Albion Online Enchanting Guide: Runes, Souls, Relics & Costs

How Does Enchanting Work in Albion Online?

Enchanting improves the power of eligible equipment by increasing the number after its tier, such as upgrading a T6.0 Broadsword to T6.1. You do this at the Artifact Foundry using magical materials.

It doesn't change the weapon into something else. You keep the same skills, item family, tier and quality. The enchanted version simply has more Item Power, which normally makes its existing abilities stronger.

For a beginner, the biggest reason to learn enchanting is not that you should upgrade everything. It's that knowing how the system works gives you more ways to get the Item Power you want without overspending.

What Do 4.1, 5.2, 6.3 and 8.4 Mean?

Gear names such as 4.1 or 6.3 have two parts. The number before the dot is the base tier. The number after the dot is the enchantment level.

So a 6.2 is not Tier 8 equipment, even though its base Item Power can be comparable to an 8.0 version. Higher-tier items have different mastery modifiers, and you must still check the actual effective IP in your inventory.

Runes, Souls and Relics: Which Material Do You Need?

There is one upgrade material for each normal enchantment step. The process is fixed and sequential: you can't skip straight to .3 from a flat item.

To take a 6.0 weapon all the way to 6.3, you need to spend Tier 6 Runes first, Tier 6 Souls second and Tier 6 Relics last. Each step costs the full material quantity for the equipment slot.

How Many Runes, Souls or Relics Do You Need?

The material count depends on the equipment slot, not whether you are using Runes, Souls or Relics. The same per-step quantities apply for eligible T4–T8 gear.

A two-handed weapon costs four times as many materials per upgrade as a helmet. That is why I would never assume an enchantment that makes sense for boots will also make sense for a two-handed weapon.

The exact material requirements are tied to the game's item recipes, and unusual or newly added items should be confirmed in the Foundry before a big purchase.

How to Enchant Gear at the Artifact Foundry

The process is simple once you have the materials. An Artifact Foundry is available in cities. It offers more than artifact crafting: it also has an Enchant tab for improving eligible finished equipment.

1. Check your current item.

   Confirm its base tier, enchantment, quality and the exact item name. A 6.1 weapon doesn't use Runes for its next step; it uses Souls.

2. Find a city's Artifact Foundry.

   Travel to the station and open its Enchant interface.

3. Choose the item you want to upgrade.

   Check the material tier and quantity shown. Don't buy hundreds of the wrong material first.

4. Bring the required Runes, Souls or Relics.

   You can buy them from the Marketplace or use materials you've saved from loot.

5. Confirm one enchantment level.

   The item is upgraded and the required magical materials are consumed. If you want another level, repeat using the next material type.

I would price the target enchantment first. Walking to the Foundry with an entire backpack of expensive Relics only to discover the finished item is cheaper on the market is an avoidable mistake.

Runes, Souls and Relics by Tier: T4 to T8

The material's name changes with its tier. Use the corresponding tier for the equipment you're enchanting, regardless of how strong the enchanted item will be.

For example, a Master's Broadsword (T6.1) needs Master's Souls for its next upgrade to T6.2. Even if that gives it base Item Power close to T8 flat gear, it never consumes Elder's materials.

Runes from a lower-tier dungeon may still be useful, just not for upgrading a higher-tier item directly. You can sell them or look into transmuting them, but compare silver costs before doing either.

Does Enchanting Change Quality or Masterpiece Items?

Enchanting preserves the existing item quality. If you have a Masterpiece T6.0, enchanting it to T6.1 keeps it Masterpiece. If it is Excellent, it stays Excellent.

This can create an interesting opportunity: a cheap, high-quality flat item may become a good value once enchanted. But quality also changes market prices, so compare the same quality before concluding that you found a bargain.

How Enchantment Affects Item Power

Each enchantment level contributes 100 base Item Power. That means, for the same equipment type and quality, several combinations can have comparable base IP.

These are base-IP equivalents, not promises of identical final Item Power. Your weapon specialization, mastery modifier, item quality and certain other bonuses can change the number you actually see. The equipment's base tier also affects which tier you must have unlocked to wear it.

In activities with Item Power soft caps, paying for extra enchantment can have diminishing value. If your set is already near a cap, compare the effective IP you gain against what the upgraded set costs and what you might lose on death.

For the full explanation and current soft-cap mechanics, read my Albion Online Item Power Guide.

Can You Enchant .3 Equipment to .4?

No. The Artifact Foundry's standard enchanting path ends at .3. There is no fourth upgrade that uses a new stack of materials to turn a .3 item into a .4 item.

Pristine gear is still an enchantment level, and it adds another 100 base Item Power above .3, but you obtain it differently. If you want a 6.4 weapon, you need to craft or buy 6.4 equipment rather than upgrading a 6.3 at the Foundry.

This is also important for Awakened Weapons, which begin with eligible .4 weapons. Awakening is another system and does not magically add a .4 enchantment to ordinary gear.

Crafting Enchanted Equipment vs. Enchanting Finished Gear

There are two main ways to obtain standard enchanted equipment: craft it directly from enchanted refined resources, or enchant an eligible flat or partly enchanted item at the Foundry.

If a crafting recipe uses more than one resource type, the enchanted materials generally need the same enchantment level. Crafting economics depend on material prices, return rates, station fees and possibly Focus. That is separate from the costs of enchanting an item that already exists.

If you're planning a batch of enchanted equipment, compare the Habo Hub Craft Planner with your Foundry material costs. Choosing the cheaper route can matter far more than saving a small amount on one Rune.

What Else Can You Do at the Artifact Foundry?

The Artifact Foundry offers multiple services that are easy to confuse because they use some of the same magical materials.

When you see a YouTube guide discussing melting Runes into artifacts, that's a different calculation from enchanting a helmet. Don't accidentally follow artifact melding instructions when your goal is simply to reach .1 or .2 gear.

Where to Find or Buy Runes, Souls and Relics

Runes, Souls and Relics come from different PvE activities, including open-world mobs, dungeons and chests. Higher-tier zones and content offer opportunities for higher-tier materials. You can also buy and sell them through the Marketplace.

Many solo players collect magical materials without thinking much about them. If you farm Mists camps, Corrupted Dungeons or open-world mobs, you might already have some in your bank that can help upgrade a set.

But even if you looted the Runes yourself, they are not free. You could sell those Runes for silver. Spending them to enchant a weapon has an opportunity cost equal to what they would realistically sell for.

Before upgrading, check current prices on your server and city. The Habo Hub Price Checker helps you compare item prices, but the live Marketplace is the final confirmation for your actual quantities.

When Is It Cheaper to Enchant Rather Than Buy?

For most players this is the most useful part of the guide. The question isn't whether you can enchant something. It's whether enchanting gives you the gear you want for less silver.

Compare the two prices. If the completed item is cheaper, buy it. If your starting item plus materials is cheaper, enchanting may save silver. When the difference is tiny, I would favor the option with less market uncertainty.

• Start with the correct baseline. Compare the same weapon, armor piece and item quality, not two items that only look similar.
• Count every required step. Going from .0 to .3 requires Runes, Souls and Relics, not just Relics.
• Price materials at their real market value. Looted and already-owned resources still have a sale value.
• Check order volume. A very low listing may be only one item or an outdated quote.
• Add market fees if trading. Your personal upgrade cost and your resale profit are two different calculations.

Worked Example: Should You Enchant a T6 Two-Handed Weapon?

Here's a hypothetical example using round numbers. These are not live market prices. Imagine a T6.0 two-handed weapon costs 120,000 silver, and the T6 Runes you need are 350 silver each.

Enchanting would cost 254,400 silver, while the T6.1 weapon is listed for 240,000 silver. Buying the finished item saves 14,400 silver, before considering any extra order fees.

What if the item was a helmet instead?

A helmet requires only 96 Runes for the same upgrade. At the hypothetical 350-silver Rune price, the enchantment materials cost 33,600 silver, not 134,400. That's why you should check each slot separately.

Don't copy these prices into your next crafting session. Use the actual prices for your server, city and quality and recalculate whenever you place a large order.

Can You Make Silver by Enchanting Gear and Selling It?

Yes, it's possible to buy flat or partly enchanted equipment, upgrade it and sell the finished piece at a profit. But you need a stronger margin than simply seeing that the market's enchanted price is higher.

Market order setup fees and taxes matter here. For normal Marketplace sales, check the current fee schedule (for example, 2.5% setup when you place a sell order and 4% sales tax with Premium or 8% without Premium). Fees and prices can change, so use the actual trade UI before committing.

The Black Market in Caerleon can create unusual pricing opportunities for upgraded items. Transport is an additional risk, and an apparent margin on paper is not guaranteed profit if the item doesn't sell or you die before delivering it.

For the broader trading framework and avoiding bad margins, read my Silver Making Guide and check the Market Flipping Calculator.

Which Enchantment Level Should Solo PvP Players Use?

I wouldn't tell every solo player to buy the highest enchantment they can afford. Albion is a full-loot game, so the right set is the one that gives you enough strength while staying affordable to replace.

For example, compare 4.3, 5.2, 6.1 and 7.0 versions of the same weapon. Look at the effective Item Power on your character, any relevant content caps and the total cost of replacing the whole build.

If you play lethal Mists, Open World or Corrupted Dungeons, surviving with a cheaper set may make you more silver in the long run than risking an expensive weapon for a small IP gain.

Find familiar setups in my Albion Online Build Guides and use the Zones and Death Guide when checking whether a particular activity is full loot.

Do Focus, City Bonuses or Resource Return Rate Help Enchanting?

When you craft or refine equipment, city bonuses and Focus can affect your resource return. But enchanting a finished item at the Artifact Foundry doesn't return Runes, Souls or Relics.

This distinction is important because some guides mix up crafting with enchanted resources and enchanting finished gear. The two routes use different ingredients and different cost calculations.

If you want to minimize silver spent on production, use my Refining Guide and related Habo Hub calculators rather than assuming a Foundry upgrade receives the same city bonus.

What About Enchanted Food, Potions and Awakened Weapons?

Not every item that has an enchanted variant uses the same upgrade system. Runes, Souls and Relics apply to eligible equipment, not to every item with a higher-quality or higher-enchantment label.

If you are interested in making enchanted consumables for silver, compare the finished output with ingredients and fees in the Cooking Calculator or Alchemy Calculator.

Common Albion Online Enchanting Mistakes

Most of these mistakes can be avoided with one quick habit: calculate the cost, check the real final IP and only then decide to enchant.

My Enchanting Checklist Before Spending Silver

You don't need a dedicated enchanting spreadsheet for your first weapon. A simple comparison of the starting item, Rune/Soul/Relic cost and finished item price already prevents most bad upgrades.

Albion Online Enchanting FAQ