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Summary
Corrupted Mastery Chain Links are a new type of Mastery Chain Link that players will encounter as loot in a handful of systems (such as Trade Caravans, Contested Bosses, Chaos Shrine, etc)
Corrupted Links are slightly more powerful than Gold links in terms of bonuses provided, however they have a drawback in that they have a limited lifespan as they last only 90 days from time of activation.
Players can have Corrupted Links installed in a Mastery Chain alongside Bronze, Silver, and Gold Links of the the same Bonus Type
Corrupted Link Reforging Tools
Players can change the bonus type of a Corrupted Mastery Chain link through usage of a Corrupted Link Reforging Tool
Corrupted Link Reforging Tools can be crafted through Tinkering
Double-clicking a Corrupted Link Reforging Tool and targeting a Corrupted Mastery Chain Link will bring up a menu allowing the player to rotate through all the possible link types and display their potential bonuses
Clicking the Reforge Link button twice will convert the link to the selected new type permanently
Link Expiration
Corrupted Links will no longer "degrade" as a player inflicts damage while having them installed
Instead, the first time a Corrupted Link is installed into a Mastery Chain, it becomes "Activated" and will Expire in 90 days from that time
Players can see how much Time Until Expiration remains for a Corrupted Link by navigating to it in the Mastery Chain Menu
Activated Corrupted Links can be removed from a chain and reinstalled into a different chain, but they will still Expire in 90 days from the point of its initial Activation time
Players cannot add Activated Corrupted Links into a Mastery Chain Link Tome
When 90 days have passed since a Corrupted Link has been activated, it will have a large "X" depicted over it in the Mastery Chain Menu and it will say "Link Expired" when navigating to that link
Expired Corrupted Links will not provide any bonus to the player, and should simply be removed
When players Remove an Expired Corrupted Link from a Mastery Chain Menu, the Link will automatically Decay (delete) and it will play a sound and notify the player