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THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN EARLIER - Tradeskilling

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* Do the Seeking a Tradeskill Profession quest in your city's nearest crafting area, whether you intend to be a tradeskiller or not. The quest gives you all of basic tradeskill books through level 9, as well as some coin and useful items. Most of all, it advances you to level 9 artisan in about 20 minutes. This is important because several quests, including some Heritage Quests, require a minimum crafting level 9.  The quest starter can be purchased from an NPC at the top of the stairs in Qeynos, next to the Chemistry tables in Freeport, or just outside Tunare's Pages in Kelethin if you did not get one or sold it.

* If you are stuck at level 1 Artisan, speak to any Crafting Trainer or the Wholesaler Merchant in the crafting instance. They will automatically advance you to level 2 and give you your first recipes.

* You get a crafting xp bonus for crafting pristine items for the first time. When leveling your crafting skills up, it is worth it to create one of each new recipe you receive. Creating pristine items also grants more exp than other quality levels.

* If a particular crafting attempt is going badly and the first progress bar has not been filled, you can cancel the attempt without losing any components except fuel.

* You must specialize in a tradeskill at level 9, and specialize further at level 19. (You will not be able to level again until you do.) To do so, speak to a Crafting Trainer NPC, found at the entrance to any crafting zone in the starting villages, as well as Qeynos Harbor, West Freeport, and in Tunare's Pages in Kelethin. Note that any tradeskill xp you have above the minimum required to reach level 10/20 will be lost!

* The tradeskill instances have a merchant who sells fuels and some basic components. In Qeynos he is downstairs near the base of the stairs, in Freeport he is at the top of the stairs.

* Crafting stations can be found inside many shops in all city zones. Vendors close to these stations will sell the appropriate fuels - though close may be the next building over. Work Order clipboards for crafting writs hang on the wall near these crafting stations.

* Tradeskill recipes can be made into hot keys by dragging the icon to your hotkey bar. This may save you lots of time if there are recipes that you find yourself doing repeatedly, like totems for Woodworkers or certain high-stat foods for Provisioners.

* If you want to know which tradeskill recipe books you have already scribed, type N to open your recipes. Press the edit button at the top. Use the big scroll bar on the far right to view the last window. This window contains the titles of all the recipe books you have scribed alphabetically.

* You can check the stats on an item before you actually craft it. To do so, examine the recipe, then right-click the icon of the end result in the recipe window and select Examine. This is the stats for the shaped quality level of the item. Stats on other quality levels may vary.

* In crafting a recipe that can use multiple components for an ingredient (eg. imbuing tier 3 items can use any "Sparkling" harvest), the game will default to using the smaller stack of components you have in your inventory. If you do not want a specific item used (such as sparkling flowers, which are specifically required for a HQ), it might be worth your time to split a large stack into two smaller stacks so it will default to using the component you want. Better yet, leave the component you don't want used in the bank.

* You can change which components are being used in a recipe by clicking the "change" button, removing the currently selected items, and adding the ones you want. The game will remember your change when creating multiple items from the same recipe so long as you do not close the recipe. (Another way to ensure that imbuing item needed for a quest isn't accidentally used elsewhere.)

* You can right click on your exp bar to swap between showing adventuring exp and tradeskilling exp. Alternatively, you can download a UI modification to show both simultaneously.

* You can start crafting by double clicking on the icon of the recipe instead of clicking "Create". You still need to click on "Begin" to actually start the crafting.

* Tradeskill writs become available at level 20 and have both timed (Rush Orders) and untimed (Work Orders) versions. Once you obtain the quest, check the work bench in the crafting zone or a work order clipboard in the city zones to get the specific requirements and start the timer on Rush Orders. Make sure you have at least one stack of every component you use for the tier before starting a Rush Order, as well as the appropriate fuel. You will have about 8 minutes to make 6 pristine combines, which does not give time to run to the bank for something you forgot.

* If your guild is of appropriate level, crafting stations can be purchased to place in your home from City Merchants in Qeynos Harbor, Kelethin, and West Freeport, for a combination of coin and status. There are four different versions of each crafting station, each making better quality products. ONLY the "Elaborate" work stations (purchaseable at guild level 25) can make pristine quality items!

* Work Order clipboards for in-home use can be purchased from Coalition of Tradesfolk (Freeport), Ironforge Exchange (Qeynos), or Tunare's Pages (Kelethin) faction merchants, found inside the tradeskill instances in North Qeynos and West Freeport. In Kelethin they can be found at the Tunare's Pages guildhouse. You must have amiable faction with them to purchase these.

* Use tradeskill event counters proactively! For each crafting tier 1-5 you will receive a new set of event counters. Tier 1, 3, and 5 counters can be used at any time to increase progress, while tier 2 and 4 counters can be used to increase durability. These can be found in the Knowledge window, under Trade. Examine them all as you get them, and hotkey the durability and progress counters which give the best benefits (this will not always be the highest-level counter of that type). While crafting, use these abilities to speed progress or to recover durability, thereby keeping the end product pristine. Also, if you have successfully countered an event, that particular tick is guaranteed to be successful, so it's a good time to toss on a couple extra counters for maximum effect.

* Some event counters cost a percentage of your power to use, so it's a good idea to strip off any gear that increases your power pool, while using the best drink you can get and power-regen abilities or totems. While the percentage of power used by an ability will remain the same, the number will be much smaller, and so will regenerate faster.

* Rare Metal: Buy CLUSTERS, not ingots. Clusters are used to make armor and weapons; ingots were a byproduct of the refining process pre-LU24, used to create arrows. Though they are no longer created as by-products and can no longer be used in recipes, there are still some out there on the brokers. Buyer beware!

* Crafting recipe books: DO NOT BUY any recipe books off the broker until you check your closest Crafting Trainer. Secondary skill books (weaving, geomancy, timbercraft, and apothecary) no longer have any use or recipes - they are easily recognized because their level to scribe is 200. Also, tier 1 advanced books are available on the Crafting Trainers! Other than that, most advanced tomes are looted items. Be careful before you buy one you DO need from the broker; be absolutely sure it says ADVANCED in front of the name of the item you have highlighted before you click. (Some of the pre-20 books have some weird names other than advanced; just doublecheck your merchant first.)

* If you are buying raw materials off the broker, make sure they are flagged no-value. Some mob-dropped pelts and meat have the same names as the harvested/craftable versions, but only the harvested, no-value versions can be used for crafting. The mob drop versions are vendor trash.

* Secondary tradeskills of Tinkering and Transmuting can be learned in Kelethin or at the Butcherblock docks ("Echoes of Faydwer" expansion required). Tinkerers can create special items like clockwork menders that can repair your gear wherever you happen to be or portable crafting stations. Transmuters break down magical items into raw components that can be used to make adornments (add-ons to equipment which allow stat customization). Transmuters themselves make many adornments, but every primary crafting class has a set of adornments only they can make. You must already have a primary tradeskill before learning one of these, and you can only learn one, not both. You can change which one you are practicing, but you will lose all levels gained.
 
* Crafters can make things to order using the secure commissions system.  Stand near the proper crafting station and target the person requesting the commission.  Select the item they want and click "Create".  The person requesting the item places payment and any materials they are supplying (rares, usually) in the commissions window.  Once all materials are available, the crafter can begin work.  Both parties will see the progress, and when finished the item will go automatically to the person requesting the commission and the payment to the crafter.  Note that diety altars made from rare wood can ONLY be ordered via secure commissions, as the final product is Lore/No-Trade.

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