Artisan Archive

I'm a 100% newb, but so far I have been really enjoying SWG (though I'll enjoy it more when they deliver my new pc :smileytongue. Anywho, I started down the artisan path with hopes of going into Droid Engineering and maybesome armorsmithing. In order to advance through the class will I be forced to get into harvesters and mass production in order to make it into the upper levels or can I keep it more on a personal level with just me and a crafting machine? Essentially I don't want to wait 3 years to be a master droid engie.

Thanks in advance...

Dahu

No, factories are more for money IMHO

you only get 1/10 xp for things made in a factory.

you probably will want better than personal harvesters to get resources fast.

Factories won't help you raise your skill. Only hand crafting gives you full exp.

Harvesting resources you will either have to buy them or harvest them yourself. You don't have to run a 24/7 huge harvester operation to skill up. I tend to run one or two harvesters a week and focus on one resource and stockpile it. After a few weeks you have plenty of stuff and migth not have to harvest anything for several weeks. Of course it takes time to build up the stockpiles, but once you get some resources under your belt you can suppliment by sampling or buying what you need.

I'm going to disagree with the folks before me and say yes, you are going to have to get into harvesters and factories.

The amount of metal required to make droids is astronimical, and the MSE droids you make at the lower levels do not sell well enough to pay for the resources you use. You will need to have at the very least 6 harvesters up and running, and I would suggest laying down 10.

The factory doesn't come into play until you want to make higher level droids, which are the ones that will pay your bills. They require multiple identical pieces which have to come from a factory crate. So once you want to start making R2 units and Probots, you're going to need a factory.

When I started out I had 6 on metal and 3 on fiber and one wind, I would upgrade to solar ASAP, or find someone to buy power from cheap.

Redpi, while I agree that the elite crafting professions offer different challenges and require much more exp and materials in many cases, I don't believe this is necessary for the artisan profession itself. If you do well in the artisan skill tree, I think you can have a good financial base to enter an elite profession that might require you to run a factory and or a larger harvester operation.

True enough; to get through the artisan tree harvesters aren't necessary. However, if you know which elite field you want to go into, it's worthwhile to get prepared in advance I think. I easily burn through 18k steel a day making droids and grinding... I wouldn't complain if I had had more stock piled from my days getting artisan. =)

I'm fairly certain all the elite crafting classes (at least the artisan related ones, don't know about medics and BE's) require you to have a factory if you want to be able to make all the items you will get schematics for. A lot of schematics require identical components in order to make the final combine, and identical things only come from a factory.

Thanks for all the input. I suppose as a follow up question I should ask how much time daily/weekly does one need to devote to be a successful upper level Artisan? I'm a casual gamer and I'll play for maybe 1-2 hours a night (some nights not at all). Am I going to be stuck exclusively crafting or am I going to get to explore the galaxy?

Thanks again...

Dahu

Well then you'll be crafting while you walk, while you wait for a shuttle, while you are sampleing. Though some of the exploit sights promise it. I have yet to meet someone who "flew" up the tree. Besides it's like any other job, if you don't take time to go "on vacation" you'll get to hate the job. How many mineral survey devices and bone armor chest plates can we really stand to "practice" right fellow crafters.

If you're a casual gamer 1-2 hours every now and then it's going to be a while. I'm slightly above that amount with an occational 6-7 hour once a week and been playing since late july and I'm just now getting into the weaponsmith profession, course I did fully fill the artisan tree and most of the marksman. And I went on hunts, looked at "those places where (whatever) happened, and enjoyed role playing and teaching others how to craft. Maybe I'm not flying up the tree, but I now have a pretty good power-up business, I'm selling excess resources I harvest....another good reason to do it, and above all else I'm enjoying myself.

Good luck in your crafting

Nivlac