Noriashi wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is a bug, but I haven't been able to complete blacksmithing writs for days because the writs require ore that does not seem to be available.

I am level 43, blacksmithing level 29, metalworking 6/10. When I explore I only find Dwarven and Calcinium ore. My blacksmithing writ requires Ebony ore. I only have a few Ebony ingots, so I cannot complete the writ without finding more Ebony ore. ....

I assume I am presented with Dwarven ore because it matches the gear level for my player. And I assume I am presented with Calcinium ore because it matches my metalworking level. It seems to be that ore required for writs is your metalworking level minus one? That's all a guess, but it would explain my current situation.

The ore required to smelt metal ingots to make the weapon or armor for a Blacksmithing Crafting Writ corresponds to a character's Metalworking passive rank at the time that the character obtains the crafting quest.

When the ore a character finds never matches the ore required for the writ, then probably that character obtained the Blacksmithing Crafting Writ before the player decided to invest another Skill Point(s) in that character's Metalworking passive to increase the rank. So if -- in fact -- a character subsequently receives Blacksmithing Crafting Writs which require a metal for a lower rank than their current Metalworking rank, then that would be a bug which I have not encountered -- or noticed -- yet.

At least 50% of the ore nodes which a character finds will match the character's Metalworking passive rank. The ore which a character finds will be for a lower Metalworking rank only if that character's Experience Level is not high enough to equip weapons and armor which the character can make at their current Metalworking rank. While that is the case, about 50% of the ore which such a character finds will be for the metal which they must use to make weapons and armor which they can equip.

Noriashi wrote: »

....
Anyway, given that the game adjusts the type of ore you find in the world, and the game adjusts the type ore needed for a writ, it seems like those values should be in sync (e.g. writ ore level should be the same as gear ore level, or writ ore level should be the same as metalworking ore level).

Is my understanding of the ore situation correct? Any advice for how I can continue to do the writs?

Yes, the two should "be in sync". The ore required to complete a Blacksmithing Crafting Writ should always correspond to the character's Metalworking rank at the time that the Writ is obtained to begin the crafting quest. If it doesn't, and your character cannot find the ore to smelt the ingots needed to craft the weapon or armor piece to satisfy the writ, then you must obtain them either from trading or from buying the ore and/or the ingots from a Guild Store / Guild Trader.

Currently I have two Level 40 characters that often forage for crafting materials and fulfill crafting writs. I have not noticed the discrepancy that you have reported, if there has been one. That is, I probably would not notice it because my two main characters have all passives maxed for each of the six crafts. Consequently, they receive Crafting Writ payoffs that include 25 units of a randomly-chosen material (such as metal ingots) which are needed to craft lower-level items, but for which they cannot find the raw materials in Tamriel since their crafting rank is maxed. So, including the lower-rank materials in the Writ payoffs allows my fully-maxed characters to craft items for lower-level characters to use (which often they do). However, my lower-level characters can use those lower-level materials, too, because everything is stored in the Crafting Bag accessible by each one of them.

Noriashi wrote: »

Thanks for the explanation, Shadowshire!

You're welcome.
....

Noriashi wrote: »

However in my situation even when I abandon the writ to obtain a new writ it still does not match my level. I canceled an Ebony writ and grabbed a new one, and it was still Ebony. Eventually this corrected itself when I leveled metalworking again, and I bought Ebony from a Guild Trader.

The Crafting Writ obtained from a Bulletin Board only changes when the "next day" begins (currently at 2 AM Eastern Daylight Saving Time). Abandoning a basic Crafting Writ which you obtained from a Bulletin Board (not a Master Crafting Writ) does not change the Crafting Writ which is available on any given day.

Maybe the problem exists only with the rank which corresponds to Ebony ore, since it stopped happening after you increased Metalworking to the next rank.

Noriashi wrote: »

Also, I have the same problem with woodworking - I need to craft Yew goods but Yew is not available since it does not match any my levels. So I purchased Yew from a Guild Trader in an attempt to clear that writ and get presented with an appropriate writ the next day, but the next day's writ was still Yew.

Sanded Yew is required at Woodworking Rank 5 to make Level 46 - 50 bows, staves, and shields.

Are you claiming that your PC obtained a Woodworking Crafting Writ (from a Bulletin Board) that requires making a Yew weapon or shield, but your PC did not have their Woodworking passive at Rank 5 at the time that they obtained the writ quest? if that is true, then there is a bug in the system for determining which Crafting Writ(s) that a PC obtains.

Regardless, fulfilling a Crafting Writ does not affect the Crafting Writ which will be available on the next day (or available on the current day, if that Crafting Writ was obtained the preceding day). Each daily Woodworking Crafting Writ will continue to require Sanded Yew as long as the Woodworking Rank of the PC which obtains the writ quest remains at Rank 5.

Note that the Experience Level of a PC only affects the crafting materials which the PC obtains by foraging nodes (ore, fiber, wood, and the potent rune stones). It has no effect upon the Crafting Writs that the PC obtains. If the rank of a PC's primary crafting passive is for gear which requires a Level higher than the PC's current Level, then 50% of the nodes will contain the material which corresponds to the rank at which the gear that the PC can equip is made. If the PC can equip gear made at the current rank of the PC's corresponding primary crafting passive, then all foraging nodes will yield material that corresponds to the PC's current primary passive rank.