Precursor weapon
"Precursor" redirects here. For legendary armor precursors, see Refined Envoy armor.
Precursor weapons are level 80 Exotic weapons or Ascended weapons used to craft Legendary weapons at the Mystic Forge. Exotic precursor weapons are not bound, and can be obtained by the same methods that any named equipment can be found, although at a much lower drop rate. They can also be crafted.
Contents
Acquisition[edit]
Drops[edit]
Exotic precursor weapons can be obtained from almost any item source. This includes loot, chests, containers, reward chests, etc. that can be characterized by the possibility of receiving a weapon. The possibility of receiving a precursor weapon is not dependent on level or area, as players have reported receiving precursors on low-level characters in low-level areas as well as high-level characters in high-level areas. To note, only high level players (62 - 80) can receive unnamed exotic quality weapons and may be more likely to receive precursor weapons from loot as loot often scales with level.
A precursor can also drop from any chest or container that drops weapons. Chests include jumping puzzle chests, dungeon chests, boss chests, and so on. Bonus Chests from world boss events have a greater chance to drop exotic or precursor weapons than other sources, being introduced in the 26 February 2013 update.
Mystic Forge[edit]
The Mystic Forge is a primary source for exotic precursor weapons, due to the recipe that allows players to mix 4 pieces of same-rarity equipment for a chance at rarer and better equipment. Players have a chance to receive a precursor weapon when combining four rare or exotic weapons with an average level of 75 or higher. Using four weapons of the same weapon type guarantees receiving a weapon with that weapon type. For example, players can combine one level 60 rare weapon and three level 80 weapons. Player research into the chance of receiving a precursor when combining four exotic weapons of the same type estimates the probability at 0.79% with 2901 trials.[citation needed]
Crafting[edit]
Precursor weapons can also be crafted. The Heart of Thorns expansion added a collection-based precursor scavenger hunt for existing and for future legendaries that had yet to be added to the game[1]. These collections are unlocked by spending mastery points. Heart of Thorns legendary precursor weapons are account bound (and thus cannot be traded nor received as a drop), but precursors for the original legendary weapons can be sold to other players. Due to the difficulty in creating scavenger hunts, all precursors following Chuka and Champawat were thematically linked to Living World Season 3 maps and constructed with map-related currencies.
Crafting[edit]
The crafting of each precursor requires completion of three separate Collections, and crafting three tiers of weapons. The first tier of each precursor's collection can be found in the Legendary Weapons section of the Collections menu found in the Achievements tab of the Hero panel, though they remain locked until unlocked by purchasing the corresponding collection unlock from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs. You must have first achieved Revered Antiquarian, the first rank in the Legendary Crafting Mastery track for base game precursors or Scholar Of Secrets for Heart of Thorns precursors.
Crafting Process[edit]
- Heart of thorns precursors require Scholar Of Secrets in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Obtain Revered Antiquarian, the first rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Unlock the desired precursor collection by purchasing the unlock from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.
- Complete the scavenger hunt collection.
- Obtain Revered Antiquarian, the first rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Craft the first tier item.
- Obtain Magister of Legends, the second rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Unlock the second tier collection by purchasing the unlock from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.
- Complete the second tier scavenger hunt collection.
- Obtain Magister of Legends, the second rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Craft the second tier item.
- Obtain Historian of the Armaments, the third rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Unlock the third tier collection by purchasing the unlock from Grandmaster Craftsman Hobbs.
- Complete the third tier scavenger hunt collection.
- Obtain Historian of the Armaments, the third rank in the Legendary Crafting mastery track.
- Craft the finished precursor.
List of precursor weapons[edit]
Gallery[edit]
Ars Goetia900 × 1,312
Carcharias1,744 × 348
Chaos Gun674 × 368
Claw of Resolution173 × 369
Dawn990 × 1,764
Dusk951 × 1,716
Endeavor890 × 439
Friendship842 × 912
Howl536 × 561
Leaf of Kudzu1,052 × 1,634
Liturgy997 × 1,355
Man o' War2,149 × 2,724
Prototype405 × 234
Rage1,604 × 480
Rodgort's Flame869 × 542
Save the Queen3,390 × 831
Spark1,119 × 348
Storm785 × 417
The Bard532 × 420
The Chosen645 × 954
The Colossus792 × 1,037
The Energizer832 × 384
The Hunter636 × 1,051
The Legend471 × 935
The Lover932 × 1,769
The Mechanism583 × 381
The Raven Staff680 × 1,080
Tigris512 × 1,025
Tooth of Frostfang790 × 565
Venom1,798 × 413
Zap1,317 × 425
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Notes[edit]
- Unlocking a first-generation legendary precursor skin (by binding it, or using it to craft the legendary weapon) will also unlock the perfected and experimental skins from the respective collections.[2]
- Some precursor collections reward more than just precursor crafting materials:
- Chuka and Champawat IV: A Nontraditional Family — Unlocks access to the Tiger Den, allowing you to play with three tiger cubs and even carry them around on your back outside the instance.
- Kudzu III: Leaf of Kudzu — Adds harvestable nodes to the hidden garden.
- The Juggernaut III: The Colossus — Mystic Chromatic Ooze, a gizmo which provides The Juggernaut's shiny effect without having to equip the weapon.
- The Minstrel III: The Bard — Zephyrites Music Box, a gizmo which plays music.
