Artisan Archive
Thread: Daily Topic 8-6-03 Crafter Tips
I am almost Master Artisan and am interested in pursuing Architect.
But I am blown away completey by the requirements to even take Novice Architect. IIRC it expects like 33000 crafting experience. It says I have like 297. Now I am almost Master in Artisan and I only have 297!
OMG, I really do not see me reaching that level of crafting any time soon.
How did all the other architects get that far this fast?
Am I missing something completely?
Am I crafting the complete wrong items?
I try not to "grind" too much, but I have done quite a few muzzles and weapon crafting tools to get where I am...
Thanks for any input!
Zawa
sysfixnet wrote:
I am almost Master Artisan and am interested in pursuing Architect.
But I am blown away completey by the requirements to even take Novice Architect. IIRC it expects like 33000 crafting experience. It says I have like 297. Now I am almost Master in Artisan and I only have 297!
OMG, I really do not see me reaching that level of crafting any time soon.
How did all the other architects get that far this fast?
Am I missing something completely?
Am I crafting the complete wrong items?
I try not to "grind" too much, but I have done quite a few muzzles and weapon crafting tools to get where I am...
Thanks for any input!
Zawa
You spent 6000 General Crafting XP to get Eng. IV. Every time you train a skill box you "spend" the XP, that's why you only have 297. Getting the GCXP for the Novice level of the advanced professions is a little more than 5x what you did to get to Eng IV.
Yes, it's a grinding chore. But once you hit Architect, those trees go up at a decent pace because of all the resources used when making items.
Bushwa
Sysfix,
Hang in there. Here's a response and some of my crafting tips. First of all, I am a more casual player trying to get a few hours in most evening. Currently a master artisan and novice weaponsmith (trained in novice armorsmith, but not doing much there).
1) Don't be intimidated by time. If this is your first venture into MMORPG's they are designed for players to be immersed for a long time. That's really where their income comes from. I playedEverquest casually for almost two years and didn't reach the top level. I put a year into Dark Age of Camelot to reach the coveted level 50. Actually, as a casual player I am advancing faster in this game than I did in other MMORPG's.
2) Do the things you like in the game. Take things in small chunks. I really take the crafting tree one box at a time. There are a lot of posts that will say things like "... it will take 4,000,000 pistol barrels to make..." (not really of course). Ignore them.
3) Craft quality, craft quality, craft quality. There is a time to grind and a time to craft. Some people on the forum don't see the difference. They grind and then put low quality stuff on the bazaar and then rant that it won't sell. Fact is, it won't. Players should not have to buy something that I myself wouldn't put in my inventory and use. Don't put anything on the bazaar that you wouldn't equip yourself. I end up selling about 8 of 10 things I put on the bazaar when I follow that rule.
4) Diversity your crafting if you want to sell things. Hey, there have been posts about fishing poles and foods and fireworks selling. I've not personally done them, but they were great ideas.
5) Sales will be up and sales will be down. There are days I have nothing sell and then all of a sudden a bunch of stuff does.
6) Don't expect to be drowning in wealth. You are probablygoing to have to supplement your income. Run missions.
7) Diversify your character!!!! I trained originally as artisan, marksman, scout and medic. Then I could go on scouting missions to gather bone and hide for bone armor. I found that as I travelled around and had to manufacture stuff I needed in the field, I started gaining crafting points without grinding.
8) Get a harvestor up and running as soon as you can. Get used to how they work and how to manage them. If you wait and wait and wait and then try to run 4 simultaneously, you will get frustrated. If you are going to be a master crafter, you will HAVE to run harvestors. Macroing is usefull when you are starting out or when you need something "on the fly". It won't support your needs farther up the food chain. I finally got over harvestor phobia and put one up. WHAT A RELIEF! Next thing I knew I had two... I now run a solar and wind generator and five min/chem harvestors. I really don't have any problems with mine. Gosh, there are people running huge farms of them.
9) Be efficient with your time. I have some harvestors to the north of Kor Vella and some to the South. I log in, go to town and grab two missions to the north. I then run to my harvestors, feed and care for them, gather my goods and complete my missions. I then run back through town, grab two missions to the south and do the same. For daily maintenance my missions cover the cost of my harvestors (not including deed reclamation).
10) Oh, and speaking of harvestors, before you put them up, PLAN YOUR POWER. Even with gaming experience, I made the newbish mistake of putting up my first harvestor and then had no power in my inventory. OOPS. If you really want to put your toe in the water, macro some nuke and then use it to power the harvestor. Seem counter-productive? Yeah, so I put up a wind generator. I personally like wind over nuke. Just my preference.
11) Carefully place harvestors. Most all of mine can do double duty. I plan it that way. One gets steel and nuke (for power backup); one gets copper and gem. You get the picture. Then I can do double duty.
12) Don't be intimidated by the fact there are master crafters already in the game. They are a great source of information. Make your niche, craft well. Be patient.
13) Don't try to do everything in one evening. I sometimes spend one evening running a few extra missions and gathering resources. Then the next evening I can devote to crafting.
14) Have fun.
Ok, that's my contribution. NEXT!
Why thank you. I figured I was simply missing something. I guess I never checked this before I trained a new skill. I am always psyched when I earn my next skill. Last night I hit Engineering IV and just about jump out of my chair. That was 6000 xp, and I think I have two more boxes left before I have to find some serious apprenticeship xp for the master title. Wow. Okay. Thanks Again.
620 apprenticeship xp.
33000 crafting xp.
Then pure enjoyment I think. I really enjoy the whole crafting system but was getting bored making "items" and want to move forward intoinstallations and buildings...
Zawa
Also, once you have harvesters going, keep them going. Stockpile for lean times, especialy if you find an extremely good quality material, or better yet, one of the rare ones.
Don't move to med harvesters too soon, or the maintance and power cost will eat you alive. But do upgrade your power collection to solar, it will make a big difference.
And Houses are a great benifit to the crafter... especialy once you get a factory going. The extra storage space alone is worth the cost.
Permethrin wrote:
Sysfix,
Hang in there. Here's a response and some of my crafting tips. First of all, I am a more casual player trying to get a few hours in most evening. Currently a master artisan and novice weaponsmith (trained in novice armorsmith, but not doing much there).\
Oh, I am hangin in there. This is a game. A very enjoyable one at that. I am also pretty casual, around 4 hours a night on Bloodfin.
1) Don't be intimidated by time. If this is your first venture into MMORPG's they are designed for players to be immersed for a long time. That's really where their income comes from. I playedEverquest casually for almost two years and didn't reach the top level. I put a year into Dark Age of Camelot to reach the coveted level 50. Actually, as a casual player I am advancing faster in this game than I did in other MMORPG's.
I agree, this game advances pretty quickly. I found that DAoC was a slooow start, UO was kinda quick for a bit, and EQ was well, I found it boring pretty quick. I probably missed out on most of the excitement...
2) Do the things you like in the game. Take things in small chunks. I really take the crafting tree one box at a time. There are a lot of posts that will say things like "... it will take 4,000,000 pistol barrels to make..." (not really of course). Ignore them.
I also do it one area at a time. I find I look to the boxes in my future to decide what I think I might want to craft next...that way I have a goal in mind, but in general run around finding stuff and helping out the new characters out there with armor weapons etc...
3) Craft quality, craft quality, craft quality. There is a time to grind and a time to craft. Some people on the forum don't see the difference. They grind and then put low quality stuff on the bazaar and then rant that it won't sell. Fact is, it won't. Players should not have to buy something that I myself wouldn't put in my inventory and use. Don't put anything on the bazaar that you wouldn't equip yourself. I end up selling about 8 of 10 things I put on the bazaar when I follow that rule.
Have not done much selling, mostly give it away or practice assemblies for the extra XP. I do a lot of experimentation because I want to learn how it works better. But for the most part I am not credit oriented. When ever I need credits I will run some missions or sell some power or wind harvesters. (I have a special: get a free Wind Survey Device with your personal Wind Harvester for only 1k! Seems to help them sell quick so I can get what I need and get back out there)
4) Diversity your crafting if you want to sell things. Hey, there have been posts about fishing poles and foods and fireworks selling. I've not personally done them, but they were great ideas.
5) Sales will be up and sales will be down. There are days I have nothing sell and then all of a sudden a bunch of stuff does.
6) Don't expect to be drowning in wealth. You are probablygoing to have to supplement your income. Run missions.
I am planning on putting some basic stuff up for sale on a vendor in the next few nights once I place my house. Prolly basic stuff like harvesters, resources, etc. that I collect. Maybe have some friends supply craftables as well... I find the bazaar kind of limiting. I think I would use it more if I could list more. I do try and create unique items or items of interest...
7) Diversify your character!!!! I trained originally as artisan, marksman, scout and medic. Then I could go on scouting missions to gather bone and hide for bone armor. I found that as I travelled around and had to manufacture stuff I needed in the field, I started gaining crafting points without grinding.
I have all six starting professions so I can experiment and decide where I am headed. I think I have decided to head more in the direction of Masters in Artisan, Weaponsmith, Armorsmith, with Specialization in Rifle and Ranged Support Abilities for protection. I got slaughtered while sampling last night by a spawn of gungans...
8) Get a harvestor up and running as soon as you can. Get used to how they work and how to manage them. If you wait and wait and wait and then try to run 4 simultaneously, you will get frustrated. If you are going to be a master crafter, you will HAVE to run harvestors. Macroing is usefull when you are starting out or when you need something "on the fly". It won't support your needs farther up the food chain. I finally got over harvestor phobia and put one up. WHAT A RELIEF! Next thing I knew I had two... I now run a solar and wind generator and five min/chem harvestors. I really don't have any problems with mine. Gosh, there are people running huge farms of them.
I made myself the rule of never have harvesters turned on unless I had extra power sitting in the bank. I always have an extra wind harvy deed and 10k of power in case I need it. Right now I am running one steel, one mineral and two winds. Have a surplus of wind but don't mind building up. =)
9) Be efficient with your time. I have some harvestors to the north of Kor Vella and some to the South. I log in, go to town and grab two missions to the north. I then run to my harvestors, feed and care for them, gather my goods and complete my missions. I then run back through town, grab two missions to the south and do the same. For daily maintenance my missions cover the cost of my harvestors (not including deed reclamation).
I got real lucky with the last resource change. I found a sweet spot that had 55% wind, 97% steel, and 82% mineral. I have all four harveys in a line basically. Run out there every day and fill and empty. Got to be so good I dumped good amount of maintenance in them to last the next few days...
10) Oh, and speaking of harvestors, before you put them up, PLAN YOUR POWER. Even with gaming experience, I made the newbish mistake of putting up my first harvestor and then had no power in my inventory. OOPS. If you really want to put your toe in the water, macro some nuke and then use it to power the harvestor. Seem counter-productive? Yeah, so I put up a wind generator. I personally like wind over nuke. Just my preference.
Same. I prefer wind. Yes I know just a game. But come on...wind rocks. Just find a good place is all. I may change my tune when the next resource change hits, don't know...
11) Carefully place harvestors. Most all of mine can do double duty. I plan it that way. One gets steel and nuke (for power backup); one gets copper and gem. You get the picture. Then I can do double duty.
YES, and a handy place to store it all! 25000 hopper. Yippeee perfect for a newbie!
12) Don't be intimidated by the fact there are master crafters already in the game. They are a great source of information. Make your niche, craft well. Be patient.
13) Don't try to do everything in one evening. I sometimes spend one evening running a few extra missions and gathering resources. Then the next evening I can devote to crafting.
14) Have fun.
Thanks! I will not get frustrated. I can always find something to do. When the gungans gunned me down (get it?) I just ran back, collected my power, and did some sampling. No biggie.
Thanks again!
Ryan
Ok, that's my contribution. NEXT!
Another income supplement: sell off some of your resources. This has worked especially well for me, since I'm doing artisan (well, actually chef, but that never impresses anyone) asa second profession. I run my harvesters for what I need, check out what other resources are in the same area, plop down another harvester if I'm close to a 60%+ vein of something, and then sell that off on the bazaar. I usually sell them for 2-3 creds/resource for low-quality stuff, 4-5 for higher quality, and sometimes 1 cred for complete crap (I mean, someone must need grind material). And I'm going to start putting notes in the sale description about contacting me for more, since the higher cost resources are only going in 500-750 unit stacks.
Nothing better than logging in, and seeing 5 or 6 emails for succesful auctions at 2500-3000 creds each.
Or just load up on some high-quality ore, and find someone with an "architect" title.
Now for a question: is there a comprehensive list of the "named" resources higher-level crafters need? Things like Link-steel aluminum, plumbum iron, neutronium steel? I've been keeping a personal list, usually based on seeing the "offering 10cred per for [insert resource here]" threads on the boards. I'm sure I could go through the schematic database on swgcraft.com or something, but I'm willing to say it: I'm lazy, and I was hoping someone else had already done it. 
I would also be interested in seeing alist composed for resale purposes. I could probably help add to it as well...
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=artisan&message.id=10755