Architect Archive

This is still in process, but at the rate I'm going at getting it done I figured I should post it as is or I'd never get it out. Maybe I'll eventually finish it.

This guide is meant to help someone who is considering or just starting out in the Architect profession. For technical details and futher information, refer to the FAQ.

Thanks Pawlin

1. Starting out.

Architect can be a fun and profitable profession but it is not for everyone. This guide is written with the independent architect in mind but most of the material applies to everyone. The advice here is of my own personal opinion.

1.1 Do you want to be an architect?

Are you crazy? Why do you want to be an architect? Don't you realize they scrape by on razor thin profit margins and that their business is slowing grinding to a halt? No? You heard that it’s a quick way to uber cash, eh?...

I don't mean to dissuade you from your goal but just want to make sure you're aware of some of the down sides to the profession.

Before you start spend the skill points for Novice Architect you should think about why you are really becoming an architect. If you're in it for the love of crafting and have an interest in building large structures then Architect may be the choice for you . But if your main goal is to build some structures for your guild and/or city or if you're only interested in a quick buck then you might reconsider. Architect is one of the easiest professions to master but it does take a lot of materials to get there. Competing as an architect can be a challenge. Don't let the large potential revenues blind you to the heavy costs and low profit margins. If you want to run a business on the side to supplement your PvP or PvE game fun then architect might not be a bad choice compared to some other crafting professions. However you may want to consider operating as a miner. The amount of time required for mining can be very low and the profit return is pretty good.

The long term viability of the architect profession is in some doubt. The key problem facing architects in the long run is the lack of decay on our product. As soon as everyone in the galaxy has the house, factory and harvester deeds that they need then our market will dry up.

1.2 The grind.

Architect is one of the quickest professions to grind through but it does require a large amount of resources. There are two main schools of thought on the grind. First you can choose to grind through statues on practice mode. Statues are is the quickest way to master and take about an hour or less. But they are also very wasteful and it will burn up around 840k of ore and gems. Alternatively you can build walls one at a time from structure modules and then either stock them for later use or resell them to recoup costs. This route takes about 10 times as long as grinding statues but you are not wasting the materials.

1.3 Master or dabbler?

Mastering the profession requires 63 skill points total. If you do not mind limiting your schematics and skill points or only have specific goals or interests within the profession then you may be able to find success as a dabbler. However if you want the ability to build anything/ everything that architect has to offer and have an interest in all aspects of the profession then Master is the way to go. There are several ways to specialize in the architect field and have successful businesses.

1.4 Various specializations

Whether you are just dabbling in one profession or a full master architect, most architects choose to concentrate in one area or another. There are actually a few different ways to carve out a niche in the architect profession.

1.4.1 Furniture

Furniture can be a lucrative business all on its own. Furniture will usually fetch a much higher profit margin rate than deeds. By getting just the 4 skill box tree of Furniture I - IV, you can make all the furniture items except the master level. This gives you many different furniture items to sell. This also allows you to make the monthly paintings from the Bestine museum and those have a good profit margin. If you also have an eye for interior design then the combination of furniture sales and interior design services can be built into a very successful business. A way to fetch a premium for your decoration services is to offer custom decorations such as fish tanks or zoos. These are build out of normal items in the game to form elaborate creations.

1.4.2 Buildings

The market for buildings is generally limited. Most player cities often have a resident architect that takes care of building all the city structures needed. Most players already have a house deed and are not often in the market to acquire or upgrade housing. Even so, theres is always some market for houses. A well ran business may find success with just the housing market. While profit margins on houses may not be very high, the net profit on deeds can typically be tens of thousands.

1.4.3 Furniture and Buildings

If you want to spend half the skill points to get both the furniture and the building trees then you can combine both the furniture and building trades. One of the key benefits to this tact is that you can sell houses and then get repeat business for a whole set of furniture. Many people that buy a house want to decorate it so it is easy to sell the furniture to go along with the home. If you keep your house costs competitive then you can still make a good profit off of the furniture sales.

1.4.4 Harvesters and/or factories

Presently harvesters are probably one of the most lucrative and highest demand products for architects. To be successful dabbling in harvesters you'll need both the construction tree and the harvester tree. The construction tree is necessary to get the experimentation points required to make the better harvesters. Harvesters are one of the only items we can experiment on. Its particularly important to be able to make the maximum Base Extraction Rating (BER) possible. Mediums max at 10 and heavies at 13 (as of this writing). Most customers only look for the maximum BER and will not want to buy anything less unless it is at a deep discount. Factories are found in the harvester tree but are a slightly different beast. Factories can not be experimented on so are more of a commodity item like buildings however they are often in greater demand with people who are picking up new professions.

1.4.5 High quality Crafting Stations.

Even though Architects build them, crafting stations actually use Artisan Experimentation points rather than Architect Experimentation points. So if you're a Master Artisan then it only takes Novice Architect skill to build crafting stations that can compete with the best in the galaxy. Crafting stations require a lot of high quality materials and sub components from master artisan and master droid engineer professions. Profit margins for crafting stations are often very high and the average price for a good +40-43 rating station is usually in the 40k range (YMMV depending on server economy).

Side Note: The exact benefit of crafting stations is debatable. SOE's only statement thus far is that crafting stations "influences" the chance of success or failure during assembly and experimentation. That is not extremely enlightening. In my own experimentation creating artisan items as a master artisan it is hard to see any benefit to using extremely high quality tools and stations over very low quality tools and stations but I seemed to see more of a difference when crafting items as a novice.

Message Edited by Pawlin on 07-23-2004 11:29 AM

Message Edited by Pawlin on 07-23-2004 11:34 AM

Message Edited by Pawlin on 07-23-2004 11:27 AM