Skillup advise for a noob.

[Annu]

This question is about tradeskills in general, but about smithing in specific.

I have recently managed to gather myself about 2000 plat recently, and was about to go on another round of *melt the plat down the forge* when I started thinkin about my *relatively* pathetic INT. I have managed to get my smithing up to 152 with my 140 int, but I was wondering if it might be best to spend that money on some int gear instead. Keep in mind, if I did this, most of that gear would sit in my vault takin up space when I am not tradeskilling, because I like the max duration fears and charms I get from my high charisma to give up points in that while adventuring (I'm an enchanter, lvl 31).

So, what do you all think?

Blow the money on FS plate combines now, or buy a bunch of INT gear, and get more money and work it later?

Annu.

PS: I also have skill in nearly every other tradeskill, and plan on eventually GMing them all... lots of AA points there...

[Myrron]

Many people have a set of "tradeskill gear" that they use specifically when trying to get skillups, so that's not too unusual.

I'd probably go for the gear, especially if you're planning to GM other trades later. The 2k you spend now will likely be made up when you don't have to do as many attempts (and thus, lose money) to skill-up. My personal opinion, though. You could always get one or two pieces of gear, skill-up, repeat as you get more money, too.

--Myrron

[Koutarou]

I would actually recommend against going for gear that's not regularly wearabout specifically for tradeskilling, unless you're a non-caster class.

Caster classes will naturally progress towards regular adventuring equipment that will also favor tradeskill usage, so I'd think about investing in something that's *also* a regular upgrade (maybe not int/wis at all costs, but something with lesser int/wis *and* mana/ac/hp and maybe cha in the OPs case).

[Jonwin]

I am one of those melee classes mentioned and I have been gathering the odd piece of wisdom gear for my tradeskill. Course with str being used in Smith skill ups as well, I often find my general gear upgrades will help as well. As does the passing friendly caster with a str buff.

I second what has been said, since you are an caster, as you improve your belongings as you level you should see an increase in your stats. Just keep and eye out for the cheaper piece or two that has higher intell than what you currently wear.

[Xorshaik]

I basicly just stuck with what I could get under 500pp.. Maybe get a few 100pp pieces if they can give you boosts of 5 int each or something along those lines.

[Annu]

Also muddying the water a bit are focus effects.

Examples: I use a Chrysoberyl Talisman because it has Affliction Haste II on it. Makes just about every spell I cast in combat go off real fast, but has no int boost (or cha boost, for that matter).

I think I'm just going to go for a few cheap pieces, possibly at neck and belt - places where I have focus effects with no int - and then break down and do the faction work I need to do the Stein of Moggok quest (which I have already started... not an easy thing for my inny-worshipping self.)

Anyway, thanks for the advise, those who posted.

Annu

[Xorshaik]

It's handy that you can input your class, race and choose your stat in the bazaar. That's what I did, then I did a sort by the stat, which is good for finding the highest +stat item, then seeing what's most affordable at the best gain.. And a good way can also be to use the pricing limitations. Handy little features I never otherwise have used )

[Saleani]

Here is my profile for tradeskilling. Yes, I put a lot of effort into finding the quest, dropped and tradeskilled items that got me from a naked wis of 85 up to 253 unbuffed. It makes some tradeskilling skill up rates a lot closer to reasonable. Yes, I have one whole container in the bank devoted to my tradeskill gear. Just like I have a bag of stuff devoted to resist gear that I carry with me.

As an enchanter, most of the gear that you will be looking for ( +int items) are items that you will be wearing normally.

http://www.magelo.com/eq_view_profile.html?num=64207

[Garulf]

To get those final 2 points of wis, switch your hands to Shissar Scale Gauntlets. You could hunt them yourself in the Grey, or just buy a set in the bazaar.

[Naito]

Splurge... but within reason.

It's amazing how much "second tier" type equipment, only a point or two off from "state of the art", that you can get for cheap.

For int/wis casters, my strategy would be to buy items only if they were (a) cheap, or (b) an honest upgrade that you'd use normally. "Cheap" is intentionally subjective, though.

One or two points of int won't kill you (even if it is the difference between 253 and 255), but 10-30 points may well be noticable over the long run.

Naito
swiss army bard of Xev

[KyrosKrane]

I was faced with a similar dilemma recently. For me, the choice finally came down to whether I would end up spending more on the WIS gear or the components for attempts.

Since I'm working on mastering all the skills (I still haven't decided which to grand-master), I figure anything that increases my WIS by a few points is a good thing. So, I started hunting for cheapie WIS increases in the bazaar.

I now have a 10-slot bag full of WIS gear in the bank, and several additional pieces that I wear full-time. I must have spent 2-3K on WIS gear, but given the cost of high-level smithing and tailoring, I figure I can save multiple times that on components. In addition, my combat skills have been rising like crazy thanks to the new WIS enhancements on my combat gear.

Having said that, I can still only raise my WIS to 202 with a KEI. Can't find anything more efficient at my budget.

Long and short of it is, it depends on your budget and your needs. If you just want to work on GM'ing, say, baking (which is not too hard to do with a majority of cheap store-bought components), then no, it's not worth it. If you're working on smithing (which you obviously are) or other expensive-to-raise skills, then set a budget for yourself and go for it.