Skillup superstitions

[Annaa]

I have always been superstitious about skill ups... Doing certain combines in certain zones, like all my Velious Tailoring in Thurgadin. I have a new one though, and I think I may have finally gone off the deep end, but here it is:

I have a lower level bard who was PLed a bit, so her instrument skills are kinda low. Now, before I do any big tradeskill session with Annaa, I log on my bard and play an instrument until I get a skillup. It usually takes a while (they don't go up fast) and I feel that by doing this, I am using up all my "bad" skillup rolls.

If it sit and play an insturment for 15 minutes with no skillup, I figure that takes the place of maybe 100 combines that wouldn't have gotten a skillup.

What weird things do you do to increase your skillup rate?

[kagonis]

High int/wis affects your skill up chance, that is why it is most effecctive to wait with various tradeskills till you have those maxed. With AA's I reach 355 wis easily, most of my skillups were done before I used AA in Planar Power and Innate Enlightenment.

[Draggar]

I try to get the relative skill to a power of 2, or close, but never a prime number.

Sinc the RNG is exactly that, a Random Number Generator, computers use a mathematical expression to create the random number, so in theory there may be a higher chance of a matchup if you have a number that may be reached more often though mathematical equasions. Powers of 2 (2,4,8,16,32,64,128,265) have the best, while prime numbers have the least.

Can't verify this theory, though.

[Cigarskunk]

I can't prove it, so I'll call it a superstition, but I'll swear on a stack of the religious book of your choice that the enchanter anti-fizzle spell line (int advancement?) helps reduce tradeskill combine failures.

[Aloca]

Can't prove this one either, but when I have a really important combine, I tend to get everything ready for it, then camp. I'll come back a few hours later or even the next day, and before I do anything else, I do that combine. So far, it's worked, like the RNG is most favorable for the first thing tried, then goes to truly random after that.

Aloca

[Itek]

Skunk and I use the same one (int sup spell line for Enchanters) to get more successes.

Also I tend to arrange things, with the new interface, so that I line up all my bags in a row. Then instead of filling bag A with X and bag B with Y and bag C with Z items I arrange them...

Bag A ==== Bag B ===== Bag C
X == X === X == X === X == X
Y == Y === Y == Y === Y == Y
Z == Z === Z == Z === Z == Z

and so on....

Then I take from the far LEFT column and dump it into the right side of a tradeskill container if it's a "city" container like Brew Barrel or Forge (they all use the same position information, and don't get filled by auto-equip dropping) or from the far RIGHT and dump into the left side of carried containers like Sewing or Fletching kits.

Then when I'm down to one item in each column I pick one up, go to the opposite side and move a whole stack from the far LEFT to the far RIGHT (or vice versa) to have one left over to put in the tradeskill container. Back to the single item and move the next ingredient over.

This way I can take a penny (on my keyboard, a nickel on my wife's MS-Natural keyboard) and "lock" down the ctrl key so I only have to use the mouse and not need to hold the key down or switch from ctrl to shift clicking back and forth during a skill run.

For me it makes it go MUCH faster. Plus it makes it lots easier to count how many "attempts" I have made at each skill point. And because of how the "successes" get stacked up counting the success rate becomes pretty easy too.

My hat is really off to any and all people who suffered thru the "only 2 open bags" interface for things like making Mino Hero Brew.

Good friend of mine got fletching 160+ back before the ctrl click to pick up one item patch. *shudder*

Dulsen: Buys stack of points, stack of shafts, stack of fletches, and stack of nocks. (One .... at .... a .... time .... each ....)
Open fletching kit.
Open bag with ingredients.
Click on points.
Drag to 0.
Click to 1.
Carry and drop in kit.
Click on shafts.
Drag to 0.
Click to 1.
Carry and drop in kit.
Click on fletches.
Drag to 0.
Click to 1.
Carry and drop in kit.
Click on nocks.
Drag to 0.
Click to 1.
Carry and drop in kit.
Click combine.
Carry and drop on auto-equip.
Click on points.

*boggle*

[Healblade]

Powers of 2 (2,4,8,16,32,64,128,265)

2^8 = 256, not 265

Hmm.. I normally have 265 wis.. I will probably try at 256 wis at some point, thanks for the Idea, Draggar!

[Draggar]

Originally posted by Healblade
2^8 = 256, not 265

DOH!

There goes my lysdexia again.

[thrashette]

Here's one you have never heard.

Over the course of my first 1000 skillups I found that a skillup was 30% more likely if no character models were in my field of view when I did combines.

So I look at the floor or a dead end wall whenever combining for skill.

Yes, it's probably just superstition. It seems to help me, though.

[anicat]

I put items in the container the same order each time, even though I have read that it should not make any difference. I also sit. My question - for skill ups is it better to do a few combines as you get the items or save up items and then do a longer session?

[Malthorn]

The only thing I have reguarding skill ups is after 60 combines with out a skill up I'll go do something else.

With any combine I'll turn towards a wall or look at the floor.

[Panamah]

Hah! I can relate. I'm not a superstitious person, knock wood, but something about tradeskills *throws salt over her left shoulder* just makes you want to start collecting pink haired trolls, twirl your chair 3 times, chant and leave offerings.



But in the end I really don't believe all the stuff I'm doing makes a bit off difference, it just affects my perceptions of what is happening.

[Sulkano]

I do all my tailoring combines in East Cabilis...just seems 'right', hehe.

[Zeralenn]

I think many people have superstitions because it helps them believe they get control over an uncontrollable situation.

I've also heard the theory that camping out after every 10 combines "resets the RNG" so you will skill up faster. I actually have tried this but all it seemed to do was increase my chances of hanging the entire program.

...Zera

[Stugein]

The only skilling superstition I have is that all like-items in a combine must be adjacent to each other, either vertically or horizontally. They can never be separated.

Minotaur Hero Brew as an example:

Acceptable:
Cask - Yeast
Short Beer - Short Beer
Water - Water
Malt - Malt
Malt - Empty

Acceptable:
Malt - Cask
Malt - Malt
Water - Yeast
Water - Empty
Short Beer - Short Beer

Unacceptable:
Yeast - Water
Water - Short Beer
Malt - Malt
Short Beer - Cask
Malt - Empty