If you want to upgrade your Masterwork gear in RuneScape Dragon Wilds, you will need plenty of Ascension Shards & Cores. These materials are used at the Mystic Forge to increase the power level of your weapon and equipment. Since they can take a while to collect, it’s a good idea to start farming them early. In this guide, we will explain Ascension Shards & Cores in RuneScape Dragon Wilds.
How Does the Mystic Forge Work
The Mystic Forge is a crafting station that lets you upgrade Masterwork equipment. There are 5 Ascension Cores, but at present there are only four available in the game. Since every upgrade uses a core, you will need to farm a large number of them if you want to upgrade multiple Masterwork weapons.
How to Get Ascension Cores
To get Ascension Cores, you need to complete the Nightmare Crucible. There are currently 4 Nightmare Crucibles scattered across the world. After completing the challenge, you will receive an Ascension Core that matches the Crucible difficulty. To activate a Nightmare Crucible, you will need the correct Crucible Engram. You can obtain Engrams from:
- Enemy drops
- Chests
- Various activities throughout the world
The Crucible rewards Ascension Cores, but it is not the fastest farming method. The fastest way to collect Ascension Cores is by farming Ascension Shards. Once you collect 99 Ascension Shards of the same tier, you can craft one Ascension Core at the Mystic Forge.
How to Get Ascension Shards
Ascension Shards can drop from many powerful enemies including:
- Blue Dragons
- Lesser Red Dragons
- Zogers
- Regional bosses
- World bosses
You will get around 10-20 Ascension Shards after killing a boss. Smaller enemies in Umbral Sands can drop Ascension materials, but the drop chance is much lower than fighting dragons and bosses. The tier of Ascension Shards depends on the enemy or region you’re farming.
| Enemy | Rewards |
| Velgar | Tier 4 Ascension Shards or Core |
| Lesser Green Dragons | Tier 5 Shards or Core |
| Imaru | Tier 5 Shards or Core |
| Zogres (Tier 5 region) | Tier 5 Shards |
| Lesser Blue Dragons | Tier 6 Shards or Core |
| Titan | Tier 6 Shards or Core |
| Zogres (Tier 6 region) | Tier 6 Shards |
| Lesser Red Dragons | Tier 7 Shards or Core |
The upcoming combat update will make Masterwork important. If you start farming now, you will save a lot of time once the update comes. Some players have found tier 7 Cores from bosses. The availability of tier 7 shards may depend on the current version of the game, as the drop rates are very low.
