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Crafting, am I missing something here?

AuthorMessage
Survivor
Mar 11, 2010
12
Crafting seems to be... a losing proposition.
The finished product, is worth less than the sum of it's parts.
Oh I know that some people will say "silly, just pick up the stuff" and where that's all well and good for some, it's not that simple. Some times you just can't "pick it up" because it simply isn't there. I once waited over an hour to pick up a piece of parchment, and got nothing. So I went to buy it at the bazaar. Suffice to say that it was rare, and expensive to buy.
Why? Because it simply doesn't appear very often.
This is true of most of the reagents in the game.
And yes, I know some of you will say "I get X amount of reagents every day, it's easy!" but some of us don't have hours and hours to devote to scrounging the reagents we need.
And, the fact is, that the finished product is no better than anything you can buy in the shops.
In some other games, the player made items are different from the ones in the shops. One game in particular, makes sure that people craft by making player items FAR more superior than the ones in the shops.
If anyone from K.I. is reading, please mention it. It would make crafting a viable option in this game.

Geographer
Jul 04, 2009
939
Just because you got your crafting quest in the beginning of each world does not mean that you need to complete the quest right then and there.

Just go ahead and purchase the recipe they ask you to make and take a look at the reagents required and keep a mental note of it.

Other than those items sold by the reagent vendor (i.e., ruby, coal, glass vials, etc), I am able to find everything I need by picking up every reagent I come across when I go about doing all the other quests in the world. And I am able to find everything I need well before I even finish the world I'm in.

The only world that this was an exception to was DS, but then again the Master Artisan badge should not be as easy to obtain as the others were.

With each completed crafting quest, you get XP and a jump up in crafting ranking, which opens up greater recipes that you can do on your own for better equipment or housing items.

Delver
May 31, 2009
231
there are things you can make that are helpful, if not to this character (because your to high a level to benifit) then the next one as you can put it in your shared bank. as for the expensive stuff, check with the guy who gave you the quest he usally has a transmute spell (check the other pages) that lets you use the more common reagents to make the less common and rare ones. And I agree with the other post dont be in a hurry you have all the time you want to finish. There are some things in ms and ds that you may want to have also treasure cards you cant make money selling them but they are great for PvP or trading.

Hero
May 27, 2009
762
Here are some tips and tricks I use to make crafting less of a hassle and much more satisfying:

1) Pick up each and every reagent you see. Even if you are not crafting anything at the moment, it may come in handy later. If nothing else, sell them at the Bazaar so that other crafters can use them. While at the Bazaar, buy one each of any dropped reagent like Bone or Ectoplasm if there are 100 in stock. This way, when it comes to a recipe needing 44 Ectoplasm, you have less to get all at once.
2) Buy all transmute recipes as soon as you are the right level. These definitely help with rare reagents, and don't forget the guy in Grizzleheim for the Grendelweed transmute.
3) If you can get a world (or even two) ahead, do so. If you have a friend or second account to bring your crafting wizard to the next world as soon as they get the task, buy the correct recipes and spend a little time collecting any reagents needed that are only found in that world (i.e., scrap iron on Marleybone)
4) If you need rarer reagents, try going into an instance like Vault of Ice for Parchment and Ore or Crimson Fields for Black Lotus. Many times, you don't need to fight any enemies, you can run through and pick up reagents.
5) Change realms often, even while questing, to give yourself a greater chance of encountering reagent spawns. Perfect realms may have less players, but they also have the Master Artisans who have favorite reagent runs (i.e., Cave of Solitude). After leaving a boss or battle, change before turning in the quest - it's possible you'll find reagents in the same spots you found them on the way in.
6) Craft your items right before logging off. This way, cooldown times will not be as much of a hindrance to making your next item.


Hopefully these tips will help you find crafting to be much more fun and rewarding.

A+ Student
Jan 05, 2009
1706
I agree with the above...just wait and collect over the world. I know I usually find about three times what I need of things like parchment by the time I am done in Krok...the only things I actively look for is Scrap Iron, ore, and mandrake...otherwise I wait till i trip over things.

And why do it at all...I find that as I gather enough materials in my normal travels...why not???

Survivor
Feb 15, 2010
14
O.K., I'm a little reluctant to share this because the sell price drops when the Bazaar has a lot of an item, but some items are GREAT cash cows. If you buy or transmute most of the reagents needed, you don't make as much profit as when you gather most of the needed ingredients, or even loose money in the deal, but I can make 2000g to 6000g every day or two without much extra effort.
DO craft at the end of your gaming session, so slots are cooling while you are asleep or at school or work.
CHOOSE what you make carefully. Band of Intuition, for example, sells for 757g if Eiliff has 0 in stock, then drops to 694g and levels off at around 651g until he has over 25 or so. Base cost (gems plus vials) is 255g plus 4 parchment and 6 ore, so you can clear 400g on a 4:15 cool-down item if you gathered the parchment and ore.
Special Equipment is where you can really make some gold (the multi-school hats, boots, and cloaks recipes that you geton the higher worlds. You can only buy recipes from your primary school, but there are 18 recipes from each world's vendor for your school.) Examples: in Krakatopia-like Emberflood cap, cloak, and shoes (fire/lightning) and in Marleybone- like the Burning Hood,Slippers, and Coat of Wind (fire/lightning), or Smoldering Hat, Sandals, and Cloak of Ash (fire/death), and Mu Shoo- like Dreambrand Headwrap, Footwraps, and Longcoat (fire and lightning) or the Fireleaf (fire and life) hat, boots, and coat. I'm sure Dragonspyre has these recipe vendors, too,just haven't been there yet).
My first Emberflood Coat sold for 2389g, then the price dropped to 1972g when the Bazaar had one in stock, and to 1775g when there were 25+ in stock. They cost 420g base(gems and vials) plus other reagents, and can clear 400g to 1200g depending on if you have to buy any reagents. Emberflood Cap fetched 1480g until there were 25 in stock at the Bazaar and the price dropped, and I realized someone else had come up with the same idea.
There is also a sense of accomplishment when you craft something new, even if it doesn't have a good re-sale value.

Survivor
Jan 05, 2010
1
But what is the point?

Crafting just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game.

Geographer
Jul 04, 2009
939
Rowan899 wrote:
But what is the point?

Crafting just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game.


Neither does owning and decorating a home, or PvP. But it is there for those who want to do it. And it does enhance the game (after all, you can craft equipment and treasure cards!).

Survivor
Feb 15, 2010
14
Rowan899 wrote:
But what is the point?

Crafting just doesn't mesh with the rest of the game.


Are Ya KIDDIN Me??? It's a matter of what YOU want to get or make out of it (pun intended ). On a pure "What's in it for ME?" note, I have crafted two or three carefully selected items (see my earlier post), sold them to Elik Silverfist at the Bazaar, and found myself with 3000 or 6000 or 10000 gold in pocket to buy cards for upcoming boss battles or quests, or hard-to-find reagents for future crafting, or goodies I suddenly HAD to have for my castle since I was suddenly flush with gold :-D. I even bought a wicked awesome coat once, even though I prefer to use equipment found or earned rather than bought. Granted, on more than one occasion I bought a recipe for boots or a cloak that was waaay better than what I had, and by the time I gathered the rarer reagents and crafted it, I had found something even better as a drop :?, but what I crafted still sold at a tidy profit. And yes, I do still keep and sometimes wear a cap and some boots that I made myself, when I am facing a battle that they are the best choice for. I also have a great coat recipe I can't wait to make and wear, as soon as I find more diamonds and grendleweed....
I recently noticed that Elik's inventory on some of the items that I regularly craft (one hat in particular) actually dwindles or drops to zero. This means that not only do I get a better price when selling it to him, but someone is buying the item out of stock for their own use, so I am helping others who find these items useful. This is all great stuff, big fun to be had, as long as I let my imagination run wild .
If it's not your thing then just don't pursue it. Me personally, I get a blast out of it. What better place to put the pile of jellybeans I got from defeating the King of the pooters, I mean Gobblers, than between two crafting stations with some sledgehammers and mallets nearby, like maybe you need to crush jellybeans to craft some things. Or the balls of yarn from the Marleybone Scratchers- put 'em next to your equipment station like they are left over from knitting a hat. The game to me is all about tapping into your own vivid imagination, creating a fun character and breathing life and personality into him or her. I can stand in the middle of my crafting room, next to my bubbling cauldron , and watch my four stations whirr and purr and move about, surrounded by flickering torches and crackling sconces and fire banners and a smoke-billowing chimney, and get a real sense of glee and enjoyment out of what I have wrought. But then, I AM easily amused. Power to the crafters, dude!

Angus Ironpants 39th Pyro 8)