Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Mastering the crafting system in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is crucial for optimizing your gear and tackling higher difficulties. This detailed guide will break down every essential crafting material, where to find it, and the most efficient strategies for acquisition.

Essential Crafting Materials

There are four primary crafting materials you'll be collecting throughout your adventures in the Reikland:

• Scrap: The most common material, used for basic crafting, upgrading item rarity (Green to Blue), and re-rolling properties.
• Dust (Green, Blue, Orange): Rarity-specific dusts are vital for upgrading item rarity (e.g., Green Dust for upgrading a Common item to Uncommon). Each dust corresponds to a specific rarity tier.
• Shattered Pieces (Orange): Used for upgrading items to the highest rarity (Legendary) and for crafting certain high-tier illusions.
• Weave Dust (Athanor Dust, Syrin Dust, etc.): Exclusively used within the Winds of Magic expansion's Athanor crafting system for upgrading Amulets, Trinkets, and Charms with specific Weave properties.

Acquisition Strategies

1. Mission Rewards & Loot

The most straightforward way to acquire crafting materials is by completing missions and opening loot chests. The quality and quantity of materials received are directly tied to the difficulty level and the type of chest.

• Difficulty Scaling:
  • Recruit & Veteran: Primarily yield Scrap and Green Dust.
  • Champion: Introduces Blue Dust alongside Scrap and Green Dust.
  • Legend & Cataclysm: Best sources for Orange Dust and Shattered Pieces, in addition to all lower-tier materials.
• Chest Types:
  • Emperor's Vault (Legend/Cataclysm): Highest chance for Orange Dust and Shattered Pieces.
  • General's Vault (Legend/Cataclysm): Good source for Orange Dust.
  • Soldier's/Peasant's Chests (Lower Difficulties): Primarily Scrap and Green Dust.
• Tome & Grimoire Bonuses: Always aim to collect all 3 Tomes and 2 Grimoires in a mission. Each collected item significantly increases the quality of your end-of-mission chest, directly impacting material yields.

2. Salvaging Unwanted Gear

Salvaging is your primary method for converting unwanted equipment into valuable crafting materials. This is where you'll gain the bulk of your Scrap and various Dusts.

• Salvage Rarity Breakdown:
  • Common (White) Items: Yield Scrap.
  • Uncommon (Green) Items: Yield Scrap and Green Dust.
  • Rare (Blue) Items: Yield Scrap and Blue Dust.
  • Exotic (Orange) Items: Yield Scrap and Orange Dust.
  • Legendary (Red) Items: Yield Shattered Pieces. While tempting, consider carefully before salvaging Red items as they have perfect stats and unique illusions. Only salvage duplicates if absolutely necessary.
• Strategic Salvaging:

  As you progress, you'll accumulate vast amounts of lower-rarity gear. Regularly visit the crafting menu at the Keep and salvage all Common, Uncommon, and most Rare items you don't intend to use. This keeps your inventory clean and your material reserves topped up.

3. Daily & Weekly Quests (Olesya's Challenges)

Olesya, found near the mission board in the Keep, offers daily and weekly quests. Completing these often rewards specific crafting materials, sometimes in significant quantities, or even commendation chests which can contain materials.

• Daily Quests: Typically reward small amounts of Scrap or Dust for completing simple tasks like "Kill 100 Skaven" or "Complete 1 Mission on Veteran."
• Weekly Quests: Offer more substantial rewards, including larger stacks of Orange Dust or Shattered Pieces, for more challenging objectives like "Complete 3 Missions on Legend with all Tomes & Grimoires." Prioritize these!

4. Weave Dust Acquisition (Winds of Magic DLC)

Weave Dusts are distinct and only obtainable through the Winds of Magic game mode. They are essential for progressing in the Athanor crafting system.

• Athanor Dust: Acquired by completing Weaves. The higher the Weave difficulty and the better your performance, the more Athanor Dust you'll receive.
• Syrin Dust, Hysh Dust, etc.: These specific Weave Dusts are obtained by completing Weaves that correspond to their respective Wind of Magic. For example, completing a Syrin (Life) Weave will reward Syrin Dust.
• Weave Quests: Similar to Olesya's quests, the Athanor also offers daily and weekly challenges that reward specific Weave Dusts.

5. Event Rewards

Keep an eye out for seasonal events or special in-game promotions. These often provide unique opportunities to earn large quantities of crafting materials, sometimes even rare ones like Shattered Pieces, as rewards for participation or completing event-specific challenges.

Efficient Farming Tips

• Speed Runs: For quick Scrap and Green/Blue Dust, run short missions on Champion difficulty, focusing on objectives rather than full clears. Maps like "Horn of Magnus" or "Righteous Stand" are popular choices.
• Legend/Cataclysm Grinding: Once comfortable, consistently playing Legend or Cataclysm with full Tome/Grimoire collection is the most efficient way to accumulate Orange Dust and Shattered Pieces.
• Salvage Everything Else: Develop a habit of regularly salvaging any gear that isn't a direct upgrade or a specific item you're saving for a build. Your material reserves will thank you.
• Prioritize Weekly Quests: Always check Olesya's and the Athanor's weekly quests. The rewards are often substantial and can significantly boost your material stockpiles.

Mastering the art of crafting and transmutation in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is crucial for any aspiring hero looking to survive the relentless hordes of the End Times. This detailed guide will walk you through the intricacies of the forge, from breaking down unwanted gear to forging powerful new weapons and rerolling properties for that perfect build.

The Forge: Your Hub for Creation

All crafting and transmutation actions are performed at the Forge, located in the Keep. Speak to Olesya, the enigmatic sorceress, to access the crafting menu. The Forge offers several distinct functions, each vital for optimizing your arsenal.

Breaking Down Items (Salvaging)

Salvaging allows you to dismantle unwanted weapons, trinkets, necklaces, and charms into crafting materials. This is your primary source of raw components.

• Accessing Salvage: From the Forge menu, select the "Salvage" tab.
• Selecting Items: Your inventory will be displayed. Click on any item you wish to salvage. You can select multiple items at once.
• Material Yield: The type and quantity of materials received depend on the rarity of the item salvaged:
  • Common (White) Items: Yield Scrap (green quality material).
  • Uncommon (Green) Items: Yield Scrap and a small chance for Dust (blue quality material).
  • Rare (Blue) Items: Yield Dust and a small chance for Shards (orange quality material).
  • Exotic (Orange) Items: Yield Shards and a small chance for Gems (red quality material).
  • Veteran (Red) Items: Yield a significant amount of Gems.
• Strategy: Always salvage lower-tier items you don't need. Even common items contribute to your material reserves. Prioritize salvaging duplicate Exotic or Veteran items if you have better versions or don't use them.

Crafting New Items

Crafting allows you to create new weapons, trinkets, necklaces, and charms using your collected materials. This is essential for filling gaps in your gear or trying out new weapon types.

• Accessing Crafting: From the Forge menu, select the "Craft" tab.
• Choosing Item Type: Select the category of item you wish to craft (e.g., Melee Weapon, Ranged Weapon, Necklace).
• Rarity Selection: You can choose the rarity of the item you want to craft. Higher rarities require more advanced materials:
  • Common (White): Requires Scrap.
  • Uncommon (Green): Requires Scrap and Dust.
  • Rare (Blue): Requires Dust and Shards.
  • Exotic (Orange): Requires Shards and Gems.
  • Veteran (Red): Cannot be directly crafted. Veteran items are obtained through specific means like completing Legend difficulty missions with full Tomes and Grimoires, or from Emperor's Vaults.
• Power Level: Crafted items will have a power level based on your hero's current highest possible power level. Crafting higher rarity items at a lower power level can be a good way to quickly increase your overall power.
• Strategy: Crafting is excellent for acquiring specific weapon types you haven't found yet, or for upgrading your gear's power level. Don't be afraid to craft blue or orange items to push your power level higher, even if their properties aren't perfect, as you can salvage them later.

Upgrading Item Rarity

You can upgrade the rarity of an existing item, improving its potential and unlocking more property and trait slots.

• Accessing Upgrade: From the Forge menu, select the "Upgrade" tab.
• Selecting Item: Choose the item you wish to upgrade from your inventory.
• Material Cost: Upgrading rarity costs materials appropriate to the target rarity. For example, upgrading a Green item to Blue will cost Dust and Shards. Upgrading an Orange item to Red (Veteran) costs a significant amount of Gems.
• Benefits:
  • Increased Power Level: Upgrading an item's rarity does not increase its power level.
  • Additional Properties/Traits: Upgrading unlocks more property and trait slots. For example, a Green item has one property, a Blue has two, and an Orange/Red has two properties and a trait.
  • Improved Stat Rolls: Upgrading an item to a higher rarity will reroll its properties and trait, potentially giving you better rolls.
• Strategy: This is crucial for obtaining the desired properties and traits on your favorite weapons. Upgrade items to Orange rarity first to unlock all slots, then focus on rerolling properties and traits.

Rerolling Properties

Properties are the two bonus stats on weapons, necklaces, charms, and trinkets (e.g., +Critical Hit Chance, +Power vs. Skaven). Rerolling them allows you to fine-tune your gear for specific builds.

• Accessing Reroll Properties: From the Forge menu, select the "Reroll Properties" tab.
• Selecting Item: Choose the item with properties you wish to reroll.
• Cost: Rerolling properties costs Dust (blue quality material). The cost increases with each subsequent reroll on the same item within a session, so be mindful of your resources.
• Process: When you reroll, one of the two properties on the item will change to a random new property with a random value within its range. You can choose to accept the new property or keep the old one.
• Targeting Specific Properties: If you want to change only one specific property, you can lock the other property by clicking the padlock icon next to it. This will ensure only the unlocked property is rerolled. Locking a property significantly increases the cost of the reroll.
• Strategy: Identify the key properties for your build (e.g., Crit Chance and Attack Speed on a melee weapon). Use the locking mechanism sparingly due to increased costs, but it's invaluable for getting that perfect combination.

Rerolling Traits

Traits are the unique abilities found on Exotic (Orange) and Veteran (Red) items (e.g., Swift Slaying, Resourceful Combatant). Rerolling them allows you to swap out unwanted traits for more beneficial ones.

• Accessing Reroll Traits: From the Forge menu, select the "Reroll Traits" tab.
• Selecting Item: Choose the Exotic or Veteran item with the trait you wish to reroll.
• Cost: Rerolling traits costs Shards (orange quality material). Similar to properties, the cost increases with each subsequent reroll on the same item within a session.
• Process: When you reroll, the item's trait will change to a random new trait. You can choose to accept the new trait or keep the old one.
• Strategy: Traits are often build-defining. Research which traits synergize best with your chosen career and weapon. For example, Swift Slaying is a popular choice for many melee weapons, while Scrounger is excellent for ranged weapons that consume a lot of ammo.

Transmuting Materials

Transmutation allows you to convert lower-tier crafting materials into higher-tier ones, or vice-versa. This is essential for managing your material economy.

• Accessing Transmutation: From the Forge menu, select the "Transmute" tab.
• Converting Up: You can convert 5 units of a lower-tier material into 1 unit of the next higher tier. For example, 5 Scrap can become 1 Dust. This is crucial when you have an abundance of common materials but need rarer ones for upgrades or crafting.
• Converting Down: You can convert 1 unit of a higher-tier material into 3 units of the next lower tier. For example, 1 Shards can become 3 Dust. This is useful if you have a surplus of rare materials but need more common ones for rerolling properties or crafting many low-tier items.
• Material Tiers:
  • Scrap (Green)
  • Dust (Blue)
  • Shards (Orange)
  • Gems (Red)
• Strategy: Regularly check your material reserves. If you're constantly running out of Dust for rerolling properties, transmute some of your excess Shards down. Conversely, if you're struggling to get enough Gems for Veteran item upgrades, transmute your Shards up.

Optimal Crafting Workflow

Follow this general workflow for efficient gear progression:

1. Salvage Regularly: After every few missions, go to the Forge and salvage all unwanted items, especially lower rarity ones.
2. Increase Power Level: If your hero's power level is below 300, prioritize crafting or upgrading items to the highest rarity you can afford to quickly raise your power. Don't worry too much about perfect properties at this stage.
3. Acquire Exotic (Orange) Items: Once your power level is maxed (300 base + 300 from items = 600 total), focus on getting Exotic items for all your slots. Craft them, find them in chests, or upgrade blue items.
4. Reroll Properties: Once you have Exotic items, start rerolling their properties to get the desired stats for your build. Use Dust for this.
5. Reroll Traits: After properties are set, reroll traits using Shards to get the best synergy for your playstyle.
6. Transmute as Needed: Use the Transmute function to balance your material economy, converting up or down as required for your current crafting goals.
7. Veteran (Red) Items: These are the ultimate goal. They have maxed-out properties and traits. They cannot be crafted directly but are found in Emperor's Vaults from Legend difficulty or by upgrading an Exotic item to Red using Gems.

By diligently using the Forge's capabilities, you'll soon equip your heroes with the finest gear, ready to face any challenge the Skaven and Chaos forces throw your way.