Cosmic Tools
By participating in Cosmic Exploration, players can obtain and upgrade class-specific level 100 Cosmic Tools for Disciples of the Hand and Land.
Lore
“Searchingway wants you to join the Cosmic Exploration Initiative! Research and develop cutting-edge artisan's tools, all the while furthering the team's preparations for a maiden voyage to stars yet uncharted!
Obtaining Cosmic Tools
By using the 
Cosmic Prototype Coffer obtained by completing 
A Cosmic Homecoming, players may obtain the first cosmic tool prototype of their current class. The base version of these tools starts at level 10 (item level 10) and can be upgraded through an eight-step process to achieve level 100, item level 720 tools. Additional upgrades will be made possible in future patches.
Players may obtain subsequent prototypes free of charge by speaking with Researchingway in Sinus Ardorum (X:21.1 Y:21.8), selecting "Inquire about cosmic tools", and choosing a class. If players ever lose an upgraded tool, they can speak with this NPC again to receive a free replacement (maintaining all research data) without needing to start from the beginning.
Research Data
By completing stellar missions, players will obtain research data points that are needed for tool enhancement. These tools do not need to be equipped to accrue research data, but completing missions with a tool equipped for the entire duration will provide a bonus to 
Lunar Credits (see this table). Research data is specific per crafter or gatherer class, and there are up to four types of data per class. As players upgrade their tools, additional data types are needed.
Each stellar mission will provide different quantities and types of data, with higher-level missions providing more data and more advanced types. Completing missions with a silver or gold rank will increase the data awarded, by 4x and 5x the base rewards, respectively. Critical missions during Red Alerts provide type I, II, and IV data without any rank-based multipliers. Missions that require two classes will reward research data for each. More challenging missions, such as those involving 
Expert Recipes or with tight time limits, generally provide more data, but are not required to fully upgrade a tool. Players will not be able to earn more advanced data types for a given class until they have sufficiently upgraded the respective tool.
Players can also complete certain Stellar Successes involving unlocking more advanced mission types per class to receive cosmic tool data rewards, but these are one-time only and are limited to type I data. They will not receive cosmic tool data from activities such as Mech Ops and Cosmic Exploration FATEs.
Players can confirm required research via "Cosmic Research" on the exotablet.
Upgrading Cosmic Tools
Once players have accrued sufficient research data, they may talk to Researchingway in Sinus Ardorum (X:21.1 Y:21.8) to upgrade their tools to the next stage. Note that upgrading a tool will reset its spiritbond to 0%. Each tool stage has a limit on data that can be stored before capping out, so not upgrading a tool when the cap is reached will result in lost data.
Unlike other relic tools, Cosmic Tools are unique in that they start at a low level, allowing to players to work on upgrading them while simultaneously leveling up crafting and gathering classes within Cosmic Exploration. One exception is during the level 80-90 range, where players will be unable to upgrade their tools to the v0.6 (level 80) stage because type III data, which is required for the upgrades, is only awarded from Class B (level 90) or higher missions.
The following table lists the data needed per upgrade stage. Note that the data needed are cumulative. For example, once players upgrade to a v0.2 tool with 200 type I data, they only need to obtain 300 more type I data for that class to upgrade to v0.3.
| Stage → Data Needed ↓ |
v0.2 | v0.3 | v0.4 | v0.5 | v0.6 | v0.7 | v0.8 | Cosmic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I | 200 | 500 | 700 | 1000 | 1300 | 1700 | 2200 | 2800 |
| Type II | 300 | 800 | 1200 | 1700 | 2300 | 2900 | ||
| Type III | 500 | 1100 | 1700 | 2300 | ||||
| Type IV | 700 | 1500 |
Upgrading tools to IL 720 will provide a global research bonus that allows players to upgrade subsequent tools faster:
- 1-2 tools completed: +50%
- 3-4 tools: +100%
- 5 or more tools: +150%
Therefore, when considering this bonus, it is beneficial to:
- Finish one tool before working on the next (if fewer than 5 tools completed).
- Upgrade crafter tools first before gatherers, as gatherer tools are generally slower to upgrade.[1]
Recommended Missions
The following missions are recommended by the Icy Veins Cosmic Tool guide[1].
If players do not see these missions in their list of available missions, they can "reroll" another draw of missions by accepting any mission, then immediately abandoning it. (Players may also reroll their missions by using Duty Finder to queue into Gold Saucer > Battlehall and then leaving. Re-entering Sinus Ardorum will reroll all missions, and does not consume any of the ground ops bonuses.)
Crafters
| Class | Data Types I and III | Data Types II and IV |
|---|---|---|
 CRP |
A-1: High-grade Paper | A-1: Lunar Flora Test Processing |
 BSM |
A-1: Rare Material Processing | A-1: Meteoric Material Test Processing |
 ARM |
A-1: Rare Material Processing | A-1: Meteoric Material Test Processing |
 GSM |
A-1: Rare Material Processing | A-1: Meteoric Material Test Processing |
 LTW |
A-1: High-grade Paper | A-1: Lunar Flora Test Processing |
 WVR |
A-1: High-grade Composite Fiber | A-1: Lunar Flora Test Processing |
 ALC |
A-1: Stellar Adhesive | A-1: Lunar Seafood Processing |
 CUL |
A-1: Stellar Adhesive | A-1: Lunar Seafood Processing |
| Data Rewarded (Gold Rank) | 60 Type I + 90 Type III | 100 Type II + 150 Type IV |
Miner and Botanist
| Class | Data Types I, II, and III | Data Type IV |
|---|---|---|
 MIN |
Stellar Repair Materials (Class B) | A-2: Aquatic Resource Research Tanks (also requires CRP)
|
 BTN |
Stellar Repair Materials (Class B) | A-2: Lunar Tanning Agents (also requires LTW)
|
| Data Rewarded (Gold Rank) | 45 Type I/II/III | 105 Type IV |
These class B missions are recommended due to lack of dependency on GP (assuming adequate gear) to achieve gold rank, therefore not requiring Cordial consumption or waiting for GP to refill naturally, which is normally the main bottleneck for gathering missions. GP usage is recommended for the A-2 missions, but it can naturally regenerate while players craft the requisite items from the gathered materials.
Fisher
| Mission | Data Rewarded (Gold Rank) |
|---|---|
| Northwestern Water Inspection (Class C) | 95 Type I + 95 Type II |
| Absolute Specimen (Class B) | 45 Type II + 75 Type III |
| A-1: Aquatic Inspection I | 105 Type III + 155 Type IV |
Cosmic Tools Table
| Tool Tier | Level | iLvl |  Bonus |
CRP | BSM | ARM | GSM | LTW | WVR | ALC | CUL | MIN | BTN | FSH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Novice Tier
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| Prototype v0.1 | 10 | 10 |  |
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| Prototype v0.2 | 30 | 30 | +5% | |
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| Prototype v0.3 | 50 | 55 | +5% | |
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| Prototype v0.4 | 60 | 150 | +15% | |
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| Prototype v0.5 | 70 | 290 | +15% | |
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| Prototype v0.6 | 80 | 430 | +15% | |
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| Prototype v0.7 | 90 | 560 | +25% | |
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| Prototype v0.8 | 100 | 690 | +25% | |
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| Cosmic | 100 | 720 | +35% |  |
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Bonus Effects
Upon reaching the IL 720 stage, each tool will also receive a bonus based on its class:
- Crafters: Increases to quality are 1.75 times higher than normal when material condition is Good. (Normally the Good condition only affects increases to quality by 1.5 times.)
- Miner/Botanist: Increases the chance to trigger Collector's Intuition by 20% when gathering
collectables. - Fisher: Has a 10-15% chance[1] to reduce the GP cost of
Powerful Hookset and 
Precision Hookset by 50%.
Notes
- As of the initial release of patch 7.21, some crafter IL 720 Cosmic Tools tooltips appear to be bugged and do not state additional crafting-related bonuses. Despite this, they still provide the bonus.
- Moreover, the v0.6 miner tool is erroneously named "hatchet", while the botanist tool is "pickaxe."