The Phrozen Keep

On the CubeMain.txt knowledge base file:

Knowledge Base - CubeMain.txt

If you go down to APPENDIX B, it lists "nor=Normal" under the same list as "mag=Magic", "rar=Rare" and so on. And then it lists "bas=Base item" on the same list as "exc=Exceptional" and "eli=Elite". This implies that "nor" stands for an item of normal quality, where as "bas" stands for the normal version of the item (i.e. not exceptional or elite).

In my experiments, this is incorrect, they are in fact the other way around. "nor" really stands for the normal version of the item (i.e. not exceptional or elite), whereas "bas" stands for the base item, in the sense of not magical, rare, unique or set.

So I think those two should be swapped in where they are placed in said appendix.

I have set up a simple test to confirm the fileguide is correct and here are my results.

Test 1:
NumInputs : 3
Input1 : "armo,nor"
Input2 : "hpot,qty=2"
output : "usetype,mag"

Results from Test 1: Any normal quality armor can be used for this recipe, turning it into a magic quality.

Test 2:
NumInputs : 3
Input1 : "armo,bas"
Input2 : "hpot,qty=2"
output : "usetype,rar"

Results from Test 2: Any quality base armor IE(cap, leather armor, boots, etc) can be used for this recipe, turning it into a rare quality.

Test 3:
NumInputs : 3
Input1 : "armo,bas"
Input2 : "hpot,qty=2"
output : "usetype,nor"

Results from Test 3: Any quality base armor IE(cap, leather armor, boots, etc) can be used for this recipe, turning it into a normal quality.

Test 4:
NumInputs : 3
Input1 : "armo,exc"
Input2 : "hpot,qty=2"
output : "usetype,nor"

Results from Test 4: Base items of any quality cannot be used for this recipe. Only works on higher tier items, turning them into normal quality.

Hm, I think you're right. Let me explain what happened (what made me confused). I just made some more tests and it seems for my purposes both would work.

First, I was trying on outputs, not inputs. At some point I was using "nor" to transform into normal quality, but there must have been something else in my recipe that was not right (maybe I was using useitem instead of usetype), and the result was that it was not losing its affixes. That is, if you say "useitem,nor" and apply it to a magic item, it will still be magtical afterwards. That's what made me think it had to do with tier rather than quality.

Then I got scared that what my recipe would do would be to change the tier of the items, which I did not want. So I turned it into "usetype,bas", and it did just what I wanted, including keeping it exceptional/elite if it were, which I would not have expected if "bas" indeed did what the guide did.

All of this made me think what I said in the original post. However, I just tried the output "usetype,nor", and it works just as well as "usetype,bas". Edit: Which makes me think, the guide is correct, but "bas" only works on inputs, not on outputs? The upgrade unique items recipe does work, however, and it uses "exc" and "eli". Maybe it only works with "useitem", but not with "usetype". Let me try this...

Edit2: It is highly inconsistent/buggy when used in outputs. First, to achieve the upgrade recipe, it is important to include "mod" in it. Just "useitem,exc" or "useitem,eli" won't change the item tier at all, whereas "useitem,mod,exc" and "useitem,mod,eli" will upgrade the item as expected. Funny enough, when you use BOTH "useitem,mod,bas" and "useitem,mod,nor" on a unique exceptional item, the result is... A hand axe! with the same mods and unique name as the original one (my original ones were bows). So basically, "bas" and "nor" on outputs are weird. When used with "useitem" and/or "mod", it does not work properly at all. When used with "usetype" alone, they both produce the same result: a normal quality item of the same tier. At least, that's what all the tests I just did seem to indicate. Feel free to do your own tests and prove me wrong (again).

Edit3: Then again, I have this other recipe with output "armo,nor,uni" which only produces normal tier items, and I had a previous iteration which kept producing exceptional rare items because the item level (30) was not high enough for the unique versions of those items. When I added the "nor" to it, it started working. I have not tried "armo,bas,uni", maybe I should, but to be honest my final conclusion is: "nor" and "bas" on outputs are highly buggy and unpredictable. Try until you get what you want...

Thanks for testing it.