Refract puts direct damage and orb setup on the same card. That is convenient when both effects serve the current fight. It is expensive when you need only one of them and cannot afford to leave the rest of the turn uncovered.
Start with the attack you can calculate. Then inspect what the two Glass will do to the orb setup you actually have.
Count the direct damage correctly
The v0.110 beta raised Refract's damage from nine per hit to ten, and from twelve to thirteen when upgraded. It hits twice, so the unmodified attack totals 20 damage, or 26 upgraded.
Those numbers exclude Glass effects, Strength, Weak, Vulnerable, and enemy defenses. The buff adds two direct damage across the two hits compared with the previous beta values. The upgrade adds six direct damage compared with the unupgraded current card.
Our Refract entry includes the main-branch baseline. An older image showing nine or twelve per hit should not be mixed into the beta calculation.
Three Energy is still a full ordinary budget
Refract's cost remains three. In a three-Energy turn without other resources or cost changes, playing it leaves no Energy for another paid card.
Ask whether the attack secures a kill or whether the remaining enemy actions can be handled by effects already available. A strong orb turn is not enough if the immediate incoming damage ends the run.
If extra Energy makes the play safe, account for the card or resource that provides it. Do not describe Refract as an easy combination piece while quietly assuming a larger budget than the deck normally has.
Check the orb row before Channeling
Refract Channels two Glass. Evaluate that alongside the existing orb row, slot capacity, and the current client descriptions for Channeling and Evoking.
The same two new orbs can have different practical consequences depending on what is already occupying the slots. Read the displayed orb effects rather than assigning a fixed extra damage total to every Refract play.
This guide deliberately separates the verified attack arithmetic from state-dependent orb value. The Defect guide covers the broader question of building enough support for an orb plan without neglecting immediate defense.
Target the problem the attack can solve
Two hits do not mean two separate enemies are automatically handled. Refract's direct attack is concentrated on its target, so examine the rest of the room after that target takes damage.
When several enemies need damage at once, compare a genuine room-wide option such as beta Hyperbeam, including its own downside. That comparison is about coverage and the current board, not a claim that one card always outranks the other.
Against a single target, the combined attack and Glass setup may be easier to use efficiently. You still need to budget for surviving whatever remains.
Upgrade around a meaningful threshold
The upgrade changes 20 direct damage to 26 before modifiers. Against an unmodified 24-HP enemy without defenses, that crosses a kill threshold. Against a much healthier enemy, the extra six may not change the current turn.
Look for repeated situations where the improvement saves another attack or prevents an enemy action. Otherwise, a defensive upgrade or cheaper setup may improve more of the deck's difficult hands.
A useful review question is simple: did Refract solve both damage and orb setup, or did you pay three Energy for only half the card?