Understanding Affinity¶

Affinity in plain language: what it is, the loop you repeat, and how set bonuses turn slot choices into a build. Every formula and number lives in the Affinity reference. This is the five-minute version.

Elder Mara teaches the same lesson hands-on in Know Thyself, with a free first level. If you'd rather learn by doing, go see her first.

What it is, in one breath¶

Every character has six affinity slots: Weapon, Helm, Chest, Arms, Gloves, and Legs. Each slot can be attuned to one of seven schools - Tempest (melee), Arcanum (magic), Hawkeye (archery), Sylvan (taming), Bulwark (defense), Avarice (fortune), Aria (bard song). Attuned slots grow stronger as you hunt, and their bonuses stay with the character whether or not an item is currently equipped there. That is the whole idea. Everything else is detail.

The loop¶

You will repeat this cycle for as long as you play. Each pass makes you a little stronger.

1. Attune your slots. Open your Profile (top menu bar) and pick the AFFINITY tab. Use the dropdown on each slot, or choose one of the role cards at the top to apply that school to every slot. During Know Thyself, that one choice awakens the chosen school's Weapon track at level 1, no XP or facets required. Your path starts with all six slots already attuned to its natural school: warriors to Tempest, mages to Arcanum, rangers to Hawkeye, tamers to Sylvan. The starter school is marked, but it's only a starting point. Choose another card if you like; assignments can be changed later without erasing levels.

2. Hunt. Every creature you kill feeds XP to every attuned slot. Tougher creatures feed more. You do not have to do anything - just play.

3. Watch for the blue flame. When a slot has earned enough XP for its next level, an icy-blue pillar of flame erupts at your feet. That is the signal: a slot is ready.

4. Spend facets to claim the level. Creatures drop facets - small hued gems, one color per school. When a slot is ready AND you hold enough matching facets, its LEVEL UP button glows gold in the AFFINITY tab. Press it. Early levels cost a handful of facets; late levels cost hundreds.

5. Build around the slots. Affinity belongs to the character slot, not the item. Your Helm assignment stays active with or without a helm, and your Weapon assignment also powers wrestling while you are unarmed.

Nothing is ever lost

Levels are saved per slot AND per school, forever. If your Chest slot has Tempest at level 7 and you switch it to Bulwark, the Tempest 7 is still there waiting whenever you switch back. Experiment freely - switching costs nothing.

Set bonuses: where builds come from¶

Here is where your choices start to matter. Tuning 2, 4, or 6 slots to the same school (each leveled to at least 1) unlocks that school's set perks - named bonuses that do not exist at all until the threshold is met.

The AFFINITY tab keeps all seven schools visible across the top of its set bonus deck. Each school button shows its live count, such as 4/6. Select one to see its 2-slot, 4-slot, and 6-slot abilities together. Unlocked cards light up, while a quiet number in each card shows its threshold.

Some set perks also announce their live state on your buff bar. Falcon's Patience appears after a Hawkeye archer stands still long enough to gain its accuracy. Surge of Insight, Stand Fast, and Living Fortress likewise appear only while their special window is active.

A taste of what the thresholds buy:

School	2 pieces	6 pieces
Tempest	Melee kills restore stamina	Your ultimate's lightning chains to 3 enemies
Arcanum	Mana regenerates 15% faster	Spells can echo, striking twice
Hawkeye	Bonus aim while standing still	Chance to loose a second arrow
Sylvan	Pets gain +10% max health	Your ultimate marks empower your pet
Bulwark	Bandages heal 15% more	Stand your ground to take less damage
Avarice	Chance for doubled gold	Killing blows can spill bonus treasure

The full perk list is on each school's page, starting from the affinity index.

The build question is: how do you split six slots?

6/0 purist - one school everywhere. All three perk tiers, the strongest ultimate proc rate, maximum depth.
4/2 hybrid - the strong perks of your main school plus a second school's entry perk. A melee fighter with 4 Tempest and 2 Bulwark hits hard and mends fast.
2/2/2 generalist - three entry perks at once. Less depth, more breadth, and you level three schools in parallel.

There is no wrong answer, and because levels persist, you can rebuild any time.

The weapon slot is special¶

Whatever school sits on your Weapon slot powers your Ultimate - a signature ability with a chance to fire on every weapon hit, including an unarmed wrestling hit. Tempest calls chain lightning, Hawkeye looses a spirit arrow, Arcanum refunds a rush of mana. Matching leveled character slots raise the proc chance, whether or not gear is currently equipped there. Details on the Ultimates page.

The top levels and Affinity Prisms¶

Levels 1 through 7 need only XP and facets. Levels 8, 9, and 10 also need Affinity Prisms of the matching school - 1, then 2, then 3.

Prisms are transmuted at the Apothecary bench. An Apothecary at level 5 turns 30 facets of any school plus one of each rare find (a heartstone, a heartwood burl, a pristine pelt and an abyssal pearl, one from each gathering trade) into one prism of the school the recipe names. No NPC sells them, and they trade freely between players, so the level-8 wall is where your spare off-school facets finally pay off: transmute them yourself, or hand them to an Apothecary who can.

Common questions¶

Do I lose levels when I switch schools on a slot? No. Never. Levels are stored per slot and school and persist forever.

Do I need to wear gear for Affinity to work? No. Assigned character slots earn XP and apply their bonuses while bare.

My set meter shows ⅚ after choosing a school for every slot. Why? A slot counts once it is assigned and reaches level 1 or higher. The missing slot is still at level 0, so one LEVEL UP fixes it.

Which facets should I keep? All of them. Matching facets buy your levels, and off-school facets feed the Apothecary's prism recipe or trade to players building those schools. Nothing is vendor trash.

What should my second school be? Read the 2-piece perks and pick the one your build lacks. Fighters lean Bulwark for sustain, farmers lean Avarice for gold, anyone with a pet gets real value from Sylvan.