Weaponsmith Archive
Thread: Weaponsmith Do you enjoy it?
I made master weaponsmith about two weeks ago (and master smuggler about three weeks ago), though I just opened my shop two days ago. In fact, I just had my first 'official' customer today (not counting bazaar sales and weapons I made for friends). My angle is to specialize in sliced pistols.
So far I'm enjoying it, especially making stuff for friends. For me though, the best part was working up my schematics then comparing them to the other established masters on my server. The quality and stats on my pistols equaled or exceeded most of theirs (though not by a huge amount). Even though we all have the same 10 experimentation points, and that most of the outcome is in the quality of materials used, it still felt tremendously satisfying that my initial weapons were in the same league as the established masters. Now I just hope that translates into sales. 
Slim Vargo, Corbantis
yea this skill is hella fun...........the craft grind to actually be able to make anything of value is slow ..........but after you make some decent stuff and sales are steady............it feels really nice and makes you glad you chose this profession
from novice.............get all the techniques first...........it wont add any new schematics to play around with but you get 7 points of experiment at techniques 4...........then you can make low level weapons with decent to nice stats.......
man i've been a master for about two weeks now and love it.....
what other profession can wield every weapon in the game? ....sure you cant really, use em all but its fun to uhh test them heh-----
the recoureces r F-edit-ing hardto find but its worth every minute of it...
Been master for 3 almost 4 weeks now. Its a cool profession but you need patience. I want to craft advanced components but haven't been able to find 2 specific recources to make advanced handlers. My vendor is starting to look like one of a mw but it can be alot better than it is now and thats sort of the challenge in this profession! I like it!
(I need Ostrine ore and Irolunn Reactive gas!)
Ahazi/Talus
I still have a ways to go (0-2-2-4), but enjoying it so far. Least with the crafting tech column complete I haveenough experimentation to make a decent 'bazaar' weapon. Not doing to bad on the munitions I'm crafting either. I'm surprised at the # of C12/C22 grenades I'm selling on my vendor.
Ive been a Master Artisan/Weaponsmith/Merchant on Ahazi now for a few months, and for me its been an up and down ride, thats for sure.
There were times when I just couldnt be stuffed hunting down that next resource, times where I despaired over not having enough of the best resource, times where I simply didnt have a resource which stopped me from making and selling weapons.
Now, Im in business with another Master Weaponsmith, Soar, and while I handle all Pistols, Carbines and Rifles (and powerups to suit) she handles all Heavy, Munitions and Melee weapons, and we're both very happy with our efforts. Through the hardwork of the Mayor of our city (/wave to Ay'lish) weve set up shop in a huge generic style house, I have 5 vendors, Soar has 3 at that location, and is working on setting up another 3, again solely with Heavy, Munitions and Melee weapons, catering mostly for the increasing number of Commandos on Ahazi.
Things are good, and Im enjoying it. Theres wrinkles and bugs within the skill, which at times can make you lose your mind, and other times you can ignore them, and get on with being the best you can be.
All in all, Id say I enjoy it, a lot.
I decided to become a commando and drop my weaponsmith skills some time ago, but I'm still as good WS as I ever was 0-4-0-4. I'm gonna drop my WS skills any day now. Why do I quit?
Its like a work. You have certain things you must do. Restock, check harvesters, check for resource shifts. After a while all my time were put into smithing. I were a carbineer at the time also, but I hardly were out shooting stuff, even though I wanted to, but I didn't have enough time for both.
Some times I wanted to go away to a planet to hunt, but I had to return in a day to check harvesters or shifts on my "home" planet.
I had a very good time to begin with as WS. But after a while it felt like a work, and I didn't want that. I'm much better offnow as commando, primary for fighting. I'll drop all artisan skills for a while. We'll see ifI go back to crafting.
Howdy;
Agree that it is fun. Not in it for the money and prolly give away way too much, but making weapons is like throwing dice on a table. Just never know what is going to roll up.I expect that the feeling when aHotty Weapon pops out is about the same as when that Big Guy falls for the shooters.
And it is a Hoot when someone asks for a weapon on the spot. You learn to remove the master from above your name in a pile up, unless you enjoy watching /tells scrolling thru the pane, heh. Try to explain that I am currently keeping track of over 70 specific items and could not possibly carry all with me and they get in a big pout . Far as I am concerned - don't need that type for a customer anyway, so <shrug>.
By and large tho, great conversation starter having Master above your handle. Have met some really nice folks and expect to meet many more.
One painful thing has happened to me, and I asked around and others report same problem. The Comments in Friends have fallen off !? I have over 30 folks who I do not recall and am too embarassed to send a note saying "Hey, I Have Your Name Here, Who The Heck Are You ??" I am using the old pencil from now on. Paper Less Office Stikes Back would be a good name for this one.
**poof** It's All Gone Sir <-- Vendor Bambi reported with a snappy salute. lol
Weaponsmithing is a dog, but like a dog it can sometimes be a lot fo fun to play with.. and sometimes it can poo on your rug.
All in all, I enjoy it. I made Master shortly before I registered for the forums and since then run a shop with pretty much at least one of every weapon out there (except Stun Bats, and T21s only by request). This generally means i have to restock 10-12 items very night but that doesn't take that long.
I agree with what someone said up-thread though, the customers make or break your day, the worst type by far are the 'distance browsers' and the 'just the besters'. Now mind you I believe in customer service, and when I'm at my store I'll give you stats on a gun yo're looking for just to compare the stats... but the 'distance browsers' will keep asking and keep asking. While it's nice to know they're interested, if you get caught in that endless loop you won't get any work done and often enough you won't get a sale. This are the same folks who are more than willing to buy a scout blaster... if you'll deliver it to Talus.
The ones that truly drive my up the wall are the 'What are the stats on your best gun' crowd. I'm a nice guy, and I'm willing to reply with a brief tutorial explaining how each damage type has different resists and different characteristics so that in many ways there's no singularly 'best' gun. But the follow-up is almost always 'I don't care about resists, what's the best damage and speed', etc, etc. These are also the same players who get annoyed that you're sold out of pre-nerf FWG5s, and that your post-nerf ones aren't as good as the old ones. One even suggested I was trying to pass off a failed build.
My stock reply to Browsers and Besters now is to thank them for the interest, and to not that while I offer a large selection of guns, I don't use them to their fullest like the Masters of the relevant combat classes can, and they might consult one for a suggestion on the best weapon to choose.
On the other hand, there are some customers that are just amazing. They're not shy about thanking you for taking the time for a custom build or for helping them when they're in store and have questions, and they love to send /tells about how well the gun helped them kill one mob or another. Those are a lot of fun, as are watching the really BIG guns get tested out.
It's not about the money, it's about the people. The money will certainly come, but once you've got a nice customer base going, half the fun is just helping them out.
I've been Master Weaponsmith for 8 weeks now, and I'm still living off missions. I've got some amazing resources, and a guild that finds and stockpiles all kinds of stuff for their crafters. But there's still some stuff that I can't make, and some resources that haven't spawned in more than 10 weeks. But you can't make everything, all the time. I just make the best of what I can.
Finding customers can be difficult. Particularly if you're like me and interested in being a crafter, not a buisnessman. I'm still looking for my niche.
But yeah, It's fun. Guns are fun!
With player cities in (and all the vendor malls everywhere), the bazaar just doesn't make me much any money anymore. I'm in the process of giving up marksman skills for merchant skills, in hopes of making some more sales. Others have said the same thing above, Weaponsmiths need to be Merchants. It appears true, more now than ever. But I'm still trying to find a way out of it.
As far as the pestering customers who hand you three non-identical krayt tissues in the middle of Coronet, 15 seconds before the shuttle you've been waiting 9 1/2 minutes for is about to arrive, and ask you to make them a laser carbine in less than 5 minutes because they have to study for a test tomorrow... or the ones who ask you to make them a FWG5 with stats that aren'teven possible with advanced componants made from the most amazing resources and slice from the heavens...
They are out there. They arenot the majority by far, but they are out there!
I leaned something from a weaponsmith friend of mine. walk around everywhere /afk. And have your /afk message set to tell them to email you with the request, and you'll get back to them when you can. The ones who really want the BESTt21 they can find WILL wait. The ones who pay a lot more for just a few extra points on the max damage, they WILL wait for you. The ones who won't wait are usually just waisting your time.
Greets ...
WS? I didn't know I was a WS ... I thought I was a professional miner / resource magnet :-)
The truth is that it's a resource hunt ... always keeping up with the jones on resources ... keeping the factories running ... answering questions ... and sending thank you emails to your customers :-)
I am personally in a nice spot ... I am doing a soild 40-45 weapons sales every single day with spikes up in the 60's ... I have amassed more then 8 million resources right now with an average value of 8cpu on those resources.
It's all in the hunt for resources ...whether your combing the boards, listening for shouts in starports, or out hunting your own ... it's all about the resources (and keeping the factories from tripping on pebbles)