OMG, now I "Get" it

[xonbink]

Solstice robes

With 300k in the bank, and desire to GM tailoring, the only sensible way is to make solstice robes.

Find a JCM3(Jewelcraft aa) chanter friend who is 250 skill jeweler, offer some cash to make the chains - get 40 or 50 chains at once and goto town.

At your current skill, you will have roughly 1 in 10 (if you are lucky) success rates - therefore you would end up with some 400 or 500 skill up chances - expect 1 for every 40 -

the greatest cost for the robes obviosly is the chains. The silks and emeralds are of cost too, but not as great. A jcm3 250 skill jeweler will be able to make the chains for under 250 each with very few failures thereby greately reducing your cost to make them. Since the robes still fetch 400+ on many servers you will in the long run eventually start to make a profit from your efforts.

Fortunately I did this back when robes were still 1k each, and even with failures once I hit around 210 skill I was able to continue my tailoring indefinately utilizing this route.

However, the most difficult part of the solstice robes is all the combining that you must complete - there are many subcombines and you will definately need to clear out your bank to do it in the above manner- but this is definately the easiest way to do it if you have the cash to spend.

good luck

xonbink
250 halfling tailor
250 jeweler
250 fletcher

[Kulyen]

Shawl?

Are you trying to simply do the shawl, or are you trying to GM tailoring?

If it's just the shawl you want, stop trying to skill up - you're much better off simply farming the components for the shawl combine that you are burning so much money/time on raising skill.

Simply finishing Wu's is close enough for the shawl in my opinion, any further than that is simply pain you do not need.

[ockhamsrazor]

Thanks for the suggestions all. As for GM vs Shawl, I had intended to GM the skill because....I dunno, I just wanted to. :-)

I wanted the challenge, the effort, etc. On my way to GMing I had intended to get the shawl, but it is only a stop off point.

Sometimes you just have to experience something yourself, no amount of reading the primal scream posts will really make it sink home how umbelievably frusterating getting this skill to 200 is, let alone 250.

I have a totally different amount of sympathy now for people pursuing this.

[Centuri]

If you are a robe-wearing race, I would suggest going the route of LoY robes. There just isn't a better way.

If you're not... /sigh. welcome to Rockhopper land.

[Schaft]

I don't know if this will help you to decide,
but I'll just write what I did to skill up.

I was at 180 when SoL came out.
So, I did...
studded rockhopper to 188,
reinforced rockhopper, arctic wyvern, black panther, cobalt drake
and some solstice robes from there to around 240.
I was lucky enough to get a bunch of yew leaves from my guildie
for the blackpanther armor combines, and drake eggs for the
cobalt drake armor was easy to get and cheap to buy.
So from there I used mostly blackpanther and cobalt drake to skill up to 250.
Both black panther and cobalt drake armors use velium "boning"
wich makes the subcombines less and cheaper.
And also both can be sold in the bazaar for quite good price,
(at least in veeshan) to make back a part of your expence.

Only you can pick and chose what path you take
money or time, even a middle path using both by situation.
Good luck on your skilling .

Schaft =Kalavinka=
Veeshan Server
----- My Trade skills -----
250 Tailoring, Baking, JewelCraft, Brewing
232 Smithing, 222 Pottery, 225 Fletching

[Meirril]

Just a thought, if you have a friend or two thats willing to go farm Dragon Necropolis for Phase Spider Carapice (still sells well in the bazaar). While your farming them combine 2 phase spider silk (min skill 160's to combine, trivials at 220). The silk seems to be an uncommon drop. You would be able to do the entrance with a well ballanced 50's group, or duo with a 60's melee and a healer. Or solo with a 65 beast lord/paladin. Not sure about the last two but I think either one would be able to solo the dragon constructs that spawn near the entrance and agro to the zone in.

Dragon constructs are the only real danger here. You have to stand in melee range to cast on them. Also they summon. Other than that they go down fairly easy. Did I mention they agro from their spawn all the way to the zone in? Realy cuts down on soloing in DN.

[Abazagaroth]

Dragon constructs are traps in the bones, if you don't step on them they do not aggro.

Believe me, I've soloed there before when waiting for a raid as a 65 paladin, and its easy, and its a massive pain to try and get those things to spawn =P They never will pop it seems unless you are in the exact right spot.

[Abazagaroth]

Oh, and I do want to say thank you to the last poster, I didn't know those things had such a trivial. I've been 165 tailoring for a long time, ever since I got my shawl, and didn't realize those silks did that. I've been so dreading tailoring, and think I may spend a week or so in DN doing that =)

[drtyaty]

2 phase spider silk

I've read by many posters that these are extremely rare drops, making it a not so good skill up option.

[Hibashira]

Originally posted by Lladnarr
...Platinum ribbons cost 105pp each...

Hehe, 105pp per combine is cheap, considering the alternatives. Its still cheap even after you add the cost of buying the LoY dye (or forage).

[Nolrog]

I chanted the lucky chants, spun in place, did it all. ONLY 183!

Did you hop up and down on your left foot during the chants and your right foot during the spins? If not, then you missed a very vital part of the ritual.

[ockhamsrazor]

/em smacks forehead...HARD!

Was that the missing piece!

[Gwideon]

Gnomish Greetings!

RE: Dragon Necropolis

Aye, I have quad'ed the spiders for a while in order to get drops for tailoring combines. I 'd estimate the drop rate to be about 1 in 8 to 10. I got some early skill ups in the low 200s (seemed like every other combine), but now that I am 217 I have gone 20 some combines without a skill up.

The spiders start to turn light blue at 65, and the experience gain is not close to what you could get elsewhere. Drops are uncommon enough that trying to skill exclusively using this method would be very time consuming considering you need 2 per combine. However, if you want to spend some time soloing and maybe getting a drop or 2 for the bazaar, it is definately viable option in the low 200s (in my experience).