Not understanding crafting

Salacious · April 2014

So I have like 1500 iron ingots and 500 iron, I was going to do blacksmithing, as I am level 10 (I have nothing better to do then collect EVERYTHING I SEE - OM NOMNOMNOM (more bank space please!!!!!)) any ways, so the gear I have found either off monsters, public dungeons or quests is all green, all fabulous - anything I do find that is green that I cannot use I research the trait on. Some I'll break down.

the question is - when I start to actually do blacksmithing, all the weapons and armor I make ARE WAY LESS then what I have, so I assume it's like wow, gw2, any other mmo - work at it. Ok - So Lets make one of every weapon and one of every armor - my smithing xp doesnt even move .... oO am I missing something? It maybe moved a smidge but not like provisioning or enchanting where it jumps huge gaps ...

Larec · April 2014

I actually have the same "problem" with tailoring. Each time I make a new piece of level-appropriate armor, the XP-bar barely moves.

It DOES move when deconstructing things, though...

When cooking, it does move a lot more (which feels appropriate).

So in essence, crafting seems a take a LOT of ressources, or I am also doing something wrong...

Goldov · April 2014

With how easy it is to find crafting materials I can see why it wouldn't move much. There are some points to consider though.

Deconstructing is usually the best way to level but if you have excess mats then go ahead and make some items too. When you make those items go into chat and ask for an even trade. What this does is it allows you to get someone else's items to deconstruct which gives you more experience than deconstructing your own.

Researching and tempering your materials also increase your level so make sure you always have something on the go and if you are going to make some items for yourself or to sell go ahead and temper them to get better gear.

One thing that I have seen in my beta testing was that as your crafting level goes up you gain less per craft (or it may look like it due to the amount of experience needed for each level). The best thing to do when crafting though if you're trying to just level up is to make the highest level items you can. The experience per crafting material is higher. (ie. A crafting experience for clothing at level 6 was making a level 1 glove is about 12 exp per jute but when you make the level 14 you get about 28 exp per jute) I haven't tested the exp per jute lately since I'm higher level now but the ratio would still apply. The higher the item level you can make, the better and less expensive it is to level your crafting skill.

Hope that helps.

uninclined · April 2014

there was someone in beta who mentioned that the best way to lvl up blacksmithing is by making lvl 6-8 daggers (that which requires 4-5 iron bars) to start. making one of every item is not resourceful. you be more economical with your inspiration gain/resources used by making the daggers.

after crafting a bunch, try finding someone to trade you and equal amount with (i.e. WTT 10 lvl 6 daggers for the same). you will gain inspiration by deconstructing your own, but you will gain more by deconstructing someone elses...i feel like this is ESO's attempt to create a better online community by having crafters seek out other crafters.

ALSO! found this out last night with a guildy. you can trade known traits. by crafting a traited item you know with a traited item someone else knows, you can research theirs. it makes sense, but i hadn't known for a fact whether this was true or not.

crafting seems to take a LOT of resources

very true. especially once your crafting lvl starts exceeding your questing lvl. altho i still act like a poring eating up all iron nodes, i cry a little bit knowing i need higher lvl ores...

It maybe moved a smidge but not like provisioning or enchanting where it jumps huge gaps ...

could be really any number of theories, but i'd guess that blacksmithing/woodworking lvl up slower because the quality of their endgame is greater(?). truthfully i have no idea why...tho i do have a higher lvl provisioning than blacksmithing, but the time i've spent watching my character eat soup and ponder off in the distance as to whether my spice mixing is up to snuff is less than the hours i've spent on blacksmithing

lupusrex · April 2014

The impact of gear is always greater than that of consumables. At least, it's worked that way in every MMO I've played. There are some very nice foods/potions though, I saw a blue food recipe last night that raised all attributes a nice amount for two hours.

Someone tested, and you get twice as much xp from deconstruction as long as it's not something that same character made. Loot/quest/chest drops qualify, something made by your alt or another player qualifies, and many people are finding a partner to trade x number of white gear crafts for the better deconstruction xp. This mechanic is definitely new to me, but it seems to encourage player cooperation, which is nice.

Sorpaijen_ESO · April 2014

Unlike Alchemy and Provisioning (which DO get nice xp when creating) most of the creating xp for the other professions comes from deconstructing items that your character did not make.

As noted above you can trade with other players, but I am impatient, so I just created an alt and they're tag-teaming. Character A makes a bunch of daggers and puts them in the bank and then Character B deconstructs those items (direct from the bank) and then if I wanted to keep them EQUAL, Character B would create some daggers and put them in the bank for Character A to deconstruct.

I had originally intended to have only ONE blacksmith but with this tag-team system, my "alt" blacksmith is going to have to at least train up enough to be able to create "junk" items of higher Teir quality so that my "main" blacksmith can deconstruct them. The alt blacksmith doesn't have to worry about Research or any other skills, though --- just grinding out base items for the main to decon.

SadisticSavior · April 2014

Salacious wrote: »

So I have like 1500 iron ingots and 500 iron, I was going to do blacksmithing, as I am level 10 (I have nothing better to do then collect EVERYTHING I SEE - OM NOMNOMNOM (more bank space please!!!!!)) any ways, so the gear I have found either off monsters, public dungeons or quests is all green, all fabulous - anything I do find that is green that I cannot use I research the trait on. Some I'll break down.

the question is - when I start to actually do blacksmithing, all the weapons and armor I make ARE WAY LESS then what I have, so I assume it's like wow, gw2, any other mmo - work at it.

No.

You will see + and - signs next to the iron ingots icon when you craft. You need to add ingots to increase the level of the item.

Note that you can craft beyond your own level too. At level 1 you could craft up to level 15 items. if you are crafting something for your own use, you could accidentally make an item too high a level for you to use.

Salacious wrote: »

Ok - So Lets make one of every weapon and one of every armor - my smithing xp doesnt even move .... oO am I missing something?

It probably does move but too little for you to see.

The best way to advance blacksmithing is to deconstruct items (stuff other people have made or drops from kills). Especially improved (green or blue or whatever) items.

lupusrex · April 2014

There are a couple of mods which will show you exactly, in numbers, how much xp you are receiving for your crafting activities. Much more useful than squinting at the bar and wondering how many pixels it might have moved.

http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info94-craftingXP.html
http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info113-CraftXPMsg.html

ainsley_hirstb16_ESO · April 2014

So, really, this should be called uncrafting rather than crafting. I find the glaring lack of progress demoralizing. My vote, for what it's worth, is to have the actual crafting xp made more significant. My bag is stuffed with green items that I can't deconstruct because they have to wait their turn to be researched, and my bank is overflowing with all sorts of gems in preparation for the time when I might be able to make myself something to wear that's worth more than what I pick up in the world. This means I have to constantly return to town to lighten my pack load which is eating into my time for exploring and questing. It's a conundrum.

SadisticSavior · April 2014

ainsley_hirstb16_ESO wrote: »

So, really, this should be called uncrafting rather than crafting. I find the glaring lack of progress demoralizing.

Artists do not generally make masterpieces while learning...they do that AFTER learning. You don't sell your sketchbook...you sell the paintings after you have experimented and learned from sketching.

Deconstructing is your learning process. Crafting is what you do with items you give a crap about. So IMO the system makes sense.

ainsley_hirstb16_ESO wrote: »

My vote, for what it's worth, is to have the actual crafting xp made more significant. My bag is stuffed with green items that I can't deconstruct because they have to wait their turn to be researched

Thats called a "choice". You are choosing to do that. You do not have to wait...green items drop all the time. You can research one and deconstruct the others.

Also; you can deconstruct almost anything. You will still get XP from deconstructing normal items too...just at a lower rate (and with crappier drops from them). It's a choice you make. You have to compromise on one thing or the other.

If you did not have to make compromises like this, your finished products would mean a lot less (and be less valuable, because anyone could do them) and the game would be more boring as a result.