Refinement is the core way to make a weapon hit harder or a fishing rod pull better loot in Project Slayers 2. Every attempt runs through one forge, costs Wen and Refinement Ore, and carries a real chance of failure that can strip levels off your gear.
Quick answer: Talk to Refiner Hagane in Hidden Mist Village, press T to open the forge, pick a weapon or rod, spend Wen plus the required Refinement Ore, and click Refine.
Where to find Refiner Hagane in Hidden Mist Village
Refiner Hagane sits inside a dojo-style forge building in Hidden Mist Village. Walk up to him and press T to start the interaction. He opens with the line, “Pick a piece, and we will see what the forge says,” and the forge interface appears with three tabs: All, Weapons, and Rods.
Refinement costs: Wen and Refinement Ore
Each attempt spends two things at once: Wen (the in-game currency) and a set number of Refinement Ore. Both the Wen price and the ore count climb as your refinement level goes up. Early levels use standard Refinement Ore, while higher tiers demand upgraded materials such as Hydro Refinement Ore.
The forge shows the price and odds for the next level before you spend anything, so you can check whether you have the materials on hand.
| Refinement | Success | Fail | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 0 → 1 | 90% | 0% | 3,000 Wen, 1 Ore |
| Level 1 → 2 | 85% | 5% | 4,000 Wen, 2 Ore |
| Level 2 → 3 | 80% | 10% | 5,000 Wen, 3 Ore |
| Level 3 → 4 | 69% | 21% | 6,000 Wen, 4 Ore |
| Level 6 → 7 | 20% | 78.5% | 9,000 Wen, 2 Hydro Ore |
Each attempt also carries a small “Great Success” chance, shown as 10% on the lower levels and 1.5% by Level 6 to 7. The rest of the probability is a normal success. As the tier rises, the baseline success rate drops sharply while the failure chance grows.
How to refine a weapon or rod
Failure penalties and the Refinement Guard
A failed attempt can knock refinement levels off the weapon, which is why the risk matters more as you climb. Enabling Refinement Guard stops that de-leveling if the attempt fails.
A Refinement Guard preserves the item’s rank when an upgrade fails, but it neither improves nor guarantees the upgrade’s success rate. The attempt may still fail, leaving your progress unchanged.
What weapon refinement adds
Refining a weapon raises both a flat damage bonus and a damage multiplier, and the gains grow faster at higher levels. The table below shows the per-level increase for a Serpent Katana.
| Level | Flat damage | Damage multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| +1 | +1.01 | x1.01 |
| +3 | +3.08 | x1.06 |
| +5 | +5.31 | x1.15 |
| +7 | +7.82 | x1.28 |
| +10 | +12.48 | x1.55 |
Refining fishing rods boosts Luck, not damage
Fishing rods use the exact same NPC and interface under the Rods tab and consume matching ore. The difference is the payoff: refining a rod increases its Luck stat rather than any combat attribute. Each successful refinement raises the rod’s Luck rating without changing bite speed or other stats.
Higher rod refinements demand rarer materials such as Mythical Ores, so save your best ore for the rod you plan to keep fishing with long term.
Where higher-tier materials and stronger weapons come from
Once you push past the early levels, refinement leans on scarcer ore and on weapons worth the investment. Getting a solid base weapon first keeps you from pouring rare ore into throwaway gear.
Zuko for the Cutlass
The Cutlass is an early Rare weapon that drops from Zuko in the Bamboo Grove at a roughly 20% rate, and it comes with the Quick Draw skill. It makes a strong early candidate to sink refinement levels into once the boss is a comfortable clear.
Ouwigahara for higher upgrades
Access to the higher weapon upgrade tiers requires reaching level 60 and entering the Ouwigahara portal. The lantern-lit hub houses further upgrade options beyond the base-game forge.
Yagane for special style katanas
At the Hidden Mist Village armoury, Yagane makes katanas for special styles with Crude Iron obtained through Final Selection. Decide which Breathing Style you will commit to before forging; choosing the wrong blade consumes iron that you must farm again.
How to confirm a refinement worked
After the “Refining…” state clears, the forge shows one of three banners: SUCCESS, GREAT SUCCESS, or FAILED. On a success or great success the item’s refinement level ticks up. You can also watch your resource counters drop, since both your Wen total and your Refinement Ore stock decrease with every attempt whether it succeeds or fails.
