Alts and crafting hand me downs.

bridgetrose · June 2021

If my main is leveled to 50 and I want to pass things down to be deconstructed to my alts is there a limit on how high they can deconstruct something above their currant level? I probably won't pass down research items yet because my main doesn't have them all but at some point I'd like to be able to hand them down as well.

bridgetrose · June 2021

This is a dumb post. I'm just going to go try it. I wish they had a way to go in and edit/delete your own posts.

KMarble · June 2021

Not dumb. This game is very complex and there are always things we don't know yet.

I've been giving my alts hand-me-downs for some time now. They can both decon and research gear, weapons and jewelry above their level. You won't get as many mats out of those, but their level will increase.

SirAndy · June 2021

Not a dumb question at all.

That's how i leveled all crafting skills on my 6 mains and 4 mules.

It's quite a bit of a grind (especially for Jewelry) but they are all now at level 50 in each craft and can do top level daily crafting writs.

hundergrn · June 2021

Simple answer is... Toons can decon anything, no matter the level, Doesn't guarantee usable materials in return.

Maybe more complex answer?.... Deconning items in the game can be akin to taking something apart in real life. While leveling up your skills, you gain experience by either creating or attempting to deconstruct it.
When you create, you follow a blueprint of a known item (motif, recipe, blueprint, etc) that is within your skill level. You know how it works and functions and gain experience through repetition.
Deconstructing something works in reverse but doesn't require you to know how it was made. While disassembling an item, you learn about its construction, pick up on the details, glean knowledge off its craftsmanship, the item and materials may be completely destroyed but you still learn something.

In ESO there is a limit on how much experience you can gain off of deconning an item that is above your skill. There is also a diminishing return on experience bonus based off quality. A skill level 1 toon can decon a cp160 gear piece and gain a fair bit of xp for it but it wont be anymore xp than deconning an item above 10-20 (ish?) of what your current max craft level/skill level of gear you can currently make. Quality also plays a part in experience gain by means of a multiplier from white to gold that functions off a non linear scale. Like capacitance, it scales quickly up to the mid point before starting to plateau. Meaning blue rarity is a general efficiency point between cost and materials (doesn't really matter when its looted, only if craft passing from toon to toon).

In the end, banking gear from your play sessions to decon on an alt is an easy and relatively efficient way to max out most crafting skills. But be aware that you may not get any materials out of it until they get closer to the skill level required to make its level. If you are hurt for gold, sell whites and maybe greens to keep your repair bills from going red. If you need upgrade mats, decon them on a max skill level toon (skill points into decon helps too). Short on skill points, easy 5-7 skills points by doing a virgin skyshard run on an untouched zone, its delves, pub dungeon, and its public event.

LadySinflower · June 2021

The good part: if your alt is lower level they will gain a limited amount of XP for deconning gear above their level. This helps them to level up faster than if they stick to deconning low level gear.

The bad part: your lower level toon will only receive mats that they are capable of working with at their current level. For example, you give a purple rubedite sword to your alt to decon but they are only capable of working with steel and green gear. They will get steel and green tempers instead of rubedite and purple tempers, if they get back any mats at all.

FrancisCrawford · June 2021

Alts who are low-level in crafts may not get the same IP from deconning a particular piece they'd get at higher levels. That's the only limitation.

Oddly, I recall this as being less of a problem for woodworking than for blacksmithing and clothier, even though in most ways those crafts work identically.

Nestor · June 2021

All of my alts were leveled in crafting by deconning the mob loot my mains gathered. Sure, you get less inspiration as explained above, but you "move" the bar almost as much as on on level item. So it all comes out in the end.

Here is something i did not know early on, you can decon from the bank, so you can park your alts in a crafting area. But, do make sure to lock anything you want to keep.

Also, research items on your alts before you go on a decon fest. While you only really need one Master Crafter, trait knowledge helps on alts in various ways.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · June 2021

Your head is in the right spot. It is way easier to level your 18th crafter than your first. They tend to snowball as you do more and more writs. There is no better way to build wealth for the long term than doing writs on multiple characters. You wont necessarily get much in terms of mats when you refine something way above your level, but you will get crafting inspiration (more for higher level items), which is what you really care about.

Keep at it. Unless it is a gold item that you really want the mats, always do all your deconstructing on a character that you are still leveling the respective crafting line.