Blacksmithing 267-300

[Eggborn]

Iksar blacksmith currently at 261 here, thinking aloud and has some questions.

I need some advice on skill up paths. I have about 30k to work with at best. As I get more I spend more, but for starts my limit is 30k. What I figure I can do:

261-267, mostly Shadowscream (it’s only 6 points, right? Lol, I got this far I will not go nuts yet)

267-295
Tae Ew – I actually like to farm in Cazic Thule. Wondering if it’s worth it to set up a buyer for this as well.

267-300 (cause I don’t think I could actually get through 28 points of skill ups in Tae Ew and keep my sanity)

Mistletoe Cutting Sickles – doubtful, is it really worth the subcombines? Does it save pp per time?

Black Acrylia Weapons – I despise farming Akheva Blood, worth setting up a buyer for a few stacks? I have a ton of Essence of Darkness in the bank; it was my old guild’s name!

Magnetic Armor – I don’t see this as a good skill up path, but I make them when I can get them. Anyone do this as a skill up path? It seems like a lot of camping in MPG and bazaar shopping.

White Gold Inlays- I tried doing some of these, and had two sell right away for a profit! I got excited and spent about 7k and have 10 sitting in my bank cause I can’t sell them and break even at the going rate now.

Black Gold Inlays- My plan is to get 3 to 4 drops on my own before I could imagine getting into this market. It’s nice to dream anyway. I would end up giving them to friends probably and not make a cp.

Master’s Armor- I started farming in PoN for the infamous Great Reptile Tooth, since I am bored atm with hollowshade and twilight sea. I enjoy it and hit up the spiders for silk for tailoring symbols. The drop rate is soooooooooo slow. Anyone make pp from doing this? What about setting up a buyer?

Master’s Symbols- OK, Shissar scales, I think setting up a buyer and some farming is fine, but crushed diamond dust? I can’t remember it dropping a lot? Where? My first guess is Velk’s.. where do most people get this and how rare is it really?

Grandmaster Armor-The three Iksars on my server who wanted this got their legs and Breastplates made from me. My guild sometimes gives me scales. It wouldn’t’ feel right to burn off a bunch of Iksar cultural stuff my guild can’t use, so I have it sitting in case someone needs a symbol. (on second run of the quest, it’s not really all that bad)

What is everyone else doing out there?

[Phantron]

You can consider Grandmaster Symbols, which should have a better market than trying to sell armor to 3 Iksars on the entire server.

I did Tae Ew quite a bit and it's a pretty slow path but at least you get some XP out of it. It's a good place to PL a twink and they can keep you company through the farming. I've had trouble selling the Tae Ew stuff. I'd imagine if I actually spend the effort to sell them I can certainly get the cost of components back (Distilled mana vials for legs, scale temper components bought from bazaar for shields. Buying Tae Ew blood is simply not an option because they're way overpriced) and maybe make a small profit. But since I'm lazy I just dump it all into guild tribute (and maybe demand your guildleader to give you some plat for all the tribute)

[Astroshak]

About the mistletoe sickles ... At present, they've got a nice tribute value attached to them. If your guild is burning through guild tribute, offer to make sickles for tribute (ideally on the guild's plat).

Also, if you are patient, you can sell sickles for almost the cost to make, by pointing out the tribute value on them.

That said, they're very annoying to make, due to the non-stacking nature of the Blessed Sickle Blade, Blessed Sickle Pommel, and Blessed Sickle Hilt, as well as the sheer number of subcombines (9 CE's per sickle, 6 of which are combined to make something else before you make the Blessed Sickle part).

IMO, if you like to farm CT, then farm away and skill smithing on that stuff. Tae Ew have a good tribute value?

[Phantron]

Tae Ew shield (1 tae ew blood + 1 scale temper) tributes for 3000. Tae ew legs (2 tae ew blood + 1 distilled mana) tributes for around 4000.

[Voltai Ausra]

Personal Choice

Smithing really comes down to how much time you want to invest in it per combines. I HATE sickles, I really really do!! BUT!! They are literally all vendor bought so there is no farming involved. So it comes down to personal choice really. I think sickles are the way to go but you'll find people that disagree with me due to the cost involved. Stacks of Rubies, Saphires cost 5500 per 20 combines you are making. Before you even get to the other costs involved.

Farming is cheaper, Sickles are faster.
I did sickles myself, talked a friend of mine into making the celestial essence for me. Getting someone to do that considerably cuts down on the time involved in making them. 3 stacks of 20 the follow is the best way to do it.
Sheet metal, Mistletoe Temper, Celestial Essence, Dust. Then just stick the other stuff into inventory. IE molds, gems and do a run of ten at a time until you knock out all 20 combines. Rinse repeat.

PS make your friend hold the other ingredient and announce zone wide what you are doing. I did it in PoK, managed to sell half the stock I made. The rest sold the next day while I waited for a raid to start. There's always a market for tribute items.

But the point is! Personal choice. Time versus cost and only you can decide what works best for you.

[Phantron]

Farming is rarely cheaper than sickles. For example every Tae Ew leg combine uses a distilled mana vial. Master armor uses about 70pp per combine. The real drawback of sickles isn't the cost, it's the time involved just clicking stuff is insane even if the overall time + money is shorter. When I farm tae ew blood it isn't because it's the fastest way to get smithing skillup but it's because I can get some xp and it isn't something that totally bores me within the first 10 minutes.

[Angelsyn]

I did lots of different things...

Tae Ew smithing
Night Terror Smithing
Hurricane Smithing
BD Cultural Smithing
Sickle Smithing
Inferno Smithing
Livestone Smithing
Master's Moonglade & Symbol Smithing

Only 2 points to go now... but I'm not going to rush it. I have never done runs of more than 40, and those were only on BD Cultural when I could get a ton of Mithril enchanted.

[Nalianna_Kersnovske]

Master’s Symbols- OK, Shissar scales, I think setting up a buyer and some farming is fine, but crushed diamond dust? I can’t remember it dropping a lot? Where? My first guess is Velk’s.. where do most people get this and how rare is it really?

3 drops in 3 weeks, of leveling up my monk twink. Definately not common

[fesc_necrado]

Magnetic Armor – I don’t see this as a good skill up path, but I make them when I can get them. Anyone do this as a skill up path? It seems like a lot of camping in MPG and bazaar shopping.

I've used this path to make plat with skilling up as a secondary benefit. I started around 240 (currently around 252). This has been VERY slow because I only buy components that allow me to sell finished products for a profit. I do pick up some pieces in MPG as well.

So the upside is I've made a considerable amount of plat to fund tradeskill activities (also slowly working on tailoring).

The downside is it's discouraging to blow up expensive combines, it's slow since the combines are really spread out and I get undercut on price, even tho I'm usually the lowest priced trader.

Hope that helps a bit - in short I suggest doing these unless yer on Fennin Ro

[Angelsyn]

I've used this path to make plat with skilling up as a secondary benefit. I started around 240 (currently around 252). This has been VERY slow because I only buy components that allow me to sell finished products for a profit. I do pick up some pieces in MPG as well.

So the upside is I've made a considerable amount of plat to fund tradeskill activities (also slowly working on tailoring).

The downside is it's discouraging to blow up expensive combines, it's slow since the combines are really spread out and I get undercut on price, even tho I'm usually the lowest priced trader.

Hope that helps a bit - in short I suggest doing these unless yer on Fennin Ro

Bazu armour is also an option here. I don't know if Bazu Blood drops anywhere you hunt, but I've noticed (at least on Xegony) that there is fewer competition in the Bazu Armour market, compared to the Magnetic Armour market.

[Arkaron]

Master’s Symbols- OK, Shissar scales, I think setting up a buyer and some farming is fine, but crushed diamond dust? I can’t remember it dropping a lot? Where? My first guess is Velk’s.. where do most people get this and how rare is it really?

Yeah, it's going to be pretty rare, as are the reptile teeth. One PoEarth raid saw two teeth and we cleared 3 rings, and most of the zone trash.

30k isn't going to last too long if you go with sickles, as I understand it. You might try setting up a buyer for the Akheva blood, or working on the GM symbols as they would have a wider market (to all Iksar, plus all Cazic Thule followers, which includes some Euridites, Humans, and more).

Edit: Slightly off topic, but I was looking at the Database submissions and noticed you are tailoring also? When you get to that point in DoN Iksar tailoring you'll find a market for silk sleeves. I know at least on my server it's a HUGE pain to find caster sleeves that don't suck enourmously.

[Rendael Brigh]

The war script is so stupid these days. They made it so you can do NOTHING to affect it.
You kill the raiding party? Nah it comes again. You kill it again? "We shall not be stopped!", they say, for the third time the zone gives the emote they won ANYWAY, and depops the isles on your transferring it to the so called winners.

[Twistagain]

The war script is so stupid these days. They made it so you can do NOTHING to affect it.
You kill the raiding party? Nah it comes again. You kill it again? "We shall not be stopped!", they say, for the third time the zone gives the emote they won ANYWAY, and depops the isles on your transferring it to the so called winners.

On The Nameless, it's working as it has for a long time. Very controllable. As of last night, anyway.

[fesc_necrado]

Bazu armour is also an option here. I don't know if Bazu Blood drops anywhere you hunt, but I've noticed (at least on Xegony) that there is fewer competition in the Bazu Armour market, compared to the Magnetic Armour market.

Good point, the bazu combines are pretty good too, tho the drop rate isn't fantastic (isn't terrible either). I don't hunt in Nobles Causeway much anymore, but occasionally I head over for a change of scenery.

[Rendael Brigh]

I found out what was up with HSM. Doesn't help me though when the Master Barkhem quest to fix the shields is broke.