Cost to 200...

[Cyrillia]

Hiya Guys,

Just wondered if anyone could give me a rough idea on how much cash I could expect to spend on getting my smithing to 200. I was planning on the following:

Utensils to ~80-90.
Embroidery Needles to 122.
Cultural needles to 132.
Fier'dal Fletching Kits to 163. (I'm using my WE druid.)
FP to 188.
Shadowscream Gaunts to 200.

I don't have unlimited platinum (do any of us! :? ) so any advice would be much appreciated... Any suggestions for alterations to my plan would be great too!

Cyr.

[Cyrillia]

Add...

Oops! Should've mentioned that I always tradeskill with my wis maxed out at 255 and a geerlok as I've heard the chances of a skill-up are greater from a success.

Cyr.

[Kradlum]

Don't know the costs, but I think you would be better off doing Shadowscream Gorgets, as I think the Gorget molds are the cheapest (not 100% sure) and the trivial is lower so you may get more skill ups (or you may not, depending on the RNG and superstition).

[Velurian]

Re: Cost to 200...

Utensils to ~80-90.
Embroidery Needles to 122.
Cultural needles to 132.
Fier'dal Fletching Kits to 163. (I'm using my WE druid.)
FP to 188.
Shadowscream Gaunts to 200.

You may want to check out Zeralenn's excellent smithing guide (do a search for "Economical Smith" in this forum, I think that's the title), which includes costs per combine for many of these, along with some information on what you might expect to spend getting to some of these milestones. But as a first approximation, I'd guess:

less than 100p to get to 90
a small net profit to get to 132 (Cultural needles actually sell back for more than cost of components, if you farm the "cultural ingredient" yourself, and this will likely make up for the money you sink into the embroidery needles, as long as you make your own celestial essences)
not at all sure how much to 163 -- I have no experience making the kits, but they're supposed to be cheap...
1k to 3k to get from 163 to 188 -- you'll be avoiding the worst part of FP by using the fletching kits, by this time, you should expect relatively low failure rates, and if you farm and make your own padding, you'll get off pretty cheap. If you buy padding (or buy components for padding and then make it), this will be considerably more.
practically nothing from 188 to 200 -- virtually all of the pieces for shadowscream are farmed, you need to buy the molds, but they're cheap.

So I'd say you can possibly get to 200 for under 3k, as long as you're willing to do a bit of farming. (The fletching kits, I've heard, are VERY nice for holding down prices during what would be a fairly expensive stretch.)

[Ariene]

I made it to 162 for 1k and I think it would have been less if I hadn't done as much ornate which you intend to skip.

[Myrron]

The cultural needles will ultimately pay for your previous expenses, so you can assume you'll start at 0 money lost at a skill of 132.

Each kit is about 8pp more or less, depending on charisma. Resale is 9 copper; I just dumped them and let newbies pick them up. I got around 2-4 skillups per 10 kits (i.e. 2-4 skillups per 80pp) on average with less wisdom than you have. Esitmated cost from 132-163: loss of 700pp total.

At 163, your success rate with FS is already quite high. I farmed my padding. I lost a little less than 2k total from 163 to 188; most of the losses began when I started breastplates since each failed combine is 3 ore and a mold gone.

I never have bothered with shadowscream; my remaining skillups came from combining stuff for guildies. So I don't know what mold costs and other costs are involved with it.

I figure I lost around 2500pp - 3000pp total up to 188. Maybe a bit less; I'm overestimating my kit losses. I never did hit any heck levels though, so take the estimate for what it's worth. Good luck!

--Myrron

[Sanna]

Re: Add...

'heck levels', that's cute. ^_^

... and a geerlok as I've heard the chances of a skill-up are greater from a success.

As long as we're doing hearsay, i have hearsay that such hearsay is nothing but hearsay myth. You'd be surprised at how many skillups i get on failures (the kind where its 'plzplzplz either succeed, or if you're gonna fail at least give me a skillup... here i go, hitting combine now....')

hm, just did a pottery run from 54 to 82... i'd say about half skillup on success, half on failure... though maybe slightly more on failure. but that's what i get for being in pok. Altho i did get a skillup to 83 on blue diamond powder, so you might be right.

i guess all of my late night rambling just means: until someone comes up with a mathematical formula about skilling up on successes versus failure, plz don't consider that as much more than simple hearsay. the RNG is the cruelest mistress, etc.


as for the real point of your post: your plan looks nifty. WE fletching kits help. i am going to C+P your plan and print it so i can order mine like it. ^_^

good luck with your combines. ^_^

[Reflan]

I'm always amazed to hear of people trying expensive combines(like blue diamond powder, or Tae Ew armor and weapons) at low levels. I'd be way too scared to get a failed combine and lose my own or somebody's stuff.

[Cyrillia]

Thanks for all the hints and tips guys!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Cyr.

PS, Thanks for the geerlok info Sanna - I didn't know whether it was myth or real and as my wis was 255 without needing wis in my primary I sorta thought it'd help with successes so I could sell back and recover a few costs. Glad you liked my plan!

[Naelia]

Just throwing in my 2 cents... I did:

Utensils to ~80-90.
Embroidery Needles to 122.
Cultural needles to 132.
FP to 187.
(I also crafted myself a set of Enchanted Tier'Dal Adamantite Plate on that 187th point)

and now will probably do Shadowscream Collars to further skill up.

My smithing career has cost me about 3500 plat total, but I also have a full set of fashionable racial armor to show for it.

Side note: I farmed my own padding.

Regards,
Naelia, 50 ShadowKnight of Saryrn

[Morani]

I've heard the chances of a skill-up are greater from a success

As long as we're doing hearsay, i have hearsay that such hearsay is nothing but hearsay myth.

I have a theory on how the myth got started and why it's still perpetuated. Simply put, it LOOKS like they are related when you are trying to skill up in runs. The closer you are to the trivial, the more often you'll succeed, Given. The closer you are to the trivial, the faster your skill-ups come, also given. SO, when you are doing a run you see the number of successes increasing AND the frequency of skill-ups goes up at a parallel rate.

A VERY important thing to remember about statistics and studies is that a correlation does NOT prove a direct connection nor does it let us know what is the dominate feature if there IS a direct connection. If you put a new type of birdseed in a feeder and notice that your favorite bird isn't showing up anymore you might conclude that the bird doesn't like the new food. Logical but you'd get the same results if the neighbor's cat ate the bird and that has nothing to do with the food. Just as a roster's call does not summon the sun even though it calls just before the sunrise every single morning.

[Bennan]

*IF*, you are of a level sufficent to gather humming orb components from Hollowshade Moor, and *IF* you are of a level sufficent to gather Swirling Shadows from Twilight Sea. From skill 188 to 200, you will gain enough money (plus items for resale) to cover all costs.

Someone else posted a query about skilling up on Humming Orbs from 120 to 168. That "could" be an acceptable path, and the Perfect Owlbear Pelts you gather from that experience if sold could easily cover your costs of skilling up on Fine Plate.