Some fairly basic research questions from a new tradeskiller

[Tirian]

Hi, I’ve been reading a lot on these forums and other places, but I can’t seem to find some general and specific info that I’m looking for and am hoping you all can help.

I have an 85 necromancer that I’m trying to skill-up in spell research so that I can make spells for friends and alts. His skill is currently at 165. I don’t have a ton of money (maybe 50K) to sink into research, but I have quite a few of some specific components: Saltpeter (no Crystallized Sulfur unfortunately) Elaborate Binding Powder (no other type of powder however), and a lot of the Grimy/Sooty/etc scrolls and pages. (The servers are down currently otherwise I could be more specific here.)

It seems I could skill up using the Elaborate Binding Powder all the way to 352, but that brings up a few questions:

Do I have less of a chance to skill up when trying to make a combine far higher than my current skill level? (352 trivial here compared to my 165 skill.) If so, I don’t want to waste the powder I have and will try to look for another route until my skill is closer to the combine’s level.

Assuming it’s fine to start skilling up now with the Elaborate Binding Powder, I’m confused on how to acquire the Elaborate Spellcaster's Empowering Essence. It seems like this is a summoned item from a spell of a similar name and that I would first have to create (or have created for me) one or both of the the spells. Once I have that, is it really as simple as using the summoned item, the powder, and (cheap) merchant-bought components?

Regarding Researcher’s Trophies, it seems I should have started on these earlier, but better late than never I suppose. It looks like there are 6-7 ranks (Beginner to either Master or the Ethereal Quill) and that my current skill level qualifies me for the Freshman Researcher Trophy. Do I not need to get the Beginner trophy and can just skip the first 2 levels and start with the Freshman and begin leveling it up from there to Master/Quill?

Also, does the skill mod on the trophy help me get skill ups or only help with the success/failure ratio by making my effective skill higher than my actual skill? I know the mods from the trophy and the geerlock won’t stack, and at this point I really don’t care so much about successful combines as I do about skill ups. (Any other advice about increasing skill ups is appreciated too!)

On a related note, do I need to equip the trophy in my primary, secondary, or range slots for it to level correct? (As opposed to the ammo slot.)

Finally, I’ve been getting a lot of Dirty Empty Vials back when making Vials of Pure Water (I think that’s where I’m getting them from anyway). Can I just sell these or is there a use for them? It seems they are used to make Empty Vials… but I only use Empty Vials to make Vials of Pure Water, and in order to make an Empty Vial with a Dirty Empty Vial, I need 3 Vials of Pure Water? I’m really confused on this one….

Thanks in advance for any and all information! This is my first time attempting any tradeskill seriously and I know some of these questions are very basic, but I can’t seem to find the answer in the Spell Researcher’s FAQ or anywhere else on the boards.

Tirian
Saryrn Server

[Xerius]

Okay, a lot of questions, so will see if I can answer at least some of them.

Do I have less of a chance to skill up when trying to make a combine far higher than my current skill level? (352 trivial here compared to my 165 skill.) If so, I don’t want to waste the powder I have and will try to look for another route until my skill is closer to the combine’s level.

Your chance of a skill up on a failure is roughly two thirds your chance of a skill up on a success until your stats get high. You say you are 85, so you likely have enough Planar Power to make your chance of a skill up the same on a success as on a failure (17.5 percent at 165 skill should you be interested, and you will succeed about one in twenty times on a 352 trivial combine).

Assuming it’s fine to start skilling up now with the Elaborate Binding Powder, I’m confused on how to acquire the Elaborate Spellcaster's Empowering Essence. It seems like this is a summoned item from a spell of a similar name and that I would first have to create (or have created for me) one or both of the the spells. Once I have that, is it really as simple as using the summoned item, the powder, and (cheap) merchant-bought components?

It is that simple. The spells to make Elaborate Spellcasters' etc is itself Researched, of course, so you would have to get somebody to make it for you (trivials around the 400 range), but after that point, you simply summon the Essence (level 70 spell to summon one and level 74 to summon five for a Necro) and combine.

Do I not need to get the Beginner trophy and can just skip the first 2 levels and start with the Freshman and begin leveling it up from there to Master/Quill?

You start with whatever one your current skill with allow, the Freshman trophy in your case and it will evolve normally.

Also, does the skill mod on the trophy help me get skill ups or only help with the success/failure ratio by making my effective skill higher than my actual skill?

A higher skill (base or modified) makes your chance of success greater. It has no effect on your chance of a skill up (other than what I said earlier about success giving higher skill up rates than failures). Items in the ammo slot are unreliable for evolving. They are supposed to, all information I could find in a quick search say they do now, but it was bugged in the past, so it is safer just to toss the trophy in your range slot and avoid any risk.

Finally, I’ve been getting a lot of Dirty Empty Vials back when making Vials of Pure Water.

Nobody has ever verified it, but it is assumed that the ability to clean a Dirty Empty Vial was simply put into the game for completion purposes, allowing you to start with a clean vial and end with one. I never clean them myself, but should I need to out in the middle of some far off zone, it is nice to know that I could.

[Tirian]

Thanks for all the info! And yeah, the necro's INT is just shy of 650, so it sounds like there is no reason to not use those Elaborate Binding Powders I've stockpiled to skill up. (At least, as soon as I get the Freshman trophy quest done.)

Thanks again,
Tir

[mewkus]

A couple of points that I'd add...
The scroll for summoning the essence is NoDrop. So you would either have to have a friend summon the essences for you or you would have to get lucky when attempting to make the spell. The calculator on the main site (http://www.eqtraders.com/calculators/main.php) will show you the chance of succeeding and your chance of getting a skill up for any single combine. Or you can use the advanced calculator and it will make a whole table for a range of skill values (good for estimating how many supplies you're going to need).

I would recommend making the summoning spell for combines closer to your skill level and hitting the bazaar (by from players and set up a buyer) to get the binding powders. If you succeed on the first combine, you get a second combine for an additional skill up chance. So, you're better off doing ones that succeed, even if your INT is high enough.

And just because the servers are down, doesn't mean you can't find out what your various inventory levels are for different components. Download the program linked in my sig and it will keep track of your inventories and a bunch of other stuff too. (the site is www [dot] eq-manager [dot] com in case you are unable to see links yet). Personally, I don't see how anyone trying to work their way through tradeskills can do so without such a program.

[Araeshkigal]

I really can't see why you'd want to do it this way unless you've been farming elaborate binding powder like *crazy* and have tons.

On my level 58 enchanter (maxed tradeskill aa's for her level) who has 250 research and the expert trophy, I burn through an average of 15 binding powders to get *one* skillup. Binding powder costs around 50p EACH on my server...Elaborate Binding Powder was 100p or more last time I bothered to price it. Each higher level of binding powder also requires a slightly more expensive solution, so if saving money is your goal....

In the 160's I think you need Modest Binding Powder -- go to Acrylia Caverns and kill everything that moves - it's pretty good for said powder, but a bit streaky. Keep the hides too as you'll need those for making spells around that level.