When did YOU start doing high end cultural smithing?

[Naelia]

Greetings, smithing community. I've recently returned to the land of Norrath after a year of maternity leave *g* I am working on smithing, with an eye on the Big Kahuna, a set of Dark Prince Regent Plate Armor.

For moi, naturellement. I look terrific in blue

I've done smithing on a previous character, albeit quite some time ago, and I know the road to tradeskill master can be long, and sometimes dark. My still is currently only at 146. (Hey, it was at zero last week) I'm not rich, but I have a few thousand plat in the bank. I foresee 188 by next weekend, if I have time to farm enough padding. I plan on doing shadowscream after fine steel, although I don't understand the Hollowshade war very well yet - heh, I'm sure it will become clear ALL TOO SOON.

It will, I imagine, be worth financing a few failures in order to not have to farm shadowscream components for the months it would take to get ALL the way to 250. I don't mind doing it for a few weeks. I should state that I am a level 50 shadowknight, and I have access to a cleric to help me farm.

Ramble ramble - I'm a little giddy from my smithing run today. Sorry!

What I wanted to ask was simply - when does it become a viable option to start attempting to forge that tasty Dark Prince Regent Plate Armor? I'm a casual gamer, and will never have access to some of those big skill % raising items that I've seen listed on this site. So it will be just me and my geerlok, at the forge.

Opinions? Commentary?

Thanks all for your time!
~Naelia of Saryrn

[Kronepsis]

Best time to do it is whenever you're ready.

Of course, making a Blessed Artkeeper's Tunic and a Blessed Full Mithril Breastplate in the 180s makes me a tad bit biased

[Kaysha Soulsinger]

I agree with Kronepsis: when you're ready!

I know of a guildmember who felt he was "ready" for a combine on Night Terror Chain at around 140-ish smithing skill (still got to ask if he succeeded or not ). Personally, once I start getting all components together, it starts to itch ... itch, itch, a soft voice whispering to me "combine me". And as time passes, that itch, that voice gets louder until I can't resist :P

Anyway, I felt I was ready to make my first attempts at 207 skill (had a Geerlok, so I was effective at 217). My success rate was around 20-30 percent at that time, though my sample is really small, so one success or one failure could have had large impact on that figure.

I've been making Heraldic armor as I have been skilling up. Currently my skill is at 223, and I think I've made as much as 30 pieces of Heraldic armor so far, maybe more. I also actively take on orders from people who are looking for a suit, since my success rate at current skill is between 35 to 50% (excluding a craptastic run last night - but that was really craptastic as I failed numerous trivial combines as well ... I should have stayed in bed that day ops: :P )

[Kradlum]

I had one success in 15 attempts between skill 200 and 205. Haven't tried again since.

[Ilona]

I held off until 217 skill before attempting my first Blessed Full Mithril (also for myself). I managed to make two items then. Skilled up to early 220's before attempting again, and made most of the rest of my set. Currently at 227, will make the one item I still want when I convince myself enchanting mithril is something I can handle again :P

[Eleena Transient]

At a skill of 252, I'm currently 92 / 189 on making the blue diamond armors (48.7%)

From the equation:
Percentage = (skill - (triv*.75)) + 51.5

48.7 = [252 - (triv* 0.75)] + 51.5
triv * 0.75 = 252 + 51.5 - 48.7
triv ~ 340

so, % = skill - 255 + 51.5
% = skill - 203.5

At various raw skills(assuming you have a geerlok) :

188 = rock bottom
200 = 6.5% (roughly 1 in 16)
203 = 10% (roughly 1 in 10)
217 = 25% (roughly 1 in 4)
225 = 33.3% (roughly 1 in 3)
230 = 38%
235 = 43%
240 = 48%


Use that as a guide, figure out what percentage is acceptable, and strive for it.

edit: took out incorrect data on ee rings

[OberonMiM]

I personally waited till i had my 212 base skill (from ethereal rings cause i had ironfrost)

So i had like 242 effective skill

But currently there is one person who single handedly destroyed the regent armor marked on Rallos. His stuff doesn't move (well it never moved fast anyways) so he lowered is prices TOO fast and TOO low.

So currently dark prince and regent bracers are selling for 1500 plat

Not even worth the farming of the components

[Grimina]

Just a quick note so she isn't misinformed.. You cannot skill to 220 off EE rings. They are trivial at 212.

Grimina

[Eleena Transient]

oops, got the triv and requirement backwards... I'll edit that out.

[Naelia]

Great info, thank you very much!

Appreciate your time and input!

Time to slough through to 188 this week, then off to Hollowshade (blech!) I have my little blue fingers crossed for fast farming of components. From your input, I plan on waiting til 220, so... I'm guessing that means I will get to 215, get frustrated, and try then...

Here's hoping that 260 intellect will make the skillups flow in steadily.

You guys are great!

~Naelia of Saryrn

[Rhyianna]

just an fyi, and i know hsm war is beat to death in other topics. south isles in hollowshade have traditionally yeilded more components for me. i have done 212-231 there so far.

[AmerygnMT]

Like many, I had a small stack of celestial tempers squirrelled away for "some day". Well, "some day" arrived after my last run of 100 combines took me from 200 to 204. A little shopping for velium, a little time spent with a friendly enchanter and I was ready for up to 9 Heraldic combines.

At 204 plus my geerlock (modified skill of 214 or so) I was 1 for 5 on fine heraldic bracers, then went 1 for 2 for a Salubrious Girdle for a friend.

If I were making these for sale, chances are this skill level is too low to be profitable. But 1 chance in 10 was odds I was willing to accept.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Amerygn

[Dunthor Warsmith]

I started doing the BD cultural around 210 + 5% skill. I'm currently up to 215+5% and continuing to do them, but only for my own suit. The success rate is sufficient for my own needs, but not high enough for me to make for sale. I started early because I wanted the armor, odds be ****ed :P and I'm happy with the results.

I'm (all Underfoot plate, the dwarven imbued):
2/6 bracer
1/3 legs
1/7 BP
1/2 visor
0/1 shoulders

Its pretty much a question of what probability you need. More skill means less chance of failure, but also you have to wait more. So if you can gain a few more components, earlier might work for ya, but if cash/components are tight, wait for higher skill.

[Zopharr]

I started at 242 - then again I trivialed plate before the new stuff came out. <grin>

(And had no skill-up for about 100 combines of old-style dwarven plate before the new stuff came up.)

[Kitre Halfax]

I did my first run of BD cultural (dark elf) this last weekend.
I started with a stack of BD's.
I finished with 18 sheets of infused adamantite

Results:
1/1 Breastplate (first attempt at any BD armor makes a BP woot!)
0/2 Greaves
0/6 Boots

I have 208 +5% smithing.
No skillups (****it).
255 Wisdom.