Suggestion for provisioning writ required recipes

Ellorienne

I know that there are a lot of complaints about the way writs work, but I have a suggestion that would at least fix one issue with provisioning writs. I have searched for hours and hours and hours and not found the recipe that I need. Why not place a box next to the writ board, or the cook-fire, and put the required recipes in the box. Or just give them directly to the player. If you can, make recipes acquired this way (but not by normal looting) bound to your account. You still need to find the ingredients yourself. To compare, it's not like the other crafting writs ask you to make a specific style. If they did, the price of motif books would go through the roof.

Also, a comprehensive list of what recipes drop where would be nice. In DC I've noticed that Stros M'Kai yields only level 1 recipes, but I'm missing 2/18. What if those two have to be found somewhere else?

Woolenthreads

Actually Recipes used to drop in the vicinity of the critters of the same levels. The Training Areas like Stros M'kai only dropped L1 recipes. The First Quest Region only dropped L1/L5/L10/L15 recipes randomly in the cities but with a higher chance of a higher level (from very limited experience) towards the exit end of the region. The second region then dropped L20/L25 recipes, the third L30/L35 recipes, the fourth L40/L45 recipes and Coldharbour dropped L45+.

Jayne_Doe

Woolenthreads wrote: »

Actually Recipes used to drop in the vicinity of the critters of the same levels. The Training Areas like Stros M'kai only dropped L1 recipes. The First Quest Region only dropped L1/L5/L10/L15 recipes randomly in the cities but with a higher chance of a higher level (from very limited experience) towards the exit end of the region. The second region then dropped L20/L25 recipes, the third L30/L35 recipes, the fourth L40/L45 recipes and Coldharbour dropped L45+.

Actually, that's the way it works now. The way it worked before is that you would find recipes based on your character's level. Level 5 recipes did not drop until your character hit level 7. The elusive Level 10 & 15 recipes didn't drop until your character hit level 12, and then when you hit level 16, you'd start getting level 20 & 25 recipes. Once your character hit the level to start finding the next tier of recipes, you could no longer find the previous tiers.

Now, it works the way you indicated above, more or less.

Nestor

The other way to get recipes, and it's probably more reliable than trying to loot it, is to do the Provisioning Writs. With those, the only thing that matters is the Recipe level of the crafter. I am currently taking 3 characters through L1 writs, once I have all those recipes, they are going to get promoted to L2 and then I will repeat. I also have a L3, L4 and L6 Recipe level Provisioners doing writs for the recipes. These characters are a mix of L4-L6 Mules and VR Ranked Characters.

Anyway, it was just recently that I started getting L1 recipes that I already know. There must be a bunch of them....

As to the OP's suggestion, I am both for and against it. Part of the Writs are to find what you need to complete it. Of course you can just straight up buy the food that you don't have a recipe for. Its what I do when I can't find one (Lemon Flower Mazte anyone?)

However, there are just some recipes that are rare drops. It might be better if ZOS would remove the rare drop recipes from the request table. Yes, they know which recipes are rare, they set the drop rate. That might be better than just giving the rare recipe to someone. Besides, some things need to be rare in a game like this.

Woolenthreads

Jayne_Doe wrote: »

Woolenthreads wrote: »

Actually Recipes used to drop in the vicinity of the critters of the same levels. The Training Areas like Stros M'kai only dropped L1 recipes. The First Quest Region only dropped L1/L5/L10/L15 recipes randomly in the cities but with a higher chance of a higher level (from very limited experience) towards the exit end of the region. The second region then dropped L20/L25 recipes, the third L30/L35 recipes, the fourth L40/L45 recipes and Coldharbour dropped L45+.

Actually, that's the way it works now. The way it worked before is that you would find recipes based on your character's level. Level 5 recipes did not drop until your character hit level 7. The elusive Level 10 & 15 recipes didn't drop until your character hit level 12, and then when you hit level 16, you'd start getting level 20 & 25 recipes. Once your character hit the level to start finding the next tier of recipes, you could no longer find the previous tiers.

Now, it works the way you indicated above, more or less.

Yes, you are right, it's worked the way you describe, for furniture, from the start of the game until v1.6. For critters it has always worked the way I described, it's how I got "Mutton Pie" before the recipe change, I'd flipped over my level to L16, looted 2 L20 recipes then killed a Red Rook and gotten the Mutton Pie Recipe. I ran around the other cities like Riften and Bangkorai looking for recipes and you got a random selection related to your level. Recipe drops from critters is quite rare though, I've only gotten two.

Moonscythe

Nestor wrote: The other way to get recipes, and it's probably more reliable than trying to loot it, is to do the Provisioning Writs. With those, the only thing that matters is the Recipe level of the crafter.

But, that doesn't work. When I got certified in Auridon as a level 6 I already had a Roast Pig recipe but had never seen any pork anywhere without having to kill someone's pig to get it. I really don't want to do that but the only basic meat recipe I had was for roast pig. I was given the pork I needed by the Dunmer certifying me to finish the certification. So then I went and pulled a writ from the board and it wanted a Chicken Breast. I actually had some stolen poultry but have never seen and still haven't found anywhere on the entire island of Khenarthi's Roost or the lower half of Auridon a recipe for poultry of any sort. Recipes for a writ should be available nearby even if I have to buy it for a nominal price from the certifier.

I can see the value of provisioning but frankly think the implementation to be lacking. I have a ton of red meat but no recipes. I have recipes for white meat but have no acceptable source if I don't want to slaughter livestock or monkeys. There is a very nice list of the new recipes and the required ingredients but nowhere is there a list that translates small game or white meat into the critters they come from. I really believe that I am not the only person who wants provisioning materials to come from hostile critters or vermin in addition to docile ones. Why can't I get white meat from snakes and small game from rats? Is that totally unreasonable?

Woolenthreads

Moonscythe wrote: »

Nestor wrote: The other way to get recipes, and it's probably more reliable than trying to loot it, is to do the Provisioning Writs. With those, the only thing that matters is the Recipe level of the crafter.

Well Nestor is right about that but when you are starting off there are a small set of Recipes used for Writs and a lot more Recipes not used that way. Worse, no matter what the recipe is they only vary in effect by level and colour, making them somewhat pointless. The only way to find the "missing" recipes to cover all your bases early on, without getting stuck on writs, is to "steal" them or buy the foods/recipes in Guild Stores (assuming you can find stalls where someone has done that). The RNG doesn't help with that because of the number of recipes.

I think it would be preferrable that the Provisioning Writs ask for a more general requirement, like the Provisioner supply a levelled food or drink without specifying the recipes at all.

Moonscythe

I have looked in the guild stores and they mostly have higher level recipes for prices i can't pay. I looked for a red meat recipe for level 1 - 10 and found nothing. Stealing is okay but if I want the recipe for a different character I have to launder it to bank it. That is more than a little convoluted for a fishy stick, ya know?

Woolenthreads

Moonscythe wrote: »

I have looked in the guild stores and they mostly have higher level recipes for prices i can't pay. I looked for a red meat recipe for level 1 - 10 and found nothing. Stealing is okay but if I want the recipe for a different character I have to launder it to bank it. That is more than a little convoluted for a fishy stick, ya know?

I know. I'm not certain there's any good way for them to do recipe based writs though.

There's a list of people willing to supply food for the people blocked by recipes they don't have on the thread in my signature. Nestor is one of them, so am I, and there's at least one on each server.

Jayne_Doe

Another source for finding low-level recipes without having to steal is to loot the "starter house" in each faction. For EP, it's the house you wake up in, next to the enchanter's. For DC, it's the house you wake up in, two doors down from the enchanter's (right next to the gate). For AD, it's the boat you wake up on.

You can loot these containers without repercussion, as these are not owned.

I'm of the opinion that each character should start out knowing all the level 1 recipes. This would allow them to at least make basic recipes without having to hunt them down (and potentially never find until after they are no longer needed). After all, with alchemy, you can make potions right away, without a recipe. Granted, you have to experiment to learn the various effects, so initially you will fail with some of your potions, but you can make still make potions as long as you have the ingredients. Also, you can eat an ingredient to learn its first effect, so this can reduce some of the trial/error.

And as for the equipment writs, as long as you have the materials, you can make any type of armor or weapon of any level, without any kind of blueprint to find. Seriously, you can make a cuirass with no training or needing to find a blueprint, but you can't walk up to a cooking fire and boil a potato without finding a recipe? Seriously? That's my main beef with the craft - it requires you to find something that can only be found by stealing (or looting in one of the rare non-owned containers), looting from an enemy (which is very rare), or obtaining in a writ reward (but you need to know recipes in order to do the writs in order to get a recipe), or from a guild kiosk. And, you may still not find the recipe you need.

Daya

Moonscythe wrote: »

I have looked in the guild stores and they mostly have higher level recipes for prices i can't pay. I looked for a red meat recipe for level 1 - 10 and found nothing. Stealing is okay but if I want the recipe for a different character I have to launder it to bank it. That is more than a little convoluted for a fishy stick, ya know?

There are very few low level recipes that uses red meat, so that could also be a reason why you can't find any.
Flank Steak, lvl 5 (green recipe)
Stir-Fried Garlic Beef, lvl 15 (green)
Melon Carpaccio, lvl 10 (blue recipe)
Beef Stew, lvl 15 (blue)

I know I sell low-level recipes on the NA server in guild kiosk, but I have trouble selling Four-Eyed Grog or Clarified Syrah Wine. Of course it could be the price is too high (750 g).
I sell the other writ recipes for a far lower price though, and they do sell.....sometimes.

Perhaps buyers and sellers just can't find each other?