what is the first....

willi3bx

rule when it comes to crafting? What is the best advice you can give me about crafting? What should I avoid when it comes to crafting?

Sapphy24

Don't craft..... unless you have unlimited gold to buy unlimited bank slots to put all your seemingly infinite crafting stuff in.

iamkevinarnettcub18_ESO

Are you kidding?! Crafting is essential to survive in this game. Basic rules I follow for crafting.
1. Research items that have the traits you need
2. Deconstruct everything else
3. Take the time and add some skill points to your Hirelings then your Extraction and finally your Upgrade Extraction
Other than that crafting is all up to you. Enjoy it.

fromtesonlineb16_ESO

@willi3bx Actually both the above replies are premature as neither poster asked you what you want to do in-game, how you play and what you want to achieve.

Only then will it become apparent what sort of advice you need. Someone who wants to play hardcore PVE end-game has needs PVPer don't, who in turn have needs totally different from those not looking to grind through VR, etc.

Enjinir

Provisioning: Pick Food or Drink and stick with only those mats. Your inventory will thank you for it!

Blacksmithing/Clothing: Gather as much as you can. Decon what you can (There is a nice add-on that flags which you've researched and not). When you have enough mats to make a big pile of stuff, find someone else with the same amount of the same mat, craft items, trade them, and decon. The IP you get from deconstructing others' crafted wares is leagues above what you get from deconstructing your own. I learned this the hard way, levelling up to the early twenties on just crafting/deconstructing all by my lonesome.

Leatherworking: As these don't have traditional nodes, you have two options. You can disregard leather and focus on Cloth, which is totally doable and may save you some stress. However, if your character needs medium gear and you want to craft it yourself, you're going to want to stockpile leather mats. So, your other option is to actively "harvest" all the leather "nodes" you see. While adventuring, much in the same way you would veer off course to snag a mining ore or a harvesting plant, veer off course and kill that stray mudcrab or bear. On the plus side, you may also get other loot and a little exp, too. This is how I approached it and I've been fine so far (through level 35).

Researching: Get the 3 slots and 20% bonus ASAP. I didn't quite realize how handy it would be and unfortunately slacked in getting this one until recently. On top of that, be a little strategic with what you're researching. There is definitely a scale of common-rare of how easily you run into different traits on types of items in the world. For example: I've found a ton of reinforced heavy, infused light, sturdy medium, and well-fitted EVERYTHING. I have had a hard time coming across Divines in general, reinforced and impenetrable light, and sharpened woodworking items. If you get traits that are classically not in alignment with the item's archetype (think about it... reinforced cloth hoods and sharpened bows aren't really a common thing lore-wise either), then research those. You'll have plenty of opportunities to find the well-fitted jerkin or reinforced greaves later on down the line. Additionally: others will pay you a good deal of gold to craft them the unconventional combos as well, which is a decent way to make some coin back from crafting.

Alchemy/Enchanting: Not sure on this one. I picked up the first keen eye so I can pick them out a bit better, alchemy nodes can be especially hard to spot out in the world. I'm not very high up in the ranks of these two, so perhaps someone else can help you out.

General: Mat tiers. If you look online you can find hundreds of sites that show you the tiers of mats, what zones they pop up in, and what level gear they make. Once you've left a tier in both zone and level, use it up and get rid of the few stragglers. The inventory space will be needed to make room for the next tier stuff.

Inventory: I currently have two alts, one holding enchanting/alch stuff, and another holding provisioning. My bank has like 110 and my inventory is 90. I'm pretty close to full most of the time. Be aware that crafting is not only an exercise in patience with the crafting and researching itself, but also in inventory management. Be prepared to invest gold and time into inventory control/expansion.

Chalybos

Crafting can break you, or it can make you, in a nutshell. Inventory management is a pain, without a doubt, but once you "get it", it's not too bad. I'm going to assume that you've already read or heard the "get into a crafting guild" thing, so I'll not dwell on that. Also, my commentary is strictly based on what works for me; your mileage may vary.

Raw materials are worth a lot to people grinding them, but they're also a source of your upgrade materials, so be aware of their intrinsic value. I still grab every node I run by, even though my main is well past the lower tiers and my alts are all decently geared. I make my ingots, take my tempers, and sell the unneeded materials in the guild stores. I break my stacks down into smaller, manageable lots, because not everybody needs 100 ore/timber/skins. They sell quickly that way. Also, it's a good way to offset any materials you may need to buy.

Provisioning and alchemy are easy enough to grind out by yourself. There are more than a few websites out there with the lists of what ingredients have what traits, so you shouldn't suffer too much while researching potion recipes. The points put into getting a higher return on created potions are well worth it.

Also, putting one point each in the "helpers" of your trades is well worth it (except for provisioning, so far). I average a "free" upgrade temper about 60-70% of the time, and of those I'd say that while the majority are green, about a quarter are blue or purple. Maybe 10% of them are yellow (probably closer to 5%). But hey, they're free, right?

An alternative to joining a crafting guild is to have two crafters in the same field, and trade the created items between them in the bank. Yes, you'll use more materials in the process, but with the return on investment being so much better when deconstructing someone else's creations (even those of an alt), it actually doesn't take as much as you'd think. Then again I'm a glutton for punishment, and I've consistently had extra skill points sitting around not being used anyway, so it doesn't impact the character strength. I've always been one of those who likes to really immerse himself in the game.

Again, that's just what works for me. Might not be your style.