Viability of Wood Elf Cultural for Skilling Up 188 - 228 ?

[Viken]

Can anyone compare this method of skilling up with the other methods (Flawless Rockhopper, Velious Hides, Solstice Robes). I personally have no problems foraging for hours on end because I can forage during the day while working on other (non EQ related) things and then xp/raid at night. I also have a druid on a second account so I can forage twice as fast. I guess it comes down to cost of Mithril + Emeralds and rarity of Excellent Saber Tooth Hides. The druid worships Tunare so I can make imbued emeralds too.

Post 228 requires "infused mithril boning" which in turn requires Blue Diamonds which is out of the question for just trying to skill up.

[Yokatsu]

About the only difference between them is the level of risk you're willing to accept and how much time you have to devote to it.

Wood elf cultural requirements per combine:
- one foraged item [time]
- one expensive component(mithril and/or emerald) [pp]
- one dropped pelt [time] Excellent sabretooth hides drop an average of 1 in 20 kills wether in LoIO or OT. LoIO is the better choice and it is a low risk zone.

Acrylia studded/reinforced requirements per combine:
- inexpensive components(tannin and pattern) [neglible cost]
- one easy-to-make dropped component(acrylia) [time]
- one dropped pelt [time]
The rockhoppers in Dawnshroud are the best choice as they represent a medium risk, but the problem with them is that they are only up half of the time. Cavemen take over the cave the other half of the time. The other problem is that only 1 in 6 RH pelts that drop will be the one you are looking for as RH hides have several qualities (ruined/LQ/MQ/HQ/Superb/Flawless). Basically this equates to more farming time than is required for other pelts.

Velious requirements per combine:
- one foraged item [time]
- one expensive-to-make component(velium) [time and pp]
- one dropped pelt [time]
Most velious hides drop fairly regularly but the mobs are much higher level and have more hp. Higher risk for sure but not so much so if you are adequately equipped and high level.

As a wood elf, my first choice would be the cultural armor route. Though the drop rate is at best 1 in 20, you can suplement it by buying them for newbies and vendor mining at the windmill. When I was helping my druid friend raise her skill, I got to know several LoIO regulars who were more than happy to gather pelts for me to earn some plat.

My second choice would be Velious leathers, specifically haze panther armor. Though it does represent a higher risk, the pelts are much more common. In addition, you may get a little bit of exp if you arent 65, and haze panther eyes can be sold to other players for 1,000-1500pp each easily, thus allowing you to recover the costs for raising your skill.

[Bennan]

Thats a pretty good comparison, "I" (who happen to be a Halfling and therefore deal in Brute Hides) only consider the cultral recipies as a bonus for skilling up in conjunction with the normal recipies i.e rockhopper arctic etc.

I have done the "hunt" for H.Q Brute hides, and its just too time intensive, much like Wood Elf Cultral imo.

You have a druid, visit the zones that drop the pelts, and offer to buy them in auction. Many people don't have a clue if they are sellable or not (just like H.Q Brute hides), hence *MOST* of our hides rot.

I have only added my 2cp here, as from your post it seems that you are inferring using a skill up path focusing on just one set of recipies. In tailoring keeping your options open is essential to maximise your skill up's.

[Myrron]

As a wood elf, and as a tailor, I enjoy this option.

The mithril costs only 7pp or so, emeralds around 13-14 each. I tend to buy any excellent hides I see in the bazaar if they are 20pp or less. I don't mind the foraging for morning dew/oak bark, and am lucky enough to have a few guildmates donate any they get to me, too. I also leveled up in OT soloing tigers in the late 30's.

My observations: I have skilled up 4 times (171-175) on wood elf cultural. I tend to make a run every time I get a stack of hides, which seem to be the main hindrance for me. It's dirt cheap if you forage everything yourself and farm hides since that in essence makes it about 22pp per attempt for a path to 228. Even so, I enjoy using the solstice robes as a skillup path due to ease of farming. Once I hit around 200, I figure I will abandon the solstice robes and work exclusively with a mix of cultural and acrylia reinforced. I can't say it's THE way to go, but I certainly plan to use it as much as I can. Hope that helps somewhat.

--Myrron

[Shjinn]

My Perspective

My experience as a GM Wood Elf Tailor:

As with the previous poster, I'd recommend that you only use this path as a supplement to other combines. When you happen to get batches, sure try it out. But don't rely on it. Reasons:

1. Oak Bark - Using the forage/camp/forage, etc., method, I'll get perhaps 5 Oak barks an hour on average. Not a great ratio, imo. When oak barks are in Bazaar (rare), they usually sell for 25pp.
2. Excellent Sabertoooth - This is not as rare as Oak Bark, but still rare. People still hunt in LoIO and OT. But you won't get stacks of it.

I sell a piece or two of Cultural every few days. I'm always scanning the airwaves and Bazaar for Oak Bark and Excellent Sabertooth. I can tell ya, it's not always easy getting them. I am willing to forage for a few Oak Barks, but killing 80 tigers for 2 to 3 hides is not a happy thing to do.

But...i do have 2 people who give me tells when they get more Hides. I'd recommend you pass through these zones and let all of them know that you are looking and give you a tell whenever they get one. You could get a steady supply this way.

Good Luck.

Shjinn

[Marteeny]

- one dropped pelt [time] Excellent sabretooth hides drop an average of 1 in 20 kills wether in LoIO or OT. LoIO is the better choice and it is a low risk zone.

Is it just me or is this far from correct?

I hunted in Loio from 20-28 and in OT from 33-40. In that time, I probably killed at least 500-600 saber/sabretooth tigers. They dropped a total of 6 excellent sabertooth hides. It was actually kind of odd. I got them in groups of three. There was one day in LoIO that I had 3 drop within a couple hours, and one day in OT when the same thing happened. Never saw one inbetween those times.

Maybe I just had bad luck as well, but from my experience, the drop rate was more like 1/100.

Marteeny
46 Enchanter
Vazaelle

[Lilosh]

The main roadblock, for this halfling guy, is Acorn Oil.


Misty Acorns are a ground spawn, and a rare forage. I have 16 HQ Brute hides in the bank, and I CAN NOT bring myself to go get those darn oil.


*shrug* Plains Pebbles aren't too bad, since I sometimes cleanse NK of Hill giants, and collect Wild Cabbage and Plains Pebbles.


But Acorns = TEH DEBIL. And I have heard oak bark is the same, if not worse.


-Lilosh

[Viken]

I have only added my 2cp here, as from your post it seems that you are inferring using a skill up path focusing on just one set of recipies. In tailoring keeping your options open is essential to maximise your skill up's.

This is because it was a goal of mine to gather all the components myself so if one method proves to be more time-efficient then there is no point in hopping around and farming all sorts of animals.

If the drop rate is really 1 in 100 then I would have to kill 100 (tigers) x 15 (combines / skill up) x (40 skill ups) = 60,000 Tigers in order to get from 188 to 228... which is simply impossible.

[Lilosh]

15 combines / skillup is a pipe dream.

Especially in that hell range.


More like 20-30.


-Lilosh

[Bennan]

Yes, 15 combines per skillup is only for those that are sleeping/dating/married to the RNG. 20 to 30 is more the norm as Lilosh pointed out. I am just grabbing anything I can for a skillup, for myself.

Pay a visit to F.V every few days, you will pick up the odd Excellent hide as well, from the merchants.

Lilosh,

I have about 200 hundred odd Acorn Oils, I just buy them in the bazaar, or auction for them in Misty normal price is around 10pp each.

[Chenier]

Yes, 15 combines per skillup is only for those that are sleeping/dating/married to the RNG.

Quit giving away my secrets! /wink =)

[Bennan]

Haha I knew IT !

[Shjinn]

Reminds me...

Of a song..."Sleeping with the Devil"



Chenier, I demand you stop sleeping with our hated/loved RNG god. We have some loving to give also. Share! :twisted:

Shjinn

[Rendlin]

This is just an opinion from personal experience but I have seen a much better rate of skill ups using Wood elf cultural over other methods. Wood Elf cultural has given me approx 1 skill up per 10-15 attempts, where Raptor studded/reinforced seems about 1 in 20-25, Velious about 1 in 25-30 and Solstice Robes 1 in 35-40. Like I said, I don't have statistical data to back up my claims, more of an observation going from 168 to my current level of 226. I have kept track of how many skill ups each point has taken me during that time but not the specific make up of the skill up attempts. Almost all of my skill ups where it took single didget attempts to get the point were when I was doing Wood elf cultural. Most of the times it took me 80-120 attempts to get the skill up were when I was doing Robes/Velious/Raptor.

Recently on Innoruuk, Excellent Sabertooth hides have went from 25-30pp each to 150-200pp each in the bazaar. Not sure who raised their price for others to follow or why they decided to they should sell for more and I really don't know who is buying them to keep them at that inflated price. I still buy a lot of them at 30-40pp each by traveling to LoIO and Overthere and /auctioning. Almost every time I go there and /auction I get at one person who replies with, "I just destroyed them/sold them to vendor and didn't know they were worth anything".

Rendlin

[Viken]

Rendlin - this can be explained by the fact that the trivial for wood elf cultural is 228 whereas all the other combines you mention are trivial well above 250. You have a better chance of skillups on a success as opposed to a failure.