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I’ve always loved trade skills. I was heavy into them in UO before I started playing EQ. So its not surprising that I like all my characters to have some trade skill ability. May skills are easy to skill up in to at least 100 and some are a bit more difficult. For those of you who would like to try your hand at a few trade skills, and haven’t already done so, I thought I’d list a few possible paths you might follow.
Baking
Fillet of ___ - 1 skinning knife and 1 piece of any of the following meats: wolf, bear, lion or mammoth. The skinning knife is always returned. Trivial: 143
If you don’t want to do this casually as you hunt, you can buy all the bear or lion meat you want from a vendor in Shadow Haven or Thurgadin. In Shadow Haven, you can find the meat on a gnome lady near the pool of water, across from the soul binder. In Thurgadin, to reach the dwarf butcher’s shop, turn right when you enter the city. His shop is just a short way down the hall on the left hand side.
Patty melt – 1 nonstick frying pan, 1 bread, 1 cheese from Jaggedpine and 1 piece of any of the following meats: wolf, bear or lion. Trivial: 191
Again, if you’re in a hurry you can buy your meat from a vendor in Shadow Haven or Thurgadin.
Brewing
Fetid essence – 1 water flask and 1 fishing grub. Trivial: 122
This is a fast and cheap way to gain some brewing skill. You can buy the fishing grubs from a male gnome merchant named Caden Zharik in the Plane of Knowledge. He’s standing on a porch directly across from the entrance to the “evil” section of the zone.
Pottery
Small bowl – 1 small block of clay, 1 bowl sketch and 1 water flask. Trivial: 102
Large bowl – 1 large block of clay, 1 large bowl sketch, 1 water flask and 1 glass shards. Trivial: 148
Again, a fairly cheap way to raise your pottery skill. It’s a bit harder than it used to be, meaning you’ll have to make more combines, but it’s still not terribly hard. I didn’t add the firing sheets because it’s easier to simply drop or destroy your unfired bowls, as firing them and selling them back to the vendor will only get you a few coins.
Smithing
Smithing is not as easy to break 100 in as many skills, but it can be done at a reasonable price. There are also a number of different paths one can take, but this one should be about as good as any.
Metal bits - 2 small pieces of ore and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 18
Skewers – 1 metal bits, 1 skewer mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 38
Toolbox – 1 metal bits, 1 small brick of ore, 1 toolbox mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 51
Filleting knife - 3 metal bits, 1 scaler mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 76
Lock picks – 1 metal bits, 1 lock pick mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 88
Embroidering needle – 1 needle mold, 1 metal bits, 1 celestial essence and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 122
As I said, smithing is not the easiest or cheapest trade skill to advance in. But compared to gaining skill points in more advanced smithing, getting to 122 isn’t bad at all. And if you wish to avoid some of the early clicking, you can spend training points to gain your first 20 or so points. However, you’ll still need to make metal bits so you might as well get used to it.
Tailoring
Tailoring, in my opinion, is the hardest of all trade skills. The reason I say that is because from the very start you have to either gather your own supplies or buy them from players, which is never cheap. If you’re willing to put the time into it, the early stages of tailoring do not involve difficult to obtain materials. There is, of course, more than one path to tailoring, but this one will get you there.
Silk thread – combine 2 spiderling silks. Trivial: 15
OR
Shade silk thread - combine 2 shadeling silks. Trivial: 15
Leather padding – 1 silk thread and 1 low quality skin/hide from one of the following: cat, bear or wolf. Trivial: 31
OR
Leather padding – 1 shade silk thread (or silk thread) and 1 low quality rockhopper hide. Trivial: 31
Studded leather mask – 1 metal stud, 1 mask pattern, and 1 medium quality pelt, either wolf, cat or bear. Trivial: 56
Greyhopper armor – 1 greyhopper hide and 1 pattern; either mask, gorget, wristband, sleeve, gloves, belt, boot, shoulder pad, helmet or cloak. Trivial: 88
Quiver – 1 quiver pattern and 1 high quality cat pelt. Trivial: 115
Some of these items, such as the shade silk thread and greyhopper armor require the Luclin expansion, so you may have to find alternatives if you do not have the expansion.
There are other trade skills out there, but these are the ones I’ve had the most experience with. And if you don’t do trade skills just for the fun of doing trade skills, then there may not be a point in practicing a lot of these skills unless you plan to take them close to 250. But if you’re like me, and just love doing trade skills because they’re fun, then this is a fairly easy way for your characters to gain some basic skills.
Baking
Fillet of ___ - 1 skinning knife and 1 piece of any of the following meats: wolf, bear, lion or mammoth. The skinning knife is always returned. Trivial: 143
If you don’t want to do this casually as you hunt, you can buy all the bear or lion meat you want from a vendor in Shadow Haven or Thurgadin. In Shadow Haven, you can find the meat on a gnome lady near the pool of water, across from the soul binder. In Thurgadin, to reach the dwarf butcher’s shop, turn right when you enter the city. His shop is just a short way down the hall on the left hand side.
Patty melt – 1 nonstick frying pan, 1 bread, 1 cheese from Jaggedpine and 1 piece of any of the following meats: wolf, bear or lion. Trivial: 191
Again, if you’re in a hurry you can buy your meat from a vendor in Shadow Haven or Thurgadin.
Brewing
Fetid essence – 1 water flask and 1 fishing grub. Trivial: 122
This is a fast and cheap way to gain some brewing skill. You can buy the fishing grubs from a male gnome merchant named Caden Zharik in the Plane of Knowledge. He’s standing on a porch directly across from the entrance to the “evil” section of the zone.
Pottery
Small bowl – 1 small block of clay, 1 bowl sketch and 1 water flask. Trivial: 102
Large bowl – 1 large block of clay, 1 large bowl sketch, 1 water flask and 1 glass shards. Trivial: 148
Again, a fairly cheap way to raise your pottery skill. It’s a bit harder than it used to be, meaning you’ll have to make more combines, but it’s still not terribly hard. I didn’t add the firing sheets because it’s easier to simply drop or destroy your unfired bowls, as firing them and selling them back to the vendor will only get you a few coins.
Smithing
Smithing is not as easy to break 100 in as many skills, but it can be done at a reasonable price. There are also a number of different paths one can take, but this one should be about as good as any.
Metal bits - 2 small pieces of ore and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 18
Skewers – 1 metal bits, 1 skewer mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 38
Toolbox – 1 metal bits, 1 small brick of ore, 1 toolbox mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 51
Filleting knife - 3 metal bits, 1 scaler mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 76
Lock picks – 1 metal bits, 1 lock pick mold and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 88
Embroidering needle – 1 needle mold, 1 metal bits, 1 celestial essence and 1 flask of water. Trivial: 122
As I said, smithing is not the easiest or cheapest trade skill to advance in. But compared to gaining skill points in more advanced smithing, getting to 122 isn’t bad at all. And if you wish to avoid some of the early clicking, you can spend training points to gain your first 20 or so points. However, you’ll still need to make metal bits so you might as well get used to it.
Tailoring
Tailoring, in my opinion, is the hardest of all trade skills. The reason I say that is because from the very start you have to either gather your own supplies or buy them from players, which is never cheap. If you’re willing to put the time into it, the early stages of tailoring do not involve difficult to obtain materials. There is, of course, more than one path to tailoring, but this one will get you there.
Silk thread – combine 2 spiderling silks. Trivial: 15
OR
Shade silk thread - combine 2 shadeling silks. Trivial: 15
Leather padding – 1 silk thread and 1 low quality skin/hide from one of the following: cat, bear or wolf. Trivial: 31
OR
Leather padding – 1 shade silk thread (or silk thread) and 1 low quality rockhopper hide. Trivial: 31
Studded leather mask – 1 metal stud, 1 mask pattern, and 1 medium quality pelt, either wolf, cat or bear. Trivial: 56
Greyhopper armor – 1 greyhopper hide and 1 pattern; either mask, gorget, wristband, sleeve, gloves, belt, boot, shoulder pad, helmet or cloak. Trivial: 88
Quiver – 1 quiver pattern and 1 high quality cat pelt. Trivial: 115
Some of these items, such as the shade silk thread and greyhopper armor require the Luclin expansion, so you may have to find alternatives if you do not have the expansion.
There are other trade skills out there, but these are the ones I’ve had the most experience with. And if you don’t do trade skills just for the fun of doing trade skills, then there may not be a point in practicing a lot of these skills unless you plan to take them close to 250. But if you’re like me, and just love doing trade skills because they’re fun, then this is a fairly easy way for your characters to gain some basic skills.
I believe the steel boning is fairly easy to make. I think using woven mandrake (doesnt require anything but the mandrake) then picnic baskets would still be quicker (albeit more expensive) than the farming route. Lots of routes of course. This also allows you to save those precious spider silks for later combines.
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