The Graft Compendium - Everything You Want to Know About Grafts

submitted by notleh on Feb 25th, 2007

The Graft Compendium
(24Feb2007v1.2)


By Notleh the Necromancer
Proud Member of Cryptic Gnosis on Woefeather

Cliff’s Notes for all those people with ADHD: Grafts allow you to customize your pet and are good…get them. Here is a list of around 340 known grafts. I will update it as I find more and people post more information.

Edit (lifebane):  Notleh allowed us to use his list in order to create the graft depository , the vgnecro search able graft database.  The list of grafts available has since changed dramatically so his list mentioned above is no longer up to date.  Notleh is working on the updated version which will be incorporated into the database.

I. Intro

For those of you who have adventured with me in other worlds, you know that I am a bit of a freak when it comes to information. I like to know all there is to know. Although I have been in Vanguard since Beta 1, I did not start playing a Necromancer until release, so there are some very knowledgeable Necromancers out there (such as Polkadots) who know far more than I.

However, an area I found lacking in regards to information was grafts. Since the Abomination is such a pivotal part of our class, and grafts (in my opinion) are such a major part of the Abomination, I decided to compile as much information as I could about grafts. Some people think grafts are a waste of time, but I think they are essential. Not equipping grafts would be comparable to never buying armor for your Warrior, or a bow for your Ranger. If you want to be the best it takes a little extra work.

I am not a dev, nor do I have access to them, so please do not accept anything following as “the truth”. The following post is built in part from my personal experience as a new Necromancer, from forum crawling, and from conjecture. Read it at your own risk.


II. The Abomination

To understand grafts, you must first understand the Abomination. A Necromancer is a powerful caster, but unlike the pure elemental direct damage blasts of a Sorcerer, we primarily contribute to a party by slowing, weakening, and sickening our opponents, and then applying massive damage through DOT’s (damage-over-time spells). A good Necromancer can also handle the additional adds and take the punishment when the main tank goes down through the use of our Abomination.

I think of the Abomination as a summoned demon, or a “pet” who protects us and does damage to our foes. It is this pet who makes the Necromancer (in my mind) the most powerful solo class in the game. The Abom can take the brunt of all physical attacks, hold aggression as we unleash all sort of devastating attacks on our enemies, as well as dish out a considerable amount of damage on its own. Some people look at these as just another DOT but I think of them as much, much more.

The Abom raises in level and power with its master, but it is limited in power and scope on its own; this is where grafts come in. They allow the Abom to be customized for different situations and to make it more damaging to many degrees of magnitude. Think of grafts as armor and weapons for your Abom.


III. The Graft List

Now, there are many partial lists out there so this is an attempt to create a complete list. Polkadots is in contact with the devs so maybe we can get a complete list (600+ is the rumor), or a confirmation on this one, but in the meantime this is my attempt for us to create one ourselves. It is currently around 300 grafts.

There are currently six types of grafts. They apply to different parts of the Abom: Face, Stronghand, Claw, Heart, Torso and Legs. You cannot have 2 of the same type active at the same time. For example, you cannot load 2 hearts or 3 claws. Your available graft slots must all be different.

When you first get your Abom (lvl 4) you may only equip 2 grafts. This number increases as your Necro levels until you may equip 6.

2 – Level 4
3 – Level 10
4 – Level 20
5 – Level 30
6 – Level 50?

A link to the current list is at the top of this post. I am sure there are many mistakes, and the types of grafts and names were changed drastically since release so there is much confusion on what is really out there. If you would like to correct my mistakes, or add to the list, please use the following format: Complete graft name, level, Blue(common) or Yellow (rare) or other colors if applicable, Spell or modifier, any additional info, like how much damage it typically hits for or recast timer.

We need everyone to contribute to make it complete.


IV. Where to find Grafts

I can think of 3 ways to get grafts:

1. Someone gives one to you. No explanation needed there.

2. You purchase one at an exchange. This can be a little overwhelming at first because there is not a dropdown or filter choice set for grafts (there may be one soon). However, most grafts have a common name to signify their level. Just use the following words to search for the appropriate level graft. Most grafts use these prefixes to describe the level:

• Level 5 - Scrawny
• Level 10 - Wiry
• Level 15 - Atrophied
• Level 20 - Sinewy
• Level 25 - Tough
• Level 30 - Sturdy
• Level 35 - Bulky
• Level 40 - Prime
• Level 45 - Monstrous
• Level 50 - Colossal

Additionally, use the following to find rares: heart, fist, legs.

The price I am putting out there as a baseline for graft sales is the item level minus 5. So, if it’s a level 15 item then sell it for 10 silver. Obviously, this does not work for level 5 items, so maybe sell those for 1-2 silver. Who knows if this will work but it is what I am using on Woefeather. Of course the market will dictate the final price and rares will be an exception.

3. Necropsy. At level 10 Necromancers obtain a spell called Necropsy. It basically allows them to search a corpse. Any corpse may be searched, not just those belonging to you. I think it is kind of foolish you do not get this until 10 since there are level 1 grafts and no way to pimp out your Abom on your own with the level 5 grafts..

It takes 2 seconds to cast, so some people view it as a hindrance if you are in a party chaining mobs. However, by setting a macro (and with practice) it is simple enough to check every body as you go. Some people do not like doing this but I do personally. It adds another level of challenge and surprise to combat. Every rotting corpse is a potential cornucopia of delight (don’t even go there Arevirr!).

The only type of mobs I have found that do not allow Necropsy are Elementals.

Now, there is one thing you need to understand about Necropsy; it is totally random and you may go for many hours without finding a graft, or you may get a few back to back. The corpse of EVERY mob shares the worldwide loot table, so a scorpion in Khal has the exact same chance of dropping a graft (or a rare) as a Kaon spark in Veskal’s exchange. At least this is what the devs say. I personally think they still have big holes in the loot tables, and some items (such as the Legs of the Colossus) seem to appear often on specific mobs, but I will keep the faith. It is just a matter of odds, so the more bodies you harvest using Necropsy, the better your odds at finding grafts.

The only limiting factor on what you find using Necropsy appears to be level range. This is good, because you are normally fighting mobs above your level and should have plenty of grafts by the time you progress the next 5 levels. I think the Necropsy looting is something like this:

Mob Level 1-5 = Level 5 grafts
Mob Level 6-10 = Level 10 grafts
Mob Level 11-15 = Level 15 grafts
Mob Level 16-20 = Level 20 grafts
Mob Level 21-25 = Level 25 grafts
Mob Level 26-30 = Level 30 grafts
Mob Level 31-35 = Level 35 grafts
Mob Level 36-40 = Level 40 grafts
Mob Level 41-45 = Level 45 grafts
Mob Level 46-50 = Level 50 grafts

Some people have reported getting low level grafts on high level mobs. For example, getting a level 5 claw off of a level 20 mob. Scarcius (VG Necro Class Lead) says that if you loot a mob that can be skinned, it is then treated as a level 1 mob for the purposes of skinning…thereby producing a level 5 graft.

One other thing about Necropsy is that it will either produce no results, or it will produce parts. Most people just sell these to the vendor. I am a bit sick and collect them in the hope that I can one day craft my own grafts or Abomination. Who knows? Maybe I am inspired by this post:

"They have big plans for grafts. Things like beginning graft merchants called grave robbers and quests that teach new necros how to get grafts. Eventually there is supposed to be over 600 grafts with many being very rare or dropping off named and raid type mobs. Right now its just a big giant mess and more or less a placeholder till resources can be spared to deal with it.
__________________
~scarcius hawke
vg necro class lead"

Anyway, here is a table of the parts you might find. (I don't have it in front of me right now since I am on a plane).

Tier 1 Shattered Bone
Tier 2
Tier 3
Tier 4 ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????
Tier 5 ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????
Tier 6 ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ??????? ???????


V. How to Use Grafts

In the simplest form, to use a graft you just summon your Abom, open the graft bag (it looks like a bag on the pet HUD that appears and is right next to the little skull icon for Sneer), and then drop the graft into that bag.

However, there are a few more things to know. First, grafts are currently bugged. Many times when you chunk (load a new zone), relog, or evac, the grafts will unload. This is a known bug and being worked on. To fix it, simply drag and drop the grafts from the graft bag into your inventory and then move them back into your graft bag to reset them.

Next, all grafts have either passive or active abilities. Passive abilities are things such as increased armor class, hit point draining, or immunity to spells. These are always on and you do not need to worry about them. Active abilities are basically spells and must be activated to use. Many of these are very powerful and will set apart a world class Necromancer from an average Necromancer. These range from direct damage, to slow, to hit point transfers.

To use these abilities you have 2 choices; either click on the ability icon (found on the pet HUD, next to the graft bag) or by typing them in/using a Macro. Personally, I have a macro that I use and just activate it repeatedly during battle. It is obviously going to change depending on the graft loaded, but here is an example of a standard one I use:

/cast Sneer
/cast “Rending Fist X”
/cast “Sapping Claw X”

Your pet DOES have an energy pool, but you cannot see it so just assume it is endless ;-).

Now, a couple pieces of warning. First, do not look at the spell or ability that is listed on the item when it is in your inventory, as these may be wrong…especially if it is a rare item (since many are based on the common variant). Always mouse-over the little icon that appears on the pet HUD and use the spell that appears there. For example, if you mouse-over the “Atrophied Draining Claw”, which is a rare, it says the special ability is “Draining Claw III”. However, when you activate it and look you will see it is actually using “Sapping Claw III”, which is the special ability from the common version (Atrophied Sapping Claw).

If the macro doesn’t work, try typing out the spell a couple of different ways in your chat window to activate it. We have noticed that some of the spells mistakenly have a “1” (one) instead of an I, some spells have typos, or an extra space at the end (such as “Super Spell I “ instead of “Super Spell I”)


VI. Pimp my Abom

Now, everyone has their own style and ideas, so I will list them here as people post. However, I will start it off with three different scenarios.

1. Soloing
In this scenario your pet will be grabbing (and hopefully keeping) agro and tanking. Setup properly you show be able to easily take down a 3dot yellow mob a couple levels higher than yourself.

Start with an Armor increasing ribcage, add a leeching Claw, then a leeching or direct-damage Fist. Then add on damage grafts in as many slots as you have.

2. In a Party
If you are just there for dps, go with a strength (bigger hits) or dexterity (more hits) ribcage, then add on fists and claws for damage and then hp regen heart.

If you are there to do dps but also serve as an off-tank or like to keep your options open, upgrade the armor class first and upgrade your Sneer (which is a taunt)

3. Pvp
I don’t want to give away too much here, but just watch the look of surprise on the face of your opponents when your Adom is immune to roots (Legs of Escaping) and keeps stunning them (Stunning Claw).


VI. Known Problems

1. The Necropsy spell is not obtained until level 10, but there are level 1 grafts, and an Abom may use grafts at level 1.

2. Some items have a different spell or ability than is listed on the description. This is especially a problem on rares, which are based on the common variant.

3. Very limited info on pets and grafts.


VII. Conclusion

Have fun with your Necromancer. I think it is the most versatile class in the game. Just know that you will face a good deal of ignorance and bias out there when trying to find groups. Most people do not understand pet classes and they are weak (dps calculators prove otherwise) and do not know how to build proper teams. Take the time to educate yourself and others and I have faith you will love this class is much as I do.

However, it starts with you putting in the time and effort to equip your Abom properly with grafts so people see what a Necromancer can do.

Enjoy!

Comments (10)