New Cultural recipes (test server)

[Zopharr]

appears right now that you are going to have to be skill 300 to even attempt GM stuff (unless the books remain tradeable). Was that the goal? If the books do remain tradeable, then I don't understand why you would set a target minimum skill for this stuff and then provide a way to get around it. Why introduce an intervening step of having someone else buy the books for you?

Although I should be able to get around the book issue for Rishrathra (and hope to have him over 290 soon anyway with the Sunshard I've hoarded) . . . .

I do dislike the idea of requiring a minimum skill for a non-quest combine. If somebody wants to play forge roulette with metallic drake scales (or the new equivalent) with skill in the 240s, I say let them have at it!

Garshok

[mulleteer]

What I don't understand if this changes are being made to make it easier to farm the stuff needed to skill? Why make a min. skill required to make the gear of 300 or even 290? Doesn't this defeat the purpose?

Or do we have to skill up on the masters armor that has little to no market?

To say i am not thrilled obout this upcoming change is a huge understatement

Mulleteer Combover 280 smith (322 modifed)

[melkorr]

I don't understand why people dislike what they are finding out about this change. Previously, there were very limited skillup paths to take smithing to 300. MCSs and DoN cultural were about it. With GM DoN drops being so expensive and rare, that path took forever. Now, they are adding a path that goes to 300, and drops very often. So you may need to make some non GM-DoN level templates to get to 300. Big deal. That will be tons faster than trying to get the old components. I for one am VERY impressed with what I have heard so far regarding the changes both to tailoring and smithing. Huge thanks to Ngreth and anyone else involved in bringing us these changes!

[Catweazel]

Everything I have read implies that a person requires the highest skill to attempt to make the most complicated tradeskill item.

Also implied, but not yet clearly stated, is that at the highest level of skill you will still need a maxxed trophy and (potentially) 3 levels of Mastery to achieve the higest degree of success.

Sounds fine to me.

[Aethn]

I tell you what. Over the last month, mostly the last 2 weeks, these new changes have been awesome. Frankly farming The Nest missions a billion times was BS. It was boring and removed me from the gneral population of the game nearly every night I was not raiding, just to get Drake Scales.

Now I can actually participate in just about every single zone in the game and still get some much needed tradeskill bits.

This, in my opinion, could possibly be the single best tradeskill change, aside from the new one click combine containers, this game has ever had.

In the past 2 weeks I have gotten more skillups from bits I gained in general EXP locations then I ever have in the 8+ years I have played Everquest.

[mulleteer]

I don't understand why people dislike what they are finding out about this change. Previously, there were very limited skillup paths to take smithing to 300. MCSs and DoN cultural were about it. With GM DoN drops being so expensive and rare, that path took forever. Now, they are adding a path that goes to 300, and drops very often. So you may need to make some non GM-DoN level templates to get to 300. Big deal. That will be tons faster than trying to get the old components. I for one am VERY impressed with what I have heard so far regarding the changes both to tailoring and smithing. Huge thanks to Ngreth and anyone else involved in bringing us these changes!

Not everyone does a tradeskill for the purpose of maxing it out. I for one do not care if my skill is maxed out. All I care is can I make the items i want. Whether it is last blood seals or don augs for my guild.

Since Everquest has come out, the best items never had a required skill, or at least since 2001 when I started smithing.

What I dislike now is I can make something today but won't be able to make the same product tommorow. What did I forget how to make it? My skill is 322 modifed that is higher then a geerlocked 300 smith. Why would I not have the skill to do it?

Mulleteer Combover 75 sk
Black smithing 280 15% modified

[Maevenniia]

Personally, I'm on both sides of the fence.

I love most of the upcoming changes, as it will put everyone on the same footing in terms of required drops, and smoother skill up paths; and as was also pointed out, now you can hunt anywhere instead of just certain instanced zones, since the drops will be global.

But I also agree that restricting the (GM) Elaborate / Sublime armor to skill 300 is a step backwards (at least for now...maybe it would be fine in future if skill caps go up to 350.)

I hope that this can be changed to either require only say, 290 skill, or a modified skill of 300 (giving more value to trophies with the higher % modifiers, and even to the dropped items with a 15% modifier).

[Xenephex]

Well, lo and behold, yesterday I was all of a sudden able to buy the GM level books at skill 278 - both the template books and my cultural books. I am about 90 percent sure that I had checked the day before at the same level and was not able to get them, but I am 100 percent positive that I had checked at least after I got to 275 and couldn't get them.

So evidently the restrictions, on test at least, were loosened. I don't know how far down the limits were moved; I will try to check with other lower level smiths (or tailors) in the game to see if I can narrow it down a bit. There's not a massive number of us on test though, so it may be kind of difficult.

I actually already had the template books, which are the level XI books, as a 300 smith had bought them for me the day before, and which covers recipes up to the highest currently available in the game. There is no level twelve book; there however is a level thirteen book. But I'm not talking.

[Zopharr]

I don't understand why people dislike what they are finding out about this change. Previously, there were very limited skillup paths to take smithing to 300. MCSs and DoN cultural were about it. With GM DoN drops being so expensive and rare, that path took forever. Now, they are adding a path that goes to 300, and drops very often. So you may need to make some non GM-DoN level templates to get to 300. Big deal. That will be tons faster than trying to get the old components. I for one am VERY impressed with what I have heard so far regarding the changes both to tailoring and smithing. Huge thanks to Ngreth and anyone else involved in bringing us these changes!

For the record, I do like the new changes (except for the potential of having to be 290 or 300 skill to get the GM recipe books).

Having skilled up a dwarf to 300 in the last few months and working on a troll now, there are a few other, often forgotten skill-up paths:

- ‘blue diamond cultural’ for all of the original races except Trolls. Far more farmable than many other options and decent tribute.

- Tae Ew – requires farming in CT, but drop rate is better than sunshard

While Masters (‘sacred’) symbols and armor are a pain, and yes, there isn’t much of a Market. The 5% bonus chance to skill-up is pretty good, though – I got 17 skill-ups in 162 combines (and I have a mule full of symbols waiting for a tribute value for these after the patch.)

The new, 'Template' path will just add yet one more option. Thanks, Ngreth!

Garshok

[Zopharr]

Well, lo and behold, yesterday I was all of a sudden able to buy the GM level books at skill 278 - both the template books and my cultural books. I am about 90 percent sure that I had checked the day before at the same level and was not able to get them, but I am 100 percent positive that I had checked at least after I got to 275 and couldn't get them.

So evidently the restrictions, on test at least, were loosened.

Woohoo! Hopefully that change will go live - let folks play 'forge roulette' if they want!


Garshok

[Ngreth Thergn]

What I don't understand if this changes are being made to make it easier to farm the stuff needed to skill? Why make a min. skill required to make the gear of 300 or even 290? Doesn't this defeat the purpose?

Or do we have to skill up on the masters armor that has little to no market?

To say i am not thrilled obout this upcoming change is a huge understatement

Mulleteer Combover 280 smith (322 modifed)

Because the cultural ITSELF is not the skillup path, but the templates are.

The templates can easily get you to 300.

We want to bring a real value to having an actual high skill and not just "playing roulette" as someone above mentioned.

And it may be 300 skill, or a 275 skill... I have not looked it up yet.

Ask me the skill levels on the EQ forums, it helps me remember after I read this I have a 90 minute drive to work... so I often space.

[Ngreth Thergn]

Well, lo and behold, yesterday I was all of a sudden able to buy the GM level books at skill 278 - both the template books and my cultural books. I am about 90 percent sure that I had checked the day before at the same level and was not able to get them, but I am 100 percent positive that I had checked at least after I got to 275 and couldn't get them.

So evidently the restrictions, on test at least, were loosened. I don't know how far down the limits were moved; I will try to check with other lower level smiths (or tailors) in the game to see if I can narrow it down a bit. There's not a massive number of us on test though, so it may be kind of difficult.

I actually already had the template books, which are the level XI books, as a 300 smith had bought them for me the day before, and which covers recipes up to the highest currently available in the game. There is no level twelve book; there however is a level thirteen book. But I'm not talking.

Actually there were a few bugs I fixed. That may have been what it was. I had some checking the wrong skill.

[Janilyn]

vendors?

Ok, on live we are getting the drops all over the place. Went looking for the vendors for the books and could not find them. Am I just looking in the wrong places in PoK and Crescent Reach or are they not up. Would make more sense to have them out once the componants start dropping.

[melkorr]

The drops went live semi-accidentally with the LoN patch. The changes to cultural still won't be going live until the scheduled patch.

[Rawckett]

Not everyone does a tradeskill for the purpose of maxing it out. I for one do not care if my skill is maxed out. All I care is can I make the items i want. Whether it is last blood seals or don augs for my guild.

Since Everquest has come out, the best items never had a required skill, or at least since 2001 when I started smithing.

What I dislike now is I can make something today but won't be able to make the same product tommorow. What did I forget how to make it? My skill is 322 modifed that is higher then a geerlocked 300 smith. Why would I not have the skill to do it?

Mulleteer Combover 75 sk
Black smithing 280 15% modified

Okay, I haven't read the rest of the replies below the I quoted, so it may have already been discussed.

But who says you won't be able to make those items?

From what I have read:

1) You WON'T be able to see the book on the NPCs and thus buy it from the NPCs to be able to scribe those recipes

2) You WON'T be able to learn the recipes via experiment (currently there is a bug that is allowing you to learn those recipes, though)

So, from what I have read so far, you will be able to still make the items through experiment. Or, as somebody keeps mentionion, still play Roulette. You just have to use experiment each time.

As I go back to reading the rest of this thread, I will edit this post as needed.