Engraving Manastones raises item level; Soul Binding doesn't

What people say

One guide says each Manastone adds 1 to 4 item levels depending on how good the roll is; another, that each line adds 1 if it’s gray, 2 if green and 3 if blue. Another gives 30,000 Kina per Soul Binding attempt. Several advise against spending Manastones on gear you’re going to replace, because they’re lost.

What happens

The window opens with N and has five tabs: Growth, Manastone, Theostone, Soul Binding and Transfer.

Manastone. Each “Engrave” uses one stone and 2,000 Kina, and rerolls the lines. I engraved every equipped piece once and item level went from 726 to 800. Then I re-engraved the sword several times looking for better lines, and the level didn’t move, but the new lines came out the same color as the old ones: three gray and one green. Whether a better roll raises it, as the guides say, I haven’t been able to see.

The “Auto Engrave” button engraves on its own until it meets a target. You choose grade, number of lines and stats. With the lowest grade it only lets you ask for one line; with “Superior or Higher”, two. The lines that can roll, with their range:

Line	Range
Attack	1 to 3
Defense	10 to 30
Accuracy Bonus	5 to 7
Evasion Bonus	5 to 7
Critical Hit	5 to 7
Critical Hit Resist	5 to 7
Block	7 to 10
HP	30 to 60
MP	15 to 30

Soul Binding. It raises the stats the piece already has toward their cap. Two attempts left the Bakarma chest piece at 88.6%. The next one asked for 59,000 Kina, and on the boots 42,000, plus Soul Codex. After three attempts, item level was still 800.

What to do

• Engrave a Manastone on every new piece you put on, even if it’s just for a while: it raises item level for 2,000 Kina.
• Soul Binding improves stats, but not the level. Re-engraving only raises it if better-colored lines roll. Save both for pieces you’ll keep for a while, and for when you have Kina to spare.
• Before extracting an old piece, check the Transfer tab.