can you skill up research via combine?

[Videri]

Originally Posted by korilla [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

i've heard conflicting reports. those who said yes though didn't confirm by experience.

The answer is yes, and I can confirm by experience on P99. You can gain skill from a non-trivial research combine. If you had a big surplus of research components for non-trivial combines, you could totally use it to boost your skill.

However, due to the way research skill caps work, you could only use this to catch your research skill up if you fell behind on practicing it. Since we get research at 16 and it's capped at (level-15)*5, spells for one's current level will require higher research skill than one can possibly have.

As a result, if you're level 20 and doing level 20 research combines, you won't get skillups because the skill cap is too low; whereas if you are level 30 or something and you haven't bothered to raise Research skill, you could do level 20 and 24 combines for skillups. Probably not level 29 spells, though. Perhaps this is the source of the confusion regarding raising research skill via combines. It IS possible, but the skill cap messes you up.

The bottom line is, if you're level 20 and you want a level 20 spell, you should have it made by a much higher-level player with high research skill.

And if you're raising Research skill, for the sake of your own sanity, you'll probably want to dump points into it at your trainer. Research can be raised as high as you like at the trainer, as it is not subject to the 21-point limit placed on normal tradeskills.

Help this hopes?