Soulframe Tempers: The Weapon Bonus System Since Preludes 14.5

Soulframe Tempers are random bonus modifiers on a weapon, and they're older than many guides claim. They arrived with Preludes 14.5 "Ode'n Tempers", and the update even carries the word in its name. Only Preludes 15 "Gods and Ghosts" (June 10, 2026) rebuilt the loot system around them, so weapons now drop fully forged straight from enemies and the world, Tempers included.

This guide explains what Tempers are, which update brought what, how to improve Craftwork and Tempers at the blacksmith Tuvalkane and how to transfer Tempers on purpose since Preludes 16.

📌 Which update brought what

Since a lot of sources mix up the history of Soulframe Tempers, here's the confirmed order from the official patch notes archive on soulframe.com first:

In short: the Temper system itself belongs to Preludes 14.5, the loot rework to Preludes 15. Anyone selling Soulframe Tempers as "the new loot system of Preludes 15" is cutting the timeline short. Since September 18, 2026, Preludes 16 "Of Hook and Hound" has added transferring on top.

🎲 What are Soulframe Tempers?

According to Digital Extremes' official Devstream 15 overview, Tempers are "unique bonuses on a weapon", such as faster attack speed, a Voltaic effect that hits nearby enemies with electric damage, higher Smite chance "and much more". Per the same source, each weapon could carry up to two Tempers at once at that point. Since Preludes 16, every Craftwork tier has a fixed Temper limit, and Legendary allows 5 to 8 Tempers.

Digital Extremes hasn't published an official full list of how big the Temper pool is now. According to the community recap of Devstream 15, it held around 19 different Tempers back then, including faction-themed variants such as Mendicant-specific effects. Preludes 16 added six more per the patch notes. The Avakot community wiki currently lists 42 Soulframe Tempers in its index, split by weapon type and Origin (Cassid, Dendrit, Feykin, Mendicant, Ode'n) or Universal. There's no official total.

The same recap also described that one of the Soulframe Tempers can land twice on one weapon for a stronger effect. The Preludes 16 patch notes confirm it: Strike the same Temper again and you double it. According to Devstream 17, a doubled Temper takes up two slots.

📦 How Preludes 15 changed the loot system

Before Preludes 15, weapon loot in Soulframe mostly came as Fragments. You collected pieces, had Tuvalkane assemble the full weapon and then leveled it from rank 0. "Gods and Ghosts" changed that at the root. Per the official announcement, defeated enemies now drop complete, fully forged weapons with a Craftwork tier and Tempers instead of Fragments. Weapon racks in the world can also drop complete weapons.

In practice, a dropped weapon lies on the ground fully kitted out, and its Tempers are visible before you pick it up. You can equip it right away or, if the rolls are bad, salvage it into crafting materials.

Reports from the first weeks of Preludes 15 say the change mostly affects simpler, lower-tier weapons. Some high-end or boss-bound weapons still have special rules or their own sources. If you crafted weapons yourself before the update, don't worry: according to community reports, already crafted weapons were moved to the new "Stock" tier and can be refined normally in the new system.

The classic weapon crafting with Joineries still exists alongside this and adds Virtue attunement points to a weapon.

⚒️ Craftwork tiers and refining at Tuvalkane

Every weapon has a Craftwork tier that roughly affects damage and the maximum number of bonus properties. The tiers are:

Upgrades go through Tuvalkane in the Nightfold. The first Preludes 15 preview still talked about "Ingots" you'd trade with her for a higher Craftwork tier. In the final update the items you need are Chordstones, which you cast from Lampyrite in the Cast tab and apply to a weapon you found. Since Preludes 16 this step is no longer called "Refine" but "Enhance Craftwork", per the patch notes.

When you refine, the Craftwork tier goes up and the weapon gains additional Soulframe Tempers. According to the Avakot community wiki, it gets at least two in the process, as far as the new tier's limit allows, and an upgrade to Legendary always gives 8 Tempers.

Targeted rerolling of single Soulframe Tempers was not part of Preludes 15, per Digital Extremes. Since Preludes 16 you can instead transfer Tempers onto rank 30 weapons of any Craftwork (see the next section).

🔁 Transferring Tempers since Preludes 16

With Preludes 16 "Of Hook and Hound", live since September 18, 2026, you can transfer Soulframe Tempers on purpose for the first time. In game this is called "Strike". This section is based on the official patch notes. You need four things:

• The Steelsinger completed,
• Tuvalkane at rank 3,
• a weapon at rank 30, any Craftwork,
• a learned Temper that fits the weapon.

Learning Tempers by salvaging

Each salvage gives 1 progress point to every Temper on the weapon. At 10 points the Temper is learned. Doubled Tempers give double progress. You can salvage from the inventory, from the ground and now directly in the Arsenal. Clients in a group can salvage weapon pickups too. Weapons you salvaged before finishing The Steelsinger don't count retroactively.

Step by step: striking a Temper

1. Go to Tuvalkane in the Nightfold and open the "Strike" tab.
2. Select the weapon.
3. Click a Temper slot in the top right.
4. Pick a learned Temper.
5. Confirm with "Strike". It can't fail.

Each Strike costs 1 Glow Lampyrite, 1 Amber Lampyrite and 1 Faer Lampyrite. These three Lampyrites now stack to 99. You can fill empty slots. Strike the same Temper again and you double it. Struck Tempers are permanent: if you remove one, the next Strike costs resources again.

Which Tempers fit which weapon

Not all Soulframe Tempers fit every weapon. Quick Draw only goes on bows, for example. Origin Tempers only work on weapons of the same Origin: Galvanic Strike goes on Ode'n weapons only. How many Tempers a weapon can carry is set by its Temper limit.

The six new Soulframe Tempers from Preludes 16

💡 For your loot, that means a weapon with a strong Temper is now valuable as salvage material too. You can favorite items in the Arsenal with F or R3. According to Devstream 17, favoriting protects a weapon from being salvaged. All English guides are on the Soulframe overview, and everything else that's new is in our Soulframe Preludes 16 overview.

🔗 Materials: what to collect for refining

Chordstones are made from Lampyrite, which comes in three tiers and drops among other things when you salvage unwanted weapons. Since Preludes 16 you also need Glow, Amber and Faer Lampyrite for every Strike, one of each per Temper.

For the middle tier, Amber Lampyrite, targeted farming pays off once you raise Craftwork tiers regularly. The best spots and a farm route are in the Amber Lampyrite guide. If you're just starting and need the basics of combat, Pacts and gear first, read the Soulframe beginner guide.

Preludes 15 also brought three new weapons: Veilk (a polearm with a Poleaxe moveset according to the community wiki), Ilverac (Long Blade) and Vrusht-IX (heavy mace). Per the Avakot community wiki, all three scale with Courage. More on that in the Soulframe Virtues guide. With these weapons too, the rolled Soulframe Tempers decide whether a drop is usable right away or needs refining at Tuvalkane first.

💡 Practical tips for the loot system

• Check Tempers before picking up: the modifiers are visible on the ground. Only take gear with useful rolls and you skip a lot of inventory cleanup.
• Salvage on purpose: since Preludes 16, Tuvalkane learns a weapon's Tempers when you salvage it. A weapon with a good Temper is now valuable as salvage too. Mark what you want to keep as a favorite.
• Think before "Enhance Craftwork": every upgrade costs Chordstones and materials. Spend them on weapons you plan to use for a long time, because only Legendary guarantees the full set of 8 Tempers, according to the wiki.
• Keep an eye on Lampyrite: Chordstones are still the base for refining, so collect Lampyrite as you play instead of farming it later.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions about Soulframe Tempers

What are Soulframe Tempers?
Random bonuses on a weapon, such as faster attack speed, a Voltaic effect or higher Smite chance. Since Preludes 16, how many a weapon can carry depends on its Craftwork's Temper limit, from 0–1 on Stock to 5–8 on Legendary.

Which update added Soulframe Tempers?
Preludes 14.5 "Ode'n Tempers". The update carries the term in its name and first describes Tempers as weapon modifiers.

What changed with Preludes 15?
The loot system: since Preludes 15 "Gods and Ghosts", weapons no longer drop mostly as Fragments but fully forged with a Craftwork tier and Tempers.

How do I improve Tempers and Craftwork?
With Chordstones at Tuvalkane. Refining raises the Craftwork tier and, according to the Avakot wiki, gives the weapon at least two additional Tempers, always 8 at Legendary.

Can I put specific Tempers on a weapon?
Yes, since Preludes 16. When you salvage weapons, Tuvalkane learns their Tempers and strikes them onto rank 30 weapons of any Craftwork. You need The Steelsinger and Tuvalkane at rank 3. Each Strike costs 1 Glow, 1 Amber and 1 Faer Lampyrite and is permanent.

How many Tempers fit on a weapon?
That's set by the Craftwork's Temper limit: Stock 0–1, Military 1–3, Officer 2–4, Noble 3–5, Sovereign 4–6, Legendary 5–8. Strike the same Temper again and you double it.

Which Soulframe Tempers came with Preludes 16?
Grounding Spell, Conjuration, Severed Root, Hollowed, Well Woven and Invader. Hollowed, Well Woven and Invader are tied to an Origin.

✨ Bottom line

Soulframe Tempers arrived with Preludes 14.5 "Ode'n Tempers", and Preludes 15 turned them into a loot system that feels closer to a classic action RPG: weapons drop ready to go with a Craftwork tier and Tempers instead of being pieced together from Fragments. Since Preludes 16, the Temper limit of the Craftwork sets how many a weapon can carry, from 0–1 on Stock to 5–8 on Legendary.

Refining at Tuvalkane with Chordstones is still how you upgrade a weapon, and it adds Tempers along the way. Since Preludes 16 you can also transfer Tempers onto rank 30 weapons, capped by the Craftwork's Temper limit.

Since Hotfix 5 for Preludes 16 (October 8, 2026), dropped weapons show rank and rarity per the patch notes, and inventory tooltips show at most 4 Tempers per page. The Temper count, minimum Tempers when refining and the Virtues of the Preludes 15 weapons come from the community-maintained wiki on wiki.avakot.org.

Checked against Preludes 16 with Hotfix 6 as of October 2026, per the official patch notes. The version order comes from the official patch notes archive and the update announcements on soulframe.com: Preludes 14.5 "Ode'n Tempers" introduces Tempers, Preludes 15 "Gods and Ghosts" from June 10, 2026 rebuilds the loot system, Preludes 16 makes Tempers transferable. The Strike details come from the official Preludes 16 patch notes on the Soulframe forum.

Correction from September 19, 2026: a version from the morning of September 19 named only legendary weapons as targets, based on Devstream 17. Per the patch notes, transfers work on every rank 30 weapon within its Temper limit. Correction from September 2, 2026: an earlier version filed Tempers as "the new loot system of Preludes 15". Their introduction with Preludes 14.5 is confirmed. Preludes 15 changed how they drop, not the Temper system itself.

Uncertain or single-source details, such as the exact size of the Temper pool, are labeled in the text. There is no official Soulframe wiki. Soulframe is still pre-alpha, and values can change with every update.