Any Alt than ShadowScream?

[Luddaen]

I am a 55 barbarian Shaman with a Smthing of 177 (with geerlok around 185). I started to work on ShadowScream farming and it seems recently all the places for the items are camped. I was woundering is there any alternative to raise smithing to about 240 other than SS. I am also on a low budget, around 500p is all i can spend towards smithing right now. So the cultural gear is sorta out of my league I think.

[GraemeFaelban]

Well, there is the acrylia stuff, but, that is even more of a pain to farm than the SS materials.

I feel your pain, I am constantly finding the SS drops being farmed. Not to mention, as a shaman, my farming is a tad slow, compared to most any AoE type class.

With a limited budge, your options are fairly limited, as you basically have to go with recipes that use mostly, if not all, dropped components.

[Boleslav]

Get to 188 on Fine Steel for starters. Then slog it out with Shadowscream Steel.

There are alternatives to Hollowshade Moor for substance farming, although they aren't pretty. I did some of the earliest Shadowscream Steel work, and got several skillups (242 – 250) on it without ever farming the Hollowshade Moor war.

You can get about 15 Wailing Substance per hour hunting the 4-spawn and 2-spawn Owlbear Cub caves in Paludal. You can get about the same number of Shrieking Substance per hour if you slaughter Dire Sonic Wolves in Tenebrous Mts. These spots will not be contested as often as the Hollowshade South Grimling Camp.

This leaves Swirling Shadows. There are two places to get sizable numbers of these. You probably cannot clear the Twilight Sea spawns efficiently, so you are limited to Shadeweaver Thicket. You'll just have to find a way to muscle yourself into that one.

Boleslav Forgehammer
Paladin of Brell in his 65th Campaign
E'ci – Sacred Desitny

[Monodon]

Definitely do Fine plate until 188. It will save you much pain and suffering.

As a large race you can also use the massive girdle of the forge, which is a 10 pct skill mod item. This means that you only have to lvl to 230 to reach the max modified skill of 252. It drops in Sanctus Seru. I'm not sure of the mob name though.

Getting this belt will allow you to use EE rings as an alternative from 200 to 212 (remember they trivial at 212, but you must have a skill of 220 to attempt the combine). Another alternative is SHeets of etherel metal. I would probably go for the sheets, as with the new ornate rush the sheets seem to sell faster than the rings. Either way they are basically easy points. As a human smith I had to do most of this the hard way, but did get the two easy points from 210 to 212, but had dreams of being ablt to wear that **** girdle. Then I'd probably give mistletoe sickles a try (at 212 skill you would have 233 modiied skill with the girdle). I do realize that you're on a budget, but if the sickle market isn't completely thrashed on your server (it is on mine) you can do sickles and actually come out ahead. I would try to work up a monetary base of at least 1k to start. This should give you about 3 sickle attempts, but if you put all of your profits back into making sickles you will be making them in groups of 20 in no time.

That's just my 2 cp though

[Everquestguyis]

You have been killed by pain and suffering!