Superstitions While Tradeskilling

[GrimwoodCT]

Do you have any particular "superstitions" that you observe when going for a "must-need" combine?

I'll get the ball rolling.
1) I will not, ever, under any circumstances combine in Thurgadin.
2) I always use the PoK forges near the fishing ponds or the left-most forge in bazaar for smithing combines.
3) When using my collapsible JC or sewing kit is always in my 6th bag slot.
4) I will not combine while under the affect of any levitation type spell.
5) I prefer to use experiment/old school mode.

Pretty odd, eh?
Anyone else?
Grim/Squeaky

[Queletan]

I used to have a few back in the day, before enough things were confirmed/discovered here.

I'd always make sure my stats were maxed to do a combine that I needed to succeed on. The ones I was doing for skillups I didn't care that much about (I now know that stats are meaningless for successes, but I worried sooo much at the time)

I would do most of my combines in PoK or Thurgadin (although that was probably more a product of growing up on a PVP server than anything else)

I used to break up my skillup runs. If I had a long spell of no skill ups, I'd go fiddle with something in my bank, close and open a few containers, wait a minute or so before trying more combines. (I remember this one vividly when i was trying for 250 on MCSs and I had limited funds, I would do five combines, wait a bit, try five more.. I didn't really think it had any effect, but it made me feel better )

My only real new one was to avoid doing combines in the guild hall because I had read a few posts by Ngreth saying that he did not like them for various reasons. I can't really remember what they were, but it soured me to doing combines there for a while. (since then I have done many and had no problem, I just got tired of running around to tribute various items, and found it way easier to do combines, run to Melody, and repeat.

Q

[Kibber]

I had an old one I finally did away with some years back.
I had to have the relevant tradeskill book on me when tradeskilling... As in "Basic Blacksmithing" and so on.
Expanding to do all tradeskills made me get rid of this superstition, my bank space did not allow it

Current ones:
Charisma buff on top of the regular stat enhancing stuff.
Chanter haste and Kei regen, even though stats are maxed.
If I remember to, I avoid skilling up in GH, I feel the dry patches between skillups in there are worse than other places. (Probably no difference at all but the RNG playing with me here)
Skilling up a trophy I don't put it in ammo slot. At some point I felt it did not skill up the trophy at all.

*sigh* so much to remember even before starting the combines!

Kibber, The Rathe

[kekenewah]

my crazy superstition

I cast true north first and then do my combines.

[GrimwoodCT]

I cast true north first and then do my combines.

I may have been the one that started the rumor that the right-click effect of the Paladin epic 1.5 was Group True North. I forget what spell True North replaced back-in-the-day but I am hard pressed to think of any spell that was more uselss. (Though I did use it a few times in the pre-map/in-game-compass era.)

[Zacatac]

I used to zone out and back after a skill-up. I figured zoning would reset the RNG and give me a better chance of not having a long run before the next skill-up.

[JonzeGirl]

I never make a final combine for a spell I'm researching using the 'learned' recipe - I always go the the experiment mode to make the final combine. Oh yeah with no other bags open either.

~Clio

[Ddemons Ddemise]

If I am doing an important combine I try not to think ..XD

Sounds weird but after working on the 9th coldain ring and having to do the poison about 5 times and every time I failed I had thought "jeez, it would suck to have to farm all that..again" . .
I now try to keep my thoughts empty XD

[Cantatus]

I haven't played EQ in quite a while, but the one I distinctly remember doing (before the tradeskill UI) was setting things in the exact same spots in the tradeskill container. If I got a lot of skill ups, I left it along. If I wasn't getting anything, I'd rearrange it.

[Yammez]

I never do combines with the bank open
Always have KEI
Always have Intellectual Superiority
Trophy in Primary Slot
Never do combines in Guild Hall
And I have become a big fan of doing combines exclusively in Cresent Reach. I just have a feeling I have a better skillup chance there

Oh yeah, no floating for me either!

[Jago668]

I haven't played EQ in quite a while, but the one I distinctly remember doing (before the tradeskill UI) was setting things in the exact same spots in the tradeskill container. If I got a lot of skill ups, I left it along. If I wasn't getting anything, I'd rearrange it.

I did that also. I went further and put them into the container in the same order as well.

[Gorse]

If they were really important combines (or rolls for gear) I would let my wife click the the button or roll the dice (she won my ranger the first bow from Doomshade when the TGA was killing him). =)



Gorse

[Verdandi]

I have preferred containers for really important combines. Once I fail a really important combine in a container, it looses preferred status and I pick another I never had a nasty fail in. Although this is more my tendency to hold a grudge than it is a superstition.

For that matter, I have lots of habits but they're probably due more to OCD than superstition. I always sit before doing a combine, especially a batch of combines, unless they're smithing, in which case I always stand. (Because given the visual design of the containers, at least in their original designs, all but forges would be most readily used from a sitting position.)

When doing combines in a stationary container that might potentially result in hitting the skill cap, I always return to the container where I originally started that skill, nostalgic geezer that I am. (Except smithing, because Freeport was highly impractical on the two occasions I hit a smithing cap.)

When selling successes back to a vendor I always use the same vendor, at least for that session, unless I sell so many that they start getting greedy.

I guess the only real superstition is in covering my eyes with one hand and peeking through my fingers to see if I succeeded. Although this has the practical benefit of cushioning my head when I bang it on the desk on failures.

[Ysall]

I wait count off 3 seconds between no-skillup combines to give the RNG time to reset, but try do another combine after a skill up as fast as I possibly can so the RNG doesnt have time to move on.

Its all hokum of course.

[Sukrasisx]

Heh, seems I'm in the minority on this, but I'm almost always floating when doing any combine, because most of my tradeskilling is with my druid (foraging and ports make it so much easier to get ingredients) and since the day she dinged 54 she's considered it bad luck to EVER be without SoE in a zone that allows it.

More specific to t/s, I'll always the appropriate trophy even on a grey combine if the triv is close to my skill. I know I'm 95% either way (and in particular, it doesn't help if the trophy raises my skill to 40 higher than the triv, it's only excess base skill that can shave additional percents off the failure rate), but I feel better knowing I've got an effective skill of 272 instead of 252 when making a leatherfoot haversack.

And when I'm making something where the ingredients were expensive or otherwise hard to get, I'll always rub my thumbs against my forefingers (imagine a rogue warming up his fingers before trying to crack a safe) before I hit combine, so I can hit the button just right.

But above all, remember, it's bad luck to be superstitious!