After Affinity 100: begin Master Research

At Affinity level 100, you finish the relationship, not the Master's development. Once you reach the final Kindred Spirit stage, Master Research becomes available.

This gives Emblems another use. You do not have to restart your skills or pay the full research cost immediately.

What does this research do?

It raises the Master's Mastery and grants stats. Current tables for the initial three Masters distinguish a general progression bonus from branch rewards focused on a troop type.

The general bonus and the specialized bonuses are separate lines. Pan is therefore not “useful only for Archers,” and Valora does more than improve Bear Hunt.

These stats are also distinct from relationship bonuses earned before this phase. Do not turn a percentage of Attack, Health or Lethality into an identical percentage of guaranteed damage: they do not measure the same thing.

What does full progression cost?

Current reference tables show 1,000 research steps per Master, costing 14,000 Master specific Emblems in total.

The first 600 steps cost 10 Emblems each. The last 400 cost 20 Emblems each.

The figure can look daunting. But you do not need 14,000 Emblems to begin. Aim for the next visible and reachable benefit, not the entire bar.

Progress through checkable steps

Open the research screen and check your current step, the cost to advance and the next bonus. Set aside the Emblems for a coherent small target, then review what remains.

For example, a batch of twenty research steps in the first part costs 200 Emblems. This example only illustrates the cost: your exact next bonus depends on where you are in the tree. Do not assume that any batch of twenty steps grants the same reward.

The reference sheet has a summary of the five research portions.

Which Emblems are you committing?

A Valora specific Emblem does not automatically become a Pan Emblem because you are deciding between the two. After Valora's final relationship stage, research is a natural use for her specific Emblems.

A general resource or a reward choice is different: it may still have several destinations. Compare them before converting it permanently.

That distinction prevents a mistaken assumption: “waiting for research will let me fund any other Master.” It depends on which reserve you mean.

Should you wait for an event?

If spending Emblems is rewarded in an upcoming stage, grouping research steps may be worthwhile. Check that the active task actually counts the action you intend to take.

There is no need to delay an important bonus for a long time in pursuit of an unreachable ranking. The approach in the guide to timing your spending still applies.

When to reassess

When the cost rises from 10 to 20 Emblems, reassess the next benefit. The same reserve will now fund fewer research steps.

Compare the benefit, other possible uses for flexible resources and any newly available Masters. Beginning a progression path does not mean you must finish it before making another decision.

What to remember today

Emblems do not become useless at level 100. Research is a long term project to develop step by step. Look at the benefits you can actually reach, not only the advertised maximum.

If you are still new to the system, you can put this chapter aside for now: knowing that Emblems have a second use is enough to keep you from treating them as obsolete.