Transmutation: when it beats buying

What transmuting is

Transmuting turns one raw resource into one better raw resource for a silver fee. You do it in the Transmute tab of a refining station, the same building you refine at. There are two directions:

• Tier up: T5 ore into T6 ore, keeping the enchant (a T5.2 becomes a T6.2).
• Enchant up: T6 ore into T6.1 ore, keeping the tier.

T6.2 oreRare Runite Oresilverusing silverT6.3 oreExceptional Runite Oresilverusing silverT7.3 oreExceptional Meteorite Ore

It only goes up, one step at a time, and only for raw resources: ore, wood, hide, fiber and stone. You can't transmute refined bars, planks, leather or cloth, and stone stops at .3.

What it costs

The base fee for one resource, before the server price factor (next section):

Two things stand out. Each enchant step costs two to four times the one before, and the jump to .4 is the steepest. Tiering up an enchanted resource also costs much more than tiering up a plain one: T7 to T8 is 5,000 at .0 but 155,925 at .3. Stone follows its own, cheaper table (T7.3 to T8.3 is 40,960).

The server price factor

The fee you see at the station is the base fee times a factor the game sets on each server and doesn't publish. So before trusting any number, including this guide's, check one transmute in game:

1. Open the Transmute tab and pick a resource.
2. Note the silver cost it shows for one.
3. Divide it by the base fee in the table above. That's your server's factor (1.2 means 20% more than the table).

Put that factor in the calculator and every result uses your real cost. The examples below use the base fees (a factor of 1).

Compare transmuting with buying, with live prices

When it pays

Most of the time it doesn't. On Americas, of the 144 transmutes where the result sells at least 200 a day, only 20 beat buying the result, and most by a few thousand silver. Europe was similar: 28 of 161. The ones that paid on October 27:

"Left after fees" takes off a 6.5% sell order cost (tax and setup with premium). And the common, cheap transmutes lose money: T4 ore costs 113 and 781 to transmute, but T5 ore sells for about 393, so you lose about 500 on every one.

How to check a transmute in one minute

1. Find your server's factor once (above).
2. In the calculator, pick the resource, tier and enchant you want to end up with. It shows every route into it, what each costs, and the cheapest place to buy the source.
3. Compare the total with what the result sells for, not just the cheapest listing. A lone listing at a high price doesn't mean anyone buys there. Check how much sells per day on the item's page.
4. Take off the 6.5% sell order cost if you're selling. If there's still a margin, transmute.

Good reasons to transmute

• Finishing a refine or craft. You're 30 short of T6.2 hide, the market is thin, and hauling from another city takes longer than paying the fee. Transmuting saves the trip.
• Gatherers with a surplus. A stack of .3 that doesn't sell well can become .4 that does. Check the margin first.
• Price gaps. When a result sells for more than source plus fee plus 6.5%, it's a small, steady flip that needs no travel.

Mistakes that eat the profit

• Trusting base fees. Check your server's factor before a big batch.
• Chaining several steps. Each step adds a fee; buying the end result is usually cheaper.
• Comparing with a listing nobody buys. Use what actually sells per day.
• Forgetting the sell fee. 6.5% of a 36,000 resource is 2,400, half the margin on the best transmute.

Check a transmute with live prices