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Special skills (affixes): how they roll and how to target them

as of 2026-09-25 (SEA)

Special skills are the traits that roll on forged gear. Weapons and accessories share a class-specific pool that changes by level bracket; armor and cape share one universal defensive pool; shoes and off-hands get none. Use the wishlist and pity counters, forge cheap gear for traits, and transfer good traits upward.

Where special skills come from

  • Forging is the main gear source from level 25. Each attempt needs a Forging Crystal plus a slot-specific mold; mold brackets are level 25, 40, 55, 70, 80 and 90 (rothenewworld.wiki forging guide; Gameplay.tips Archer guide).
  • Common Forge can give blue, purple or orange gear; orange gear almost always carries a trait. Enhanced Forge adds a Godforged Ember and is the only way to roll orange-quality ('epic') special skills (rothenewworld.wiki; PJVC; ChiBoust).
  • Quality order: green, blue, purple, orange; each trait also has a random level, up to level 3 in the database lists (rothenewworld.wiki; lookup data). Gear from activities can also drop with traits already on it (rothenewworld.wiki).

Which slots roll which pools

  • Weapon: class-specific pool that changes by bracket (15/25, 40/55, 70, 90). Some traits exist only in a lower bracket (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Accessories share the weapon's class pool. Two accessories with the same trait: only the higher-quality copy works (rothenewworld.wiki; OWIISHII notes only one Double Spin counts).
  • Armor and cape share one universal pool of about 30 defensive traits at every level (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Shoes and off-hand get no special skills (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Dual wielders: only the main-hand weapon's special skill works (RTNW Hub Assassin Cross guide; RossPlays; Kurosu_Gaming). One commenter claims otherwise; unconfirmed.

Targeting a special skill

  • Pick a wishlist trait before forging (heart icon on the forge screen). The in-game list marks recommended traits for your build with a thumbs-up (PJVC; rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Pity: every 30 Common Forges guarantees a purple trait and every 30 Enhanced Forges an orange one (random level). If the wished trait misses twice in a row on a purple or orange roll, the third is guaranteed to be it (rothenewworld.wiki; PJVC).
  • Molds have weekly purchase limits; do not burn them all at level 25 (rothenewworld.wiki). Sploot advises F2P players against Enhanced Forging early.

Forge low, transfer high

  • A trait's quality and level are fixed once rolled, but traits can be transferred to new gear (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Armor and cape traits are the same at every level, so forge cheap level 25 molds (30,000 zeny) instead of level 70+ molds (120,000 zeny) and transfer the result (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Forge a lower-bracket weapon when the trait you want only exists there, then transfer it to your current weapon (rothenewworld.wiki).
  • Keep old gear with good traits until you have transferred them (rothenewworld.wiki). Apocalypse tempering (level 90) consumes gold and red gear; check for rare special skills before feeding an item (King Spade).

Armor and cape picks

  • PvE: Elite Guard (less damage from MVP, Mini and Boss) and Fortified Guard; PvP: Duelist Guard and Unshakable Guard (Gameplay.tips Knight guide).
  • Medium or Large Monster Guard for PvE by target size, Duelist Guard for PvP (Gameplay.tips Gatling guide; Ivo Play; RossPlays).
  • Kurosu_Gaming notes armor and cape traits do not raise damage, so early on take whatever defensive roll you already have.

Sources