Crafting and refining are the cornerstones of Albion Online's player-driven economy. To maximize profits, professional crafters do not rely on luck. They calculate their Resource Return Rates (RER), city production bonuses, and Focus Point return on investment (ROI).

Understanding Resource Return Rate (RER)

Resource Return Rate is the percentage of crafting materials returned to your inventory after crafting an item. RER varies based on whether you are crafting in a Royal City, using Focus, and the tier of the materials:

• Base Crafting (No Focus, No Bonus): 15.2% RER
• Focus Crafting (No City Bonus): 36.7% RER
• City Bonus Crafting (No Focus): 24.8% RER
• City Bonus + Focus Crafting: 47.9% RER (The sweet spot for most crafters!)
• Tier 4.4 / .4 Focus Crafting: Up to 53.9% RER

How to Calculate Crafting Profit (ROI)

The total material cost scales down based on RER. The effective material cost is calculated as:

Effective Cost = Base Material Cost * (1 - RER)

For example, if you craft a Tier 8 Plate Armor requiring 16 steel bars priced at 20,000 silver each, the base cost is 320,000 silver. In Martlock (Plate Armor city bonus) using Focus (RER = 47.9%), the effective cost is:

320,000 * (1 - 0.479) = 166,720 silver

If you sell the armor for 250,000 silver, your net profit is 83,280 silver instead of a loss! ScanAlbion's Crafting Calculator dynamically computes these city bonuses and RER adjustments for armor, weapons, foods, potions, and refining paths automatically.