Advanced Honing Cost & Attempts Calculator
Enter your assumptions (rates, artisan gain, and material prices) to estimate expected taps and total gold from your current advanced honing level to your target.
How this Lost Ark advanced honing calculator helps
Advanced honing planning is mostly a resource-management problem. You are balancing tap chance, artisan progress, raw gold cost, and material opportunity cost. This calculator gives you an expected-value estimate from your current level to your target level so you can decide whether to push now, wait for an event, or redirect gold into gems, elixirs, cards, or alt progression.
What the calculator estimates
- Expected number of attempts per level (including artisan pity behavior).
- Expected raw gold spent.
- Expected material usage converted into gold by your own market prices.
- Total projected cost for the full push range.
Calculator logic (short version)
For each level step, the tool uses your configured success rate and artisan gain per failed attempt. If you fail enough times to fill artisan, the next attempt is treated as guaranteed success. This creates a capped attempt distribution, then the calculator computes expected attempts and multiplies by tap costs.
Because actual in-game systems can differ by patch, event buffs, books, research, and item tier, treat this as a planning model. It is excellent for comparing scenarios (for example: “push now” vs “wait for cheaper leapstones”) even when exact values shift over time.
How to use it effectively
1) Start with realistic rates
Set base success, drop per level, and minimum floor to match your current progression slice. If you are testing multiple systems, run multiple passes and compare totals.
2) Price your materials honestly
Even if mats are bound, they still have opportunity value. Entering market-equivalent prices helps you understand the true cost of a push versus selling tradables or investing elsewhere.
3) Compare multiple targets
Try 1–2 levels at a time. Many players discover that one extra level has a steep marginal cost. Using a target ladder (for example +10, +12, +15) can prevent overcommitting gold in one session.
Optimization ideas for advanced honing
- Push during favorable market windows when leapstones and fusion materials dip.
- Use event periods for better effective cost and reduced downside variance.
- Set a weekly budget cap and stop once expected value exceeds your comfort range.
- Track per-level marginal cost, not just total cost.
FAQ
Is this calculator exact?
It is an expected-value model, not a deterministic simulator of every in-game modifier. It is most useful for strategic planning and comparing choices.
Does this include lucky streaks and unlucky streaks?
Indirectly, yes. The expected value blends all possible outcomes, including high-roll and low-roll paths, while artisan pity limits extreme bad luck.
Can I use it for weapon and armor separately?
Yes. Just run separate calculations with different tap costs and rates for each piece type.