Gear and Etchings

Status: Partially Implemented

This page defines how ChonkyCraft should handle permanent gear, upgrades, and scroll-based enchantment.

Current implementation baseline:

• armor sets are now live through the current Frontier, Deep Frontier, and locked Breach phase ladder
• the first classic-material forged-band and gemforged baselines are now live too, with Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, and Sapphire armor, tools, sword lines, and a first staff plus summon-focus baseline
• the first Edge, Ward, Stride, Glide, Hover, Craft, and Call Etch Scroll families are now live
• the Field Anvil now has a first broader same-item target-slot upgrade flow for Rootcleaver, Sap Scepter, Brood Whistle, Springstep Anklet, Archive Grapnel, Longline Grapnel, Voidquill Tome, Shadeweave Wrap, Duskveil Mantle, and Prismplate Aegis
• that same weapon and traversal lane now also has a first deep-frontier second-tier extension, so early favorite items do not flatline after the archive breakthrough
• the Field Anvil now also has a first dedicated target-slot Etch Scroll application flow for Edge, Ward, Stride, Glide, Hover, Craft, and Call
• the first target-based gear conversion is now live too, with Archive Grapnel carrying its current Etching and upgrade tier forward into Longline Grapnel
• the Relic Table is now live as the first relic-fusion station, with an expanded fused relic branch through Galeshroud Talisman, Inkglass Band, Veilplate Sigil, Skyprism Crest, Starwake Halo, Seamwake Diadem, and Worldthread Emblem
• the Relic Table now also has a first same-item relic-upgrade branch for the fused relic ladder plus Horizon Crown, so the late relic path is no longer flat after crafting
• the late relic and breach-mobility line now also has a second-tier upgrade pass, so the strongest relic path can keep scaling through the current capstone band
• relic summaries are now tier-aware, so upgraded relic outputs explain their stronger effects directly in station detail panels and normal item tooltips
• the first controller-safer relic management baseline is now live too, with the Relic Table surfacing unlocked and occupied relic slots directly in its station UI plus dedicated in-station bind, move, replace, swap, and clear actions
• live relic items now surface short effect summaries in both station recipe details and ordinary item tooltips, so attunement choices are readable without trial-and-error
• attuned relics now also participate in compatible etching bonuses, so movement etches can matter on live relic loadouts instead of only on worn armor or held items
• handheld Etch Scroll use still exists as a fallback path, but it is no longer the only way to apply those first etch families

The target is to preserve one of the best Necesse feelings:

you craft gear to keep it, improve it, and customize it

Not:

you finally craft something good and then babysit its durability

Design Goals

• Progression gear should support adventure instead of interrupting it
• Crafted tools, weapons, and armor should feel worth investing in
• Favorite gear should be improvable without flattening the whole progression ladder
• Enchantment-style customization should come through readable scroll-based upgrades
• Gear should unlock meaningful capabilities, not only number bumps
• The whole system should stay controller-friendly and easy to understand in co-op

Core Rule

Crafted progression gear should be non-breaking under ordinary play.

That means:

• No routine durability drain on progression weapons
• No routine durability drain on progression armor
• No routine durability drain on progression tools
• Player effort should go into upgrades and customization, not maintenance

If any breakable vanilla gear survives early implementation, the project should move players out of that loop quickly.

Upgrade Philosophy

The point of upgrading gear is to preserve attachment and build identity, not to let one early item outscale the whole game forever.

Rules:

• Gear lines can have controlled upgrade paths
• Upgrades should usually extend relevance by a phase or two, not through the whole game
• Boss materials are good candidates for upgrades because they make victories feel tangible
• Upgrades should be visible and understandable at the Field Anvil or later equivalent stations

Capability-First Gear

Gear should feel exciting because it changes what the player can do.

Target capability directions:

• jump higher
• jump farther
• move faster on the ground
• dash more cleanly
• glide safely
• hover briefly
• reduce fall punishment
• improve airborne control
• enable later controlled flight support

Rule:

• Capability unlocks should arrive in a readable ladder instead of all at once
• Early upgrades should improve movement without trivializing terrain
• Later upgrades can approach glide, hover, and flight as major progression rewards

Tool Rules

Tools should improve in ways that matter to exploration:

• Faster harvesting
• Better harvest tiers
• New extraction or survival utility
• Biome-specific convenience

Tools should not exist mainly as durability containers.

Current locked direction:

• tool progression should follow the harvest-band ladder in Ore Registry, not a flat one-best-material curve
• Copper, Iron, Emerald, Quartz, Diamond, Ruby, and Sapphire are the main candidates for full vanilla-style tool families
• later regional materials do not all need full pickaxe, axe, shovel, and hoe sets if their stronger role is upgrades, relics, staffs, summons, or specialist weapons
• the previous harvest band must always be able to mine the entry materials of the next band, so no tool family is self-locked out of existence

This means a tool line can matter in two different ways:

• it grants access to a new mining band
• it offers a different playstyle inside the same band through speed, reach, utility, enchantability, or combat fit

Weapon and Armor Rules

• Weapons should progress through crafting, upgrades, and Etchings
• Armor should progress through crafted sets, upgrades, and focused bonuses
• Signature weapons can have slightly stronger upgrade identity than generic gear
• New biome gear should still matter even when upgrades exist for old favorites
• classic-material lines such as Emerald, Quartz, Ruby, and Sapphire should support easy armor and weapon entry points before later regional upgrades take over
• simple hybrid recipes such as wood + gem staffs and bone or string + gem summon foci are in scope because they give the ladder early readable class identity

Etching System

The project's enchantment equivalent is the Etching system.

Current direction:

• Etch Scrolls are scroll-like consumables that apply or replace an Etching
• Etchings are readable gear modifiers, not obscure hidden math
• Most Etch Scrolls should belong to a recognizable family or effect direction
• Rare or boss-linked scrolls can grant more distinctive signature effects

Etch Scroll Rules

• Scrolls should clearly communicate which gear they affect
• Scrolls should signal their effect family before the player spends them
• Replacing an Etching should be explicit and understandable
• Applying a scroll should never destroy the gear item itself
• The system can include some variance, but should not become a full reroll casino

Current implementation note:

• Replacing a different Etching now requires a second confirm-use with the same scroll on the same equipped target

Current effect-family direction:

• Edge: damage, crit, armor break, attack tempo
• Ward: armor, resist, sustain, hazard protection
• Stride: movement, dash, mount, grapnel, airborne support
• Glide: safer drops, longer leaps, aerial control, and deep-frontier descent support
• Hover: crouch-held air stalls, steadier midair positioning, and breach-grade route control
• Craft: harvesting, yield, expedition utility, repairless tool quality of life
• Call: summon and companion support

These family names are working direction, not final naming.

Acquisition Rules

Etch Scrolls should come from:

• Regional mob drops where the family fit is readable
• Boss rewards
• Structure chests
• Elite hunts
• Outpost services
• Contracts and field-guide rewards
• Crafted conversions at higher-tier stations

The player should not need to rely on one miserable random source.

UI Rules

The player should always be able to answer:

• Is this item upgradeable?
• What can this scroll apply to?
• What Etching is already on the item?
• What changes if I replace it?

UI rules:

• Show the current Etching clearly
• Show the replacement result clearly
• Warn before replacement
• Keep compatible item lists readable
• Keep controller focus order stable

Co-op Rules

• Important gear-upgrade items should be fair in multiplayer
• Boss-linked upgrade materials should not soft-lock the second player
• Scroll systems should be understandable for both players even if only one likes menu diving
• Shared progression should not hide upgrade paths from late joiners

Anti-Patterns

Avoid:

• Durability as the main balancing lever for adventure gear
• Upgrades that invalidate every new drop forever
• Scrolls with no readable compatibility or effect direction
• Enchantment systems that only feel understandable after wiki lookup
• Destroy-risk or gotcha interactions when replacing an Etching

Pack and Mod Split

Use the pack layer for:

• Recipe-browser support around upgrades
• Minor drop-rate tuning for scrolls or upgrade materials

Use the custom mod for:

• Non-breaking progression gear definitions
• Upgrade paths and upgrade recipes
• Etch Scroll items and Etching logic
• Application UI and replacement flow

Current Direction by Phase Band

• Frontier Band: establish the first non-breaking crafted gear and simple Etch Scroll families
• Deep Frontier Band: expand gear upgrades so boss materials meaningfully improve favorite items and open stronger movement capabilities
• Breach Band: introduce more distinctive signature Etchings, glide or hover support, and high-tier traversal capability without turning the system into uncontrolled affix clutter