Do you have to be at skill 200 to skill up from MT Picnics?

[mrjimorg0]

The reason I ask is this. Last night I decided that I wanted to get past 191 baking skill. After reading posts from this site earlier about people gaining 2 skill points from 100 combines I decided that by doing 200 combines per night I could get to 250 in a couple of weeks. So, I first hunted anacondas and griffons in Jaggedpine, but after many hours of hunting I only had enough for 24 combines. I did all these and didn't gain a point. So, at this point I decided to do MT picnics.
I gathered together the ingredience to make 200 attempts at MT picnics. However, due to failures in intermediate steps I was only able to make 180 attempts (why is it so hard to cut a cake?). Out of 180 combines, I succeeded 9 times (exactly 5%- same results as if you had 0 skill). But, after 180 attempted I did not gain a single skill point! I only have 220 int (I'm trying to get to 250 to make a trophy to get my int up), but I would expect to get at least 1 skill up. Am I just incredibly unlucky or do you have to be at least 200 skill in baking in order to gain skillup while making these?
-Ollex

[Corii]

MTP

In my admittedly unscientific baking runs I've determined that Misty Thicket Picnics give just about the worst rate of skillups to combine attempts. My guess is that they trivial WAY over 250. As an example I went 20 for 20 on Hero Sandwiches, 6 for 6 on Boar Chops, 12 for 13 on anaconda melts and 50 for 100 on Misty Thicket Picnics (comparing combines to successes). All of those are listed as trivial > 250, but it looks to me that the picnics either have some kind of penalty or are a VERY high trivial.

Added to the fact that the 190s seem to be the tradeskill "hell levels" and I wouldn't reccomend practicing on the picnics unless you have no other choices. I suggest you try Ohaba Truffles (especially if you can forage) until you get past the 190s.

If you just need a trophy and have money..

Go for brewing.

store bought to 248, easily done in a couple weeks for 500pp or so...

Trophy attempts are expensive with it, but if you can afford it, that is the easiest hands down.

P.S. If you are on Brell, disregard this, for some reason on that server brewing never skills up, so best continue the baking

[Lilirith]

I went from 202 to 250 in baking in 5 days time doing 2-3 hrs a day exclusively on MTP. I never got less then 4 skill increases per 200 combines..My int was 212


BTW: at 250, I still fail at cutting that stupid cake.

[javalin]

MTP 140 combines 10 successes 1 bump
went from 208-209

[Cigarskunk]

From 191 to 230 so far - 2240 combines - all MTPs - INT has ranged from 150ish to 204 max the entire time.

Yes, slicing a cake seems to have an unreasonably high failure rate and making the picnic baskets as well (although that's a tailoring rant).

/em mutters, "Almost free, will be able to leave oven soon and start killing things again, ahh, the taste of fresh blood, no sauce, no spices, no prepping, no brewing, no sewing..." :shock:

[Kaidian Blade]

Remember.....

You're attempting to get skillups on an item that is VASTLY over your current skill level. Not only will you not get steady skillups often with such a large trivial range, you will also likely not get many successes.

Yes, you can theoretically skill up all the way to 250 on MTPs, but it might be in your best effort to try making items that trivial within 10-15 points of your CURRENT skill level. This is true for ALL tradeskills.

[Linadan]

MTP's
100 Combines 3 Skillups
269 Intelligence
No Trophy No Geerlock

[Cigarskunk]

Yes, you can theoretically skill up all the way to 250 on MTPs, but it might be in your best effort to try making items that trivial within 10-15 points of your CURRENT skill level. This is true for ALL tradeskills.

The only other reasonable option for those who aren't foraging classes that are XPing in JP is HMPs. HMPs take 4 times as many combines and 10 times as many farmed components and the market for them is well on it's way to being totally and utterly crashed.

It took me about 2000 MTP combines to go from 191 to 226 which means that if I were doing HMPs, putting aside the amount of time I'd need to spend farming the components, I would have had to gotten that far in only 500 combines.

Since we all know that 191 to 202 are the hell levels and that one is looking at an average of 100 or some combines per point to make it through them, that means that there is pretty much no way in heck that one can make out better in the long run as far as effort to reward goes doing the HMPs - it's a very clever time sink designed to exploit and beat us at our own habits and rules.

[xyndra]

Was rummaging through my vault last night... decided to use up some of my stray components for MTPs... set up a run of 20 attempts (took 45 minutes btw.. stupid baskets!!). Only did 20 cause I got a tell from some friends asking me to come play... Anyway I have been stuck in the 190's forever. Been doing truffles, HMP, buttered crawdads (I love fishing in PoN, people think you are crazy!) and finally got to 198. Set up my 20 attempts... starting combining.. woohoo success on my 4th try!! I'm thinking htat maybe it'll be easier now than it used to be... ha! My only success in 20 trys. However......

I GOT 3 SKILLUPS!! Checked my skill level and lo and behold it went from 198 to 201 in 20 attempts of MTPS. So it does happen occasionally... of course I probably won't skill up now on my next 500 attempts..

xyn

[Cigarskunk]

So it does happen occasionally... of course I probably won't skill up now on my next 500 attempts..

You're almost out of the hell levels - once you get into the mid 200 you shouldn't average worse then one success per 50 combines.

My best run was at 228 skill when I got 2 skill ups and 9 success on one stack of MTP combines to bring me a 230 skill.

[Corii]

The only other reasonable option for those who aren't foraging classes that are XPing in JP is HMPs. HMPs take 4 times as many combines and 10 times as many farmed components and the market for them is well on it's way to being totally and utterly crashed.

I found Holy Cakes to be a very reasonable option, but then I did not mind making all that Celestial Essence. I also don't bake to resell, for the most part, I give away most of my treats to guildmates and other friends.

At the higher levels the ingredients either require heavy farming or lots of clicks.

[Laliana Silverfangs]

[quote="Cigarskunk"]

Since we all know that 191 to 202 are the hell levels and that one is looking at an average of 100 or some combines per point to make it through them, that means that there is pretty much no way in heck that one can make out better in the long run as far as effort to reward goes doing the HMPs - it's a very clever time sink designed to exploit and beat us at our own habits and rules.

I disagree with 191 to 202 being hell levels, unless i got really lucky, I did only 20-30 combines per point during those levels. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently than the vast majority of tradeskillers, but i've yet to see above a 100 combines per point. Even now at 218, it doesn't take more than 20-30 combines, unless I set myself up to do a session of MTP or HMP. Wish I could let you guys in on how I'm doing it, so that we all had as easy a time as I am, but I'm really not sure what I'm doing different.

My point of adding my comment here is to let people know that 191 to 202 isn't hell for us all.

Laliana Silverfangs
Baking 218, Brewing 187

[Cigarskunk]

I found Holy Cakes to be a very reasonable option

But then you've simply replaced your clicking time with farming time - you need one brownie per holy cake so unless you're high enough level to romp the brownie fort...

I disagree with 191 to 202 being hell levels, unless i got really lucky, I did only 20-30 combines per point during those levels. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently than the vast majority of tradeskillers, but i've yet to see above a 100 combines per point.

LOL - consider yourself uber lucky then - I doubt that there's a trader here who's had it that easy in any tradeskill except for pre-nerf pottery.

[Hobbun]

[quote="Cigarskunk"]

I disagree with 191 to 202 being hell levels, unless i got really lucky, I did only 20-30 combines per point during those levels. I'm not sure what I'm doing differently than the vast majority of tradeskillers, but i've yet to see above a 100 combines per point.

LOL - consider yourself uber lucky then - I doubt that there's a trader here who's had it that easy in any tradeskill except for pre-nerf pottery.

I second that Cigarskunk. Between 191 to 202 I was far over 100 combines on a couple occasions before skilling up.

Hobbun
Druid of Karana
33rd Season