Honing milestones +10, +15, +20: what Keen Edge, Flame Strike and Undying do

Honing in Zarhold, a card MMORPG in your browser, adds Power, Health and Hardiness to an item on every step from +1 to +20. But three steps are special: +10, +15 and +20 unlock milestones — hero bonuses on top of the item’s own gain. Weapons have their own milestones, armor and jewelry have theirs, six in total. Here is each one: what it gives, how it counts and what stacks and what doesn’t. How to hone in general — Item honing in Zarhold: how to upgrade gear to +20.

Weapon and armor milestones at a glance

• +10, weapon — Keen Edge: +1% Power for each weapon at +10 or higher, up to +3%.
• +15, weapon — Flame Strike: every 4th attack hits 20% harder.
• +20, weapon — Tyrant Breaker: +6% damage to bosses.
• +10, armor and jewelry — Fortitude: 7 items at +10 — +4% Health; 14 items — +7%.
• +15, armor and jewelry — Bastion: 14 items at +15 — another +7% Health.
• +20, armor and jewelry — Undying: once per battle, after a killing blow you rise with 20% Health.

Weapons count each (one to three in hand, a shield is a weapon too), while armor and jewelry count as a set: how many items have already reached the milestone. There are no role bonuses — tanks, healers and damage dealers get the same milestones.

The +10 milestone: Keen Edge and Fortitude

Keen Edge is the first weapon milestone. Each weapon at +10 or higher gives the hero +1% Power, up to +3%: one weapon — +1%, three — +3%. It is the only weapon milestone that grows with the number of items.

Fortitude is the armor and jewelry milestone. It counts by set: when 7 armor and jewelry items reach +10, the hero gets +4% Health; with 14 items — +7%. The bigger step replaces the smaller one: 14 items give +7%, not 4% + 7%.

Keen Edge and Fortitude show right on the character sheet as Power and Health percentages. +10 is also where honing risk begins: overheating on failure, or the risk-free Seal of Steadfastness — details in The Seal of Steadfastness and the Scroll of Transference.

The +15 milestone: Flame Strike and Bastion

Flame Strike triggers in battle: every 4th attack of the hero hits 20% harder. One weapon at +15 or higher is enough — a second or third does not double it: with three blades at +20, every 4th attack is still 20% stronger, not 60%.

Bastion is the +15 armor milestone: 14 armor and jewelry items at +15 or higher give another +7% Health. It stacks with Fortitude: 14 items at +15 mean Fortitude +7% and Bastion +7% — +14% hero Health in total.

The +20 milestone: Tyrant Breaker and Undying

Tyrant Breaker gives +6% damage to bosses. One weapon at +20 is enough. On the 4th attack against a boss, Flame Strike and Tyrant Breaker trigger together.

Undying is the +20 armor and jewelry milestone: once per battle, after a killing blow the hero rises with 20% Health. One armor or jewelry item at +20 is enough; two items at +20 still give one rise per battle.

Only the Ascension ritual leads to +20 — one attempt per week per hero, a 10% chance for weapons and 15% for armor. That makes the +20 milestones the longest goal of honing.

How milestones stack

In short: only Keen Edge (for each weapon) and Bastion (on top of Fortitude) grow with the number of items. For the others one weapon or one set is enough.

• Steps add up. One weapon at +20 gives three milestones at once: Keen Edge, Flame Strike and Tyrant Breaker. A weapon at +15 gives two: Keen Edge and Flame Strike.
• An armor item at +15 or +20 counts for both set milestones — Fortitude and Bastion, and an item at +20 also for Undying.
• The boost cap. Flame Strike and Tyrant Breaker are part of your strike boosts: your own boosts on one strike are capped at ×5, together with the target’s weaknesses at ×8. If a strike is already at the cap, the milestone adds nothing on top.
• A broken or overheated item counts for no milestone at all — until you repair it or cool it down.

Where milestones work

Milestones, like all honing power, work only against creatures: in the lands, dungeons, raids and Mythic+ keys. That is why Tyrant Breaker shines where there are many bosses — raids and keys (about keys — Mythic+ in an MMORPG). In PvP — arena, battleground, duels and tournaments — milestones are appearance only. How to build gear for honing — Level 60 gear.

All numbers by step and examples on real items are in the Knowledge Base: Honing +1…+20; reagents for the high steps — Honing: reagents and recipes.

What an item looks like at a milestone

You can see a milestone from afar. From +10 the item icon gets a golden “+N”, a golden frame and a glow; from +15 — a fiery orange frame, sparks with a pattern of their own for each kind of item and a strike trail in battle; at +20 — a blood-red pulsing frame with constant sparks, a crimson glow on the hero’s paper doll and the line “Ascended to +20 by …”.

Honing milestones FAQ

What does a +10 weapon give?

The Keen Edge milestone: +1% hero Power for each weapon at +10 or higher, up to +3%.

Does Flame Strike stack from two weapons?

No. One weapon at +15 or higher is enough: every 4th attack hits 20% harder no matter how many +15 blades you hold.

How much Health do Fortitude and Bastion give together?

Up to +14%: 14 armor and jewelry items at +15 mean Fortitude +7% and Bastion +7%.

How does Undying work?

Once per battle, after a killing blow the hero rises with 20% Health. You need at least one armor or jewelry item at +20.

Do milestones work in PvP?

No. Milestones work only in battles against creatures; in the arena, battleground, duels and tournaments they are appearance only.

Are there milestones for tanks or healers?

There are no separate ones: milestones are the same for every role.