The equipment economy in Lineage 2 is far more intricate than most players realize. While end-game S-grade weapons often steal the spotlight, the real backbone of server economies lies in understanding the complete crafting ecosystem—from humble D-grade beginings to the sophisticated A-grade processes.
The Foundation: D-Grade Through B-Grade
The lower tier equipment grades represent where most economic activity actually happens. D-grade, C-grade, and B-grade items form the foundation of any healthy server economy. These grades are where new players enter the market, and experienced players constantly cycle through as they level alternate characters or experiment with different builds.
What makes these tiers special is their accesibility. Unlike higher grades that require extensive resources and high-level crafters, these equipment pieces can be obtained through multiple channels. Players farm recipe drops, gather materials from common monsters, and participate in a vibrant marketplace where supply usually meets demand.
The crafting process for these grades involves collecting recipes, acquiring the necessary materials, and finding a blacksmith with the appropriate crafting level. But here's where it gets interesting—the real sophistication isn't in the crafting itself, but in understanding the crystal economy that underpins everything.
The A-Grade Turning Point
A-grade equipment marks a significant shift in complexity. This is where the "sophisticated process" that defined earlier grades fundamentally changes. One theory suggests that Lineage 2's equipment progression was originally designed to culminate at B-grade, with A-grade being added later. The evidence? The elegant crystal cycling system that works so well for lower grades essentially ends once you reach A-grade.
For A-grade equipment, you need the actual gear pieces, which primarily come from drops or crafting. Most players follow a practical approach: they crystallize the unwanted dropped pieces—the items with poor stats or unnecessary types—to recover crystals for other uses.
However, there's a critical component that many players overlook: the subclass quest system. At level 75, when undertaking subclass quests, you'll encounter a particular quest chain that becomes essential to the server economy. After completing the initial Baium-related objectives, you'll need to turn in B-grade crystals. The next step requires you to provide a B-grade weapon to the quest NPC.
Here's the genius part: you receive a low-tier A-grade weapon as a reward. You can then crystallize this A-grade weapon, recover the crystal value, and essentially get reimbursed for the B-grade weapon you crafted and turned in. This creates a crystal generation loop that savvy players exploit to fuel the A-grade economy.
The crafting requirements also step up significantly. You'll need recipe cards and a blacksmith with crafting level 56 (though the exact level may vary—it's worth verifying this detail on your specific server).
S-Grade: The Endgame Simplification
Surprisingly, S-grade equipment follows a simpler pattern than A-grade. The subclass quest crystal generation method doesn't exist for S-grade, so the economy revolves around more straightforward mechanics. Players crystallize dropped S-grade items they don't need, which generates crystals. Those crystals fuel crafting new S-grade equipment through high-level blacksmiths.
The S-grade market tends to be less dynamic than lower tiers because fewer players participate. The barrier to entry—both in terms of character level and economic resources—means that S-grade operates more like a luxury goods market than the bustling bazaar of mid-tier equipment.
Why Lower Grades Matter More
Despite the prestige of S-grade equipment, the majority of server economic activity concentrates in D, C, and B-grade items. This isn't just about player population distribution—though that's certainly a factor. These grades represent the sweet spot where:
Recipe drops are common enough to maintain steady supply
Material gathering doesn't require elite farming locations
Crafting fees remain affordable for most players
Market turnover stays high due to constant character progression
Crystal values remain stable enough for predictable profit margins
Smart players recognize that fortunes can be built more reliably through volume trading in these middle tiers than through occasional S-grade transactions. A merchant who understands C-grade weapon values across different server periods can generate consistent income that rivals the sporadic profits from high-end dealing.
The Crystal Cycle Philosophy
Understanding Lineage 2's equipment economy ultimately comes down to grasping the crystal cycle. Equipment drops, gets crystallized, produces crystals, which fund crafting, which produces equipment that eventually gets crystallized again. This perpetual motion machine drives server economies.
The cycle works most elegantly in the B-grade and below ranges. It becomes more complex and less fluid at A-grade, where the subclass quest injection point creates artificial crystal generation. And it simplifies again at S-grade, where lower participation rates mean less cycling overall.
Players who master this cycle—who understand when to crystallize, when to craft, when to buy, and when to sell—position themselves as the true economic powers on any server. They're not just chasing the best equipment for themselves; they're orchestrating the flow of resources that enables everyone else's progression.
The beauty of this system is that it rewards both specialization and diversification. A player can focus exclusively on B-grade weapon crafting and build a sustainable business, or they can operate across multiple grades, arbitraging price differences and exploiting temporary market imbalances.
In the end, while everyone dreams of wielding S-grade weapons, the players who truly understand Lineage 2's economy know that sustainable wealth comes from mastering the unglamorous but essential markets of D, C, and B-grade equipment—where the real game is played.
