Full Rappelz Epic Timeline  ›  Epic 9.8 — Maze of the Brighten

Luciad Power — Rethinking Enhancement Beyond +20

The biggest systemic change in Epic 9.8 was the Luciad Power system — a complete overhaul of how equipment was enhanced beyond the +20 threshold. Existing +21 to +25 equipment was automatically converted, with stats preserved. The new system replaced the old numeric enhancement above +20 with a Luciad Power stack, with each level of Luciad Power requiring specific materials to increase.

To increase Luciad Power above +20, players combine with Luciad’s Power Stone (Weapon or Armor) and a Luciad’s Pure Cube — the latter dropping from all bosses at level 150 and above. Power Stones are obtained by extracting from other +20 pieces using a Luciad Power Extractor.

Brighten’s Maze — A Puzzle Dungeon Unlike Any Other

Brighten’s Maze is one of the most creative dungeon designs in Rappelz history. Accessible from level 200 via a quest starting at Luciad Society Ruth, the dungeon combined fast-paced monster combat with a mathematical puzzle mechanic in each room.

After clearing monsters in each room, players received a number from each defeated guardian. Summing all four numbers, they then had to answer four yes/no questions using floor panels on the opposite side of the room:

Each correct answer moved the party forward by one room. All four correct sent the party ahead four rooms. All four wrong sent them back to the beginning. A 30-minute time limit applied — with every remaining minute increasing the final chest’s drop rate by 1%, rewarding speed and accuracy together.

The dungeon was a genuine departure from Rappelz’s traditional combat-only approach — requiring players to think as well as fight, and creating a shared intellectual challenge that made party communication essential.

Pure White Weapons, 7-Line Awakenings and More

Pure White Weapons arrived in Epic 9.8 — crafted by combining existing Island of Forgotten Gods weapons with a clean Circus dungeon weapon and Pure Luciad’s Energy (25 for one-handed, 50 for two-handed). These weapons could have their Luciad Power raised to a maximum of 40, and above 32 required the Luciad’s Advanced Cube.

Awakening received a major upgrade — weapons could now have up to 7 awakening lines using Blessed Awakening Stones, and accessories up to 7 lines using Blessed Awakening Stone: Accessory. Both required combining with Pure Luciad’s Energy to create these blessed stones.

Enhanced Teardrops could now be levelled up to +10 via the Soul Crafter NPC — with +5 reachable using Soul Stone Essence from Brighten’s Maze, and +10 reachable using Volatile Soul Stone Essence from the cash shop. Skill Card Box opening was also streamlined — up to 5,000 could now be opened in one go at the Coin Exchanger NPC.

All Changes in Epic 9.8

Why Epic 9.8 Matters

The Luciad Power system was the most significant gear overhaul since the ethereal system in Epic 6.3. Brighten’s Maze was the most creative dungeon in the game’s history — a puzzle mechanic that no other MMORPG of Rappelz’s era attempted. And the level 240 cap gave endgame players a meaningful new progression ceiling to chase.

Epic 9.8 demonstrated that Rappelz updates were becoming more inventive and more mechanically rich with each iteration — a trend that continued with 9.9 and 9.10.