Crafting Questions

[Abilge]

I wasn't sure if this was the right area to post this, but I must know more about crafting.

Does the max lock with your character level? Is creating Cultural armor worth the time? I'm a 31 Cleric still trapped wearing bronze and ring mail, which compared to everyone I group with, seems pathetic, I know.

So I want to create some brell armor which is either hopefully lighter or adds some str so I can avoid encumbrance when grabbing bronze and FS weapons to vendor.

As such there's much I need to know about crafting and the wiki isn't telling me this stuff very well.

[Daywolf]

No, a lvl1 can max crafting. First one over 200, the rest cap at 200.
Hmmm... personal pref if cultural is worth it. For tailored armor, I say certainly. For plate, depends. Human smiths have the best selection, but other races might have something worth the time depending on what you want. Otherwise just buy it, since it's expensive to make counting the leveling and material, then the huge amount of time and foot work. Chances are, if you have the money to raise crafting, you have the money to just buy armor, and at less cost overall. Crafting is for people that like to craft. I recommend crafting though, if you like crafting. It's better here than in any new game out there imo.

[Eresimus]

Yeah, there's not an obvious place for a thread like this...

As Daywolf already said, crafting in EQ is very much a matter of personal preference and generally not essential to your character's progress. Sounds like you have a mid-level dwarf cleric, so if you were to really go for it, it would be Blacksmithing that you would want to take above 200. To be successful, you're going to need a couple wheelbarrows of plat and a couple friends to help with some recipes (brewing and enchanting come to mind).

Personally, if I had one major criticism of crafting in EQ, it's that it isn't something that you can do to help with your adventuring. Particularly with your first/main character, the gear that you find while you're out leveling and raising coin will tend to be noticeably better than anything you can make for yourself. (Baking your own food may be an exception.) Daywolf is right: "if you have the money to raise crafting, you have the money to just buy armor" - particularly on a server with a mature economy.

So it comes down to how you want to play and what you enjoy. I love the satisfaction that comes from crafting. My paladin had a smithing skill of 25 when she was adventure level 3. I'll craft as I go, even though it can be frustrating, unrewarding and waste of plat; I'm dumb like that. If you don't already know about it, things like the Coldain Prayer Shawl quests might help you see crafting in a more favorable light.

[RDawg816]

Alchemy is the only tradeskill that is level-capped.

[Shodo]

To give you an idea of price, a set of imbued dwarven plate runs anywhere from 10-15k platinum depending on slots and how complete a set you want. Raising your smithing high enough to craft it yourself costs... well, it depends. If you put in the time and effort to farm things like spiderling silk and animal pelts yourself, you could probably do it for under 5k platinum (just to level it, not including making the dwarven plate) with a decent wisdom score. However, for the time involved, you would be better off just grouping in dungeons with upgrades that can drop for you from a time/money/efficiency perspective. But if crafting is your thing, there's nothing more fulfilling than making your own. Just be prepared for a lengthy detour from leveling.

[elwing]

keep in mind that you will need to sell truckload of armor to cover your cost... and that if you just want a set for yourself you can buy it from someone. if you pickup tradeskill do it because you want to do it, for the sake of getting one armor it do not worth it at all. tradeskilled armor is correct, but nowhere near high-end gear (and I'm not talking about raid no drop item, just EC buyable stuff...). cultural armor is really decent at 30, at 60 that's something else....

[Trungep99]

id recommend for you to do the quested Cleric armorfrom temple of Sol Ro or run to Karnors Castle and wait for no drop armor to drop (Jarsath armor) . it is all no drop and rarely does anyone want to loot it, it rots all day long, sometimes you would have to make yourself known for the groups in the zone to announce a drop that is rotting.

[Abilge]

I guess I'm just desperate to be out of bronze because at even before lvl 30, people had shinier armor with actual stats and that made me feel like I'd be a bit of a burden.

The other half is that bronze is heavy. Even with my bags empty of vendor trash and all my money banked, I'm still about 20 lbs from encumbered. As a cleric, dropped agility isn't too big a deal, but still, having more strength or lighter yet stronger armor never hurts.

[Shodo]

Definitely always nice to have shinier armor, but don't let bronze make you feel less useful in a group. No matter what armor you're wearing, you still heal for the same amount. Having some extra max mana really only helps if shit hits the fan and you have to burn a full mana bar - strength shouldn't come into play at all for grouping, othe than hauling loot. If you're having trouble carrying stuff, then as painful as it may sound, switch back to banded for some pieces to lighten the load. Being under 75 agi from encumbrance will be a bigger hit to your AC than wearing banded instead of bronze.
That said, if you want shinier armor w/o spending a fortune, try questing your Sol Ro armor pieces (as suggested above). If you have a druid/wizard friend to help with travel they shouldn't take too long, and it's a fun/mostly free option.

[Swish]

Most groups are grateful to have a cleric, whatever they're wearing