We've already talked in depth about the fundamental question behind Core crafting which is: What will be the purpose of this Core? You are the only person that can answer this. This will determine what you craft and how you craft it.
Now we'll walk you through a brief guide on Crafting your first Core, with one you may already have the materials for (if not, don't worry!).
There are three categories: leading a rally, taking a rally hit, and holding heroes. For more detail on each of these categories, go to Crafting Cores with a Purpose.
This is the easiest category, just focus on as much troop attack as possible. Use attack Cores and pieces.
Assuming you have over 10 million troops, you would use both attack and defense. If using an attack Core put defensive pieces with it. If using a defensive Core put attack pieces with it. You need to kill enough Troops not burn, but also not lose too many in the process.
If your purpose is to hold a high ranking hero you want make a full defensive Core set. Use only defensive Cores and pieces. Your alliance should be feeding you Resources and speedups to train Strategic T4 at this point.
Click on your Forge.
Click on "Craft Core Equipment".
This will open you to your Cores Inventory.
Once you know what stats you are aiming to maximize, pick the Core and Pieces that have the highest bonuses for you target stats.
At the bottom left of your screen, you will see a button that says "Cores Stats".
Click on the button to bring up each stat for all the Cores you have. Since I am showing the Fork Sword, we will be talking about that as an example.
As you can see, each item that is available for the Weapon slot is shown. If you scroll down you can see the others you have. Clicking one of the other categories on the ribbon will give you different choices. Choose the Core you would like to use based on the stats. The stats are key to getting the specific items you want. The lvl 6 Fork Sword shows a Strategic Troop Attack Bonus, with stats of 25.63% - 39.47%. Whatever you chose, will be your foundation Core. Click the Add button to add it to the queue.
Now click the Pieces tab. Click the Pieces Stats Button and use the same process. Go through the categories, scroll through the pieces, and add your Pieces. You can add up to 6 pieces depending on how many slots you have Researched. This can increase your Gear's stats enormously!
Also note, that you can add lvl 6 Pieces to any lvl of Core, the Core is the foundation and the pieces enhance the Core. You can combine a lvl 4 Core with lvl 6 Pieces for better stats. Although, just because you use lvl 6 pieces does not change the Core to legendary, it stays at the same level even if the Pieces are higher.
If you have any Pieces or Cores greyed out, they will not be available to be used or seen. You will need to use Piece Swap items or Core Swap items.
You can easily delete and place a Piece or Core back into your inventory to chose a different one if needed.
So let's say you have a Core and 3 Pieces queued. At the top of the screen you will see all the items ready. At the bottom of the screen, you will see three buttons: Pieces stats or Core stats depending on the screen you were last in, an Instant Craft button, and a Craft button to use Silver to Craft your Piece. Either Gold or Silver can be clicked to craft, it is your choice.
You can use Speed Ups to reduce Crafting time. When completed, you will get an in game email, with a link to the Core you created. It will show you the name and quality of the Core, and the stats it now contains after combining.
My advice to you is to keep a notebook handy, and write down the Pieces you used with the Core you combined. This way if you find you like it, you can recreate it. Note, the stats may change depending on refinement and Research, so keep that in mind as well.
Enjoy!
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Article 1: All Core Crafting Basics Article 2: The Essential Core Crafting Strategies (Coming 12-10) Article 3: How to Craft Great Core Gear Article 4: Crafting Cores with a Purpose Article 5: Crafting Your First Core Article 6: When to Take Chances While Crafting Article 7: The Most Under Rated Core Gear Article 8: The Best Core Gear You Can Craft Article 9: The Deadliest Cores: Four Horsemen + 1 Bonus Core Recipe
