The Factor system was introduced in SO3 in the form of Item Refining, and has been a staple in the series ever since, in one form or another. The original SO2 did not have the system, but it was added in this version of the game. Factors are essentially bonus modifiers that can be applied to equipment. We know that a Factor is applied to equipment when we see a "+" after the equipment name, and the name of the Factor at the bottom of the item description.

There is a wide range of Factors and each one falls under a list known as Characteristics; which include Special, Support, and Buff. Factors cannot be in multiple Characteristic lists.

This guide is meant to organize the Factors by the Characteristics they fall under and give an understanding on how item types effect the outcome of the Remake process. If reading all the way through, it will take about 20-30 minutes.

This is by no means complete or official. It is a WIP and a starting point for figuring out Remake and Factor Characteristics. If there is anything that would be good to add, kindly let me know.

Applying Rare Factors (R) should always start by eating a Plain Omelet (Master Chef: Eggs & Dairy x2) to increase chances. I highly recommend to pick out 1 Mage Weapon, 1 Fighter Weapon, 1 Armor and 1 Accessory to apply the Masterwork (Special) Factor to. This way, we will have specific materials for each Characteristic to use and replicate. MAKE SURE YOU CAN REPLICATE WHATEVER YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A MASTERWORK EXTRA ITEM & ALWAYS HAVE AT LEAST ONE LEFT OVER TO REPLICATE.

I do not know what the base chance is to receive a Rare (R) Factor. Following this guide, using a Plain Omelet and minimum 2 Masterwork Equips, will give us a +35% chance to apply a Rare (R), not including the base chance (whatever that is).

It does not seem possible to "transfer" a Factor from one item to another. If there is a Factor on a piece of gear and we want that same Factor on a different piece of equipment, we will need to figure out what Characteristic that Factor falls under and try to apply that Characteristic to the new gear.

I am not sure if there are specific items from each type that increase the chance of obtaining a specific Factor. As far as I can tell, the Factor applied is random, so the best way to get the Factor we want is narrowing the pool of Characteristics that can be applied.
For example, we want to put Gathering Stars (Special) on a piece of Armor. We will want to minimize the chances of applying a Buff or Support characteristic and maximize our chances at getting a rare Factor. The combination I used was 2x Grizzly Clasps (both with Masterwork factor) and 3x Shrimp. This combination has 100% chance to apply a Factor and will only pull factors from the Special characteristic. That being said, we could get ANY Factor from the Special Characteristic list, so if Gathering Stars is not applied, reload, and try again.

Factors applied are dependent on the item type we Remake (with the exception of "All" Special Factors). The game can give items with Factors that cannot be Remade on the item type (the game gives accessories with HP Drain and Red/Blue Dragon, for example); however, during IC: Remake, we cannot apply Factors outside the scope of item types. If we Remake the Gale Earring+ that has HP Drain on it, we will never get HP Drain back on it because HP Drain can only be Remade on Weapons. This seems to be the only thing the target Remake item effects.

As far as I can tell, the only Factors that can stack are Buff Factors and the Masterwork Factor, when applying Masterwork as an Extra item. I have not done extensive testing with this. Check to see if different Factors and abilities on equips are applied in the Equipment menu by pressing Y/▲.

Further down in the list of Factors, I have placed in BOLD the Factors that I think might be top tier. I do not know the game meta, so this is only based off experience.

Each individual Factor will fall under only one of three differing Characteristic groups; Special, Support, and Buff. Before applying Extra Items for Remake, all Characteristic bars start at 50 and the chance to succeed a Remake is 50 (given IC: Remake LV is at 10). Each type of item will increase/decrease the Characteristic bars for applying Factors, as seen in the table below.


For the purposes of optimization and obtaining the desired Factor Characteristic every time, we will never want to use Items types from Resource Material, Healing/Battle Item, or Food.

I believe these are the best item type combinations to apply a specific Factor Characteristic while isolating Factors from undesirable categories. Each item grants a certain percent toward success in Remaking. Higher value items give a better chance to succeed (more on this in the next section). The examples are used with Masterwork items, if applicable; the equips can be Replicated. These example combos also offer 100% chance to apply a Factor from that Characteristic; however, the examples are not necessarily the "best" items to use.


If trying for a Rare Factor, we will want to use as many Masterwork items as we can. I found that we can fit up to 2 Masterwork items if we want to focus on one Special or Support Characteristic. If trying for a Buff Characteristic, we can have 5 Masterwork extra items. It's up to you if you want to swap in more Masterwork items for increased chances at Rare Factors, in exchange for a chance to apply additional Factor Characteristics.

If trying for a non-Rare Factor, we will not want to use the Plain Omelet and we won't want to use Masterwork. I have found that we can use 5x Counterfeit Medals(Other) for Support, or 5x Shrimp(Fish) for Special, to apply a non-Rare Characteristic with a 100% chance.

Note: These are not the only combinations possible - it's a starting point to understanding which items to use for their corresponding Characteristics.

The next section is a list of items from each type that give the "best" chance at succeeding a Remake and they can be Replicated.

Each individual item offers a certain percent toward the success rate of applying a Factor. The bonus an item can provide is either 5% , 10% , 30% , or 50%. There are very few items that offer 50% bonus unless it has the High-grade (Special) Factor applied; however, High-grade only applies to equipment, and we would typically want those to have the Masterwork (Special) Factor, unless going for a non-Rare Factor. I have composed a list of items from each type that offer a 30% bonus that can also be Replicated. This way, we can apply the Masterwork (Special) Factor to one of the items and then Replicate as needed.

Note: I do not currently have the Item Encyclopedia filled out so this list is not exhaustive.

Buff (+20) | Support, Special (-5)
It is possible to forgo using Fighter Weapons and use 5x Accessories when trying for Buff Factors. I use Sword of Marvels(Masterwork).
Special (+20) | Buff, Support (-5)
Mandatory for Rare Special Characteristics. I do not have any Books or Rods that give a 30% bonus. I use Grizzly's Clasp(Masterwork).
Support (+20) | Buff, Special (-5)
Mandatory for Rare Support Characteristics. I happen to use Mithril Greaves(Masterwork).
Buff (+10) | Support, Special (-15)
It is possible to use 5x Accessories and forgo using any Fighter Weapons, when trying for Buff Characteristics. The items above will make sure the chance to succeed a Remake is 100%. I have a Lunar Charm(Masterwork).
Support, Special (+10) | Buff (-10)
Factor Energy can be purchased on Nede and is meant to give a 50% bonus and is the "best" Resource Material to use for applying Factors. That being said, this item type does not fit into the "Optimized Combos." Use at your own discretion.
Special(+10) | Buff, Support (-15)
Fish cannot be replicated. The best Fish to use is Shrimp, because it can be purchased in most stores. If going for a non-Rare Special Factor, x5 Shrimp may be used.
Support (+10) | Buff, Special (-15)
Using one of the above items is not necessary. When going for Support Factors, I like to use Blurry Photos and Portrait A because I usually get Blurry Photos from all the Replicating, and Portrait A is always at the top of the Other item list. If going for a non-Rare Support Factor, 5x of the items listed above will suffice.
Buff, Support (+10) | Special (-10)
All of these that give 30% bonus can be replicated. That being said, this item type does not fit into the "Optimized Combos." Use at your own discretion.
Buff, Special (+10) | Support (-10)
All food that gives 30% bonus can be replicated, except for Nectar. That being said, this item type does not fit into the "Optimized Combos." Use at your own discretion.
For the purposes of isolating undesirable Characteristics, we never want to use items that decrease the desired Factor Characteristic. I did not list the Healing/Battle Items or Food that give 30% boost because there are too many and we don't want to use those anyways.

Best Items: Mage Weapon + Fish (i.e. Grizzly Clasp x2 + Shrimp x3)

Best Items: Armor + Other (i.e. Mithril Greaves x2 + Portrait A x3)

Buff Factors increase their corresponding stat by a certain percentage. There are 5%, 10% and 20% Factors. The 20% increase is Rare (R). Anything below 20% is not optimal.

Best items: Fighter weapon + Accessory (i.e. Sword of Marvels x2 + Lunar Charm x3)

GUT and STM are not increased by a percentage, but by the total points listed. +30 is Rare (R). Anything below 30 is not optimal.

The item organization in this game leaves something to be desired. It does not seem possible to pick up and place items in certain spots in the inventory menu. To minimize time thumbing through the menus, try and duplicate/retrieve the items needed for Remake just before Remaking; this will put them at the top of the Newly Acquired item list.

Instead of running back and forth to/from a Savepoint, utilize the Autosave feature by zoning into a building. As far as Remaking goes, I like to make sure my food buff is active, I have all my newly acquired materials to use at the top of my list, and then zone into a building to activate Autosave. I will start the Remake process once Autosave finishes. If I don't get the result I want after a few tries, I reload the Autosave and start over with Remaking.

Have at least one Masterwork version each of a fighter weapon, mage weapon, armor, and accessory and make sure they can be duplicated. These will be our base extra item materials for their applicable Factor Characteristic. Using the equipment purchased in Armlock yields the highest success rate - though there may be other places to purchase.

WIP
Unless playing on Universe, and fighting the highest tier enemies (which is only a couple optional fights), Factors applied are largely personal preference. After testing and considering suggestions by others, it seems that stacking DEF Up 20% on armor is the way to go if you do not want to get one-shot by the most difficult enemies. This only applies if not using the Bloody Equip + Drain, or 1HP Valiant Armor + Adamantine methods.

To sum up, stacking DEF Up is the only way to survive the most difficult content (which is only a few optional fights on Universe difficulty); otherwise, use whatever Factors suite your fancy.
WIP

Thanks for checking out my first guide! Let me know if you have feedback for the content or quality.