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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.

Our take

The RO New World team's own view

  • This matters most for weapon and accessory traits, since those share your class pool. Armor and cape traits do not raise damage, so new players can wear whatever defensive roll they already have.
  • Our order: set a wishlist trait before every forge, chase the weapon trait first, then accessories, then armor and cape. Forge armor and cape traits on level 25 molds at 30,000 zeny and transfer them up.
  • The biggest trap is feeding old gear to Apocalypse tempering before checking it for rare special skills. Also skip doubling a trait across two accessories; only the higher-quality copy works.
  • Verdict: F2P players should stick to Common Forge, track the 30-forge pity and avoid Enhanced Forging early. Spenders can use Enhanced Forge for orange skills, but molds have weekly limits, so do not burn them all at level 25.

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