Speculation--What do Smiths have?

[Grei]

I'm going to start a bunch of 'Speculation' threads here, to try to spark some discussion and activity here on the EQ2TC forums. Now keep in mind, this is for speculating and discussion...none of this is necessarily valid until confirmed otherwise. :)

This is it, now you're a smith. The forge is your friend and lover...so what can you do with it? Well now, the list as I see it:

* Process and shape Exotic metals--Sooner or later copper, iron, platinum, etc. will no longer be sufficient. Stuff like Luclinite (ok, made it up--but until we know if metals from Luclin's destruction are named, it'll suffice) may be found and thus someone will need to turn it until useable forms.

* Make weapons--Make lots of different weapons out of lots of different metals. This is a pretty large discussion in and of itself. :)

* Detailed metalworking--Maybe someone wants a really fancy looking chair for their home, the Smith could be the one who does some of the metal 'blingbling' for the chair (of course the greedy crafter would just use gold leaf instead of actual gold baubles, but I digress).

Let the speculations begin. :)

Grei

[DeWeasel]

You're off your, rocker, Grei!

Sorry, couldn't resist :)

In another thread, Grei wrote:
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I can't believe everyone is happy with my 'Speculations' so far. I was expecting some serious discussions already, ranging from 'how about this?' (got a few of those already, which is good) to 'You're off your rocker!' (well, I must be slightly crazy to have put so much effort into this already *grins*).
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One thing I would like to know -- armorsmithing. Anyone besides me think a Smith will have to provide plates/rings for the armorers? Especially for the high-end stuff...

[Grei]

You're off your, rocker, Grei!

Sorry, couldn't resist :)

One thing I would like to know -- armorsmithing. Anyone besides me think a Smith will have to provide plates/rings for the armorers? Especially for the high-end stuff...
Yup, I'm definitely off my rocker. :)

The more I think on armor, the more I get indecisive on who will do what. As for the plates/rings/studs/etc. that are often added to leather armor, I imagine that while a Crafter will be able to do some of it (learned the basics as a Builder), it will be a Smith who'll turn out the best metal components and thus give the best bonuses, probably through using unusual alloys and materials (i.e. like Acrylia in EQLive).

Grei

[Homeslice513]

I am just going from the main site here but it seems to me that Crafters will make armor and smiths will do weaponry.


Builder Subclass: Smith

The smith is the lord of the forge, and many apprentices seek out the smith's extensive knowledge of weapons. Smiths can mold a sword, dagger, or axe with little complication. Their blades are known to keep a good edge and never shatter in battle. In addition to being able to make true weapons of death, smiths also make useful household items that display a level of intricacy worthy of a noble's home.

The true power of a smith comes not from their understanding of the physical properties of the material they use, but rather in the ability to unlock the true potential hidden within the ore. Stories of blades passing though armor as if it wasn't there, or swords that could split a stone clean in two... these are the true legacies of a master Smith.

Builder Subclass: Crafter

Armor comes in all shapes and sizes, and a crafter knows every one of them. The need to preserve the frailty of a person's body guides a crafter to make armor that has no equal. Requests flood in from afar when a master crafter is around. Leather that can conceal one's footsteps, or plate mail that can deflect even the mightiest of blows from an ogre, these are the gifts that a crafter bestows upon their true works of art.

Having studied the humanoid form for many years, the crafter can take just about any material and shape it into a suit of armor. The crafter's true expertise shines when the wearer dons the armor and finds that it fits like a second skin. No job is too small, whether it may be armor to wear in battle or masterfully carved furniture to decorate one's home. Even as wars come and go, the crafter's skill is always highly in demand.

But also as been stated before, I am sure all the artisan classes can work to together so maybe you are right that a smith could make the best plate mail but only a crafter has the skill to make the jointing for it and combine the pieces together as well as intsalling the proper padding to prevent chafing :)

[Grei]

That's the thing that bothers me about what is on the official website about Smiths and Crafters. It first goes and says that Smiths can get the most out of the ore they use...but then for Crafters it says they can make the strongest plate mail. Unless plate mail is no longer made out of metal, it just does not seem to be too in character for Crafters to not only be able to work with leather, but also work with metal to that extent.

Of course, I shouldn't be so inflexible in my thinking. Maybe Smiths will be required to make the sheet metal that can then be shaped into plate. After all, I've made myself some plate armor before (out of 17 gauge aluminum--didn't work out for the legs and was borderline for the arms, but the breast/backplate worked out nicely) and all it took was cutting out the pieces and then hammering it into shape, none of which took a forge or anvil...just a stump with a concave hollow and an iron pipe to help shape it. Lots of hammering...I'd hate to think of how much effort steel would've taken, especially thicker stuff.

Grei

[SirTower]

Smiths should also get the Fletching skills passed down from EQ1. Looks like smiths make weapons and crafters make armor, so making bows and arrows should probably fall under the smiths domain.
Also, smaller household items like lamps, candlesticks (dynamic lighting..ooohhh) and smaller decorations shoudl be smith-ish by the class description.

[Homeslice513]

See I think crafter sounds like the all around man.

But then again maybe the crafter and smith both make those items just from being in the builder class.

We will see one day and I can't wait for that day :)

[hopping]

It seems to me from those descriptions that smiths are truly talented at imbuing ores with magical properties, but also with the production of fine weapons. Crafters seem to be able to create armor with special properties. I imagine that the weaponsvs armor is the most significant difference.

[Miyu]

With NDA lifted I can give you a more accurate portrayal of Weaponsmithing. I am currently a lv 25 Weaponsmith on Beta 1, which I belive is the highest anyone has reached at this time.

The class is exact to how it sounds, you smith the top of the line weapons for the level that you can craft. The process is fairly simple, but sometimes tedius. For skillups up until 30 you can buy pre-manufactured items from the vendors in zone which allow you to make low grade weapons that you would ultimatly resale back to the vendor. To make the high quality 'pristine' weapons you would need to either harvest the base component, or purchase them from players. The components are rather abundant and by spending acouple of hours harvesting you can go quite a few levels without having to go back out in the field. You then make the base component (Carbonite Bar), then reshape it to the interm combind (Carbonite Edge), and then fashion with various additional pieces to produce the final result.

Once you become a Weaponsmith one thing becomes very apparent, that is you will become relyant on other players for some of the items nessicary for your combinds. Early on the difficulty is finding people who can make them, but once you have a good supply that rarely becomes a problem.

Selling wares can be tedius at times as a Weaponsmith. Nearly every other trade has multiple items per adv lvs that people want to buy for upgrades, while Weaponsmiths have at the most 2 per person. Do not expect to sell many, if any lv 1-20 weapons. Most of the weapons a player gets thru their journey to 20 are more than sufficent for them, and new players are extreamly clueless as to what tradeskillers can offer them. It is at 20 where weapons can become an issue for some players and your revenue will start coming in. I currently forecast that Weaponsmiths will only start to make good money at TS lv 30+ making Faysteel weapons due to the current insane demand for weapons at that level and higher.

Currently we are 2 weeks from release, with about 60% of all 20+ weapon recipies bugged in one way or another, and no 30+ working recipies in game thanks to Alchemists having none at all. I am currently concerned that players will outlevel the most hardcore Weaponsmith thanks to the fact lv 30+ weapons cannot be created at this time, and there is no indication of that being resolved by release. I will keep you all posted.