The ability to Forge equipment from raw materials is one of the most effective ways to obtain new gear if you’re short on funds (like I always am). Money is not easy to come by in this game and while fighting monsters is a reliable source of income, they are unfortunately not very generous in that regard. And given how expensive weapons and armor can be at shops, it is imperative you learn how to craft equipment from scratch as soon as possible.

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The crafting mechanic is introduced when Erik gives you the Fun-sized forge the first time you pass through the Manglegrove’s campsite. After which it will be available for use whenever you set up camp to spend the night outdoors. On that note, it needs to be said that you can only use the portable forge at campsites.

EditCrafting Materials and Recipe Books

Aside from the portable forge, crafting gear from scratch also requires knowing which raw materials are needed to build them. The recipe books you find in bookshelves and treasure chests or by completing favors around the world, will unlock new equipment for the protagonist to build at the forge.

As for the raw materials, they are usually found in sparkly spots in different locations throughout the game. These shiny spots carry a specific item that does not change, and will respawn over time once harvested.

The idea is to hammer on the specific spots of the item until the meter fills up to the green zone. Anything less or more is not ideal. You can miss the mark on a few spots and the item will still turn out fine. So long as you don’t mess up too much. Once you’re done hammering, appraise the product to get an idea on how it would turn out. Select finish if you’re happy with the result.

Depending on how well you did with the hammering, appraising the end product can tell you how much bonus it will be getting: “pretty well” (+1), “really well” (+2), and “brilliantly (+3). A failed attempt does make an item totally useless. It just means you only get the basic equipment with no stat bonuses.

If half of the gauges on an item fills up yellow without exceeding the green zone, the resulting item will receive the highest possible bonus of +3. In addition, every successful forging attempt gives perfectionist Pearls which allows you to rework an item and improve it. The higher the item’s rank, the more pearls you get for each successful build. You can always spend pearls to rework something you bought at a shop to make it better. But do save the pearls to improve on the really good items only.

Also keep in mind that nearly every move you make at the forge requires focus which depletes with every action. If you run out of focus in the middle of a project, you will be forced to end the process and the attempt will end in failure. Your focus automatically increases as you progress through the story, so it would be best to leave higher rank items for much later in the game. Always save before attempting to craft something.

These are special abilities you can use to make work on item easier. Each of these abilities require a certain amount of focus to use.

Choose what’s best for the item you’re working on to avoid inadvertently messing up a project. You also automatically gain these abilities as you progress through the game.