Cost cutting methods.

[Tryst]

Are there any guides that show the minimum cost method of trade skilling for certain trades?

I'm currently doing smithing and now I have hit the 180 limit, getting it higher is costing extreme amounts of plat. This is not helped by the fact that skill increments have slowed somewhat.

My characters are in the 50's which, I'm told is a dead spot for plat farming. More valuable loot is dropped by higher level mobs but apparently at my level, I am still farming mobs that drop noob value loot. 1K/hour is about the best I can get while trade skilling is costing me > 20K/hour. My last venture cost me almost 5K for 50 combines (Indium Ore, Dark Brown coal for making Bracer templates), the coal alone is 25 plat each. It got me just 3 skill levels with a 50% failure rate and just a 20 plat return for each success.

There must be a cheaper way to do this.

One cheap method of getting to 166 is to make Fine Plate Collars. I am not allowed to do links yet so I can't link to the recipe.
Return value of sucessful combines is almost 100% of cost. Also, the only thing to farm is the LQ hides and Spiderling silk for the leather padding and good value common drops (25 plat bear teeth and 19 plat Spider Carapice and Intricately Patterned Spider Carapice) are also available while farming to make the plat required at the same time.

[Bonzz]

Smithing

Back in the day I used LDoN Temper to 212, then Enchanted Velium Bits to 222, then Shadowscream Armor to 267. It was much more recently I finished out on the new ores.

There are several guide posts on this site if you look, but the various ores are the way to go these days (Titanium, Cobalt, etc.). The may seem costly, but you can sell back the templates you make to recover a good portion of that cost.

[Zaltak]

Shadowscream armor is the cheepist way to get blacksmithing skill above 200. But be prepared to do ALOT of farming:-P

[Elyssanda]

IMHO Ldon armor was MUCH easier than Shadowscream until it hit trivial. I can honestly say I never did ONE shadowscream piece. and when I do it again on my new Vah Shir, I will skip shadowscream again.

[Tryst]

I did the collars above to 166 because, apart from the farming for the leather padding which is very common drops, it's all vendor stuff.

Then I tried Enchanted velium. Since it's no trade, it works out very expensive because there's no return for the enchanted velium and you have to destroy each one as you make it because it's also a lore item.

I went on to do the ores but I had to go straight to Indium since that's the most common and after farming for 4 hours for less than half a dozen Rubicite. My skill is now 202 thanks to that and a 50% failure meant it was still expensive but not as bad as the other alternative in the list from Shakespeer in this forum. However, I've been asking about the Rhenium for the next levels and I'm told it's yet another rare drop like Rubicite.

Someone in my guild already suggested Acrylia for the cultural route but I've tried farming for it already and it's not a common drop either.

Since I prefer not to spend days farming for a dozen or so combines, What would be the easiest in terms of cost and common drops or vendor sold? If I have to farm plat for vendor stuff, that's easy but if I have to farm for rare drops, it's not worth me continuing since I'm doing tradeskilling to get away from combat all the time. It gets kinda boring just bash, loot and move on all the time, there's more to EQ than that surely.

[Mavick]

I know it's a bit above your level... currently, but one of my favorite spots for farming in the mid 60's was in The Steppes. The gnolls in the north central area dropped both rhenium ore and steppes ore- both of which are skillup paths. They also were a lower level than the ones in the northeast portion of the zone, and were easier to split with max pulls of two mobs- even without crowd control.

While I don't expect that you could take those mobs- and I do NOT recommend you try- as a 50's character. You may want to do a bit of vendor diving to see if anyone has sold steppes ore in the zone. Also, you can sometimes find rhenium for sale for a relatively cheap price in the bazaar.

As a side note, I applaud your efforts to bring up a character AS you do a skillup path. It's rare enough these days to see a character leveling up (versus powerleveling), but to see one doing both... well let me just say you have my respect!

Mavick

[mewkus]

If you're a large race, look into trying to get a Massive Girdle of the Forge with this, you'll be able to start making the ethereal sheets at 200 and is a cheap way to get up to 212. If you have some friends that like raiding old stuff, you can also attempt to get a Hammer of the ironfrost that will allow you to start them at 192. Also, use those same friends to complete the Bertox raid in PoP so you can make the Cleansed Breastplate which will take you from 220 to 227.

The ethereal sheets require a minimum modified skill in order to make them (that's why the skill modifying items are good), the breastplate requires a minimum raw score and completion of the Bertox raid.

If you love farming grey stuff, Shadowscream is the way to go. But it's a lot of farming of a lot of grey con mobs. The plat outlay is only like 3-4pp per combine. But requires a lot of farming. If you decide to go this route, you'll spend gobloads of time in Twilight Sea and Hollowshade Moor. In case I didn't mention it, it requires a lot of farming. So, plan to farm, farm, farm, and farm. Then farm some more.

You're still at a level where you can still get xp from doing LDoN missions. But you need to have three peeps in your group to get a mission (i think mercs count). I don't remember the drop rate for temper components being all that good. If you are a foraging class, you can forage them during the missions. and get a better return. Those will take you to 210 (212 actually, but you'll want to stop at 210 to make the ethereal sheets). I do recall seeing a decent drop rate on ores, pelts, and silks in the LDoNs last time I went through one (>1 year ago). But other than tradeskill drops, there's no loot in LDoN that's worth a darn. I don't remember what kind (if any) of coin the mobs in there drop.

With regards to your failure rate, you should be doing lower level combines. At your skill, you should be making Rubicite then Indium templates. The coal for rubicite is only like 20p. And you have a better chance for skilling up when you succeed than when you fail. So whenever possible, you want to succeed. Also, make sure to get your strength up as high as possible. Track down a shaman and get a good strength buff for whenever you're doing your combines (don't be tempted to use the forge in guild hall for combines to keep buffs active - skill ups in instanced zones have been reported to be buggy).

[Tiroon]

I loved doing Shadowscreaam, but the farming is not the same for all classes. If you can do it with any higher level pet class, you won't spend much time in the moor.

A bit dated but still valid: http://eq.barefamily.org/files/economicalsmithv6.pdf

[Tryst]

I have a Vah Shir BL currently at 61 but he's not doing tradeskills, I've had a go at The Steppes with him for levelling but there's mobs that are easier to kill elsewhere ATM so I moved on. I might revisit the zone if the ore drops are common enough.

While I was waiting for a reply, I looked at the Magnetic stuff. Ore can be obtained from refining armor drops from Dragorn Peon or Commoner in Draniks Reach. Judging by the info, it should allow me to skill almost to 300. It looks fairly easy to make with regards to ingredients providing I can get a good return from a vendor for the sucessful combines. I just wondered how common the drops are in Draniks Reach.

It would be a nice place to farm, just a chat to the Priest near the library in POK and I'm there, same to come back as well. Coming back and forth to refine the armor I've farmed into ore would be easy. The two mobs also spawn close to the priests in Drankis Reach so, once I'm in, there's no running halfway across the zone to get the mobs I want.

Edit: I have done The Steppes with my 55 Warrior and healer merc along with a 51 Druid and his tank (two boxing). I found it fairly easy to kill teh snakes and lizards at the entrance but the druid spells weren't taking so he wa just there to grab the attention of the mob. It was even easier to pull a mob, sit back and let the two mercs have at it

[Zaltak]

I wouldn't think magnetic armor would be a good skill up path since the drops are kinda rare.However i've never farmed it in DS either.But it does make really good noob twink armor since there is no required lvl only recomended.

[Altara]

If you are looking for cheap, shadowscream is the way to go to 228 to 267. Yes its alot of grey farming, but its easy. Also any skillups higher than that will require farming higher level mobs and a higher plat outlay.

If you want to exp while you farm, then cultural templates will be the way to go.

From 200 to 267, I mostly did shadowscream. I did do some LDoN combines and some Rubicite/Indium combines as I was able to get the ores, but shadowscream was easiest to get a large supply. LDoN was good while lots of people were doing them and you could find the components on vendors or in the bazaar, as well as farming your own. Though it only gets you to 212.

Regarding the magnetic armors, breaking the armors down will only take you to 202, which you have already reached. Bracers will take you to 262. The failure rate will be high though until you are closer to the trivial. The drop rate will probably be kinda slow. I threw in some of those combines too as I got them. I tried farming Harbringers for them, but it was too slow for me compared to shadowscream. I never saw very many drop in Dranik's scar. The breastplate and legs, which could take you to 282, will be completely out of reach at your level as they drop in MPG (rarely) and Anguish.

After shadowscream, I took the rhenium templates and sacred symbols route. No payback on the symbols though as they don't sell to vendor or in the bazaar, though you can tribute them. With the sacred symbols though, you can get to 300 on rhenium and bonded loams. Alternatively you can save the templates and use them in the intricate armor to get to 300. Again no payback though. So it would depend on whether the rhenium and loams is easier to get for you than the tungsten/cobalt for the higher templates for those last skillups. But in any case, I don't think there is any cheaper way to get to 300 after shadowscream, than the cultural templates.

I thought Rhenium ore dropped pretty well in Halls of Honor, and it seemed pretty decent from gnolls in the Steppes too. I also got a few tungsten ores while hunting for the rhenium, which were saved until rhenium templates became trivial.

[muana]

cost cutting

Take a look at prices for certain things like Tantulum.

Tantulum studs (255) use a piece of tantulum and a smithing hammer thus it may be dirt cheap as most people don't use it. (also vandium (268))

A couple items that may or may not be cheap on your server.

[Tryst]

Thanks for all the tips and replies. I've got a few things to think about now and will check them out.

Someone else warned me off Shadowscream due to the amount of farming required. I might do a test run of my own to see what the drop rate is like, it seems that sometimes the RNG gives you a run of bad luck occasionally so it might be an idea for me to do a couple of farming runs.

Hopefully, I can work out a route to get my tradeskill up from the information you've all offered here.

[Zaltak]

Couple things about Shadowscream you need to know.First you must do the quest in Shar Vhal for the anvil and hammer.Which is annoying killing all those **** noobie bugs.
Second you need to learn how to work the "War" in Hollowshade Moor to get which of the three races you need to win and occupy the islands in the lake.Hope this helps:-)

[Tryst]

Couple things about Shadowscream you need to know.First you must do the quest in Shar Vhal for the anvil and hammer.Which is annoying killing all those **** noobie bugs.
Second you need to learn how to work the "War" in Hollowshade Moor to get which of the three races you need to win and occupy the islands in the lake.Hope this helps:-)

That's what I would need next. I've done the quest up to the humming orbs but getting the wailing and shreiking substances is proving a problem. I think I've found a guide to help that tells me where they drop, since they don't drop from every mob of a particular kind, only in certain places on the map.

I found the guide after spending over two hours in the caves to the north beating Owlbears to death and finding nothing. The quest is hard enough since it's a rare drop without SOE making it even harder by only allowing it to drop in a certain part of the map.