Prerequisites
You need access to a witch's Special Synthesis function. The Abyss Gear system unlocks in [Chapter 3](/guides/chapter-3-howling-hill) when you meet [Sylvia](/wiki/sylvia) in the Meandering Hills cave. As you progress the main story, you'll encounter additional witches like [Aceil](/wiki/aceil) who offer the same services.
You can also purchase specific gear recipes directly from witches — for example, Aceil sells the Insight (Critical Hit) recipe.
The Golden Rule: One from Each Category
Special Synthesis requires exactly two Abyss Gears of the same tier, but not just any two. You must combine:
- Category 1 (Craftable) — Recipes learnable from Witches: Destruction, Insight, Swift, Fortification, Haste, Aegis, Fortitude, Vigor, Vitality, Composure, Ascent, Surge, Rend, Shred, Shatter, Disarm, and elemental Ward gears
- Category 2 (Non-Craftable) — Only from drops or synthesis: all Banes (Steelbane, Bloodbane, Hexebane, etc.), Fortune, Life Transference, Infinite Arrows, Companionship, Equestrian, Gourmet, Energy Drain, and other utility gears
If you put in two gears from the same category, the witch will say "Not enough materials" even if your inventory is full of Abyss Gears. This trips up most players.
Quick check: If the recipe is at a Witch's shop, it's Category 1. If not, it's Category 2. Banes (Steelbane etc.) are the most common Category 2 gears early on.
Save-Load Method (Step by Step)
Since synthesis results are completely random, use manual saves to guarantee the outcome you want:
Step 1 — Save before synthesis
Talk to the witch but don't start yet. Open the menu and create a manual save.
Step 2 — Combine two Tier I gears
Place 1 common + 1 rare Tier I gear into Special Synthesis. You have a chance of getting a Tier II gear.
Step 3 — Got Tier II? Save again
If you got a useful Tier II, save immediately. If not, reload your save and try again.
Step 4 — Combine two Tier II gears
Same rule: 1 common Tier II + 1 rare Tier II. This can produce a Tier III gear.
Step 5 — Keep reloading until you get what you want
Didn't get Tier III Insight (Critical Hit)? Reload and try again. The attribute and tier are re-rolled each time.
Jackpot: Greater Abyss Gear
Once you have plenty of Tier III gears, you can push further. Combining two Tier III gears through Special Synthesis has a chance to trigger a Jackpot — rewarding you with 5 Greater Abyss Gears in a single synthesis.
Greater Abyss Gears are the strongest tier in the game and provide significantly higher stat bonuses.
Quick Reference
- Unlock: Chapter 3+ (witch Sylvia, then Aceil and others)
- Materials: Always 1 Craftable + 1 Non-Craftable, same tier
- Progression: Tier I + Tier I → Tier II → Tier III → Greater
- RNG bypass: Manual save before every synthesis attempt
- Jackpot: Two Tier III gears can yield 5 Greater gears
- Full list: Browse all attributes and categories in our Abyss Cores Wiki