Why do Tradeskills ?

[Trexel75]

why do tradeskills? you can't make a ton of plat off it. I have a 140 skill in alchemy now and I will never make back the plat i but into it. The only potions people buy all the time is SOW and i only make 20p off them> Looks like Tradeskills are a waist of time!!

[Sadine]

It is true you will probably never become rich off of tradeskills but they open up other possibilities as well like the Coldain Shawl Quest.

[Footsore]

You have no idea how many times I've asked myself the same question. Skill-ups are slow, gathering materials is time consuming and costly, the pre-combines are madening, and there is no way I will ever make back my investment.

Boy! I can't wait to get back to it!!!!


On the other hand, when you consider that even after you've made level 65 and have accumulated umteenmillion AA, you really still have nothing. It is after all, just a game.

There is only one important reason I do tradeskills (Not that I'm 250 yet on even one). I enjoy it!

[Cubwynn]

There is no other reason to do tradeskills than that you enjoy them.

If you don't... why are you bothering?

[eniamn]

because i take pride in what i make.
because my twinks can wear it.
to help ppl one day with potc earring in guild.
because even doing 10lb pie i enjoy making something.
because the true newbies like it.
because my food is so much more fun than rations.
because the shawl is a goal.
because 1450 and 1750 are goals.
because i can.
because repeated xp grinding sesions causes sterility.
because there is no spoon. (until i make one)
because the celebrating for gming brewing is fun.
to make my own wedding cake in game.
because what else are you going to do with that stuff?
halflings are tasty. (and so are elves)
so the rng can abuse me and be too tired to beat the next guy.
because i love it.

[Arghargh]

As well stated above, there are lots of reasons to do tradeskills. By far the most important is that you enjoy it.

I spent over 21kpp getting alchemy to 200. That is an expense I'll never recover.

I'd add that you can make a profit on trade skills, but not easily. You'll have to get your skill to 250 if only to reduce the failure rate. Getting most trade skills to 200, if not several to 250 a good idea too (if difficult). A foraging char (main, or alt) is very useful, and necessary for some recipies. Expect to make tens of thousand of combines over the long haul. You need to be able to farm stuff you'll need. If you can't farm and forage, you can usually find componants in The Bazaar, but this will consume most of your margin. Having a trader mule in the bazaar 24/7 also helps tremendously.

The only sure way to make a real fortune in trade skills is pure luck. If you have the skill (250), and the componants when new recipes come out (like the solstice earing quest, velium jewelry) that everyone wants, you can make a killing.

You can make more plat doing other things for sure. Many trade skill items only make a few plat profit. However, taking all my tradeskills together, I've made more than I've spent. This may change if I ever grandmaster tailoring.

Arghargh Grumble, Darkblood
64 Ogre Shaman of Rallos Zek

200 Alchemy
200 Baking
250 Blacksmithing
250 Brewing
200 Fishing
200 Fletching
200 Jewelry
200 Pottery
170 Tailoring

[Noni DeeCups]

Might not feel like it sometimes however I have, without a doubt, made more then I have spent.

[eniamn]

made more over all. not as much as i would have if i had been exping or farming but think i am plat + atm. silver picks and enchanting bars of valorium in pok helped though.

(pp from picks went to buying ore for fine plate. wish i could farm mq ore.)

[Liwsa]

Started tailoring for the backpacks. I wanted 10 slot backpacks for my chars and didn't want to buy them. Then I kept going 2 years later and 1.2 million(rough guess) I hit 1750 and can make anything I want to now.

And before you say OMFG 1.2 million pp
A) where do you think it all came from certainly not the small amount you get while exping.

B) at cost(the time I bought the stuff) my twink monk has over 400k worth of stuff he is wearing.

C) My rogue(my first char) who has been semi-retired but everytime I bring him out seems to find 40-50k worth of bazaar stuff he just HAS to buy. hehe

Tradeskills are profitable BUT it takes time and patience to get to the point of making a profit.

[Sanna]

"because there is no spoon. (until i make one)" -- enaimn


HAHAHA, THAT IS GREAT!!!! I am totally writing that one down ^_^




I do tradeskills because I like clicking the button and getting something back. I do tradeskills because it's an obsession, a compulsion, and we all know how I react to those. I do tradeskills because they are there, because I know that when I loot that LW cat pelt I can turn it into leather padding and then use it for smithing. It's part of the magpie nature in me, to use what I can as much as I can.

/shrug. If you don't want to do them, don't do them. Just don't complain that they suck if you don't want to do them. Once you want to do them, THEN you can complain.

-- Sanna

[Velurian]

Tradeskills are definitely profitable; you just have to pick your market well. This involves timing as much as it does a specific item.

I'm closing in on 1750 and at a guess I've spent, just on skilling up:

-- 250k on tailoring
-- 35k on fletching
-- 10k on baking
-- 50k on pottery
-- 10k on jewelcraft
-- something insignificant on brewing
-- 35-40k on smithing (and counting)
------------------
Total: about 400kpp.

I can say with fair certainty that I've made more than I've brought in, because about 90% of that was financed by selling tradeskilled items, and I have a lot more money in the bank than I started with. Sure, I make some money at experience camps, but really, the vast majority was from sales that were then funneled back in.

And it's comforting knowing that whenever I decide that I really need more money, I have the means to generate it. If you need more reasons than the ones mentioned above, consider it an investment in financial security.

I've never had a shaman and don't know much about alchemy, but I know there are other potions that I and people I know buy. Maybe shrink potions would get you a better return? Gate potions? Illusion potions?

[YurienStonebow]

they are a nice distraction from questing and hunting plus i'm too lazy to pay outrageous prices for soething i can make for virtually free. there are very few recipes where i need soemthign i can't get myself easily and in large quantities

[Kahmon]

#1 reason to do tradeskills: Self Satisfaction

I did tradeskills simply because they were a way to enhance my charactor. I couldn't stand to look at my skills list and know that there was room for improvement. Until NTCM became available, I spent a long time mulling over the choice of which to take to 250. Fortunately that became a null issue. Tradeskills are just 1 of the many aspects of EQ to conquer. Now that it's done they are something to do when I am LFG.

[Kongming]

Tradeskill are quite profitable. Low end stuff isn't because so many people can make them. As you get to higher skills, all the quitters can;t make the good stuff, and if your skill is in that range there is room for profit.

You will not make money over night, you might not make it over a week either. IT slow but if you price decently, to cover cost and such you can make a profit. I guess it also depends how much time you leave your guy on trader mode in bazaar if you do at all. If you don't then it quite hard to sell many items i believe. I for one have a trader on while i sleep and make decent money then, but im guessing most people don't have a connection where they can leave EQ on 24 hours a day so that makes things harder

[Draggar]

Hmm, why do tradeskills.....

Well, I like being able to make items that normaly aren't available. If a newb warriro wants me to set him up with a set of banded armor, so be it.

Misty picnics are better than any merchant bought food. So is Grobb Liquidised meat.

Vendor bought arrows are just plain horrible, no range and no damage, plus made bows are much better than low end bought ones, and forget about buying them in the bazaar. You need good soloing & hunting arrows? Range is the key with me (plus a tailored quiver).

You CAN make money if you know what to make. Fish fillets are still a good seller, not a HUGE profit, but stead sales can rake in 10-20 PP a night (which goes a long way with low level characters).

I like helping out my guildmates, someone needs sone jewelery? Get me an ENC to enchant the metal, I'll do it at cost.

Vendor bought alcohol gets pretty redundant.

There aren't many merchant bought poisons. Plus, my applied poison now (130-ish skill) does 181DD + stun.

Tailoring - OK cultural stuff now.

My biggest gripe is that now that higher end, more "uber" drops are found, the crafted items that used to be great (acrylia, cultural, wu's etc..) are now just "lame". They should def. have some tailored items that can stand their own against dropped (but non-quest & nodrop) items. Even if the triv level is around 300.

Main reason why to tradeskill? Because you want to. There is more to our lives (IRL) than work. We all have hobbies, why not incorperate that into EQ?