LDoN Smithing vs. Enchanted Velium Bits

[Zeralenn]

I got almost all of my LDoN bits (both originally when I did it, and now as I am trying to skill up blacksmithing on my mage) by vendor mining at adventure camps and at outlying vendors. I had somewhat better luck at the outlying vendors, but the best thing to do is to start looking WELL before you need them. Right now, my mage's smithing skill is 166, I haven't yet finished fine plate, but I have two backpacks' worth of LDoN tempers on a mule and I haven't finished shopping yet. I do save them from LDoNs but I've yielded only half a stack doing it that way (none of my high characters can forage).

BTW, the tribute values, I am discovering, vary quite widely even within the same piece, and I'm going to make a new edition of the smithing guide soon that shows all of the possible combines with all the tribute values. For example, I discovered that while almost all gauntlets yield a tribute value of only 120-180 points, for some unknown reason, deep cavern gauntlets give you a tribute value of 433. Very, very odd.

...Zera

[Nolrog]

LDoN pieces are looted as far as I know.

I play mostly in MMC, and the gargoyle granite is foraged as well as dropped.

If you have the ingredients to do both, then I would do the LDoN armor first, and then the EVBs. Since the LDoN armor trivials at a lower level, your success rate should be higher with it, and you get a better chance to gain a sill up with a success. At 210, you should do ethereal sheets for 2 points, and then on to EVBs.