Weapon Technicians where once the pride and joy of the Hanagakure military. Expertly trained from youth, weapon technicians are capable of feats of power and ingenuity that make the ninja of the other countries take pause. Taking the best of the best, the military regularly produces one man armies from it's ranks and strives to ever better that record.

Weapon Technicians are masters of just that, weaponry techniques and maintenance. They combine the best of weapons, martial arts, and the arts of chakra control to create a force of nature that few ninja can match. Always on the look out for bigger and better gear and enhancements; an expansive imagination, thirst for knowledge, and a little luck will take you to the very heights of glory and power.


As quoted by the specialization guidelines:

Quote :

The user is well versed in the creation and maintenance of highly specialized weaponry. Those that specialize in Weapon Tech are given the option to take or create a base weapon, which then becomes their primary mode of battle. These weapons are specific to the user, no two weapons evolve the same way. Each weapon comes with several 'slots' into which upgrades can be inserted or attached. Each upgrade must be purchased via the item shop, won via events, or found via missions. Each upgrade must be completed via RP once paid for and approved. Each weapon is considered to be 'bonded' to the user, only they are able to use it to it's fullest power, and many times higher ranked weapons (B-rank or above) will outright reject an unfamiliar chakra signature, usually violently. Each weapon is locked to the rank of the user; as the user grows, so does the weapon. It cannot exceed the current rank of it's user, however it can be a lower rank if the user does not train it properly. Just about any weapon base can be used; however there is a standing ban on ALL firearms (guns, rifles, etc) with the exception of Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, Explosion Tag, or otherwise pre-approved ammunition launchers.

What this says in a nutshell is simply this:

• Anyone with this specialty is a master of weaponry of all types. Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and Kyujutsu are all combined into the basics of this style; and are therefore unneeded unless you wish to use a specialized style of Kenjutsu or Archery that requires a sub-specialty of either.
  
• Chakra Flow is inherent in this specialty. However, you are only able to affect the weaponry, armor, and gear created via this specialty.
  

Simple enough. Now, the actual creation of the weaponry and gear is easy enough. You start with either a base weapon, or create your own via the custom creation template.

The listing of basic weapons and gear can be found HERE.

Template for custom creations is:

Code:

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Type:[/b]
[b]Rank:[/b]
[b]Upgrade Slots:[/b]
[b]Affinities:[/b]
[b]Description:[/b]
[b]Enhancements:[/b]

[*]

Now, we've all been there; you've created a weapon from scratch that you thought was perfect; you couldn't want anything more. You settle in, start using your customized baby, and after a few days, weeks, maybe even a few months; you realize that you forgot something. Or maybe you see something that someone else has, and it sparks your creativity. You think "I want that." or "I need to be able to stop that."

Most places you would be, well, screwed; unless there is some way to reforge your weapons and armor. But the problem with reforging is that you lose everything that makes your item special; and no one wants that. You've sunk all the time and effort into getting it just right, and now you have to toss it all away? Yeah, we don't like the idea of that either. So instead of forcing you to reforge and lose everything; we're going to go the less annoying route and allow weaponry and armor upgrading. You keep everything the item originally was, and you get to enhance it to do whatever you want it to do now as well; within reason of course.

The amount of upgrading that can be done is entirely dependent on the base rank of the item. Too low of a rank, and it cannot be upgraded at all. If you buy a generic kunai or D-rank gauntlet; there isn't very much that can be done to it. However, a well designed A-rank sword can be decked out with all kinds of wonderful goodies.

The actual upgrades will come in several flavors. You wanna add a Fuuinjutsu seal to a blade? Awesome, find yourself a buddy with Fuuinjutsu and have them place it. Wanna give a non-elemental item an elemental affinity? That's a tad trickier; and ties into the newest Specialty/System, Weapon Technician.

For now however, the basic guidelines for upgrades that don't require anything beyond just a basic approval and ryo payment. All custom weapons and armor start with a set number of upgrade slots. At the time of creation, these slots are not used up by the initial abilities of the item. Whatever you can get approved in the initial creation of the weapon is taken as the base of that weapon. Anything added after the initial approval is considered an upgrade.


Weapon

D-Rank: No Upgrades
C-Rank: 1 slot
B-Rank: 2 slots
A-Rank: 2 slots
S-Rank: 3 slots
SS-Rank: 4 slots


Armor

D-Rank: 1 slot
C-Rank: 1 slot
B-Rank: 2 slots
A-Rank: 3 slots
S-Rank: 4 slots
SS-Rank: 4 slots


Doesn't seem like much, does it? Well, that's because it's really not; however that isn't also to say that this is the absolute number of upgrade slots. You can purchase up to a specific number of additional slots based on the item's rank.


Weapon

D-Rank: None
C-Rank: None
B-Rank: 1 slots
A-Rank: 1 slots
S-Rank: 2 slots
SS-Rank: 2 slots


Armor

D-Rank: None
C-Rank: None
B-Rank: 1 slots
A-Rank: 1 slots
S-Rank: 2 slots
SS-Rank: 2 slots


Each additional upgrade slot will cost a specific ryo amount based on the rank of the upgrade slot; which is again tied to the base rank of the weapon.


Slot Costs

B-Rank: 1500 Ryo
A-Rank: 2000 Ryo
S-Rank: 2500 Ryo
SS-Rank: 4000 Ryo

It's not the cheapest method in the world; but still far less expensive then creating an entirely new item that does everything you want it to do. Now remember, these are just the most basic upgrades; nothing here is considered special, nor would it allow the power of the item to increase beyond it's set ranking. That's an entirely different can of worms; which is explained via the Weapon Technician Guidelines.

Header Image © Final Fantasy Wikia and can be found in it's original form at the Mythic Weapons of FFXI page.