All the Forges

The level 50 epic charms are the strongest charms in the game, hands down. They are also the highest-stat-requirement, biggest pain-in-the-ass-to-gather-materials-for, and tricky to find, as well.

Requirements: At minimum, you need to be able to relatively easily and reliably beat Prelex fight 2; you will also need to have gotten at least most of the way through the Mirage Tower hidden quest, which I swear, I really will get around to writing a guide for someday. I'm not sure if you actually need to have found Lizina's Jewelry, but you won't be able to craft anything at the forges if you haven't; to find Lizina's in Draka, you (as far as I know) need to have beaten Crimson Kata Mines and Dark Tide.

You'll also need to craft some Kyud's Analyzers; you won't need 5, but more than one will increase your odds of drawing it during a fight; if you win a fight but don't draw an Analyzer you'll need to wait until it resets to try again. I'd say 3 is probably sufficient. Aside from totally hosing you, this handy little charm lets you level up [Taunt] and more importantly, if it's used in a fight where it encounters a powerful artifact, it will generate a report describing the materials used to craft the item -- and more importantly, the location where it was crafted.

With your Analyzer in hand, it's time to go visit some baddies who have cool stuff. There are five fights; you need to beat them while also playing an Analyzer. Naturally, these are fights where self-purging and/or doing self-spirit-damage is going to make your life....complicated.


Forge of Antila: Frost/Holy/Earth
-First stop: Sir Florian the Vigilant, Burdens of Faith Fight 4. You're probably used to using auras to heal yourself and maybe to generate armor as well; purge yourself at the wrong time and you can kiss all that goodbye. Self-purge doesn't remove banes though, so the basic mechanics of the fight (give yourself armor, play EAs to load him up on armor, watch armor EXPLODE) will still work - you just need to heal yourself with Drug Inhibitors and the like, and play non-aura armor charms.

-Succeed at both beating and Analyzing Florian, and you'll get a report on his sword: what it was made out of, and more importantly that the forge is located WNW (West NorthWest) of your current location. What does that mean? That means we're headed to Eversweep.

-In Eversweep, with the report in your inventory, you can gather and find the Antechamber of Antila. Antechamber fights can be tough. They tend to force you to use the same time of charms as the forge itself uses; in this case that's Vita charms (Frost, Holy and Earth). Using any melee runes or any Kata runes (even on dual-rune charms) will result in your insta-death. Fortunately, support runes are NOT prohibited, so you can use buffs/tech/etc to your hearts content. Magic cpb with Ice Spikes and the like will work fine, as will aura/projection type stuff with Crystal of the Dawn/Crystalline Ice etc, as should a hybrid combination of the two. Win the fight and you'll get a key that will allow you to gather and find the Forge of Antila.


Forge of Caelum: Axe/Spear/Mace
-Since we're in Eversweep, let's visit an old opponent - King Baralas Duskwing, from King of No Man Fight 4. Of course, the Kyud's Analyzer is going to purge Underworld Bond, so you're going to have do enough damage to kill him without any help. Since you can't be sure when you're going to pull your Analyzer, you'll also want to avoid CPB or Auras which would get wiped out by your self-purge. Which pretty much means you're going to be using Banes or Summons, with enough debuffs and armor/ward to not get killed by Baralas.

-Succeed and you get an Analysis Report for Baralas' Crown, telling you what his crown was made of and saying the Forge location is NNE. So with report in hand you're off to Night Tear, to gather and find the Antechamber of Caelum.

-This fight is all about the Large Weapons (Axe/Mace/Spear). Playing Small Weapons or Support Runes will result in your insta-death, and your opponent is mostly immune to magic attacks. So, three sets of Hyphused, Slash and Thrust, a few solid defensive charms like Pyric Charge and a few more big-hit Axes/Maces/Spears and off you go. Just remember: No Night Cloaks (or any other Buff runes); and no mixed Large Weapon/support rune dual-rune charms, like Battle Dance or any of those. Overall though, not the toughest of the Antechambers. Win and you get the key that will allow you to gather and find the Forge of Caelum itself.


Forge of Circinus: Sword/Fist/Twinblades
-The third dungeon fight you need to analyze is one of (in)famous difficulty even without needing to run one or more Analyzers - Murder of Prelex Fight 2. You had to know they were gonna send you here, right? Fortunately though, there's nothing about this fight that makes self-purge particularly nasty, aside from the limitations it imposes on the strategies you can use, and the 2 self-spirit is just a drop in the bucket compared to the spirit damage Hammond can dish out, so you were probably running decent amounts of Willpower anyways. If you already use banes to beat the fight (like me), just stick an Analyzer or two in and you may hardly even notice the difference.

-Analysis Report of Hammond's Dagger will send you off to Windscar.

-The Antechamber of Circinus instakills you for using Large Weapons or Support charms, and the mechanics of the fight itself pretty heavily force you towards using a pure Small Weapons deck. Once again, having all three of the appropriate sets of Hyphused Weapons will make your life easier; some focus and Twinblade target-lowest-hp charms for keeping your damage aimed where it will do the most good will help a lot, too. Get the key and you can unlock the Forge of Circinus.


Forge of Fornax: Shadow/Fire/Lightning
-The devs are tricky tricky bastards. This isn't just a five-star event - it's a five star event that is a pain in the ass to beat under normal circumstances and is one that you have to have jumped through several other hoops to find in the first place. It's Salamath's Lab in Draka. Usual (easiest, most reliable) method of beating this involves short-decking it, using Mana Needle to steal some huge boosts and some AOE charms to kill off all the fire traps with those huge boosts you stole. Naturally, self-purge will eliminate any boost you've accumulated, and even 2 spirit damage is a pain in the ass for a 10 or 15 charm short deck. Best advice I can give is to add one or two Analyzers, as many Luminous Ideas as you've got, and just try it until it works.

-Once you've successfully gotten the Analysis Report you're headed off to Gaea's Dawn with it.

-The Antechamber of Fornax can be a tough one too, unless you're a Pyro in which case it's probably a breeze. Melee weapons and Vita runes will get you instakilled (the lack of Vita rules out a lot of magic CPB), summons get hosed, and the baddie Cleanses, which if you're an Inquisitor like me means you can kiss a lot of your Shadow runes goodbye, too. Soo, just basically magic/burst your way through like a good little Pyro. Unlocking the Forge of Fornax will get you access to Howl of Algol which is a pretty awesome upgrade to Shadowflame, and Storm of Alcyone, which is just a straight-up ridiculously overpowered and terrifying charm, I guess to try and compensate for how shitty Lightning is for most of the game.


Forge of Norma: Buff/Debuff/Summon/Spirit
-Our last one is also a five-star event, maybe the easiest one to beat while Analyzing but it's pretty random to figure out that this fight is one you're supposed to Analyze. It's the Polluted Cave in Skyrift. As per usual, self-purge limits your strategic options but banes and summons both should work just fine. Kill the monster and get yourself an analysis report for the Hyphine Dispenser.

-This analysis report has pretty limited possibilities; if you know it ain't Triland, it shouldn't be hard to figure out you're headed to Wildhowl.

-The Antechamber of Norma is a tricksy one: melee weapons get you instakilled and it is mostly immune to direct attacks. That means you're looking at banes, summons or auras; I haven't tried it with auras but it's apparently hard enough to do that way to cause some whining on the forums so you might be best off sticking to banes or summons. Banes, as usual in PvE fights with no cleanse, are pretty much awesome. Unlock the Forge of Norma and congratulations! You should have completed The Head in the Stars achievement. Now start collecting fruity pebbles and getting your stats up so you can actually use some of these charms!

First, you need to defeat the Polluted Cave in skyrift. I used:

Kyud's Analyzer x3
Phoenix Offspring x5
Crimson Devil x5
Granite Golem x2
Bel'Hathal x5
Pegasus x5
Frozen Spirit x4
Kata Elemental x5
Berserker Pixie x5
Empathy x5
Accoutrement of Misery x5
Winged Lance x5
Earthen Spirit x2
Buried Alive x5
Barren Earth x5

Then, you move to Wildhowl....gather....defeat the forge using gear listed below, then gather again to finish it up!! Start collecting the fruitty pebbles!!!


Contagion x2
Grallan's Rancor x1
Poisonous Fog x5
Chimera Bile x5
Hateful Flame x5
Faked Mercy x3
Staff of Decay x5
Gloom Knell x5
Drug Inhibitor x3
Shifting Scourge x5
Petrification x5
Purifying Flames x4
Firebrand x5
Six-Points Crystal Ward x2
Yoga Training x1
Side Effect x5
Poisoner's Pride x5

Ok, first, you have to go to Lumina, fight the Burdens of Faith and use this gear (or one very similar to it). Kyud's Analyzer must be played during the fight. Do not use melee or you will lose automatically!!

Emblem of Support x5
Echo Shield x5
Challenger's Armor x2
Lightning Arc x5
Lightning Reflexes x5
Forked Lightning x5
Lightning Spike x5
Blue Dragon Bone x5
Ice Spikes x4
Ephemeral Shade x2
Icy Winds x5
Moondrop Water x5
Quick Jolt x5
Black Mark x2
Forest Medicine x1
Bittersweet Magic x2
Kyud"s Analyzer x2

The Antechamber is found in Eversweep...I kicked it's ass using:

Lightflake x5
Ice Spikes x4
Icy Winds x5
Ice Scabbard x2
Demon Heart x5
Sapping Floe x5
Frozen Grave x5
Ice of Colith x2
Enhancing Light x5
Bittersweet Magic x5
Winter Celebration x5
Trailblazer x5
Hailstorm x5
Light of Colith x3
The God's Promise x5

Now, while you are in Eversweep, fight The King of No Man with a gear loaded with banes and again, NO MELEE. Here's what I used:

Kyud's Analyzer x2
Persistent Disease x4
Exacerbating Talons x5
Contagion x5
Poisoner's Pride x5
Poisonous Fog x5
Staff of Decay x5
Hateful Flame x5
Nervous Poison x2
Chimera Bile x3
Power Leak x5
Curse of Impotence x5
Feet Bind x5
Magebane Poison x5
Gloom Knell x5

After this fight (and a win), you need to go to Night Tear, gather and fight the Antechamber of Caelum. Fight this with large melee weapons (meaning NO support charms, magic runes or small melee weapons) like axes, maces or spears. Here's what I used:

Slash and Thrust x3
Grounding Lance x5
Colithon Spear x1
Mana-Powered Thruster x5
Niflungar Lance x5
Niflungar Spear x5
Echoing Lance x5
Commander's Glory x5
Eroded Wave Splitter x5
Good Night x5
Hyphused Crusher x5
Hyphused Swinger x5
Hyphused Piercer x5

For the Forge of Circinus you need to go to Zeal and fight the second fight of A Murder of Prelex while again, using the Kyud's Analyzer. You will then go to Windscar to fight the forge (shown in the next post). The fight against Murder fight 2, this is what I used:

Grallan's Rancor x2
Song of Chaos x2
Side Effect x5
Staff of Decay x5
Persistent Disease x2
Hateful Flame x5
Right Ear of Menithos x2
Maxim's Special x5
Contagion x5
Exacerbating Talons x5
Poisonous Fog x5
Chimera Bile x3
Nervous Poison x2
Six-Points Crystal Ward x2
Strike x5
Azure Ring of Hope x1
Trailblazer x5
Kyud's Analyzer x2
Nature's Claw x3

Well, Just use all small weapons (together with a bane or two that is not debuff) and you kicked it's azz! Here's what I used:

Corrupted Fireblade x5
Frigid Damsel x5
Hyphused Slasher x5
Strike x5
Hyphused Thruster x5
Hyphused Beater x5
Glorious Puncher x1
Nazohi Blades x5
Daggers of Suspicion x5
Blades of Malice x5
Cripple x5
Heartseeker x5
Gravity Impact x5
Searing Flamberge x5

Remember to gather to open the forge....then it's off to draka to fight Salamath with the Kyuds Analyzer (this should be fun!!).

to open you first must finish the mirage quest.
The First fight here is Salamaths in Draka What you need is pretty basic:

Mana Needle x5
Erythic Flames x5
Energy Wave x5
Banishing Flame Stone x5
Deflagration x2
Kyud's Analyzer x2

Then, your off to Gaea's Dawn....gather....then use a big fire/buff or shadow/buff (or lightning/buff if possable) gear to beat the Antechamber. After the win, gather, then off to Skyrift to the Forge of Norma. Heres what I used to beat the Antichamber of Fornax:

Flame Recoil x5
Fire of Colith x2
Fiery Inspiration x5
Balefire x5
Backdraft Flame x5
Erythic Flames x5
Spread Flames x5
Glorious Fire Staff x5
Wall of Flames x5
Fire Catalyst x3
Ley Line x5
Arcane Torrent x5
World Set Ablaze x5
Nhyle's Compassion x1
Misguiding Flare x5

Like I said: off to Skyrift to the Forge of Norma

Here's a different way to defeat Fornax:

Crystallized Root x5
Appeasing Balm x5
Hyphine Injection x5
Bewilderment x5
Energy Wave x5
Yoga Training x5
Ocean Sleep Potion x5
Crimson Fury Potion x5
Perseverance x5
Superior Fury Potion x2
Lawful Will x5
Sleep Potion x5
Fury of the Elements x5
Nhyle's Compassion x2 (use dozing potions if you have no Nhyle's)

This is what I used to defeat the Antechamber of Norma:

Gear 'Norma Antechamber' By Feeniks: (67 charms)

Poisoner's Pride x5
Faked Mercy x5
Poisonous Fog x5
Gloom Knell x5
Firebrand x5
Karma Bond x5
Hateful Flame x5
Ice Melter x4
Grallan's Rancor x3
Thief's Serum x5
Death Sentence x5
Aftershock x5
Death Spin x5
Black Death x5

Gear 'Fornax' By Feeniks: (67 charms)

Magnetic Force x5
Thundercall x5
Flame Scabbard x5
Kindled Passion x1
Rampant Nightmares x5
Static Aura x5
Flame Recoil x5
Grallan's Rancor x5
Seeds of Miasma x1
Poisonous Fog x5
Wizard Shockwave x5
Wizard Mana Blast x5
Wizard Mana Impulse x5
Life Thread x5
Martyrdom x5

No PP
Grallan's Rancor x1
Poisonous Fog x5
Hateful Flame x5
Faked Mercy x5
Side Effect x4
Blacknerve Mixture x5
Persistent Disease x5
Petrification x5
Shifting Scourge x5
Gloom Knell x5
Death Sentence x5
Yoga Training x1
Six-Points Crystal Ward x5
Karma Bond x5
Venom Dart x2

Another option:

Selected gear: 66/66 charms
Kyud's Analyzer x3
Poisoner's Pride x5
Magebane Poison x5
Feet Bind x5
Power Leak x5
Dusk Cape x4
Blinding Shield x5
Hateful Flame x5
Persistent Disease x5
Poisonous Fog x5
Faked Mercy x4
Side Effect x5
Exacerbating Talons x5
Petrification x5

new poss:

Lightning Reflexes x5
Lightning Spike x5
Magnetic Force x5
Quick Jolt x5
Grim Presence x5
Ritual of Binding x5
Black Hand x2
Runic Electrodes x5
Flame Recoil x5
Menacing Stormfront x5
Blue Dragon Bone x5
Blinding Scratch x2
Mach Fist x5
Rapier x5
Quick Blade x1
Luminous Idea x4

Six-Points Crystal Ward x5
Yoga Training x1
Poisonous Fog x5
Side Effect x4
Hateful Flame x5
Faked Mercy x5
Persistent Disease x5
Blacknerve Mixture x5
Petrification x5
Shifting Scourge x5
Death Sentence x5
Gloom Knell x5
Karma Bond x5
Venom Dart x2
Contagion x1
Chaotic Decay x2
Appeasing Balm x2