Cube Guide - Daily Recipe Rotation
How the Cube works in patch 1.00.26: which functions the catalog confirms, when Alchemy and Synthesis unlock, and how to plan inputs around the weekly recipe rotation.
The Cube is the catalog's recorded endgame crafting system. It is not unlocked by reaching a specific stage; it unlocks at a fixed hero level, ships eight underlying functions, and surfaces a three-recipe rotation in its daily panel. This guide covers what the catalog confirms, when each function unlocks, and how to plan inputs around the weekly rotation.
What the Cube Actually Is
According to the Cube function catalog, the Cube ships eight functions in a fixed order:
- Alchemy - converts unwanted items into gold (and Cube XP).
- Synthesis - combines same-rarity items into one of the next grade.
- Craft - builds random gear or accessories from materials within a chosen level range.
- Decoration - attaches Decoration gems (the Minor Ruby / Sapphire / Topaz / Emerald / Amethyst family, plus the higher-rarity Ruby / Sapphire / Topaz / Emerald / Amethyst family, plus Crystal Quartz) to gear.
- Removal / Extraction - removes affixes and extracts gems from gear.
- Sculpture / Engraving - applies the Engraving enhancement layer.
- Wish / Offering - spends the Kingdom 1st Anniversary Coin offering item and similar offerings.
- Inscription - applies the Inscription enhancement layer.
Each function lists a recipe-tier range of "8 (Lv 1 to Lv 70)" in the catalog, and three enhancement layers are recorded across the system: Decoration, Engraving, Inscription.
When the Cube Unlocks
The catalog is explicit about two unlock conditions:
- Alchemy unlocks at Hero Level 4 and is the initial Cube function.
- Synthesis also unlocks at Hero Level 4 and is the second Cube function.
The remaining functions unlock as the Cube itself levels. Craft is recorded as unlocking at Cube Level 5, for example, with later functions gating behind higher Cube levels.
The earlier draft of this guide said the Cube unlocks at Stage 10. That statement does not match the current catalog. The Cube is gated by hero level, not by campaign progress, so treat the "Stage 10 unlock" framing as outdated and plan around Hero Level 4 instead.
Alchemy - the First Gold Source
Alchemy is the catalog's recorded early-game gold engine. Higher-grade items dismantle for more gold, and the catalog quotes Cosmic-grade items at 355,607 base gold as the top-of-band reference.
Two practical rules from the catalog:
- Use Auto-Fill for bulk conversion, but lock keepers with Alt + Click before queueing. The lock prevents accidentally dismantling an item you wanted to keep.
- Start the moment you hit Hero Level 4. Gold is the universal input to the Rune Tree, the hero roster, and Cube leveling, so converting unwanted drops into gold compounds across every other system.
Synthesis - the Grade Roller
Synthesis combines nine same-rarity items into one item of the next grade. The catalog records two non-obvious facts about it:
- Synthesis rolls the next-grade odds below Immortal 100% of the time.
- From Immortal upward, the roll can stay at the same grade, and a rare "great success" jumps two grades (marked with a star).
- The output item level comes from a dropdown, not from the fodder. Set the output level deliberately because the Cube will not auto-pull it.
Synthesis is also where Cube-level inputs start to matter; the higher the Cube level, the wider the level range you can target.
The Daily Recipe Rotation
The Cube surfaces three recipes in its daily panel. The rotation is consistent for every player and follows the schedule in src/data/cube-schedule.ts:
- Monday, Thursday, Sunday - Tier 4 Upgrade Recipe (3 x Tier 3 items of one category in, 1 x Tier 4 item of the matching category out, "must-use" priority).
- Tuesday, Friday - Rune Recycle Recipe (3 x runes in, 1 x rune at the next rarity out, "must-use" priority).
- Wednesday, Saturday - Tier 5 Material Recipe (3 x Tier 4 items in, 1 x Tier 5 base material out, "consider" priority).
The Tier 5 Material Recipe is the only Cube path to Tier 5 base materials that does not require farming a separate high-rarity drop. The catalog does not currently record a "Dragon Scales" material, so do not assume that naming when planning the Tier 5 path - use the Cube recipe as the only confirmed source.
Plan Inputs a Week Ahead
Because the rotation is fixed, the highest-leverage habit is to pre-stage inputs for the recipes that fire later in the week:
- A typical cycle is to run the Tier 4 Upgrade Recipe on Monday, bank the resulting Tier 4 items through the week, and submit three of them to the Tier 5 Material Recipe on Wednesday or Saturday.
- The Rune Recycle Recipe is the only recipe that is always worth running. Duplicate runes are nearly always low-value, and converting three of them into a single higher-rarity rune is a positive trade on any day.
- Skipping a day is fine. The recipes will rotate back, and saving inputs for a better-aligned day is more valuable than burning them on a weak one.
What About the Older "Tier 5 Material Recipe" Framing?
The earlier draft of this guide described a Wednesday / Saturday recipe that "converts 3 x Tier 4 items into 1 x Tier 5 base material." That framing is still accurate, but it is also the entire confirmed path to Tier 5 crafting - the catalog does not record a separate "Dragon Scales" farming loop. If you want Tier 5 crafting materials in patch 1.00.26, the Cube recipe is the only verified route.
When the Cube Is Not Worth Using
The Cube is not worth using every day. Skip the day when:
- The daily recipe does not align with a current crafting goal.
- You do not have the inputs pre-staged and would have to break a different system to feed the Cube.
- A balance patch is hours away and you want to wait for the new rotation.
The Cube does not lose stored inputs when you skip a day, so patience compounds.
Today's Recipe
For the live rotation - including which recipe is active today and the input checklist for the rest of the week - see the Cube Schedule. The today page uses the same recipeForDay(cubeDayFromJsDay(...)) lookup as this guide, so the two views stay in sync.
Wrap-up
The Cube is a hero-level-gated system that ships eight functions, surfaces three rotating daily recipes, and unlocks Alchemy and Synthesis at Hero Level 4. Plan a week of inputs around the rotation, use Alchemy as the early gold engine, and treat the Tier 5 Material Recipe as the only confirmed path to Tier 5 base materials in the current catalog.