Getting a 13* weapon to +35?

[Squal_FFVIII]

What's the easiest way of doing this?

I don't have many 13* weapons (I have a few though) so what's the best way to get one to +35 to unlock the new lvl cap? ^^

[Anduril]

Make sure you have the Weapon's Grind Cap at 35 (you do this by feeding it identical copies), then feed it +20 10* weapons (makes these by saving 10* weapons up from EQs). It should take less than 20 Lambdas and only a couple of million meseta.

[Loveless62]

Are you asking for instructions for how to grind a 13* that already has a maximum grind of 35, or are you asking for a strategy to push the maximum grind of a weapon to 35? I suspect you are asking for the latter.

The most extreme way of doing so is to buy the maximum grind extenders (強化値上限+1) that are awarded from Battle Arena. They are stupidly expensive, though.

Another way is to buy a 2017 badge weapon. Getting one of these to 35 maximum grind will cost 1200 badges.

The way I would probably pursue, though, would be to work on a Aura CF. In particular, both the Aura Knuckle and the Aura Rod call for level 70 Goronzorans, and you can find these either through the FQ Chaotic Roar of the Dragon (混沌喚び出す龍の咆哮) (I think Goronzoran is a guaranteed spawn at the end) or on Floor 57 of the Sylvan Wyverns XQ (especially when that particular FQ is not available).

[rsod]

Farming 1200 badges I don't think this is an option.

[GHNeko]

Farming 1200 badges I don't think this is an option.


why not? xie weapons are here for the year and you get 6 badges from doing XH. you can grind out 200-400+ badges a week if you're being fairly casual about it.

10 runs a day for 60 badges a day means 420 badges a week. so it'd take about 3-4 weeks for a single +35.

ofc this is slow but if you really want to knock it out, you can prob earn 200 in a single day by doing like 35 runs.

[Ryuhou]

Revolutio and Aura weapons are very easy to farm now.
Will take some time, sure, but not nearly as long as getting a Ray / Astra / Orbit weapon to +35. Especially, you must get to +35 or it's all pointless. I have a lot of weapons I can get to +34 but that won't help.

[Loveless62]

Farming 1200 badges I don't think this is an option.
It depends. The OP may already have some badges collected from the LQs and holiday EQs from earlier in the year. It is possible he doesn't have that much further to go.

The best solution will depend on what materials and 13*s the OP already has, even if he said doesn't have that many 13*. If he has a Ray, Astral, or even an Orbit with a high enough max grind value, then pursuing one of the corresponding CFs may be a better option (time is running low on Ray and Astra though).

Another option I didn't mention is to build a 2016 badge weapon instead of a 2017 badge weapon. It carries pretty much the same price (1200 2016 badges), but it may be an easy solution if the OP somehow happens to have that many 2016 badges sitting around, or has a 2016 badge weapon partly finished and enough badges to take it the rest of the way.

I don't know of any solution that isn't a pain in the ass in some way.

[emanresuj]

only conditionally useful, but worthy of mention nonetheless i think:
the shop area npc client orders are absolutely fantastic for this — if the weapon currently offered is relevant to your class. if you have your three free characters created and leveled to appropriate difficulty, you can go defeat the 300 or so monsters and get the 13* NT weapon — on *each* character (i.e., the item reward is conveniently not account based.) if you happen to have six characters, it is possible to get a +35 weapon in one day with minimal effort (the arks survey quests are great for this, for example). i did this with millioblight on the last day of bingo (last minute, i know...) with intent to unlock bouncer upon server resumption. so, keep an eye open for those weapon client orders, too!

as an aside, freshly tekked +4 and especially +5 10* weapons work great for grinding noxes if you are low on embrace and/or don't mind missing out on a few excubes/spheres.

[Loveless62]

only conditionally useful, but worthy of mention nonetheless i think:
the shop area npc client orders are absolutely fantastic for this — if the weapon currently offered is relevant to your class. if you have your three free characters created and leveled to appropriate difficulty, you can go defeat the 300 or so monsters and get the 13* NT weapon — on *each* character (i.e., the item reward is conveniently not account based.) if you happen to have six characters, it is possible to get a +35 weapon in one day with minimal effort (the arks survey quests are great for this, for example). i did this with millioblight on the last day of bingo (last minute, i know...) with intent to unlock bouncer upon server resumption. so, keep an eye open for those weapon client orders, too!
The 13* NPC COs were probably the lowest effort way to get a 35 max grind 13*, especially if you have 3+ characters to run them. It is rather inconvenient that the most recent NPCs with 13* COs (Coa and Musashi) disappeared just as the new level cap and expert block rules were put into place. April 12 is the next time that 13* COs will be available (Laia and Lumia).


as an aside, freshly tekked +4 and especially +5 10* weapons work great for grinding noxes if you are low on embrace and/or don't mind missing out on a few excubes/spheres.
I was never a fan of using 10* weapons as grind fodder because of the opportunity cost in ex-cubes. I prefer using 7-9* NT weapons, since you only lose 10 grind exp versus an 10* NT at the same grind level.

[emanresuj]

it is more than 10 pts of exp i think, something like ~40 when i checked earlier. and that 40 exp per weapon really adds up (per grind attempt), especially per weapon, super especially if a great grind success occurs. regardless, it's good to know there are multiple paths to a happy nox!

[Loveless62]

it is more than 10 pts of exp i think, something like ~40 when i checked earlier. and that 40 exp per weapon really adds up (per grind attempt), especially per weapon, super especially if a great grind success occurs. regardless, it's good to know there are multiple paths to a happy nox!
So I got around to checking some stuff on SWiki...

Assuming that the target of the grind is a 12* weapon, the experience gained per fodder is:

NT 7-9* +0: 40 exp
NT 7-9* +1: 50 exp
NT 7-9* +2: 60 exp
NT 7-9* +3: 70 exp
NT 7-9* +4: 80 exp
NT 7-9* +5: 90 exp
NT 10* +0: 50 exp
NT 10* +1: 65 exp
NT 10* +2: 80 exp
NT 10* +3: 95 exp
NT 10* +4: 110 exp
NT 10* +5: 130 exp
non-NT 7-9*: 40 exp (grind level of a non-NT fodder does not matter)
non-NT 10*: 50 exp (grind level of a non-NT fodder does not matter)

If the fodder is the same type of weapon (e.g. you are grinding a sword with a sword), add +5 to the experience gained.
If the fodder has the Emper Embrace affix, add +90 to the experience gained.

The cost per using a 7-9* fodder: 16000 meseta
The cost per using a 10* fodder: 19800 meseta

There are other rules that can affect the experience gained (see "Material EXP table" on this SWiki page (https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fpso2.swiki.jp%2Findex.php%3F%E3%82% A2%E3%82%A4%E3%83%86%E3%83%A0%E5%BC%B7%E5%8C%96)), but the above is most of what is relevant for using 7-10* weapons to grind a 12*.

I can see the case for using a +5 10* but below that grind level, the difference is not that compelling, and I think i would rather trade the 10* for an ex-cube.

(Edited for clarity)

[Squal_FFVIII]

Oh I was just simply asking how to get a 13* weapon to +35 to unlock the new lvl cap that is all :) It can be any "junk" 13* weapon. From what I gathered thus far its going to take me about a month or more to get one to +35?

I don't have much time to play so I don't play much at all so this seems like a pain in the ass just to unlock the lvl 80 cap ._.

So I basically need to keep "feeding" a 13* weapon more 13* weapons of the same kind to upgrade it? So I would need 35 13* weapons of the same kind? That seems like a massive grind.

[Altiea]

Oh I was just simply asking how to get a 13* weapon to +35 to unlock the new lvl cap that is all :) It can be any "junk" 13* weapon. From what I gathered thus far its going to take me about a month or more to get one to +35?

I don't have much time to play so I don't play much at all so this seems like a pain in the ass just to unlock the lvl 80 cap ._.

So I basically need to keep "feeding" a 13* weapon more 13* weapons of the same kind to upgrade it? So I would need 35 13* weapons of the same kind? That seems like a massive grind.

Er, no. That's not how it works. Basically, all NT weapons have a default Grind Cap of +30. However, you can increase the Grind Cap by feeding it another copy of the same weapon. This can be done up to 5 times to go to +35. So you only need six copies of the weapon: one as the base weapon, and 5 more to use as fodder to increase Grind Cap.

Your original post was kinda unclear, so everyone posted replies about how to efficiently grind 13* weapons, which is to grind a 12* NT weapon, then feed that to the 13* to give it a ton of EXP in one shot without having to spend lots of money and Lambdas.

If you wanna take the lazy option, get Aura files and do LV UP Quest in your free time (fourth FQ option). The files expire next year and they're extremely simple to tackle.

[Angry_Ryudo]

About the 2016 badge option, you can exchange stones (advance, shiva, ares, etc) for 2016 badges (you can get one 2016 badge for each 100 stones).

I needed 4 copies of a 2016 Xie weapon but only had 797 badges (I needed 800), so I just had to get 3 badges. There may be more people in this situation.

[Squal_FFVIII]

Er, no. That's not how it works. Basically, all NT weapons have a default Grind Cap of +30. However, you can increase the Grind Cap by feeding it another copy of the same weapon. This can be done up to 5 times to go to +35. So you only need six copies of the weapon: one as the base weapon, and 5 more to use as fodder to increase Grind Cap.

Your original post was kinda unclear, so everyone posted replies about how to efficiently grind 13* weapons, which is to grind a 12* NT weapon, then feed that to the 13* to give it a ton of EXP in one shot without having to spend lots of money and Lambdas.

If you wanna take the lazy option, get Aura files and do LV UP Quest in your free time (fourth FQ option). The files expire next year and they're extremely simple to tackle.

Ah ok got it. So I can actually "feed" 12* NT weapons to a 13* NT weapon so that it can grind up without having to use lambda grinders. Then I just need 5 more of that same 13* NT weapon to force it to go above 30.

[Altiea]

Ah ok got it. So I can actually "feed" 12* NT weapons to a 13* NT weapon so that it can grind up without having to use lambda grinders. Then I just need 5 more of that same 13* NT weapon to force it to go above 30.

Just for some clarification, you use 1 Lambda Grinder per fodder you feed to a 13*. Anything below that uses Grinders to grind. It's more efficient to grind a 12* NT because all of the EXP on the 12* is transferred to the 13 when you sacrifice the 12* to the 13*. Thus, you can add several levels to the 13* in one go by only using a single 12* in grinding, which saves on Meseta and Lambda Grinders. At best, you can +30 a 13* with only 3 or 4 Lambda Grinders.

Grind Cap increases can be done anytime. The weapon does not have to be at +30 before you can increase Grind Cap; as long as you feed the target weapon a copy of the same weapon any time in Grinding, the Grind Cap will increase.

[Dephinix]

I thought grinding 12*s to feed to 13*s cost more, and that it was only done to save on Lambda Grinders? Or did that change?

[Altiea]

I thought grinding 12*s to feed to 13*s cost more, and that it was only done to save on Lambda Grinders? Or did that change?

I don't really know the exact costs. I assume it costs more because you have to pay the cost to feed the 12* to the 13*.

[Loveless62]

It's more efficient to grind a 12* NT because all of the EXP on the 12* is transferred to the 13 when you sacrifice the 12* to the 13*. Thus, you can add several levels to the 13* in one go by only using a single 12* in grinding, which saves on Meseta and Lambda Grinders. At best, you can +30 a 13* with only 3 or 4 Lambda Grinders.
Only HALF of the experience that went into grinding the 12* is transferred when using it to grind a 13*. It is much more meseta efficient to grind a 13* directly with Emper or 10* fodders than it is to use them to grind a 12* fodder as an intermediate step, but it costs a lot more lambda grinders. If you are not hurting for lambda grinders, you may consider skipping the 12* fodder to save a considerable amount of money.

Or you can use a mixed approach like I do: I grind the 13* directly up to +10 (often the 13* ends up near +10 or above as I push the maximum grind to 35), then I use a +27 12* fodder to push the 13* to +20 and a +30 12* fodder to grind near +30. Then I grind the 13* directly with Empers or 10*s to +35. This usually costs about 20+ lambda grinders, which is pretty acceptable as the game tends to throw lambda grinders at you from all sorts of directions. You could also try skipping the 12* used at +10 or the one at +20 depending on what is best with your available resources.


I don't really know the exact costs. I assume it costs more because you have to pay the cost to feed the 12* to the 13*.
Exact costs are difficult to calculate because of great successes and the variance in grind levels of the fodders.

[Altiea]

Only HALF of the experience that went into grinding the 12* is transferred when using it to grind a 13*. It is much more meseta efficient to grind a 13* directly with Emper or 10* fodders than it is to use them to grind a 12* fodder as an intermediate step, but it costs a lot more lambda grinders. If you are not hurting for lambda grinders, you may consider skipping the 12* fodder to save a considerable amount of money.

Or you can use a mixed approach like I do: I grind the 13* directly up to +10 (often the 13* ends up near +10 or above as I push the maximum grind to 35), then I use a +27 12* fodder to push the 13* to +20 and a +30 12* fodder to grind near +30. Then I grind the 13* directly with Empers or 10*s to +35. This usually costs about 20+ lambda grinders, which is pretty acceptable as the game tends to throw lambda grinders at you from all sorts of directions. You could also try skipping the 12* used at +10 or the one at +20 depending on what is best with your available resources.


Exact costs are difficult to calculate because of great successes and the variance in grind levels of the fodders.

Oh. Well, guess I don't know anything about NT Grinding. But now I do!

[Shinamori]

To +30 a 12NT, it's about 350K~500K if you have been hording emp fodders. Otherwise, it will be near the price of a +3- 12NT in player shop.

[emanresuj]

also! it's good to note that there is a 10% great success rate by default, with 20% percent given to the character victorious over mother, for a time period. one may then add even more great success chance by means of the great success items often given by bingo, daily order, exchange npc, etc. (you may, in fact, have tons sitting in storage this very moment.) in other words, please don't forget the mother boost to save a little of whichever dependent currency.

furthermore, i'll leave the math to you as to how valuable they are to your grindflow, but i have come to enjoy using 100%'s, especially when grinding on the 13* itself (disclaimer: i scratch.) nevertheless, during times of popular scratch, such as now, it is possible to find them for 200k or even less, yes, even on ship 2. given that:
- empe embrace outside of eq can easily reach 60-100k (+4, +5 can too, depending on how many are buying them up currently)
- they facilitate the use of lower level noxes/fewer noxes (e.g., a +20, then a +27, then a +30 with a copy of the same weapon if necessary)/fewer grind attempts in general if not using noxes
you may find them useful, too.

i also use 100%'s for the final grind(s) after a 13* is third potential unlocked — i usually save the last four 13* weapon copies (i use one copy with the +30 nox [and 100%, of course] to reach +30.xx [the 0.xx helps more than one would think]) and an embrace or +5 and that usually gets me to +34.xx or even 35 (when planets align?) in one grind. so, i usually only need a few million meseta and ~9 lambda grinders to 0-35 a 13*. and the math is really fun. and potentials are unlocked in-line rather than a separate menu. i pretty much love NT grinding, but i admit i'm an oddball.

also, i usually keep a couple sets of 12* fodder (20/27/30) just in case i get a really nice drop i'd like to use sooner than later.
also, NT experience weapons are going to be patched into the shop soon (calendar bottom of april?), so grinding may yet be easier. maybe. sega.