Carbonite Edge

[Peter Corbin]

Any one else having a hard time making pristine carbonite edges?

I used to have no problem a few levels ago (i'm 26 now) but before the big patch and after I have had the worst luck. Going through stacks and stacks of pristine bars I'm lucky if I get 2 pristine edges out of the 20 combines. Its a level 20 receipe.. I have no problem making pristines of the other level 20 receipes (bars crossguards hammer heads etc). I'm bummed because 75% of our weapons are dependant on the quality of the edge and all it seems I can make are forged weapons instead of pristines. I know its not just because of my level because I can make pristine hand wraps and hammers and others that aren't based on the edges.

Is this a pattern for later on as well with Feyiron edges, etc?

[Votary]

Either you are getting incredibly unlucky or might want to try experimenting with different reaction combinations....I've had no problems making T3/T4 weapons for folks pristine since the big patch after a bunch of experimentation with the buffs....granted I'm a T4 weaponsmith, so the available buffs are quite a bit different than T3, so I'm not sure what the impact would be for a T2-T3 weaponsmith.

-Votary

[Elriak]

I typically have more problems making pristine edges than the other components (crossguards, spikes, etc.). This has been consistent through both tiers 3 and 4, pre- and post-patch.

That said, "more problems" here is a 85-90% success rate on edges instead of virtually 100% on the non-edges. Which is annoying, but not what you're seeing. I'd suggest playing around with different buff combinations to see if you can find something that works better for you. In addition to that, one thing that helps me, I think, is to be particularly demanding as far as how much durability I'm willing to lose before I leave crude -- generally, if I have more than one bad tick before leaving crude, and I care about keeping pristine, I stop and restart. It takes longer, but if you're really getting a 10% pristine rate, it'll be worth your time if it helps.

[Tweedledea]

I've been struggling a bit since the changes to the buffs. Currently my strategy is one of the following:

Pummel 'Set'. (High risk) Doesn't cost power, but it does take down durability. The increase to progress is excellent though. It speeds up low-risk items like carbonite bars nicely. Also useful for a last-ditch burst of progress if your durability is showing no signs of being boosted by 'Indurate' (see below)

Use 'Tempering', hit 'Indurate' to boost durability as required. This is a lower risk strategy, but the boost to progress is less. Also this route does leave me in danger of running out of power. Gripe: 'Indurate' seems completely useless for boosting durability... frankly if I slip from pristine then I have NO chance of getting back. I use it in the hope that it does at least do something, but I'd be interested to know if anyone uses something else with more success.

[Runcor]

Currently I'm a lowly 23 weaponsmith, but I just made 10 out of 10 pristine carbonite edges. Was only 50% on the crossguards though.

[Quiq]

As of the morning patch on Jan 15:

Use Anneal - Set - Tempering to get through "crude". If you are getting too many bad rounds abort and restart as usual.

Once you are in the "shaped" bar, use Anneal - Vitrify - Strengthening. This uses NO power, and will recover a pretty good chunk of durability, barring several bad rounds. When durability is back up you can switch to Anneal - Set - Tempering again if you want.

If you need LOTS of durability, or to recover pristine, use Indurate - Vitrify - Strengthening. This burns power fast, but you usually don't have to use it much. When you've boosted yourself back up, return to Anneal - Vitrify - Strengthening and keep increasing durability while your power recharges.

Of the 100 or so interim products (edges, crossguards, spikes, etc.) I made this way yesterday, I think one spike did not come out pristine. Of the 100 or so bars I refined, again, only 1 came out less than pristine. I only made 7 weapons, blue or white recipes, all were pristine.

Of course this will not work when they finally kill the stacking of durability or progress buffs, but currently it works almost every time.