Atlock Darkhand
11-05-2004, 02:12 AM
Hello fellow crafters, I have gone around the net, gathered information for people of the same kindred spirit as I. Below is the gathered information of many different people and I owe it to them for helping me to my Guide. So please read, enjoy and I hope it helps you all with the crafting experience.
As you start out in EQ2, anyone of any class can be a successful crafter, regardless of race or stats or starting city. However, many ask, "What's the best crafter class?" Well, here's my own opinion, and find something that complements what you are trying to accomplish with your character. There are pros and cons to all 4 different types of adventure classes, but that is what makes the best flavor of the game.
Once you get to the Island of Refuge and head over to the tower in the middle of the town. It's a small dark tower with a mage-like NPC on the bottom floor who will be your first Artisan trainer. He will guide you through a quest of cleaning up his shop, and then afterwards, he will have a crafting quest for you to do.
(Note: it's a good idea to go to a blank hotkey row by clicking the up or down arrow on your hotkey row, then place all the various icons found in the knowledge book which can be accessed by hitting the “K” key. These icons will show randomly in the bottom of the crafting window as you craft. This means you must find the same icon and press it before the next cycle of the crafting machine or you will have adverse reactions from slowing down the production of the item to even death. There are normally around four used for each type of crafting that you will do. As you gain in levels you will get things that allow you to buff yourself or actions you do to assist in the crafting process.)
(Note: The fuel item depends on the crafting station you are using. Right now they are as follows:
Forge: Coal
Loom: Fiber
Chemistry Table: Candles
Work Bench: Coal
Sawhorse: Sandpaper
Engraved Desk: Incense
Stove/Keg: Coal
You can also right click on them to find out also.)
Go through all his quests and you should end up level 4 artisan or just short of it. You could buy the books up to level 4 at the local vendor who stands within line of sight of the door to the tower or you could wait till you get to your home city. You may have to go out and kill a few mobs or do a few adventurer quests for the cash, but don't worry it comes quick. You can stay on the island and grind out the experience it takes to get to level up, but I suggest heading to your main city and grind out from there.
As you should have noticed quality is determined randomly by the game. You will see the progress bar on the top of the craft window. The top bar is how much of a chance you still have in making the item (it decreases as you progress through the creation process), the blue bar below that shows the completed progress. Once it hits the end, you are finished. During that time that the blue line is filling up, you will see anywhere from one to four set of similar bars below? They will each have a variation of the type of item you're making from crude, to shaped, to the regular item name, and even sometimes a "?" showing a "surprise version" which is normally pristine. These bars will decrease as you progress. The better your skill is the less you fail, and the more chance you have at making a better quality item. You won’t need to worry about quality at all until you're much higher, but I've experienced it just so you know how it all works. For now, anything you make you'll either sell to the vendor, or those buying it won't care what the quality is.
(Note: having as much hides and tin on you gathered on the Island is a great idea, will save you money and will be needed in the future)
First thing you need to do is simply find the local crafting workshop. One is found in each suburb of your town. You can use (alt w) to find a waypoint to the entrance or simply look for a cellar door in most local center areas of the zone. Some zones do keep them near venders it seems, so that's a great place to look first.
Zone in and you will find a 4-level "dungeon" of multiple craft stations. Each "crafting dungeon" is the same. There's an NPC vendor who sells you all you will need to grind up the levels as an artisan.
(Note: I don't mean that this is all you will ever need to make all items, just stuff to grind on).
I suggest first things first. You need inventory space, so let’s make 6 slot bags. These bags sell well and everyone will want them. I suggest making enough to fill your bank up and your inventory. This will give you the space that you will need to gather and store at the lower levels.
To start, buy stacks of 20 from the NPC of:
Shaped Vial of Chloro Oils - 2s 40c
Shaped Stretch of Rawhide Leather - 3s 40c
Filaments - 1s 20c
(Note: The Vial of Chloro Oils could have been made by you if you wish and the hides that you gathered on the island could work here as well to save money but not time)
This will make you 20 rawhide plates which are the only ingredients you craft to build a small bag. This item is known as refined items, which are used in interim or finished products. Make the plates, it doesn't matter what quality they come out as for the bags.
Now that we have 20 rawhide plates made, we need the ingredients for the 20 small bags.
You're hopefully level 5 by now. If you're not, you can make more rawhide plates, or make some of the other ingredients such as a tin buckle which will be used in the bags as well.
1 Fossile Temper
1 Shaped Tin Bar
1 Charcoal
(Note: The Vial of Fossile Temper could have been made by you if you wish and the Tin Clusters that you gathered on the island could work here as well to save money but not time)
Even though I usually buy a buckle at the beginning, these things are nice to grind out beginning experience. If they are an even con to you, then you should be getting around 2-3% experience per combine. Remember that quality is not important here so after you have a crude item you can hit stop and get the full experience. Yes that is right, I have not noticed a difference in experience from crude to a pristine item, not saying that there isn’t but I have not noticed it.
After you're level 5 and have scribed your new recipes it is time to make your small bags.
A small bag takes:
1 Rawhide Plate
1 Tin Buckle
1 Rawhide Cord
1 Filament
You can make a buckle, and rawhide cord and you'd save some coin, but for time's sake, I usually buy all the ingredients that I can unless you were grinding on them to level.
Once you have stacks of 20 of the 4 items you need, you can just start making all 20 packs. This will fill your 6 slots (just destroy any old 4 slot packs you may have bought from the NPC). Then, take the rest and fill your bank slots. You can also sell them for up to 5s each which will go as fast.
You should be near or past level 6 by now. At level 6 you can really start making money. Bags are great for money, but you can only carry 6 plus another in your overflow spot (this is a space where loot goes if you don’t have room for everything). At level 6 you get a bunch of new items to include a list of apprentice III spells and skill upgrades. These sell as fast as you can make them for 3sp each. These take a few refined items that you will have to make. In my opinion it isn’t worth it unless a Guild mate needs it you have an over whelming demand for them. They are very time consuming for 3 silver. As you get to level 7 and 8 you will get more of them. But they are only level 6, so experience does come slower with them, and as before they are time consuming for money and experience.
Once you get a nice chunk of cash you can start making some weapons to change pace and get faster experience. There are other items to grind out on, but I am going to use these as examples. Most weapons take tin edges to make which are a level 4 item. A good way is to offer to pay 6 sp a 20 stack of tin edges to new players in the crafting dungeon with you. This is the exact cost to make them but will get them through level 4 and even level 5 or 6 for free. If all else fails, you still get the experience but making them takes extra time. Once you get a 20 stack of tin edges you can go ahead and make weapons:
Level 5 you can make: Sub-components like a tin shod, which you may also need on the next level for spears.
Level 6 you can make: Tin spears or battle axes or short swords.
Level 7 you can make: Tin Rapiers
Level 8 you can make: Many items, but I made Tin Tulwar which is a scimitar-looking 2 handed sword. I made it because I could sell them back to the vendor for almost the same cost it took to make.
(Note: The weapons are simply for grinding. They aren't good enough to sell, but it's a change of pace. You can easily translate all this into all the different crafts, armor craft, carpentry, etc. Each can be done at this level and each have "grind items". The best ones for time and coin are the ones that do not take other crafted item to make, unless you have ready access to them for grinding.)
Once you get to 9, you have a whole new list of items. At level 9 you will want to make Rawhide Leather Tunics. They actually give you 53 copper back above what they cost to make when you sell them to vendors. So, you actually turn a profit while learning, isn’t that nice.
(Note: make sure at each level you buy an artisan book for that level from the NPC. You can buy them from adventurers as well for extra rare recipes, but the ones you want more are the ones from the vendors.)
You also get into a new area of crafting. You can now make Adept 3 spells/skill upgrades which sell for quite a bit, only there's a catch. You have to make Cochenial Ink which can only be made with Cochenial Dye. That takes Dinoid reagents that require an ingredient that you can only find harvesting rocks found all over the ground in EQ2. They are rare, so don't be surprised if you don't find a bunch. I did find some in level 15ish+ areas of the common lands, but not very often.
Anyone can loot this stuff, so you adventurers out there that are smart enough to read these guides, loot up resources as you run around and create your own market of trading resources for crafted items. Learn all the rare resources and collect them. Harvesting materials as you travel the world will become second nature to artisans and smart adventures. Moving your cursor over item's that can be harvested will make the item turn bluish grey, easily identifying which items are just part of the scenery and which you should stop to harvest. The actual harvesting is as simple as double clicking on the object, and takes only a few seconds. Some parts of the world are rich in material; those hunted most by new players have seemed full of things to harvest.
(Note: Here is a quick list of them as I know:
Level 1-9 Rares:
Alder (wood), Yarrow (root), Bronze (metal), Lapis Lazuli (gemstone), Copper (metal, but I have never seen one of these)
Level 10-19 Rares:
Bone (wood), Sisal Root (root), Blackened Iron (metal), Coral (gemstone), Silver Ore (metal))
By now you know the some of the ins and outs of Crafting in EQ2. As you get past 9, you will be able to pick a class, to be a crafter of your choice, with many new opportunities to craft and aid in the development of the EQ2 economy. Eventually, at level 20, you get to specialize and make amazing items in whatever area of crafting you choose.
As you start out in EQ2, anyone of any class can be a successful crafter, regardless of race or stats or starting city. However, many ask, "What's the best crafter class?" Well, here's my own opinion, and find something that complements what you are trying to accomplish with your character. There are pros and cons to all 4 different types of adventure classes, but that is what makes the best flavor of the game.
Once you get to the Island of Refuge and head over to the tower in the middle of the town. It's a small dark tower with a mage-like NPC on the bottom floor who will be your first Artisan trainer. He will guide you through a quest of cleaning up his shop, and then afterwards, he will have a crafting quest for you to do.
(Note: it's a good idea to go to a blank hotkey row by clicking the up or down arrow on your hotkey row, then place all the various icons found in the knowledge book which can be accessed by hitting the “K” key. These icons will show randomly in the bottom of the crafting window as you craft. This means you must find the same icon and press it before the next cycle of the crafting machine or you will have adverse reactions from slowing down the production of the item to even death. There are normally around four used for each type of crafting that you will do. As you gain in levels you will get things that allow you to buff yourself or actions you do to assist in the crafting process.)
(Note: The fuel item depends on the crafting station you are using. Right now they are as follows:
Forge: Coal
Loom: Fiber
Chemistry Table: Candles
Work Bench: Coal
Sawhorse: Sandpaper
Engraved Desk: Incense
Stove/Keg: Coal
You can also right click on them to find out also.)
Go through all his quests and you should end up level 4 artisan or just short of it. You could buy the books up to level 4 at the local vendor who stands within line of sight of the door to the tower or you could wait till you get to your home city. You may have to go out and kill a few mobs or do a few adventurer quests for the cash, but don't worry it comes quick. You can stay on the island and grind out the experience it takes to get to level up, but I suggest heading to your main city and grind out from there.
As you should have noticed quality is determined randomly by the game. You will see the progress bar on the top of the craft window. The top bar is how much of a chance you still have in making the item (it decreases as you progress through the creation process), the blue bar below that shows the completed progress. Once it hits the end, you are finished. During that time that the blue line is filling up, you will see anywhere from one to four set of similar bars below? They will each have a variation of the type of item you're making from crude, to shaped, to the regular item name, and even sometimes a "?" showing a "surprise version" which is normally pristine. These bars will decrease as you progress. The better your skill is the less you fail, and the more chance you have at making a better quality item. You won’t need to worry about quality at all until you're much higher, but I've experienced it just so you know how it all works. For now, anything you make you'll either sell to the vendor, or those buying it won't care what the quality is.
(Note: having as much hides and tin on you gathered on the Island is a great idea, will save you money and will be needed in the future)
First thing you need to do is simply find the local crafting workshop. One is found in each suburb of your town. You can use (alt w) to find a waypoint to the entrance or simply look for a cellar door in most local center areas of the zone. Some zones do keep them near venders it seems, so that's a great place to look first.
Zone in and you will find a 4-level "dungeon" of multiple craft stations. Each "crafting dungeon" is the same. There's an NPC vendor who sells you all you will need to grind up the levels as an artisan.
(Note: I don't mean that this is all you will ever need to make all items, just stuff to grind on).
I suggest first things first. You need inventory space, so let’s make 6 slot bags. These bags sell well and everyone will want them. I suggest making enough to fill your bank up and your inventory. This will give you the space that you will need to gather and store at the lower levels.
To start, buy stacks of 20 from the NPC of:
Shaped Vial of Chloro Oils - 2s 40c
Shaped Stretch of Rawhide Leather - 3s 40c
Filaments - 1s 20c
(Note: The Vial of Chloro Oils could have been made by you if you wish and the hides that you gathered on the island could work here as well to save money but not time)
This will make you 20 rawhide plates which are the only ingredients you craft to build a small bag. This item is known as refined items, which are used in interim or finished products. Make the plates, it doesn't matter what quality they come out as for the bags.
Now that we have 20 rawhide plates made, we need the ingredients for the 20 small bags.
You're hopefully level 5 by now. If you're not, you can make more rawhide plates, or make some of the other ingredients such as a tin buckle which will be used in the bags as well.
1 Fossile Temper
1 Shaped Tin Bar
1 Charcoal
(Note: The Vial of Fossile Temper could have been made by you if you wish and the Tin Clusters that you gathered on the island could work here as well to save money but not time)
Even though I usually buy a buckle at the beginning, these things are nice to grind out beginning experience. If they are an even con to you, then you should be getting around 2-3% experience per combine. Remember that quality is not important here so after you have a crude item you can hit stop and get the full experience. Yes that is right, I have not noticed a difference in experience from crude to a pristine item, not saying that there isn’t but I have not noticed it.
After you're level 5 and have scribed your new recipes it is time to make your small bags.
A small bag takes:
1 Rawhide Plate
1 Tin Buckle
1 Rawhide Cord
1 Filament
You can make a buckle, and rawhide cord and you'd save some coin, but for time's sake, I usually buy all the ingredients that I can unless you were grinding on them to level.
Once you have stacks of 20 of the 4 items you need, you can just start making all 20 packs. This will fill your 6 slots (just destroy any old 4 slot packs you may have bought from the NPC). Then, take the rest and fill your bank slots. You can also sell them for up to 5s each which will go as fast.
You should be near or past level 6 by now. At level 6 you can really start making money. Bags are great for money, but you can only carry 6 plus another in your overflow spot (this is a space where loot goes if you don’t have room for everything). At level 6 you get a bunch of new items to include a list of apprentice III spells and skill upgrades. These sell as fast as you can make them for 3sp each. These take a few refined items that you will have to make. In my opinion it isn’t worth it unless a Guild mate needs it you have an over whelming demand for them. They are very time consuming for 3 silver. As you get to level 7 and 8 you will get more of them. But they are only level 6, so experience does come slower with them, and as before they are time consuming for money and experience.
Once you get a nice chunk of cash you can start making some weapons to change pace and get faster experience. There are other items to grind out on, but I am going to use these as examples. Most weapons take tin edges to make which are a level 4 item. A good way is to offer to pay 6 sp a 20 stack of tin edges to new players in the crafting dungeon with you. This is the exact cost to make them but will get them through level 4 and even level 5 or 6 for free. If all else fails, you still get the experience but making them takes extra time. Once you get a 20 stack of tin edges you can go ahead and make weapons:
Level 5 you can make: Sub-components like a tin shod, which you may also need on the next level for spears.
Level 6 you can make: Tin spears or battle axes or short swords.
Level 7 you can make: Tin Rapiers
Level 8 you can make: Many items, but I made Tin Tulwar which is a scimitar-looking 2 handed sword. I made it because I could sell them back to the vendor for almost the same cost it took to make.
(Note: The weapons are simply for grinding. They aren't good enough to sell, but it's a change of pace. You can easily translate all this into all the different crafts, armor craft, carpentry, etc. Each can be done at this level and each have "grind items". The best ones for time and coin are the ones that do not take other crafted item to make, unless you have ready access to them for grinding.)
Once you get to 9, you have a whole new list of items. At level 9 you will want to make Rawhide Leather Tunics. They actually give you 53 copper back above what they cost to make when you sell them to vendors. So, you actually turn a profit while learning, isn’t that nice.
(Note: make sure at each level you buy an artisan book for that level from the NPC. You can buy them from adventurers as well for extra rare recipes, but the ones you want more are the ones from the vendors.)
You also get into a new area of crafting. You can now make Adept 3 spells/skill upgrades which sell for quite a bit, only there's a catch. You have to make Cochenial Ink which can only be made with Cochenial Dye. That takes Dinoid reagents that require an ingredient that you can only find harvesting rocks found all over the ground in EQ2. They are rare, so don't be surprised if you don't find a bunch. I did find some in level 15ish+ areas of the common lands, but not very often.
Anyone can loot this stuff, so you adventurers out there that are smart enough to read these guides, loot up resources as you run around and create your own market of trading resources for crafted items. Learn all the rare resources and collect them. Harvesting materials as you travel the world will become second nature to artisans and smart adventures. Moving your cursor over item's that can be harvested will make the item turn bluish grey, easily identifying which items are just part of the scenery and which you should stop to harvest. The actual harvesting is as simple as double clicking on the object, and takes only a few seconds. Some parts of the world are rich in material; those hunted most by new players have seemed full of things to harvest.
(Note: Here is a quick list of them as I know:
Level 1-9 Rares:
Alder (wood), Yarrow (root), Bronze (metal), Lapis Lazuli (gemstone), Copper (metal, but I have never seen one of these)
Level 10-19 Rares:
Bone (wood), Sisal Root (root), Blackened Iron (metal), Coral (gemstone), Silver Ore (metal))
By now you know the some of the ins and outs of Crafting in EQ2. As you get past 9, you will be able to pick a class, to be a crafter of your choice, with many new opportunities to craft and aid in the development of the EQ2 economy. Eventually, at level 20, you get to specialize and make amazing items in whatever area of crafting you choose.