For a period of time it was possible to guess the contents of a chest given the chest's burden (e.g., 3 quills 2 inks). In the Celebration event the loot profiles were changed and this is no longer possible because the magic component chests always spawn 2 items that are not components and which have random burdens.
Component Exchanger
During the Secrets of the Apostates event a Component Exchanger was added to each Mana Forge. Similar in operation to the Rare Exchanger, the Component Exchanger will give a random spell component when given 1 MMD and any VIII spell component. The odds are the same for all components which causes glyphs to be the most common, inks less common, and quills quite rare.
Level VIII Scroll Creation
During the Ancient Powers event, a new crafting system for level VIII spell scroll creation was introduced. Some of these spells were previously available on a small number of quest items, however many are brand new. The components (quills, inks, and glyphs) can be obtained in the highest tier treasure profiles which appears in special chests and on creatures that also drop Pristine Mana Shards on Dark Isle, Freebooter Isle, Moarsman City, and in Graveyard.. Quills may be combined with the Mana Scarabs (which are also the casting scarab for level 8 spells and can be purchased from certain vendors) in order to craft infused quills. Infused quills may be crafted with inks to create a combination of the two. This combination may then be crafted with a glyph to create a level 8 scroll. All components involved in making a scroll (quill, mana scarab, ink, and glyph) are consumed in the process of successfully making a scroll.
All components may also be traded or sold to a vendor, and the scrolls may likewise be traded or sold to a vendor. If crafting something you expected to work fails, very likely the spell simply does not exist for level 8. You will not lose components upon failed crafting, and there is no skill associated with level 8 spell crafting, so feel free to experiment safely with the various components and see what you may accomplish!
Steps in creating a level VIII Scroll:
Add the quill to the mana scarab.
+ =
The mana scarab infuses the quill with its magical power.
Add the infused quill to the ink.
+ =
You dip the quill into the magical ink, further empowering it.
Add the enchanted quill to the glyph.
+ =
You trace the rune with your enchanted quill and the pattern of the spell forms before you as a scroll.
This produces a tradable scroll which you can then learn as normal. Level 8 spells last for 90 minutes, or up to three hours with Augmentations.
Scroll Components
In the Secrets of the Apostates event a new NPC was added to each Mana Forge, the Component Exchanger. The exchanger will take 1 MMD and any spell component and give a random one in return. There is an equal chance for all components which makes glyphs the most common, inks less common, and quills (at 4) very rare. In contrast the chests appear to factor in the number of scrolls the item is used by, so infliction quills are very common.
Quills
Introspection - Beneficial Self
Benevolence - Beneficial Other
Infliction - War/Debuff (Other)
Extraction - Drain (Other)
Inks
Formation - Self (can only be used with Introspection Quills)
Conveyance - Other (can only be used with Benevolence, Infliction and Extraction Quills)
Objectification - Item Spells
Nullification - Nullify (can be used with Introspection or Benevolence Quills)
War Spells (Can only be used with Infliction Quills):
Direction - Bolt
Parabolic - Arc
Partition - Blast
Separation - Volly
Alacritous - Streak
Casting Difficulty
When first introduced level VIII spells had a difficulty to cast of 455. In Risks and Rewards the difficulty was lowered to 400, meaning that 400 buffed magic skill will cast successfully 50% of the time. Here are some examples of casting success for a range of buffed values:
Spell cast chance of success
400 - 50%
405 - 57%
410 - 67%
415 - 74%
420 - 80%
425 - 85%
430 - 89%
435 - 92%
440 - 94%
445 - 96%
450 - 97%
455 - 98%
460 - 99%
476 - 100%
Known Formulas
Currently it is impossible to craft Creature Other Buffs, Life Other Buffs, Imperil, Self Debuffs (Link). Life vulns were added during Seeds of Corruption. Defender and Blood Drinker Incantations have the same effect as the level 7 versions, but have 30 minute longer durations.