Muha's guide to Implant Design and Construction V1.0
The servers were down and I saw the same imp question I answered 20 times already asked again, so I decided to sum it all up and write:
Muha's guide to Implant Design and Construction V1.0
Implants can be used to modify almost every skill in the game. They can be tailored to your own needs. They are therefore one of the most useful tools for players at any level.
This guide is aimed at showing you how to design and build implants. The main focus is at constructing well thought out implants.
0. Forward - Implants 101
Implants are available for 13 different slots. An empty implant, also called "basic" implant, gives no benefits. It can be fitted with up to 3 different clusters: Shiny, Bright and Faded, where Shiny gives the most benefits, and Faded the least. You can only have one of each of the clusters in each implant. For example, in the Brain implant, you can have a Shiny Intelligence cluster, or a Shiny Psychic one, but not both. Each modifier also has 3 clusters related to it, one of each kind. For example, Intelligence has Shiny Brain, Bright Eye and Faded Ear. So you could implant all three clusters of one modifier.
Implants above ql200 are called "Refined" implants, and have some special rules.
The clusters are divided into RK clusters and Jobe clusters. Both can be used by free as well as paying customers. RK clusters modify al the abilities in your Skills window. Jobe clusters modify:
- Skill Time Lock Modifier
- Nano Formula Interrupt Modifier -
- % Add All Off. (Adds fixed amount, not percentile)
- % Add All Def. (Adds fixed amount, not percentile)
- % Add Xp
- Shield AC, for all AC types
- % Add. Dam., for all damage types except cold (Adds fixed amount, not percentile)
- % Add. Nano Cost -
- Heal Delta
- Nano Delta
- Max NCU
- RangeInc. Weapon
- RangeInc. NF
An implant using a Jobe cluster is called a Jobe implant. Jobe implants only exist from ql100.
The exact amount modified depends only on the implant ql, and not on the cluster ql. Clusters have a number on the description, but you can ignore this number.
Implants can be stripped out of the clusters. This destroys the clusters and produces an empty cluster, see guide here. Jobe and Refined implants cannot be stripped.
The requirements for equipping an implant are Treatment and one basic ability. The basic ability is determined by the clusters you choose. For example a Brain implant with a Shiny Intelligence cluster requires Agility. The same implant with an additional Bright Map Navigation cluster requires Sense. Jobe and Refined implants also have a Title level req. The req is TL3 for ql100 (only!), TL4 for ql101-200, TL5 for ql201-250 and TL6 for ql251-300. Note also that a Jobe implant with an empty slot might have higher reqs than the same Jobe implant with all slots full.
Implants can either be found pre-made, or constructed. Beginner pre-made implants are available in Basic shops. They are also a very common drop from human and robot mobs. If you are lucky enough to find a pre-made implant fitting your needs, use it. This guide will focus on the case where you need to construct an implant yourself.
1. Designing you Implants
Designing implants is composed of two parts, choosing what clusters you want, and deciding on a ql.
When deciding which clusters you want in each implant, take into account what mods you want, but also what the requirement will be. It is sometimes beneficial to add a cluster you don't really need, to change the ability requirement of the implant to something easier for you. Another reason to add an otherwise unnecessary cluster is to avoid the problem where Jobe implants with an empty slot have higher reqs than the same Jobe implant with all slots full.
Some tools that can help you design:
After deciding on the clusters you want, decide on the ql. Remember that getting an higher ql will not always benefit you, but it will always mean higher requirements to equip. For example a ql275 Leg implant with a Bright Stamina cluster, gives 41 Stamina, and requires 926 Stamina/1786 Treatment to equip. A ql269 implant with the same cluster gives the same 41 Stamina, but only requires 886 Stamina/1722 Treatment to equip. So choose the lowers ql possible that gives you the mods you can equip.
2. Procuring the materials
For every implant you will need to procure a basic implant and the required clusters.
2.1 Procuring basic implants
When procuring the basic implant, keep in mind that the implant ql might be pushed up a bit by the construction process, depending on the abilities of the tradeskiller. Exact details on this are available below in the construction section.
Sources for basic implants:
- Up to ql125 are available in the shops.
- Up to ql250 can be rolled.
- Very high ql ones (even 300) drop from Primus mobs at the Ace camp in in Eastern Fouls Plains.
- Up to ql275 ones can be found in chests in RK missions, if the mission was rolled by a fixer with high B&E.
Note the the refined chest implant is named differently: "Chest Implant: Refined Empty" instead of "A Basic Chest Implant - Refined".
An advanced way to get the ql you want, that works only for qls below 200, is to "step" the implant. This takes advantage of the facts that the implant ql will rise everytime an imp is inserted if the builder's skill is high enough, and that the implant can be cleaned. Say you want a ql160 basic implant, but only have a ql 151 one. Adding a faded cluster will most likely result in a 154 basic implant. Clean it. Repeat twice more and you have a ql160 basic implant.
2.2 Procuring clusters
When procuring clusters keep in mind that the cluster ql should be depends on the ql of the implant you put it into. The rule is that the cluster ql should be:
- For Faded clusters, 82% or above of the implant ql
- For Bright clusters, 84% or above of the implant ql
- For Shiny clusters, 86% or above of the implant ql
However, if the implant is a refined implant (above ql200), the cluster must also be refined (ql 201 and above).
The source for clusters depends if the clusters are RK ones or Jobe ones:
- Up to ql200 RK clusters are available in the shops.
- Up to ql250 RK clusters can be rolled.
- Up to ql200 Jobe clusters can be bought from an NPC in Jobe Market.
- Very high ql ones (even 300), both RK and Jobe, drop from Primus mobs at the Ace camp in Eastern Fouls Plains.
- Up to ql275 ones, both RK and Jobe, can be found in chests in RK missions, if the mission was rolled by a fixer with high B&E.
The one exception to this is Nano Delta clusters. They are not sold in the Jobe Market, and can be rolled at any ql.
3. Construction
The requirement for adding an RK cluster to an implant is Nano Programming. The requirement for other clusters is:
- Psychology: Skill Time Lock Modifier, Nano Formula Interrupt Modifier -, % Add All Off., % Add All Def., % Add Xp
- Quantum Force Field Technology: Shield AC, % Add. Dam., % Add. Nano Cost -
- Pharmacological Technology: Heal Delta
- Computer Literacy: Max NCU
- Weapon Smithing: RangeInc. Weapon
- Nano Programming: RangeInc. NF
The requirement is generally highest for adding a Shiny cluster and lowest for a Faded one. The requirement for a Shiny cluster are up to 6x the ql for RK cluters, 6.75x the ql for Jobe clusters.
As mentioned above, the ql of the resulting imp might be higher than the ql of the original imp. Each cluster added can raise the ql of the implant up to the following maximum.
- ql1-49 will not raise ql
- ql50-99 will raise by up to 1 per cluster
- ql100-149 will raise by up to 2 per cluster
- ql150-199 will raise by up to 3 per cluster
- ql200-249 will raise by up to 4 per cluster
- ql250-300 will raise by up to 5 per cluster
Note that an implant below ql201 will never raise above ql200 (and become a Refined imp).
The actual amount the ql will be raised depends on the requirement for building, and the actual ability the builder has. For RK clusters it is:
- For Faded clusters, for every 100 above the requirement to build, the ql will raise by 1 (up to the maximum).
- For Bright clusters, for every 200 above the requirement to build, the ql will raise by 1 (up to the maximum).
- For Shiny clusters, for every 300 above the requirement to build, the ql will raise by 1 (up to the maximum).
For Jobe clusters the numbers are 200/300/400, though these numbers are less certain. It is also not certain that the above maximums hold for Jobe clusters, as the requirements for testing it are impossible to achieve.
To do this process accurately you will first need to find out the exact requirement for the combination is. Give the items to a char that you are sure that does not have the requirements and ask them to try to combine. They will tell you what the exact requirement is.
It is recommended to test the result of the combination before doing it, to make sure you are getting the proper ql. To do this open the tradeskill window (shift-T) and put the cluster in the source panel and the imp in the target panel. Now shift-Right Click in the result panel. The ql of what you will see now is correct, but the mods and requirements to equip it are not, so ignore them.
4. Example of all three steps:
You want to build a Stamina Chest implant. You notice that the requirement is Strength, but you are a nanomage so you prefer Intelligence. You add Psychic Bright cluster to achieve this.
You want a cluster around ql250. You note that ql250 gives 64 Stamina, but so does ql248. To get 65 Stamina you need ql254. So you decide on either ql248 or ql254 depending on what you think you can achieve.
Let's say you decided on a ql254. You roll a 250 mission to get a ql250 Basic Chest implant (which is labeled "Chest Implant: Refined Empty"). Say you plan to add the Bright cluster first. Roll ql210+ Psychic Bright cluster (250*0.84) and 219+ Strength Shiny cluster (254*0.86). Remember that adding the Bright cluster might raise the ql by up to 5, and you will aim at +3 or +4, so don't roll 215+ (250*0.86) as it might not fit.
To combine the clusters, we will combine the Bright cluster first, aiming at +3, and then the Shiny one for the final +1. Giving the item to a lower char, you find out that the Bright cluster requires X. You will look for someone with between X+600 and X+799 Nano Programming to do the combination. The combination of the Shiny cluster will require 6x253=1518. You will look for someone with 1818-2117 NP to do the combination.
