Card sockets
What it costs to put a card into a piece, and to take it back out.
Sockets
A socket is rolled with the piece and is permanent: nothing in this game adds one to a piece that rolled none, and nothing takes one away. Which column a piece rolls on is decided by what it is: a cheap frame is the socket supply. Ordinary drops and forges roll zero to three sockets. A fourth is reserved for explicitly authored special rewards, and existing four-socket pieces keep every socket.
A card is a decision, not a setting. Putting one in is cheap; taking it back out is twice that, and both are charged against the frame’s required-level bracket, so levelling gear is cheap to play with and end-game gear is not. Nothing is ever destroyed, and a removed card comes back whole.
| Required level | To socket | To remove |
|---|---|---|
| Levels 1–15 | 10,500Z | 21,000Z |
| Levels 16–30 | 45,900Z | 91,800Z |
| Levels 31–45 | 130,200Z | 260,500Z |
| Levels 46–60 | 294,800Z | 589,600Z |
| Levels 61–75 | 495,200Z | 990,400Z |
| Levels 76–99 | 1,154,100Z | 2,308,300Z |
| Levels 100–149 | 1,762,300Z | 3,524,600Z |
| Levels 150–200 | 2,534,100Z | 5,068,300Z |
Card Fusion
At the Card Master in town, merge identical loose cards into one stronger card. Both steps are guaranteed and cost no Z.
- 100 identical Normal cards → 1 matching ★★ card
- 100 identical ★★ cards → 1 matching ★★★ card
Normal cards target 2× their original scalable bonuses, ★★ 4×, and ★★★ 8×. Each rank doubles the previous rank. Existing penalties and binary effects stay unchanged, and equipment stacking limits still apply.
Inventory, Loot Pouch, every Vault tab, and an owned Card Album count together across your roster, even when Album auto-collection is off. Socketed, mailed, and market-listed cards are never consumed. Results go to the Album when it has room, otherwise to kept storage. If the result cannot be stored, no cards are spent. Only cards with a valid stronger version can fuse; ★★★ is the maximum rank for now.
Collector’s Card Album
A permanent, account-wide collection from the Donation Shop, priced at 250 MC, half the Material Vault’s price. Buy the sealed Album and use it once to unlock access; buying it alone does not change your loot routing.
Keep up to 10,000 copies of each card and star rank without using ordinary bag slots. Normal, ★★, and ★★★ copies have separate stacks. The Album holds loose cards, not equipment with socketed cards.
Open the Album at the storage keeper. Automatic collection is optional and starts off; enable it to send future card finds directly to the Album. You can deposit carried cards while hunting, but town storage deposits and withdrawals require returning to town. A full stack leaves excess cards to the usual loot route.
Card Fusion and Word crafting can use Album stock directly. Stored cards are protected from sellers. Withdraw cards in town when you want to socket or trade them; the Album does not increase their stats or drop quality.