’ve already cleared without achieving a Grade increase.
- Soundstone Fragments are also tradable between players, offering a market for these materials.
-
Magical Spring Water
- Magical Spring Water is another essential crafting material for Ancient Soundstones.
- Once acquired, Magical Spring Water becomes available to your entire Roster, making it account-wide.
- You can obtain Magical Spring Water directly from both the Behemoth Epic Raid](https://maxroll.gg/lost-ark/epic-raids/behemoth-gate-1).
Ancient Soundstone Crafting Recipes:
You can craft Ancient Soundstones using any of these recipes at a Crafting NPC:
- 4x Magical Spring Water + 1x Chaos Stone + 60,000 Silver
- 85x Soundstone Fragment + 1x Chaos Stone + 60,000 Silver
- 8x Dark Fire + 1x Chaos Stone + 60,000 Silver
- 8x Behemoth’s Scale + 1x Chaos Stone + 60,000 Silver
Transcendence Unlock Costs
To unlock each Transcendence Level, you will need the following materials:
| Level | Armors | Weapon |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 15x Dark Fire | 30x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 2 | 15x Dark Fire | 30x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 3 | 15x Dark Fire | 40x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 4 | 20x Dark Fire | 50x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 5 | 20x Dark Fire | 60x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 6 | 20x Dark Fire | 60x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Level 7 | 20x Dark Fire | 70x Behemoth’s Scale |
| Total | 125x Dark Fire | 340x Behemoth’s Scale |
Thaemine Legion Raid Rewards
The Thaemine Legion Raid is a primary source for Dark Fire and Magical Spring Water. Here’s a breakdown of rewards in Normal and Hard Modes:
| Normal Mode (1610 Item Level) | Gate 1 | Gate 2 | Gate 3 | Gate 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Reward | 3,000 | 4,000 | 5,500 | 13,000 | |
| Bonus Loot Cost | 1,500 | 1,800 | 2,500 | 5,800 | |
| Materials | 6x Dark Fire 2x Magical Spring Water | 8x Dark Fire 3x Magical Spring Water | 12x Dark Fire 4x Magical Spring Water | 26x Dark Fire 9x Magical Spring Water | |
| Bonus Loot Materials | 6x Dark Fire 2x Magical Spring Water | 8x Dark Fire 3x Magical Spring Water | 12x Dark Fire 4x Magical Spring Water | 26x Dark Fire 9x Magical Spring Water | |
| Hard Mode (1620 Item Level) | Gate 1 | Gate 2 | Gate 3 | Gate 4 | Total |
| Gold Reward | 5,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 21,000 | 41,000 |
| Bonus Loot Cost | 2,000 | 2,400 | 2,800 | 3,600 | 10,800 |
| Materials | 12x Dark Fire 6x Magical Spring Water | 16x Dark Fire 9x Magical Spring Water | 24x Dark Fire 12x Magical Spring Water | 24x Dark Fire 12x Magical Spring Water | 76x Dark Fire 39x Magical Spring Water |
| Bonus Loot Materials | 12x Dark Fire 6x Magical Spring Water | 16x Dark Fire 9x Magical Spring Water | 24x Dark Fire 12x Magical Spring Water | 24x Dark Fire 12x Magical Spring Water | 76x Dark Fire 39x Magical Spring Water |
Additionally, there is a one-time first clear reward of 20x Dark Fire from Thaemine Legion Raid.
Behemoth Epic Raid Rewards
The Behemoth Epic Raid provides Behemoth’s Scale and Magical Spring Water. Here’s the reward structure:
| Normal Mode (1620 Item Level) | Gate 1 | Gate 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Reward | 6,500 | 11,500 | 18,000 |
| Bonus Loot Cost | 1,800 | 2,700 | 4,500 |
| Materials | 10x Behemoth’s Scale 10x Magical Spring Water | 20x Behemoth’s Scale 18x Magical Spring Water | 30x Behemoth’s Scale 28x Magical Spring Water |
| Bonus Loot Materials | 10x Behemoth’s Scale 10x Magical Spring Water | 20x Behemoth’s Scale 18x Magical Spring Water | 30x Behemoth’s Scale 28x Magical Spring Water |
The Behemoth Epic Raid also offers a first clear reward of 100x Behemoth’s Scale. Furthermore, excess Behemoth’s Scales can be exchanged at the raid vendor for various rewards, including Dark Fire and Splendid Elixir of Wisdom Chests.
As previously mentioned, unlocking each Transcendence Level for every gear piece requires Dark Fire or Behemoth’s Scale before you can attempt the associated minigame.
To unlock specific Transcendence Levels, your gear piece must be at least +17 Akkan Gear. Additionally, you must have cleared specific gates within the Thaemine Legion Raid:
- Gate 1: Unlocks Transcendence Levels 1 – 3 for Armor pieces.
- Gate 2: Unlocks Transcendence Levels 4 – 6 for Armor pieces.
- Gate 3: Unlocks Transcendence Level 7 for Armor pieces.
Similarly, for Weapon Transcendence, progression is tied to clearing gates in the Behemoth Epic Raid:
- Gate 1: Unlocks Transcendence Levels 1 – 5 for Weapons.
- Gate 2: Unlocks Transcendence Levels 6 – 7 for Weapons.
These unlock requirements are character-specific and do not apply across your entire Roster.
After unlocking a Transcendence Level on a gear piece, your first minigame attempt to clear that level is free (card-related costs remain unchanged). Subsequent attempts for the same level will cost 1x Ancient Soundstone and Gold: 740 Gold for armor pieces and 2,200 Gold for weapons.
You can retry Transcendence levels as many times as you desire to improve your Grades on previously cleared levels. The primary limitations are your stock of Ancient Soundstones and Gold.
Mastering the Transcendence Minigame
The Transcendence minigame is a board game-like challenge. It presents a path of tiles from a starting point to an endpoint. Tiles are categorized into two types: Normal and Blessed. Each turn, you roll a die and advance a random number of tiles, aiming to reach the endpoint in as few turns as possible. The number of turns taken directly impacts the Grade you achieve for that level.
Landing on Blessed tiles triggers special effects that can aid your progress:
- Enhancement: For the remainder of the minigame, the number of tiles purified with each roll is increased by one.
- Awakening: The next die roll will purify triple the usual number of tiles.
- Replicate: Immediately repeats the tile purification action from the current turn (without rolling the die again).
- Purification: Grants an additional tile purification action in the same turn (rolls the die again).
- Development: Instantly purifies four additional tiles in the current turn.
Each die roll in the minigame costs Gold: 110 Gold for armor levels and 190 Gold for weapon levels.
Key elements of the minigame interface:
- The Board of Tiles: The path to the endpoint, consisting of Normal and Blessed tiles.
- Starting Point: Your initial position on the board.
- Endpoint: The target destination to clear the level.
- Current Grade and Step Threshold: Displays your current Transcendence Grade and the maximum steps allowed to improve it.
- Possible Die Rolls: Shows the potential die roll outcomes and their probabilities.
- Blessed Tile Effect Tooltip: Provides information on the effect of a Blessed tile when hovered over.
Elzowin’s Grace: A Helping Hand
Elzowin’s Grace acts as a pseudo-pity system within Transcendence. If you encounter a streak of unsuccessful attempts at achieving Grade 3 on a particular level, Elzowin’s Grace will activate for that level on that specific gear piece.
- Elzowin’s Grace Effect: Significantly increases the likelihood of triggering higher-value tile purification effects when rolling the die in the minigame.
This effect strengthens with every subsequent attempt that does not result in Grade 3. Crucially, every attempt counts towards Elzowin’s Grace from the moment you start the minigame. This means if a run is going poorly, you can choose to stop and conserve Gold without losing progress towards triggering Elzowin’s Grace. The number of attempts needed to activate and enhance Elzowin’s Grace varies depending on the Transcendence Level and the gear piece.
Transcendence Effects: Level and Grade Bonuses
The Transcendence system provides two types of power boosts: Level effects and Grade effects.
| Transcendence Level Effects (Applied to each individual gear piece) |
|---|
| Armor |
| Level 1: +600 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 2: +680 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 3: +760 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 4: +840 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 5: +920 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 6: +1000 STR/DEX/INT |
| Level 7: +1080 STR/DEX/INT |
| Transcendence Grade Effects (Activated based on the total Grade of each gear piece. Helmet effects scale with overall Grades across all pieces, max 105). |
|---|
| Grade 5 |
| Helmet |
| +80 HP per grade. +0.01% AP Buff Efficiency per grade. |
| Shoulders |
| +1,200 Weapon Power. +1% AP Buff Efficiency. |
| Chest |
| +2,000 Weapon Power. |
| Pants |
| +3% Damage Reduction. |
| Gloves |
| +4,200 STR/DEX/INT. +1% AP Buff Efficiency. |
| Weapon |
| +800 Attack Power. +2% Brand Power. |
Recommended Transcendence Unlock Order
To maximize your character’s progression, especially in terms of damage output, consider this recommended order for unlocking Transcendence on your gear pieces:
| DPS Classes (Prioritize damage gains) |
|---|
| Chest |
| Pants |
| Shoulders |
| Gloves |
| Helmet |
| Weapon |
| Support Classes (Prioritize buff increases) |
|---|
| Pants |
| Gloves |
| Shoulders |
| Helmet |
| Chest |
| Weapon |
Transcendence System Summary
- Obtain Dark Fire and Magical Spring Water by clearing the Legion Raid: Thaemine.
- Acquire Behemoth’s Scale and Magical Spring Water from the Epic Raid: Behemoth.
- Visit the [Transcendence Refiner] NPC in any major city.
- Use Dark Fire and Behemoth’s Scale to unlock Transcendence Levels for your armor and weapon.
- Play the minigame to clear Transcendence Levels and gain stat bonuses.
- Craft Ancient Soundstones using Magical Spring Water (and other materials) to retry the minigame for cleared levels and improve Grades.
- Enhance your Transcendence Grades to unlock powerful unique combat effects!
Credits
Authored by Raeinor
