Bio Engineer Archive
Thread: Agonizing decision...do I try BE?
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samijx
Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:32 am
#1
Hello fellas (and gals too)
I have two charactaers on Naritus. There are a handful of BE vendors tha tI know of and only a couple have decent stocks. Best stims I've seen are 802 power Pet Stim B's. I was able to buy a couple of decent pets, but no really high level 68+ pets.
I'me workin gon MBH/MCH with one account. I was a MCH before, and although I found it fun, it realized it was a weak profession so didn't stay MCH for long. I now have a hunch that the combat upgradefinally help the CH profession and I'm trying it again. I've gotten a bit bored with SWG, and thi8s has rekindled a bit of excitement so that's another good reason.
Here's my dilema, my other character is a Master Weaponsmith/ Master Shipwright. I've been a weaponsmithfor a year and it is my core identityfor that player. Although I enjoy shipwrightwhen I craft ships for myself, I'm not too fond of making ships for others. The mo0ney is good, but it feels more like a job than a game.
I'm considering dropping master SW and persuign BE, but I'm not sure if it will be a smart thing to do. I am not the type of player that chain myself to the computer making tissues adn such for chefs to use (or tailors) just for the money. The fact that I have a WS character, I make enough money to buy armor and food, and I make my own weapons.
What I need to know is..... Is BE any fun? How hard will it be to collect DNA with little or no combat skills? Does it take a long time to master BE? I don't care about the time it takes to DNA sample because I plan on using DNA in my pets.
Please provide additional info if you feel like recruiting another BE to yoru ranks.
thanks
samijx
Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:35 am
#2
Oh, BTW....if I drop shipwright, and merchant, I can get novice TKA. That's probably the best combat I can get.
Hylidex
Fri Dec 10, 2004 6:45 am
#3
samijx wrote:
Hello fellas (and gals too)
I have two charactaers on Naritus. There are a handful of BE vendors tha tI know of and only a couple have decent stocks. Best stims I've seen are 802 power Pet Stim B's. I was able to buy a couple of decent pets, but no really high level 68+ pets.
I'me workin gon MBH/MCH with one account. I was a MCH before, and although I found it fun, it realized it was a weak profession so didn't stay MCH for long. I now have a hunch that the combat upgradefinally help the CH profession and I'm trying it again. I've gotten a bit bored with SWG, and thi8s has rekindled a bit of excitement so that's another good reason.
Here's my dilema, my other character is a Master Weaponsmith/ Master Shipwright. I've been a weaponsmithfor a year and it is my core identityfor that player. Although I enjoy shipwrightwhen I craft ships for myself, I'm not too fond of making ships for others. The mo0ney is good, but it feels more like a job than a game.
I'm considering dropping master SW and persuign BE, but I'm not sure if it will be a smart thing to do. I am not the type of player that chain myself to the computer making tissues adn such for chefs to use (or tailors) just for the money. The fact that I have a WS character, I make enough money to buy armor and food, and I make my own weapons.
What I need to know is..... Is BE any fun? How hard will it be to collect DNA with little or no combat skills? Does it take a long time to master BE? I don't care about the time it takes to DNA sample because I plan on using DNA in my pets.
Please provide additional info if you feel like recruiting another BE to yoru ranks.
thanks
Whether you should take up BE is entirely a matter of your motivation for doing so. BE is no longer a good way to make lots of money. The profession isn't broken, but it is a bit bruised at the moment.
However, I think it is the most fun profession available. It combines elements of most other professions. You are requred to travel the galaxy, so you aren't sitting at home churning out products all the time. You get to rub shoulders with creatures far more powerful and more dangerous than you will ever be. You get to create truly UNIQUE products in your BE creatures, a luxury that seems to be limited to our profession. You can be creative. You can still discover things that people don't know yet. Combined with a CH alt, it sounds almost like a dream come true. You can make your own dream pets and actually enjoy using them.
However, if you want a profession that will support you well, and don't really want to have to devote much time to it, perhaps it isn't the right one. Also if you have to work completely alone, perhaps it isn't the right one, either. It really helps to have friends who will provide you with a vendor and at least waypoints to harvestable resources, if not the resources themselves, so you don't have to use up your skill points on surveying or artisan.
If you decide to do it, the grind to master is very tedious and sometimes frustrating, and there are very few things you can do at less than the master level. However, you can use that time to learn to get a bit of intuition on how DNA manipulation works. Outcomes are not always predictable, but they can sometimes be great surprises.
Most of the people who post on this forum love being a BE. Some have given it up for a more profitable profession, but still post here, which I take as evidence that they still miss it.
Halthron
Fri Dec 10, 2004 7:25 am
#4
My opinion is that anyone who identifies with being an engineer will probably like running a pet-making BE. Anyone who doesn't, probably won't.
Kivrin
Fri Dec 10, 2004 7:51 am
#5
I'm a new BE (newbie?) and am pretty much mid-level across the board now. Also Master Pike & Scout for where I'm coming from.
I have no idea what I am doing but yes, it's a lot of fun.
It's definitely a slow process though. Since you are MWS you're probably used to that though.
As far as I can tell, no you don't need any combat skills. When sampling (assuming they didn't detect you) they don't go aggro until after you collect the sample, so you can still run and have something to show for it if they do attack.
Even though the Scout's Exploration line isn't required Maskscent would probably be a necessity, especially with no combat. I'd reckon to say take that over TKA if you're counting skill points.
So yeah. Slow grind, time consuming, not lucrative, a lot of fun, and most of the rewards come from your own accomplishments.
I have no idea what I am doing but yes, it's a lot of fun.
It's definitely a slow process though. Since you are MWS you're probably used to that though.
As far as I can tell, no you don't need any combat skills. When sampling (assuming they didn't detect you) they don't go aggro until after you collect the sample, so you can still run and have something to show for it if they do attack.
Even though the Scout's Exploration line isn't required Maskscent would probably be a necessity, especially with no combat. I'd reckon to say take that over TKA if you're counting skill points.
So yeah. Slow grind, time consuming, not lucrative, a lot of fun, and most of the rewards come from your own accomplishments.
R-ade
Fri Dec 10, 2004 9:19 am
#6
samijx wrote:
Hello fellas (and gals too)
I have two charactaers on Naritus. There are a handful of BE vendors tha tI know of and only a couple have decent stocks. Best stims I've seen are 802 power Pet Stim B's. I was able to buy a couple of decent pets, but no really high level 68+ pets.
I'me workin gon MBH/MCH with one account. I was a MCH before, and although I found it fun, it realized it was a weak profession so didn't stay MCH for long. I now have a hunch that the combat upgradefinally help the CH profession and I'm trying it again. I've gotten a bit bored with SWG, and thi8s has rekindled a bit of excitement so that's another good reason.
Here's my dilema, my other character is a Master Weaponsmith/ Master Shipwright. I've been a weaponsmithfor a year and it is my core identityfor that player. Although I enjoy shipwrightwhen I craft ships for myself, I'm not too fond of making ships for others. The mo0ney is good, but it feels more like a job than a game.
I'm considering dropping master SW and persuign BE, but I'm not sure if it will be a smart thing to do. I am not the type of player that chain myself to the computer making tissues adn such for chefs to use (or tailors) just for the money. The fact that I have a WS character, I make enough money to buy armor and food, and I make my own weapons.
What I need to know is..... Is BE any fun? How hard will it be to collect DNA with little or no combat skills? Does it take a long time to master BE? I don't care about the time it takes to DNA sample because I plan on using DNA in my pets.
Please provide additional info if you feel like recruiting another BE to yoru ranks.
thanks
BE is one of those professions that is on both sides of the fence. Meaning that it can be fun and frustrating and at the same time. The fun is when you're creating pets and even gathering DNA. Like many have said before, crafting Pets is one of the few parts of the game where you really have to think. It's not just plugging in resources and hitting next. You need to consider all aspects of a DNA sample and match it with other DNA samples to reinforce or enhance positive attributes. And even after you consider all your options the end product may be completely different that what you had hoped.
The frustration comes in when you have to get resources to craft tissues for chefs (and tailors to certain degree). With what Docs will pay for meat you pretty much have to go out and collect your own cause you just cant compete and make profit. But it really doesn't sound like you would be in it for the money so that works to your advantage in increasing the "fun" aspect of BE.
One thing I do want to warn you about is the DNA gathering process. I know you say that it doesn't matter how long it takes but I don't think that people that come to this profession realize how difficultand time consuming it can be, and depending on what DNA you want will greatly influence how long (and how tough) it takes to get a certain ammount of DNA. It'll be a lot easier to get Chubba or Durni DNA than Enraged Rancor DNA, but that only stands to reason because Chubba and Durni DNA really isn't worth much to a BE.
Just my 2 cents.
ArthurDentOnBria
Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:58 am
#7
samijx wrote:
What I need to know is..... Is BE any fun?
I certainly think so. The unfun part is that we are majorly disadvantaged economically relative to other classes that use fewer skill pointsbut that doesn't sound like it would be an issue for you. If you are in a position to ignore those that try to take advantage of you, and focus on the funner parts of the class, then it can certainly be a lot of fun.
How hard will it be to collect DNA with little or no combat skills?
IMO the only way that having combat skills really aides you in collecting dna is that you could pull missions for certain things that you may want to sample and thus save some time in locating it. But I've been a pet-making BE for about 14 months now and I've been entirely combat-less for about 12 of those months and do just fine. What you will need though is exploration 4 in scouting. Don't leave home without it, lol.
Does it take a long time to master BE?
I guess it's really a matter of perspective there. I think that if you counted up the amount of xp that you need, and devide that by the things you will be grinding on (if you grind) then you'll find mastering BE takes more than most (all?) other crafting classes. But that said, there are always people that come in here and boast about "BE is a joke, I mastered it in a day" or whatever. For me it took about 2 months to master BE, but I was in no hurry and enjoying it along the way. I spent maybe an hour or two of grind time a week which was as much as I could stomach. I can't say that I found BE any more fun at master than I did at novice.
I don't care about the time it takes to DNA sample because I plan on using DNA in my pets.
The funny thing about the dna sampling tree is that it really separates those that are grinding straight through BE to reach the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow (what pot of gold?) from those that are trying to actually play the class along the way. For grinders, they will always b*tch about the dna sampling tree, but for those actually playing a novice BE, the dna tree will always be the first one they get filled out.
Please provide additional info if you feel like recruiting another BE to yoru ranks.
It sounds to me like BE may be something you should at least try. It's different enough that you probably won't feel like you've "done this before" like so many of the other crafting professions.
siros_vazren
Fri Dec 10, 2004 5:06 pm
#8
Well...
I love BE, its what Siros is known for and I do quite well at it. My pets are known by many and used by alot of people throughout Wanderhome. My Chef/Tailor stuff is less known because I find pet-making more fullfilling, but those who do buy that stuff from me are happy with my results.
Would I suggest BE to someone else? Hard question to answer..
Personally, BE is the best crafting profession in-game because it is more than crafting. Its travel, adventure, suspense, fear, surprises, and a thousand other things a WS sitting by his crafting station will never know making a rifle.
If you plan to be an universal BE (one who makes tissues and pets, like myself) its the best. Though I agree it is a bit battered by nerfs and such. If you plan to be a straight tissue maker, its easy and not to hard to get a feel for. For Universals and Pet-only-makers, it is a bit difficult to understand the complex (and partly unknown) pet crafting system. Its not like WS, where every part of the system is constant and makes sense. It took me about a month of research and practice to even get near the creature level I was aiming for with close to the same stats I was hoping for.
Short answer, if you have the time and patience to learn and understand how to make pets...BE is worth a try. But DO NOT think making pets for a CH alt is an easy way to get legendary pets fast. That BE you used to buy pets from did not make that pet his/her first day in the profession. Yes, you can follow the recipes offered in the forums and likely make one of them. Anyone can follow directions (hopefully). But to make a real nice and unique lvl 60+, or a set of 35's, ect. that is just your own creation, it takes a bit of time and patience. Not really a short answer, but there it is.
Enjoy,
Siros Vazren
Master Bio-Engineer
WanderHome
Omega
Vendor: "BioPets and Supplies": -99, -5700
Grozurr
Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:25 pm
#9
samijx wrote:
Hello fellas (and gals too)
I have two charactaers on Naritus. There are a handful of BE vendors tha tI know of and only a couple have decent stocks. Best stims I've seen are 802 power Pet Stim B's. I was able to buy a couple of decent pets, but no really high level 68+ pets.
I'me workin gon MBH/MCH with one account. I was a MCH before, and although I found it fun, it realized it was a weak profession so didn't stay MCH for long. I now have a hunch that the combat upgradefinally help the CH profession and I'm trying it again. I've gotten a bit bored with SWG, and thi8s has rekindled a bit of excitement so that's another good reason.
Here's my dilema, my other character is a Master Weaponsmith/ Master Shipwright. I've been a weaponsmithfor a year and it is my core identityfor that player. Although I enjoy shipwrightwhen I craft ships for myself, I'm not too fond of making ships for others. The mo0ney is good, but it feels more like a job than a game.
Please provide additional info if you feel like recruiting another BE to yoru ranks.
thanks
Here's what i'd tell you (though i'm MBE and loving it so take it with a grain of salt):
If you're in it for the credits or want to create a "great BE vendor" on your server, you'll have to overcome a lot of obsticles. Credits aren't a terrible problem actually, aside from profit margins being huge, so long as you get some regular buyers (you can do this w/o a vendor, it just helps to have one if they're not "ordering" them from you and picking up in person) AND so long as you can get the meat... which leads me into the second half. The problem that you've seen on the other vendors not keeping stocked is not that they are having horrible demand problems with huge amounts of demand and not enough stuff, it rather that a full run of chef suppliments takes a LOT of meat (~20k), which unless you fall into a fortunate amount or situation ( as i have been lucky enough to) you will have trouble meeting demand for even one or two chefs.
The grind- it's long, hard, and frustration (also takes alot of flora and meat) but it's doable if you pace yourself and are persistant. In the end it just depends on how much you want BE. Also the DNA line will take a TON of time, but if you can find what is easiest to sample at each skill level and gives good xp you ought to be fine.
IF all you want to do is make pets, then you shouldn't have a problem aside from learning a profession that i will guarentee is more complex than any other.The system is not fully understood, you can do crazy things with it if you know what you're doing (scrounge around and you'll find very interesting screens), but in the end it's extremely fun. I'd even get exploration 4 over TK if you don't have it already because when you're out sampling chances are you don't want to kill whatever you're trying to sample.
Grozzer
Breeder/Sentinel
Kauri
Breeder/Sentinel
Kauri
lyrial
Mon Dec 13, 2004 9:02 am
#10
Yes definitely go for it!!!! I have been a bio-engineer well since about 3-4 months after the game started and I still love it even with all the nerfs and such. I make both tissues(for public sale) and pets(mainly only for guildies) and enjoy the crafting of both. I have to say though please please don't grind MBE. Take your time making those lower end pets while mastering and by the time you reach master you might actually have a smidgen of an idea how crafting pets work. I've seen so many people who grind through and when they finally reach master they have no clue on what dna to use get get desired results. Trust me even those who take their time will still have questions but at least the won't be completely clueless. I do have to count myself very lucky in my MBE experience though. I have the greatest most caring guild who helped me every step of the way in getting all the resources I've needed both then and now, so haven't had all the difficulties as some of these folks have had. Ok I'm rambling. I must say in my humble opinion yes give BE a shot, just remeber it can be difficult and frustrating but also very rewarding.
cf3d
Mon Dec 13, 2004 10:17 am
#11
I've been a MBE for about 3 months and I love it. It took me nearly 3 months to get to master because I didn't want to get burned out by grinding a profession that I thought I might enjoy.
As for making money in this profession, I could make a lot more but if you think about it, most of the things that a BE makes for Tailors and Chef have to be of the highest quality so that they can make their best items. And alot of your Tailors and Chef will not except anything less than the highest that you can crank out. That is why I usually don't even worry about making items for them. I do have a Chef friend that I help out some times but most of the time I charge about 50-100k and make them a schematic that they can run themselves.
BE Pets? Well I sell about 5-10 a week. BE Pets will sell best if you price them right. Alot of work goes into making a good BE Pet and alot of BE's will charge you out the butt for one. I myself charge 1k per level. If they have light armor I add 10k to the overall price. If it is a custom pet, I usually will tack on another 25-50k due to custom work. However you can add another 5-10k if it has good specials ( I usually don't) but it's all in the pricing. I don't overprice mine (some people say I underprice) due to the fact that I make pets for fun and not to make money.
Here is a Scenario of a sampling run -
I was sitting in my house on Dantooine thinking about what I wanted to do for the evening when I come up with the bright idea of sticking a needle in a Mutant Rancors behind. I dropped off all my items that I didn't really need and threw on my BE clothes (mask scent/camo clothes) and grabbed my Jawa Beers. I then proceed towards the Imp Outpost and took my ship to Dathomir.
Looking around it was pretty busy with NPC life but no PC's were around. The only thing this meant to me is that I wouldn't be able to take on a mission for Mutant Rancors through the mission terminal. So I hoped on my swoop and headed towards Rancor Alley. As I approached, I noticed a lot of creatures spawning that would make good pets but non that I was looking for.
As I edged up to the lip of Rancor Alley, lady luck was on my side and off in the distance I noticed a pack (4) of Mutant Rancors about 200m away. I slowly rode up to about 150m and then jumped off my bike. *hint* Never put your bike away (but remember to bring spares). I downed a Jawa Beer, masked my scent and then slowly walked towards the devil spawn that layed before me. Twenty meters in and my scent was broke. I quickly dropped to the ground and stayed still as I waited for my Scent counter to reset, all the while praying that one of these big beasties would stay away from me and not aggro.
As soon as I was able to make scent I stood back up and slowly started walking towards them again. Another 15m and my mask scent broke. I dropped to the ground again and waited. This time one of the big bullies aggro'd me so I jumped up, hit my burst run and high tailed it back to my bike. I jumped on and started off in the opposite direction while taking a hit in the back and hitting PEACE as many times as possible. I dodged a few other Aggo critters spread along the basin of Rancor Alley and as soon as I was Peaced with the creature, I jumped off my bike, turned on mask scentand slowlyheaded back to the devil spawn.
150m layed in front of me again and by this time my Jawa beer had ran off. I turned off my mask scent and turned it right back on so that it wouldn't wear off in the middle of sampling. I downed a beer and ran as fast as I could for about 25m and then dropped to the ground. Luckily my mask scent was still in tact so I slowly crawled towards the Mutant Rancors, stopping every 15-20 just to make sure that they hadn't noticed me. As soon as my Jawa Beer or Mask Scent would wear off, I would stop and reapply as quick as I could.
After 20 minutes of laying on my belly and crawling up to these beast I stood up behind one (preferred position) and started to slowly follow this hovering beast. Ipulled out my needle and stuck it in the beast behind as far as I could. After a few seconds I got a failed response and prayed for my life and prepared for the worst. Good. He didn't aggro me. I stuck the needle back in. This time it was a success. A Very High Quality sample. I stuck the needle back in. After 6 more Failures, 2 Aggros and 3 hours of buffs, I was able to pull out 2 more High Quality samples.
I figured I had pushed my luck for the evening so I jumped on my bike and headed back to the shuttleport.
As you can see, sometimes it takes a while to get the high quality, high level samples, but it's worth it in the FUN FACTOR.
Zachnafian
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