Contents
What is Esther Honing?
Esther Honing is essentially Gear Honing but for Esther/Sidereal Weapons/Gear in Lost Ark. Only Gear up to the Ancient Rarity can be honed in the traditional sense in Lost Ark, and so Sidereal Gear/Weapons use an upgrade mechanic called Weapon Evolution instead.
Weapon Evolution cannot be compared to traditional gear honing, as the requirements are drastically different, with the former requiring Sidereal Energy and Romantic Ingredient Kits as upgrade materials. Moreover, Weapon Evolution works through Galatur’s Workshop in Yorn as opposed to the Gear Honing NPC found in most major cities in the game.
How does Esther Honing work?
Weapon Evolution follows a different set of upgrade mechanics. For starters, there is no RNG in Weapon Evolution, and Sidereal Weapons will always have 100% quality and upgrade success rates.
And then there are additional upgrade mechanics such as the ones we have outlined below.
Evolution XP Gauge
To start Honing Esther Weapons, you must first fill the Sidereal Weapon’s Evolution XP gauge before you can upgrade the weapon/gear to the next level.
To fill your Sidereal Weapon Evolution XP gauge, you must go on Chaos Dungeon runs with your Aura of Resonance depleted. You will gain Evolution XP in every dungeon run you complete while using your Sidereal weapon.
Sidereal Weapons Upgrade Materials
With your Sidereal Weapon Evolution XP gauge filled, you will then need Sidereal Energy and Romantic Ingredient Kit – upgrade materials for Sidereal Weapons in Lost Ark. You can get Sidereal Energy from the following sources:
- Abyssal Dungeon Kayangel Gate 3 (Hard)
- Legion Raid Akkan Gate 3 (Norman/Hard)
- Legion Raid Brelshaza Gate 4 (Normal/Hard)
- Legion Raid Kakul-Saydon Gate 3
- Auction House
- NPC [Legion Raid Exchange]
As for the Romantic Ingredient Kits, you can craft these at Galatur’s Workshop in Yorn. To craft the Romantic Ingredient Kit, you will need the following items:
- Bright Wild Flower x24
- Oreha Solar Carp x24
- Exquisite Mushroom x12
- Oreha Relic x8
- Oreha Thick Meat x4
- Gold x100
Sidereal Weapon Evolution
Ester Honing for Ester/Sidereal Weapons features 8 unique stages, and each stage increases your Sidereal Weapon’s Item Level. Ester Weapon starts at Item Level 1100 (Level 0 Evolution) and up to a maximum of Item Level 1645 (Level 8 Evolution).
It is worth noting, however, that some specific Evolution Stages will require you to complete specific objectives. For example, Evolution Stage 4 requires the following achievements:
- Achievement: Ancient Gears (Equip 6 pieces of Ancient tier gear)
Other upgrade requirements will pop up at Level 5 and Level 6, with Level 5 requiring the completion of Sidereal’s story on Whispering Islet (Nineveh) and Iseteri Island (Kadan) and Level 6 requiring the Ancient Weapon Honer Achievement (Hone an Ancient Weapon to +25)
Are Esther Weapons worth it?
Esther Weapons aren’t worth your time, effort, and money unless you’re a die-hard Lost Ark fan looking to max out everything in the game.
Many players question the viability of Esther Weapons due to their insanely expensive upgrade requirements. While most players can get a Sidereal Weapon without spending any money, upgrading the weapon to become more powerful than an Ancient +25 weapon will require a ridiculous amount of money.
As mentioned in the previous sections above, upgrading an Esther Weapon requires Esther Energy/Sidereal Energy and the Romantic Ingredient Kit. Unfortunately, the only way to get Esther Energy is by running specific Abyssal Dungeons and Legion Raids (Refer to the list above), which, while free, can take a ton of time as the drop rates are really low. Crafting the materials required to upgrade Sidereal Weapons will also cost quite a bit of Gold.
Is Sidereal Weapons the same as Esther Weapons?
Esther Weapons are identical to Sidereal Weapons. There is practically no difference between Esther Weapons and Sidereal Weapons in Lost Ark.
The naming differences can be attributed to the varying translation between NA Lost Ark and KR Lost Ark. Depending on which region you’re playing Lost Ark, Esther Weapons might be called Sidereal Weapons and vice versa.
Conclusion
Esther Weapons/Sidereal Weapon honing is a different version of gear honing in Lost Ark. While the general upgrade requirements are somewhat similar, Esther Weapons add a new upgrade mechanic called Evolution XP, where you must fill up your Evolution XP Gauge before you can start upgrading Esther Weapons in the game.