GM Fletcher! Stats from 202-250

[Berusa]

I dunno why.. stats were maxed using kei and FA and still it cost me 120k from 220 to 250.

[Moraganth]

small run in between doing everything else...

with int 280

arrows:
203 - 12 combines
204 - 46 combines
205 - 23 combines
206 - 64 combines
207 - 40 combines
208 - 13 combines
209 - 26 combines
210... 46 combines and counting

cost (molds/water): less than 50 pp
plat made while farming acrylia: 21650 pp + 10 more pristene shards to turn in

passed all my arrows to a friend to sell, he made somewhere around 5-6k.

overall plat gained: ~ 4k per point

[Nepper]

I'm so ashamed :-(

Well, I started out on my run, and went from 202-203 in 48 combines, 203-204 in 82 combines, then got a chance to buy IGS and Blackened Acrylia Blade for 15K.... I couldn't pass up. So back to farming my condensed shadows and save up another 20K or so... But hey, got 2 points, and lots of shafts and fletchings left for another run of about 150 (once I make the heads) for only a few K, so I'm happy

[netura]

Wow...to be more specific for my costs, it cost me 55k to go from 203-350, and then 12-13k for my trophy (failed once). I wish in retrospect I had logged the combines and whatnot, but It really wasn't that many. This was at 280 wisdom, unbuffed mostly.

[Berusa]

If you make the Artisan`s seals yourself it gets quite cheaper

I made trophy on 2nd combine, and both cost me 7k alltogether

[intertex]

Fail once at 212 w/o geerlock ( I was out of my mind at that time)
Got it at 238 with geerlock...cost about 3.5K each time including the gems fee, and provided that all the procedures are done on your own...could be lower if u have your way to get those for free

btw, i am hoping to get to 250 using the acylia arrow...and where is the best spot to farm those condense flame / shadow / ice?

[netura]

I used to quad kite the umbral toilers in ME, and usually got between 1-4 bricks per quad, sometimes more, sometimes none.

edit: by bricks, Im talking about bricks of condensed shadow.

[intertex]

Forgot to say it...
SOL had just came out for about 3 weeks on my server...(And someone has already got 4x AA...i bet they never sleep)
kiting would be too unefficient for my poor ranger...

[Nepper]

Where to get your shadows

Condensed shadows are by far the easiest to farm (yup, there goes my cash cow, but we're here to help each other I guess...)
In Shadeweaver's Thicket (LUC), in the caves you'll find either Shak Dratha (blue/black aliens) or Gor Taku (brown Aliens). The Shak Dratha drop shadows.
I know, I know, but how do you make them spawn? They are triggered. This is why I hate the moon.
To trigger Shak Dratha to spawn, you have to kill Gor Taku. If the spawn respawns in the PM (either 4 or 6pm game time, can't remember. Basically dusk to dawn like the change in Kithicor Forest) it will spawn a Shak Dratha. There are several caves that hold static spawn, so my suggestion is to have a friend off the moon tell you when it's about 3-4 pm game time, and start slaughtering Gor Taku untill Shak spawn. Then just keep killing all Shak untill Gor start to spawn again. Back at 35 when I first started, I could clear both north caves of Gore before spawn started, and get at least 2 full spawns of Shak Dratha before dawn. Usually about 10-20 chuncks per round. And with all the shade silk that drops (trust me, it's LOTS) you'll get your tailoring up to 81 with NO effort!

[Uxtalzon]

I'm not sure who's been smoking what, but I've been stuck at 220 fletching, using the 2 standard bow cams + hemp twine + darkwood bow staff.

Over 120 combines so far, not a single skillup yet. My stats are 305 STR, 305 STA, 218 AGI, 305 DEX, 305 WIS, 227 INT, and 162 CHA, and I have +5% geerlock when I make the combines. WTF am I doing wrong?

[Moraganth]

Only 120 combines with no skillup? Why do you think you're doing something wrong?

It's called the random number generator... and as more threads than can possibly be counted have mentioned, it's a fickle {insert random colorful metaphors here}. 120 combines isn't rare.

The only 2 stats that matter are: your Intel, Wisdom, or Dex.. whichever is higher; and, your bank balance.

[Cindiluca]

Completed GM Fletching!

Here are the stats from 202-250. All done over a 2 day period. About 5-6 hours total time. Used Geeerlock throughout to keep failures low. Int with KEI was at 300.

First up Darkwood with Hemp (had 8.5kpp on me and finished with 3kpp):
203 10
204 6
205 33
206 44
207 38
208 26
209 1
210 26
211 2
212 5
213 22
214 5
215 71
Total - 238 Combines, 18.3 combines per skill up

Next, Darkwood, Hemp, and 2 Cams (took 51.5kpp and finished with, 2.5pp) I also started counting my failures:
216 20 0
217 1 0
218 12 0
219 27 1
220 84 3
221 5 0
222 12 0
223 158 7
224 10 1
225 23 1
226 65 3
227 1 0
228 38 0
229 1 0
230 8 0
231 4 1
232 24 0
233 59 7
234 4 0
235 9 1
Total - 565 Combines, 28.5 combines per skill up

Last, Shadewood with Hemp (took 52.5kpp and finished with 5kpp)
236 4 1
237 42 2
238 58 2
239 46 3
240 74 2
241 3 0
242 7 0
243 9 1
244 16 3
245 11 1
246 6 0
247 13 1
248 59 1
249 7 0
250 9 0
Total - 364 Combines, 24.3 combines per skill up

Grand Total from 202-250
1167 Combines
24.3 Combines per skill up
Approximately 102kpp



And yes I cut and pasted the original and just changed all the info from my experience

Cindiluca Stryyp'Gia
65 High Elf Wizard
Member of the 1750 Club
Tunare Server

[Uxtalzon]

Thanks Morganth, I thought it could've been a simpler explanation other than SoE sucks *bleeeeeeeep* with their all-mighty number generator.

Time to waste another 13k for a single skillup point!

[Moraganth]

Fletching kinda got the boot when they altered the difficulty of skillups for tradeskills a while back. Fletching, being pure storebought through 202, was made more difficult (as well as pottery), but in the attention to detail, i believe SOE failed to look into the post 200 combines in fletching (and, pottery). While it did make it much harder for those points, it's still not as bad as tailoring, purely for the fact yu can buy up fletching and pottery still (from npc vendors).. it just takes more pp.

But it comes down to the RNG. Check out the thread in tailoring.. someone went over 700 attempts for 1 tailoring skillup....

[andyhre]

Has anyone taken the slow route from 240 to 250, just doing for-profit combines and hoping the skill ups come? I'm at 241 and making BFTs, not expecting fast progress (or caring that mich, but skill ups are still sweet), but curious what the experience has been using non-storebought for the "vanity" points over 240.