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When I first started playing EQ, almost two years ago, I was immediately drawn into trade skills. Before my druid was a week old he was making bear sandwiches, hammering out metal bits and slicing open spiderlings to harvest their silks. My trade skills grew as my character did, at the same agonizingly slow rate, becoming harder and more expensive to practice. Never having much money my trade skills often went ignored for long periods of time. But after almost two years Halas pies have finally become trivial, brewing and pottery have hit 200 and I’m in the 130 range in tailoring and smithing.
Then, with the breakup of my guild, I started playing my kitty shaman. So naturally he had to master most trade skills too. Because of my knowledge of the game he rose in level very quickly. Now he’s in his 52nd season and has a couple of K plat in the bank. He reached 248 brewing fairly easily, no big surprise, and managed to get his brewing trophy. But I was in for a surprise when I started tailoring.
My only experience with beginning tailoring was as a young character spending months and months trying to reach my goal of 100 skill. This time it was a bit different. Out of boredom one day I took my puppy out hunting in East Karana and Marus Seru. So I had a few supplies in the bank. This morning I had a few minutes before I had to head to work so I logged in and did some tailoring combines. Even having to make the heady kiola I went from a tailoring skill of 33 to 88 in half an hour. That was with four stacks of silk swatches and one stack of greyhopper hides. My jaw almost hit the ground. It took my newbie druid, who rarely had two plats to rub together, months to get that far.
I just never realized how much difference having both experience in the craft and a high level character really made. A few coins in the bank doesn’t hurt either. I’ll hunt a few more greyhoppers and cats and I bet I’ll hit 115 skill the same day. Then I can fairly easily gather silks in Crystal Caverns, assuming they aren’t camped, and hit 131 skill with very little effort. Even as I type this I’m still in shock at how easily I can now reach this skill level. It almost seems like cheating somehow.
Then, with the breakup of my guild, I started playing my kitty shaman. So naturally he had to master most trade skills too. Because of my knowledge of the game he rose in level very quickly. Now he’s in his 52nd season and has a couple of K plat in the bank. He reached 248 brewing fairly easily, no big surprise, and managed to get his brewing trophy. But I was in for a surprise when I started tailoring.
My only experience with beginning tailoring was as a young character spending months and months trying to reach my goal of 100 skill. This time it was a bit different. Out of boredom one day I took my puppy out hunting in East Karana and Marus Seru. So I had a few supplies in the bank. This morning I had a few minutes before I had to head to work so I logged in and did some tailoring combines. Even having to make the heady kiola I went from a tailoring skill of 33 to 88 in half an hour. That was with four stacks of silk swatches and one stack of greyhopper hides. My jaw almost hit the ground. It took my newbie druid, who rarely had two plats to rub together, months to get that far.
I just never realized how much difference having both experience in the craft and a high level character really made. A few coins in the bank doesn’t hurt either. I’ll hunt a few more greyhoppers and cats and I bet I’ll hit 115 skill the same day. Then I can fairly easily gather silks in Crystal Caverns, assuming they aren’t camped, and hit 131 skill with very little effort. Even as I type this I’m still in shock at how easily I can now reach this skill level. It almost seems like cheating somehow.
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