{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--upgrade-refunds","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--upgrade-refunds","lang":"en","title":"Upgrade refunds and protection","summary":"Rules preserve part of an investment when replacing an item, failing or changing progression direction.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--upgrade-refunds/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--upgrade-refunds.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--upgrade-refunds.md","aliases":[],"tags":["RPG grinding","Investment and outcome protection"],"sourceIds":["source-5c12c063773d9d80"],"sources":[{"id":"source-5c12c063773d9d80","title":"Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak","url":"https://game.capcom.com/manual/Multi-Platform/en/windows/page/9/1","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Rules preserve part of an investment when replacing an item, failing or changing progression direction."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"upgrade-refunds-options\"></a>\n\n- Refund some resources when salvaging an upgraded item. <a id=\"upgrade-refunds-option-1\"></a>\n- Consume protection to prevent loss of an enhancement level. <a id=\"upgrade-refunds-option-2\"></a>\n- Transfer accumulated levels to another base. <a id=\"upgrade-refunds-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"When replacing a sword, the player transfers much of its enhancement investment to the new one."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"upgrade-refunds","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#upgrade-refunds","categoryIds":["reward-protection"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Upgrade refunds and protection","description":"Rules preserve part of an investment when replacing an item, failing or changing progression direction.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-mhr-69.webp","width":512,"height":256,"game":"Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak","sourceUrl":"https://game.capcom.com/manual/Multi-Platform/en/windows/page/9/1","originalUrl":"https://game.capcom.com/manual/Multi-Platform/locale/page/91_15_1.jpg","credit":"Capcom; official web manual screenshot","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"A yellow arrow identifies a reversible weapon upgrade","alt":"A yellow arrow identifies a reversible weapon upgrade","markers":[{"x":49,"y":26,"label":"Rollback refunds materials under the upgrade’s rules"}]},"tips":["Show the refundable portion before rollback is confirmed."],"examples":[{"title":"Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak","url":"https://game.capcom.com/manual/Multi-Platform/en/windows/page/9/1"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}