Five-star weapons are excellent, and you’re bound to get some from the Standard Banner. That said, don’t sneeze at three- or four-star weapons. When you first start your adventure, do not hesitate to improve and refine a three-star weapon to carry you through early Adventure Ranks. Weapons, such as the White Tassel spear and Slingshot bow are common, but possess potent special effects that make them surprisingly useful at lower levels. The White Tassel, for instance, increases your normal attack damage. Refining this weapon by feeding it other weapons of the same type boosts the damage further, up to 48 percent. That’s not too shabby for a low-tier weapon.
Once you achieve a high Adventure Rank, you should start farming four-star weapons. The game often gives you freebie, four-star weapons via quests or events, and they’re surprisingly good. For example, The Catch is a superb, energy-recharging spear that’s obtained by playing the new fishing mini-game. It and other four-star weapons are fantastic substitutions for the best-in-slot, five-star weapons, and they can be improved and refined to be monstrously powerful. Best of all, they’re free! So, craft and build up these weapons instead of wasting money with the pricey Weapon Banner.