Skill-ups from Books in Bookcases

WoW_Refugee · March 2019

Since a character can only get a limited number of skill level-ups from books found in bookcases, and since later levels are progressively more expensive than earlier levels, would it make sense to refrain from checking out bookcases until a character is high or max level?

Ilsabet · March 2019

That is a practical way to go about things, although it also depends on how much of a book/lore junkie you are. If you actively play and do stuff that gets you exp, and if you know how to efficiently manage your skill bars and such while gaining exp, I don't find it that excruciating to get skill lines leveled up. But you will get much more bang for your buck finding those books when the skill line is at level 45+ than at level 2, and for some things that can make a much more significant difference (jewelry crafting, I'm looking at you).

FrancisCrawford · March 2019

For your most important skill lines, I don't think it works that way. Yes, it takes more XP per level as you level up the skill line. But you also get more XP per kill or quest turn-in as you level up your character.

Even most of the crafting skill lines have caps on how quickly you can gain IP at low levels in the skill lines.

So overall, the benefit to this strategy, while not zero, is a lot less than one might think, so I've decided not to worry about it.

El_Borracho · March 2019

Depends on how you want to spend your time. Chances are, you are running this PVE content to level up your character and skills. If you "save" books and bookcases, that just means you will have to run everything again. So it might end up taking up more time than sitting down and cranking out a bunch of potions, recipes, etc.

I have read some books and leveled up provisioning or woodworking from 47 to 48. Some said there is a cap, I don't have definitive information one way or another on this.

ghastley · March 2019

There are a few points where taking a crafting level-up could be an issue. If the new level of material for your daily writs is one where you don't have them in stock, you have a problem. On the other hand, the solution to running out is often to take a rank increase.

Being at the higher rank gives you more inspiration for each writ. The character level determines the gold part of the reward, so that doesn't change, but the other things returned - materials, recipes etc. will reflect the new level, and be better.

When you run multiple characters, competition between them for materials can be an issue, too. If they all use Rubedite, you use up your stock faster. But equally, they're all harvesting it, too.

Skill books are such a minor effect on all that management, that they are not worth consideration.

Nestor · March 2019

Here is the way skill books works, and the numbers I am giving are more for illustration than the exact distribution. There are about 16 skill books per original alliance zone. So, this is why you get a good number of skill ups the first few times you vacuum the bookshelves in a zone. Whether these are randomly distributed or a fixed selection of SP books per skill per zone is not known to me.

In the past I did all the skill leveling books as I took a character through the zone, or I did some kind of grind where i swapped skills as I went through the game and ignored the books. Both methods got me leveled in the skills.

This latest character I chose to ignore the bookshelves until most my skills were in the 40s, well I did have Class and Weapon skills at 50. Anyway i am doing content and hoovering the bookshelves now. It's pretty easy to find the SP books when first exploring a zone, just find a building or ayelid ruin that has a bunch of shelves and read. I can get most of the 16 or so in a building or two. Of course the last few take several building visits, or zone reloads.

Conclusion, it's not really faster to wait on the skill books. Reason, as you level up, your experience gains are also going up. It's not really slower either, so it does not matter when you read the books.

TBH, the fastest way to level a skill line is to load up your bar with a two skill rotation, the rest of the bar with skills from the line you want to level and go grind undead somewhere. For crafting, just decon mob loot and you will be at 50 in the craft by the time you have 130 to 150 or so SPs which is when you can afford to start investing in crafting. Prov and Alchemy can be leveled to 50 in minutes if you have recipes and solvents.

kringled_1 · March 2019

To add a little more detail: in general, for the base game alliance zones, there is one skill book per zone for everything you can get skill books for - class skills (not warden), armor skills, weapon skills (2 per zone for destruction staff, none for restoration staff), and crafting (not jewelry). These books are the same across all zones in the same zone quest order (for example you find the same books in Auridon, Glenumbra, Stonefalls). There is I believe only 1 warden book in Vvardenfell, and 2 jewelry books in Summerset.

iMilazzo · May 2020

Is there any addon or site, or list, whatever, where I can find this books? In public dungeons, delves, etc...

Thanks

Taleof2Cities · May 2020

iMilazzo wrote: »

Is there any addon or site, or list, whatever, where I can find this books? In public dungeons, delves, etc...

Thanks

Skill books are now randomized, @iMilazzo ... so other than the zone separation listed above there is no suitable guide.

iMilazzo · May 2020

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

iMilazzo wrote: »

Is there any addon or site, or list, whatever, where I can find this books? In public dungeons, delves, etc...

Thanks

Skill books are now randomized, @iMilazzo ... so other than the zone separation listed above there is no suitable guide.

Well, at least some list of which Public Dungeon and Delves have bookshelves, I mean, there are Public Dungeons and Delves that even have bookshelves so I can skip them !!!