A few requests on making spells

[Xerius]

1. I maintain two Researchers, one for spells and one for melee tomes. When I ask you whether you want a spell or a tome, I do expect you to do some basic research. Telling me that you need a melee tome, then informing me after I have logged my Spell Researcher off and my Melee Researcher on that you need Dawnstrike is not going to make me happy, as that is a spell, not a melee tome. Please know your own class and its needs.

2. I am very up front about the costs on my spells. I do work on donations and occasionally expect to take a loss, but when I tell you that a spell costs me 500 plat for the vellum from a Bazaar trader, 955 plat plus change to clean it, and another few plat to make the spell itself, telling me after the fact that you only have one hundred plat to spend is not going to make me happy either, as I then have to either take a very substantial loss, or I will have to place that spell on my own Bazaar trader and wait for it to sell to recoup my losses. Please know your own finances.

3. I developed my Researcher largely for the use of my own characters and my friends. I am quite happy to do Research for you when my own schedule permits, but accept that if you see me in Korafax, I may just possibly be too busy to run to wherever you happen to be at the time to make your spells. Ask me though and I will be more than happy to set up a later time when I will make what spells you need, or I will help you find another of the very skilled Researchers on the server who you can also ask for assistance.

4. Sometimes I simply do not have the resources to make your spells. I do run out of vellums and they are not always immediately for sale in the Bazaar. This does not mean I do not like you, or your guild. I simply cannot make your spells today if the materials are not available, and calling me names will not only not make the materials available faster, but it might change my mind about making your spells when the materials do become available.

5. I have been doing Spell Research for a long time, but I do not have a mental encyclopedia of all spells or tomes and their formulae. Given time, I will head to my bank, pull out my Spell Kit and look up a formula for you, but that may not happen in the next seven seconds. There are other resources available on the internet, and it will not offend me if you look up spell formulae there for yourself.

6. If you ask me to combine a spell for you, I would appreciate you bringing me not only all the components, but the right components. Additionally, asking if I will do a combine for free if you supply the components is quite acceptable to me, but that does sort of presuppose that you do not want me to clean the vellum for you at my expense.

7. I am not hard to get along with. I enjoy the challenge of Spell Research and will most happily help you get started in it if you wish to take it up as a profession, but I do play Everquest as well, so please accept that if I say I will help you later, I will keep my word, but you have to allow me that time.

If these few requests are honoured, I am sure we will get along very well.

[Shadrok]

Must be bad luck

I probably don't make near as many custom requests as you do, Xerius.

I have few complaints about any of my customers. Overall, I find that most people needing a spell researched are very polite, patient and willing to compensate me for my time.

I have, though, purposely ignored a few people asking for spell help, when their chat attitude was not not quite up to snuff.

Still, all of your points are valid and very well expressed. Thank you.

[Xerius]

I have few complaints really, and I make less spells these days than I used to, but it was rather long weekend for spell making, so I felt the need to rant gently, and the Primal Scream forum seemed a good place for it.

I could have added a few more points, but all of them would have already been covered by the stickied post in this section.

As I said, it was simply an annoying weekend with a few people who wanted spells made, but had not bothered to look up whether a druid needed spells or melee tomes and somehow assumed that just because I had told them what it would cost to make the spells, the spells could not possibly cost that much.

A source of some minor amusement though was the druid who got me to log my Melee Researcher on to make a spell, then decided that 2000 plat in costs was too much to spend for a spell later bought the spell from my trader for 7000.

[Stewwy]

I too did research for my own toons. I don't advertise that I have a max INT caster researcher or a melee researcher. But when I make multiple spells for people, word gets around and people come to me. I find it a bit of an annoyance, so I set my prices high enough to disuade most AND make it worth my while.
61-65 - 5k
66-69 - 10k
70- 5k
71-75 - 15k

Like I said these prices keep people away, but heck if they're willing ot pay it, I'm willnig to make em. hehe Melee tomes Icharge a flat 20k or just don't attempt them at all. My monk only has 245 skill, so failures are high making trying them costly. I hate wasiting parchments making melee tomes.

[Paloverde]

61-65 - 5k
66-69 - 10k
70- 5k
71-75 - 15k

Where are you getting the 70 papers? I am finding these really hard to come by. Therefore, I am surprised to see that you have priced the 70's below the high 60's and the higher 70's.

[Roanne]

Sooty Fine Runic Vellum has always been the hardest research drop to acquire. Word is its because there are fewer caster mobs in the level ranger that drop it, but I suspect there's more to the story. There have been a few other threads on the topic if you care to search for them. Still, its not so rare you cant get enough in the bazaar most times to make a few level 70 spells. It's definately one of the most expensive to buy, however.

[Xerius]

I have to wonder if it is server dependant, since I cannot say I find Sooty Fine Runic Vellum common, but I certainly get significantly more dropping in my daily hunting than I do Shabby Runic Vellums, which I never seem to have enough of.

All my characters have their 70 spells and I have spare vellums in the bank, but my 69 spell lists are not complete and I am even more reluctant to work on 69 tomes, since it takes two or three tries to make a 69 Discipline Tome.