
Black Desert Online Lightstone Guide: Enhancing Your Adventure
Black Desert Online Lightstone Guide will help you quickly establish a strong foundation for your journey. Let’s dive in and get you on the right track!
Artifacts and Lightstones are integral pieces of equipment in Black Desert Online, offering adventurers a sophisticated way to enhance and personalize their characters. These two systems provide players with unprecedented control over their character’s progression, allowing for deep customization that can be tailored to nearly any playstyle. If you think of your character’s gear—like armor and weapons—as the foundation of your build, Artifacts and Lightstones serve as the finishing touches, allowing you to refine and perfect your character’s strengths in ways that traditional equipment cannot.
This system functions similarly to the way you would socket crystals into your armor, but with even more depth and versatility. Artifacts themselves act as the base equipment, while Lightstones are the key components that infuse these Artifacts with powerful effects and stat boosts. The relationship between these two elements is what makes the system so dynamic. You’ll need to strategically choose the right combination of Artifacts and Lightstones to fine-tune your build, creating synergies that complement your preferred playstyle and the role you wish to fill in the game—whether it’s for combat, defense, utility, or life skills.
By utilizing Artifacts and Lightstones, you can significantly boost your character’s overall performance. Artifacts provide a solid foundation for your character’s capabilities, and when you infuse them with Lightstones, you unlock additional passive bonuses that go beyond what regular equipment can provide. These effects can range from improving your damage output in combat, increasing your defense to withstand tougher enemies, or providing buffs that enhance non-combat activities such as fishing, gathering, and crafting. Each Lightstone category—Fire, Earth, Wind, and Flora—targets a specific aspect of your character’s growth, meaning you can tailor your enhancements depending on what you want to focus on in your adventure.
The true depth of this system lies in how Artifacts and Lightstones interact with each other. Each Artifact comes with specific slots where you can equip Lightstones, and your character can utilize two Artifacts, allowing you to equip up to four Lightstones in total. This opens up countless possibilities for customization. You could focus on increasing your offensive power by infusing Lightstones that enhance attack, or perhaps choose defensive Lightstones to boost your overall durability in battle. Additionally, for those who enjoy exploring the world of Black Desert Online or engaging in life skills, Lightstones dedicated to those activities can provide even further benefits, improving your gathering rates or reducing the time needed to level up certain life skills.
The versatility of this system allows you to experiment with different combinations and find the perfect setup for your character, making it an essential tool for optimizing your build. Whether you’re a PvP-focused player who needs to maximize damage output and survivability, or a life skill enthusiast looking to gather resources more efficiently, the ability to choose and equip the right Lightstones to your Artifacts gives you a unique advantage that can significantly enhance your gameplay experience.
Categories of Lightstones
Understanding the different categories of Lightstones is crucial to maximizing their benefits. There are primarily four main types, each focusing on a different aspect of character enhancement.
The Lightstone of Fire primarily offers offensive bonuses, typically focusing on increasing your attack power or dealing more damage. Examples of these might include lightstones that grant additional attack points (AP) or boost specific types of damage.
The Lightstone of Earth is centered around defensive effects, helping you to withstand the rigors of combat by increasing your defense points (DP) or providing other defensive stats.
The Lightstone of Wind provides special or utility bonuses that don’t directly fall into offense or defense. These could offer benefits such as increased experience gain, improved movement speed, or enhanced accuracy.
The Lightstone of Flora is dedicated to life skill bonuses, offering advantages to various non-combat activities like gathering, processing, or fishing. Lightstones in this category might increase life skill experience or mastery.
Beyond these four main categories, there’s a special type known as the Iridescent Lightstone. This type doesn’t have a direct stat effect on its own but plays a vital role in achieving specific Lightstone Combo Effects.
How to Obtain Lightstones
To effectively utilize Lightstones, you’ll first need to acquire them. There are several ways to obtain different types of Lightstones throughout your adventures in Black Desert Online.
Imperfect Lightstones are a common starting point. These cannot be directly equipped but must be converted into a usable form. You can find them by defeating monsters in most regions, excluding the Elvia server. Certain grinding spots have a higher chance of dropping specific types of Imperfect Lightstones. For instance, grinding at Desert Naga Temple, Crescent Shrine, Gahaz Bandits Lair, and Pila Ku Jail in Valencia has a higher drop rate for Imperfect Lightstone of Fire. Similarly, Olun Valley, Gyfin Rhasia Temple, Navarn Steppe, and Tunkuta are known for dropping Imperfect Lightstone of Earth.
Imperfect Lightstone of Wind can be found more frequently at Crypt of Resting Thoughts and Centaur Herd. Additionally, World Bosses, Dark Rifts, and bosses summoned from Boss Summon Scrolls can also drop Imperfect Lightstones. Keep an eye out during Guild Raids against bosses like Giant Mudster, Ferrid, Puturum, and Khan, as they can also yield these.
Finally, rewards from the Atoraxxion dungeons, specifically Erebjork and Erethea’s Limbo Reward in the Mountain of Eternal Winter, can also include Imperfect Lightstones. Certain quests, including Black Spirit quests like “A Gift for Leaping Forward” and bonus quests tied to life skills, can also reward you with these. Notably, Imperfect Lightstone of Flora is unique as it is obtained through engaging in almost all life skills, excluding bare-handed gathering, water collecting, and shoveling.
Once you have Imperfect Lightstones, you’ll need to convert them into Purified Lightstones, which are still not directly equipable but serve as a stepping stone. One method is through Simple Alchemy, where combining any Artifact will yield 1 to 2 Purified Lightstones. Alternatively, you can use an Alchemy Tool if your Alchemy skill is Guru 1 or higher to craft Purified Lightstones using Imperfect Lightstones along with materials like Black Gem Fragments, Black Stones, and specific powders and clear liquid or pure powder reagents depending on the type of lightstone you’re crafting.
Another convenient option is to visit the NPC Wandering Alchemist Dalishain, found in most towns, who will exchange three unwanted Lightstones for one Purified Lightstone of your choice through a repeatable quest. The Ulan questline in Ale Village within the Mountain of Eternal Winter, available once per family to characters level 56 and above, also offers choices of Purified Lightstones as rewards.
Opening a Purified Lightstone will grant you a Normal Lightstone of the same category (Fire, Earth, Wind, or Flora). These Normal Lightstones are what you will ultimately infuse into your Artifacts to gain their individual stat bonuses. Interestingly, there’s also a small chance when opening a Purified Lightstone to obtain a valuable Iridescent Lightstone.
Iridescent Lightstones can also be obtained directly. Some World Bosses and Field Bosses have a chance to drop them. Additionally, specific grind spots within the Mountain of Eternal Winter can directly yield Iridescent Lightstones.
Artifacts and Infusing Lightstones
With an understanding of how to acquire Lightstones, the next step is learning how to utilize them with Artifacts.
Artifacts themselves are obtained through various means. The Black Spirit offers a once-per-family quest that rewards you with two free Artifacts. Beyond this initial acquisition, Artifacts can drop from defeating monsters, as well as from Dark Rifts, World Bosses, and Guild Raids. There are also specific powerful Artifacts to aim for: Dehkia’s Artifact, considered the best-in-slot for Defense Points (DP), is crafted using the Manufacture skill. On the other hand, Kabua’s Artifact, the best-in-slot for Player versus Environment (PVE) combat, is obtained from specific grind spots in the Ulukita region. It’s worth noting that only Kabua’s and Dehkia’s Artifacts can be registered on the Central Market.
Managing your Artifacts and Lightstones is done through the Artifact Inventory, accessible via a dedicated button. This inventory allows you to store your collected Artifacts and Lightstones, filter them for easier browsing, and initiate the process of fusing Lightstones into Artifacts.
To infuse Lightstones into your Artifacts, you need to open the Lightstone Equip Item window. This can be done by navigating to the Main Menu (ESC) > Character (F2) > Lightstone Equip Item, or by simply right-clicking on a Lightstone in your inventory. Each Artifact has two Lightstone Sockets, allowing you to equip a total of four Lightstones across your two equipped Artifacts. In the Lightstone Equip Item window, you select the desired Artifact and then choose which Lightstones from your inventory you want to add to its sockets.
Inevitably, you might want to change your Lightstone setup. To remove Lightstones from an Artifact, you have two options. For a safe extraction that preserves the Lightstone for future use, you’ll need a Lightstone Extraction Tool. This tool is distinct from the crystal extraction tool used for gear and can be purchased from any Blacksmith for 10 million silver. By interacting with the Blacksmith, you’ll find an “Extract” option that allows you to retrieve your Lightstones using this tool. Be cautious, as the alternative method is unsafe removal: simply right-clicking a Lightstone within the “Lightstone Equip Item” window will destroy the Lightstone, so only use this if you no longer need it.
Lightstone Combo Effects
A significant aspect of the Artifact and Lightstone system is the potential for Lightstone Combo Effects. By equipping specific combinations of Lightstones in your Artifacts, you can unlock powerful additional bonuses that go beyond the individual effects of the Lightstones themselves. These combo effects essentially act as set bonuses, rewarding you for strategic Lightstone pairings. Most combo effects require equipping three or four Lightstones. In some cases, you can achieve a combo effect by using three specific Lightstones and one Iridescent Lightstone. A helpful tip is that if a combo only requires three Lightstones, the fourth slot in your Artifact setup can be filled with any other Lightstone, as long as it doesn’t complete a different combo effect.
The variety of Lightstone Combo Effects is extensive, catering to different character builds and gameplay focuses. Here are a few examples to illustrate their potential. The [Prayer for Victory] combo, achieved by combining the Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Combat), Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Skill), and Lightstone of Fire: Predation, grants increased Combat EXP, Skill EXP, and Extra AP Against Monsters. Equipping an additional Lightstone of Fire: Predation upgrades this to the [Well-prepared] effect, further increasing the Extra AP Against Monsters.
For those seeking to enhance their damage against specific enemy types, the [Establishing Order] combo, requiring Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Combat), Lightstone of Wind: Alert (Skill), and Lightstone of Fire: Roar, provides Combat EXP, Skill EXP, Extra AP Against Monsters, and Extra Damage to Demihumans.
Life skill enthusiasts can benefit from combos like [Delotia], which combines Lightstone of Flora: Wildlife, Lightstone of Flora: Wildlife, Lightstone of Wind: Fortune, and an Iridescent Lightstone to increase Life EXP and Luck Level.
Many other combos exist, offering bonuses to Monster Damage Reduction, Accuracy, Critical Hit Damage, Item Drop Rate, and various life skill masteries and experience gains. Exploring the full list of Lightstone Combo Effects will allow you to discover powerful synergies that can significantly enhance your character’s capabilities in various aspects of the game.
Repurposing Artifacts and the Magical Lightstone Crystal
Beyond their primary use, unwanted Artifacts can be repurposed. They can be converted into Purified Lightstones using Simple Alchemy, providing another avenue for obtaining these intermediate lightstone forms. There are also specific recipes involving Ancient Power or Seal Shards that can yield even more Purified Lightstones from unwanted Artifacts.
The Magical Lightstone Crystal is another important item related to this system. While not a Lightstone itself, it serves as a crucial crafting material. It is used in the creation of Dehkia’s Artifacts. Furthermore, it is an ingredient in certain Alchemy recipes for crafting Purified Lightstones. Notably, Magical Lightstone Crystals are also used to craft high-tier crystals for other equipment slots and specialized Life Skill Crystals. In some crafting recipes, Black Gem Fragments can be used as a substitute for Magical Lightstone Crystals.
Key NPCs in the Artifact and Lightstone System
Several Non-Player Characters (NPCs) play key roles in the Artifact and Lightstone system. The Black Spirit is your initial guide, providing you with your first Artifacts and potentially some Lightstones through early quests. As mentioned earlier, the Wandering Alchemist Dalishain is essential for exchanging unwanted Lightstones for Purified Lightstones. Finally, Blacksmiths in every major town sell the crucial Lightstone Extraction Tools and offer the “Extract” option, allowing you to safely remove Lightstones from your Artifacts.
For further in-depth information and the most up-to-date details on Artifacts and Lightstones, it is always recommended to consult the in-game Adventurer’s Guide. This resource will provide comprehensive lists of all Lightstones and their effects, detailed explanations of the crafting processes, and the full catalog of Lightstone Combo Effects, ensuring you have all the knowledge necessary to master this intricate and rewarding system.
Conclusion
The Lightstone and Artifact system in Black Desert Online is a crucial aspect of character progression, offering players a highly customizable experience to enhance their adventuring journey. Whether you’re looking to improve your offensive capabilities, bolster your defenses, or increase the effectiveness of your life skills, this system provides a vast array of options to refine and adapt your character’s strengths. By strategically choosing and infusing the right Lightstones into your Artifacts, you can fine-tune your build to align perfectly with your preferred playstyle.
Each category of Lightstone—whether it’s Fire, Earth, Wind, or Flora—offers unique benefits that cater to different aspects of gameplay. The ability to stack multiple Lightstones and even create powerful synergies through Lightstone Combo Effects gives you the flexibility to adapt to any situation. By carefully selecting combinations of Lightstones, you can unlock additional bonuses that extend beyond the individual effects, making it an essential tool for players looking to maximize their potential in combat or life skills.
The system also brings an added layer of complexity with the introduction of Iridescent Lightstones, which act as pivotal elements in achieving these combo effects. The chance to obtain Iridescent Lightstones adds a layer of excitement, as their potential to unlock powerful synergies can provide that extra boost to your character’s effectiveness. Moreover, the ability to convert unwanted Artifacts into Purified Lightstones provides a valuable way to recycle materials and keep your build ever-evolving, ensuring you’re never stuck with obsolete equipment.
As you explore different ways to acquire, craft, and equip Lightstones, you’ll find that the variety of methods—from defeating monsters and grinding in specific areas to completing quests—ensures there’s always an opportunity to strengthen your character. The interaction between Lightstones, Artifacts, and their combo effects creates an intricate yet rewarding system that keeps your progression fresh and engaging. Whether you’re looking to enhance your PvE experience or gain an edge in PvP, mastering the nuances of this system can provide the advantage you need to thrive in the world of Black Desert Online.
Additionally, understanding the vital role of NPCs such as the Wandering Alchemist Dalishain and Blacksmiths will make your journey easier, ensuring you have access to the tools necessary to extract, craft, and infuse your Lightstones. As you continue to gather Lightstones, experiment with different combos, and acquire powerful Artifacts, you’ll unlock more opportunities to maximize your character’s potential and take on greater challenges.
Overall, the Lightstone and Artifact system is a dynamic feature that offers both strategic depth and customization, allowing you to shape your character into the ultimate adventurer. By utilizing these systems effectively, you will be well-equipped to take on any challenge the game throws your way, ensuring that your journey through Black Desert Online remains as thrilling and rewarding as possible.