Choosing a Craft (for Solo Characters, for Alts)

[Amrun]

[/b][/u][/ul]
This article is not short - but it's not "long", either, and each sub-section is short, and you only have to read the stuff for your Class(es). It's a handful of minutes that will give you all you need to know for the rest of the game, for the life of your Character. Choosing a Craft has several considerations - if you want the short answer, read only the first part - if you want a complete answer, read the whole thing.

If you want a short, quick and dirty answer, or if you plan to have only one character for the foreseeable future, you can just skip down to the blue One Character, One Class:One Craft section, and pick one that jumps out at you - done.

If you will have more than 1 Character - especially for Free-to-Play with only 2 Characters - you'll do better to read the whole thing. There are pairs of Crafts that work better together, and can get you more than just picking the two "obvious" ones.

But, again, if you want the "quick and dirty" for 2 Characters, read the blue section for your 2 classes, make some (mental) notes, then jump further down to the Purple Pairs - pick one, and enjoy.


For now, if it's all just too much to decide yet, you won't go wrong with Explorer, which includes Forester (woods and leathers), Prospector (ores/gems), and Tailor (Light/Medium Armours)*. Explorer is great to start with, and can change to a couple other good Craft choices later without losing everything**. Even if you make a radical change later, until then you can offer the ore/gems/wood and optional items (brimstone, whetstones, flax, resin) on the Auction House or /Trade channel, just vendor it - or, better, help your Crafting kinsfolk with it!

(* If you want, maybe make some simple light/medium armour for yourself, or at least a cloak if you use heavy armour. Even Captains, Champions and Guardians can't use Heavy Armour until Level 15-20, so Tailor is the Craft for Armour for all lowbies, and Explorer is best for Tailor. Craft-critted clothing will be better armour than anything you find in loot, and even non-crit is often a big improvement. If you have 28 Light Hides, an Explorer can Craft a complete set of 6 pieces of Minimum-Level 7 light or medium armour + a cloak (4 hides/finished item at that MinLvl), and then change to something else if you want.)

Better to go with ''something'' now than nothing - no benefit in waiting, no real loss to flushing it all and changing later.

(**Explorer translates very well to Armourer, slightly less well to Yeoman, or, even less so, to several others.)

---

[/u][/b][/ul]
Well, maybe you don't, maybe you shouldn't! But I'll tell you why you might want to...

Crafting gets you the best possible gear until you reach high-level content*. It can help you and your kin be stronger questers. It can provide a spark for role playing, and add depth to your character. And even if all you do is sell raw or finished materials on the AH (Auction House), it can add significantly to your income!

[/u] gear, while drop-loot is not only weaker, it's also completely random. If you are a "melee" character and looking for Might, or a "spell-caster" and looking for Will, only a very few drop items will fit your needs. There are easily over a dozen stats* that might be attached to a found item, and all those Rings of Fate and Hats of Out-of-Combat-Power-Regeneration and 2-Handed Clubs of Morale just aren't the same as having exactly what you want, and plenty of it.

Crafting is how you get your best gear until high-level content, period.)[/i]

(*Might, Agility, Will, Vitality, Fate, Out-of-Combat AND In-Combat Morale- AND Power-Regen, Resistance(s), Mitigation(s), plus others.)[/ul]But this advice is, admittedly, only with regards to the ''game'' side of Lotro, not the Role Play side. If you want your Hobbit to be a master Cook or your metal-clad Champion to be a Tailor, despite any ''game'' considerations, then DO IT. And if you don't want to Craft, then DON'T! There is only one ''right'' way to play the game, and that's the way that makes you happy!

Also, for now, this advice is directed only to ''you'' - don't worry about what the Kin needs right now, not at first - anything will be helpful, and anything else can be covered by someone if we have to. For now, help yourself, get solid, and we'll worry about helping others later (but thanks!). The important part is getting your character(s) established...


This article will be broken into multiple parts:

• Basics of Crafting
  
• Good Crafts for each Class - simple approach
  
• Combinations of Crafts for multiple alts: a more detailed examination for those interested in such.
  
• Lastly: the Jack-of-all-Trades Option - dabble in all, reap the quick rewards, then decide

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[/b][/u][/ul]Terminology:
(This is the only ''technical'' part of this article - bear with me...)

In Crafting, there are 7 "Vocations" to choose from. Each Vocation has 3 "Professions", which are technically your chosen ''Crafts''. Casually, in /chat or the (Lotro or Kin) Forums, either of these can be termed ''your Craft''. When someone asks "What's your Craft?", you can answer with "Explorer" (the Vocation) or "Tailor, Forester and Prospector" (the Professions). Both approaches work, both are fine.

• 1 Vocation (like "Explorer") = 3 Professions (like "Tailor")

So a Vocation is what you pick, the 3 Professions are what you actually Craft with. </game terminology>


Each actual Craft (Profession) is either Gather or Production - those are pretty self-explanatory. However, the Gather do sometimes need to process the raw materials into something useful - hides into leather, logs into planks, ore into metal ingots - before the Production Craft can use them. There are 10 Crafts total - 3 Gather, 6 Production, and 1 that is both.

"Gather" Professions:

[/b]* - raw foods
o Forester - wooden planks, leathers
o Prospector - metal ingots, gems
o (Scholar) - scholar stuff[/ul](*Farmers grow crops, but anyone can gather wild Foods they stumble across, such as strawberries, rhubarb or green onions. However, Farmers do find randomly occurring foods more easily if they choose to look for them. These found-foods cannot be eaten - they must be Cooked to provide any benefit.)

[/i][/ul]However, for choosing a Craft, the 7 Production Crafts are all you really care about - that's the ''end product'', the gear/items that the character will use, that will help them through quests.

"Production" Professions - primary product:

[/b]: Light & Medium (leather) Armours, and Cloaks. Everyone needs a cloak, and all need light or medium armour (except for Captains*/Champions*/Guardians*).

o Armourer: Heavy (metal) Armour for Captains*, Champions*, and Guardians*. All Shields. Also bonus Crafting Tools (for all Crafts).

o Weaponsmith: Metal Weapons**

o Woodworker: Ranged weapons & wooden weapons** (inc. bows, javelins, staffs, & spears). Also (later) Minstrel's instruments.

o Jeweller: Jewellery (oddly enough). Everyone needs 7 pieces: 2 earrings, 1 necklace, 2 bracelets, 2 rings.

o Cook, &...
o Scholar: 2 different but very similar Crafts that produce Various Consumables, like scrolls or potions, that give a bonus to stats/combat/actions for a limited time.

(* Guardians rely on cloth Armour (Tailors) until Level 15; Captains & Champions rely on cloth Armour (Tailors) until Level 20.)
(**Wooden vs. metal weapons - Basic DPS (damage per second) is the same at the same Minimum Level for both Crafted wooden and Crafted metal weapons. No diff between wood/metal for damage in Lotro. Found/loot/drop weapons can vary, but until mid-high levels are all inferior to the best Crafted weapons of the same level.)[/ul]Btw, each of these Crafts actually produces more than just that - for example, Class-specific items and decorations to be used in houses - but these are the core, the important parts. More details down later if you want.


Now, here's the important part: every Production Craft needs a source for the Raw Materials it uses. If the matching Gather & Production Crafts are found in the same Vocation, then that Production is "supported" by that one Character - that one character Gathers and Produces without any assistance, all good. But, if Vocation has a 2nd Production and no Gather Craft for that, it has a dependency, is not self sufficient in that Craft, and must rely on some outside source for their usable materials - the Auction House (expensive), the /Trade channel (random), Kin connections (good), the kindness of strangers (um...) - or (best) a second character.

To be clear - an unsupported Production is not a deal-breaker - but that Craft is 100% dependent on some outside source for their raw materials.

So - if you can put two Characters together (two Players who work together, or two Alts of your own), it's possible to choose their Vocations so the two of them can, together, support 3 or even 4 Production Crafts. Each does their own supported Craft, and one (or both) supports an additional Craft in the other - bonus!


In this first section we'll talk about choosing a single Craft for a single Character, but then in the next section we'll move on to those pairs and combinations of crafts that work well together.

---

[/i][/color] Character:[/u][/b][/ul](Note - 1 Character can only cover 1 Production Craft by themselves, without depending on anyone else - that's just the way the Craft choices work. So if you will only have 1 Character, you simply want to choose the single "best" fit.

It's possible to have 2 Characters cover 3 or even 4 Production Crafts between them, but choosing a combination of Vocations for 2 or more Characters, so the Professions all work together, is more complex - for that, first read this, and then read on to the next section...)


There are 3 parts to finding a "best" fit for a single Character and a Vocation (3 Crafts):

1) One we just talked about - that it's best to have your Production Craft supported within your Vocation. Now, for any Production Craft, there is only 1 Vocation that provides a supporting Gather Craft for that production - so if you are locked on your preferred Craft, the options are limited.

B) Another part we talked about at the very beginning of this article - you. If you feel strongly one way or another, go with it. "This above all, to thine own self be true..." Be Happy with your choice.

III) The last is purely a gaming consideration, but an essential one. When choosing a "best" Craft for one Character (or more than one, but hold that thought), you want to choose something that your Character(s) will need, and will need to replace often. Similarly, if your character doesn't (primarily) ''rely'' on that one piece of gear - melee weapons for ranged/casters, or a ranged weapon for a melee class - that type of item may not be the highest priority. Also, if several pieces are going to be replaced (armour or jewelry, for example), those might be harder to all find than a single piece (e.g. one bow, one spear, one staff). Lastly, if the item is only improved upon once every "many" levels, you have time to find that for your character - for example, while jewelry and armour offers upgrades every couple/few levels, Minstrel's instruments only improve in Crafting every 10 levels - you hang on to one for quite a while.

If you're unsure about your Class gear, here's the Wiki Article: lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Equipment

No Craft will be "useless" to any Class or Character, but some are more obviously, directly and broadly helpful. (It's not hard if you have only 1 character, but if choosing a second (or third, or...) Craft, finding one to dovetail with the existing one can invite more consideration...)

(Quick Choice - One Character, One Class: One Craft! - If you don't care to analyze the whole thing, or plan to have only one character, just pick one that jumps out at you - done. If you don't mind reading just a little, skim the short "Basics of Crafting" section, above, to understand why these are the best choices for you. If you plan to have more than one Character and don't mind reading, or are just curious, then your options can be improved if you keep reading...)

[/u] Classes: [/b][/color]
o Jeweller: Everyone wears Jewellery! (Tinker)
o Cook: Everyone can use bonus foods! (Yeoman)
o Scholar: Everyone can use bonus potions & scrolls! (Historian)
(...and, less so...)
o Tailor: everyone wears Cloaks! (That's 1/7 of your clothing/armour) (Explorer)
o Metalsmith: every Crafter can use 3 bonus Crafting Tools. (Armourer)

Burglar:
o Tailor for Medium Armour & Burglar's kits (Explorer)
o Weaponsmith for metal Weapons* (Armsman)

Captain:
o Metalsmith for Heavy Armour, Shields (15) (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons* (Armsman)
o Woodworker for Clubs*, Hammers*, Spears (10) (Woodsman)

Champion:
o Metalsmith for Heavy Armour, Shields (15) (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons* (Armsman)
o Woodworker for Clubs*, Hammers*, Spears (10), Bows (20) (Woodsman)
o Jeweller for Champion's Runes (Tinker)

Guardian:
o Metalsmith for Heavy Armour, Shields (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons* (Armsman)
o Woodworker for Clubs*, Hammers*, Spears (10), Bows (30) (Woodsman)

Hunter:
o Tailor for Medium Armour (Explorer)
o Woodworker for Bows**, Clubs*, Hammers* (Woodsman)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons*, Traps (15) (Armsman)

LoreMaster:
o Tailor for Light Armour (Explorer)
o Woodworker for Staff (a LM's only weapon until high-level) (Woodsman)

Minstrel:
o Tailor for Light Armour (Explorer)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons* (Armsman)
o Woodworker for Instruments, clubs* (Woodsman)
o Metalsmith for Shields (20) (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)

Rune Keeper:
o Jeweller for Rune Stones (Tinker)
o Tailor for Light Armour, Rune Keeper Satchels (Explorer)
o Metalsmith for RuneKeeper's Chisels (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)

Warden:
o Tailor for Medium Armour (Explorer)
o Woodworker for Spear, Javelin (Woodsman)
o Weaponsmith for Metal Weapons* (Armsman)
o Metalsmith for Warden's Shields (& Crafting Tools) (Armourer)

And, to repeat -
o Any Class can use Jeweller!
o Any Class can use Scholar!
o Any Class can use Cook!

(And choose the quick (Blue Profession) ONLY if you have only 1 character, and/or just don't have the time to read about Crafting!)

(* At the same Minimum Level, all one-handed Crafted weapons do the same damage - a Minimum Level 12 dagger and sword and axe and wooden club and wooden hammer and metal mace all do the same damage! (Similarly with all 2-handed, and all ranged weapons, but those are each identical within those different categories.) The only differences are the innate bonuses - which are minor - and the stat bonuses they provide (see Stats for lowbies article, thealliancekinship.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=83 ). Because stat bonuses are what most care about, sometimes a wooden weapon is more desirable at one Tier, and a metal at the next. Otherwise, there is no advantage of one over the other - metal weapons are not superior to wooden ones in Lotro.)

(** Bow vs. Crossbow: These do the same damage, often with identical bonus options. The difference is the innate bonuses common to all weapons of that type.)[/ul]Once you know what Craft is the one you want, it's just a matter of finding a Vocation that includes that one (and, preferably, supports it!)

3 Professions are found only in one Vocation each:

• if you want to be a Metalsmith then you must be an Armourer.
  
• if you want to be a Jeweller then you must be a Tinker
  
• if you want to be a Scholar then you must be a Historian.

Any other Profession is found in 2 Vocations (Tailor in 3). (But for each of those, there is also only 1 Vocation where that Production Craft is supported by a Gather Craft - important if you're only going to run one character!)

[/b][/td][td]Gather
Profession(s)[/td][td]Production
Profession(s)[/td][td](dependency)[/td][td] Comments [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Armourer[/td][td] Prospector [/td][td] Metalsmith,
(Tailor) [/td][td](Forester:
leathers*)[/td][td] can make
Craft Tools [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Armsman[/td][td]Prospector[/td][td] Weaponsmith,
(Woodworker)[/td][td](Forester:
planks of woods)[/td][td] 1 weapon /
most classes [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Explorer[/td][td] Forester*,
Prospector [/td][td] Tailor [/td][td]( - )[/td][td] sells metals
& woods [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Historian[/td][td] Farmer,
Scholar [/td][td] Scholar,
(Weaponsmith) [/td][td](Prospector:
ingots of metals)[/td][td] (caution:
advanced) [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Tinker[/td][td] Prospector [/td][td] Jeweller,
(Cook) [/td][td](Farmer:
foods**)[/td][td] approp for
any Class [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Woodsman[/td][td] Farmer,
Forester* [/td][td] Woodworker [/td][td]( - )[/td][td] sells leather
& raw foods [/td][/tr]

o [tr][td]Yeoman[/td][td] Farmer [/td](woods)[td] Cook,
(Tailor) [/td][td](Forester:
leathers*)[/td][td] can require
lots of storage [/td][/tr]

[/table]

Notes:
o Production Crafts in bold are found only once, in that one Vocation. If this is the Craft you want, you must take this Vocation.
o Production Crafts that are underlined are supported by a Gather Craft - that one character can provide their own raw materials.
o (Production Crafts in italics & parentheses) are not supported by a Gathering Craft - that character will have to find a source for raw materials outside that character, either another player, the AH, or a different Alt of you own.
* Every class will accumulate Hides from slain animals - but it requires a Forester to turn those Hides into useful Leather.
** Any class can harvest found wild Foods - this is the only Gather profession that works this way.[/ul] If you want to be self sufficient (and you only have 1 Character), you want to pick the Vocation with the underlined Craft - they Gather what they need themselves. However, you can rely on Kin, Auction House or random /Trades for what you need, but being self-reliant is best.

Here's another way to look at it - if you only have 1 Character, and you know what single Craft you want, and you want that Character to be self-sufficient in that one Craft, there is only one logical choice... (These are the Blue choices from the blue Quick Choice section, above...)

[/u][/td][td]Supporting
Profession[/td][td](-unsupported/
+surplus
Craft)[/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Cook [/td][td] Yeoman [/td][td] (-Tailor) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Jeweller [/td][td] Tinker [/td][td] (-Cook) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Metalsmith [/td][td]Armourer [/td][td] (-Tailor) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Scholar [/td][td] Historian [/td][td] (-Weaponsmith) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Tailor [/td][td] Explorer [/td][td] (+prospector) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Weaponsmith [/td][td] Armsman [/td][td] (-Woodworker) [/td][/tr]
[tr][td] Woodworker [/td][td] Woodsman [/td][td] (+farmer) [/td][/tr]
[/table][/ul]So, if you want your Character to be a solo Tailor, you should choose Explorer. A Character could have access to Tailor with Armourer (and have only Metalsmith supported) or Yeoman (and have only Cook supported), but with either of those Tailor would be unsupported - the Character would not be not a Forester, so they, alone, could not turn any Hides into the Leather they need.


Now - if you have more than 1 Character... you can combine 2 characters to support 3 (or even 4) Production Crafts - that's the next section.

Also - some final comments:

[/b] takes a LOT of inventory space. If you are Free-to-Play and only have the basics, Cook may not be the best choice to pursue. (But you could certainly ignore it for now, until you can afford more room...)

The Lotro Wiki classifies "Jeweller" as a complex Craft - I have no idea why. It's actually very straightforward. Don't be scared off.

Weaponsmith - Most characters only need 1 weapon (and it can be hard to predict whether a wooden or metal one would be preferable at that level). Your character will not need to change often, so, if Crafting only for yourself, this Craft can be good for someone who wants to guarantee themselves a good weapon but doesn't want to Craft often. (Note - make sure your character can use some sort of metal weapons! Here's the Wiki article: lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Equipment )

Cook & Scholar: The production of "Consumables" is a bit more abstract than some of the other Production Crafts. Potions, scrolls, buffing meals - these are powerful items that every Character can use, but not every Player thinks (or knows) about them. [/ul]
(Now, for more details, for items other than "the basics", read on...)

[Amrun]

[/i][/color] of Alts[/u][/b][/ul]Unless you have all 7 Production Crafts covered, you probably just won't be able to have every last aspect covered for your Class(es). Add to this the fact that each character can only can join one Guild (for the best recipes), and you might think you need 7 Characters, 1 for each Vocation - and some Players do exactly that. But that's not completely necessary when planning a combination of Crafts, far from it.

If you look at the Table above, you'll see that each Profession (3 Crafts) is either 2 Gather Crafts + 1 Production Craft - and one Gather is surplus - or 1 Gather + 2 Production - and then 1 of those Production Crafts is unsupported, having a dependency on outside sources for the raw materials. And that is when things get tricky...

The two Vocations that consist of {2 Gather + 1 Production} Craft (i.e. Explorer & Woodsman) have no (main*) dependencies, they support their Production Craft and have a surplus Gather Craft; the other five Vocations consist of {1 Gather + 2 Production} Craft, and they always have one or the other Production unsupported . (Note: ignoring 1 Production Craft is a valid option - don't let this deter you if you like the supported one(s).)

(* In almost every Craft, there are exceptions, some odd ingredient that is needed for one obscure and seldom-used recipe - these all even out, and are too unpredictable to account for easily. Understand that they exist, but don't worry about them for now, it's really not a consideration for this process.)

Clever Players may see where this is going - with 2 alts, one's Vocation can support the unsupported Production in another Vocation - something that the one-character blue recommendations, above, could not consider. With 2 characters cooperating, a Character can choose a Vocation with an unsupported Craft and have the other Character's Crafts support that - and vice versa! With this, we will now open the doors to more choices...

All 10 Professions/Crafts can be covered by one (and only one) set of 4 Vocations: Armourer, Woodsman, Tinker and Historian. All 3 Gather and all 7 Productions Crafts can be found in those 4 choices if you have 4 Characters who can work together.

However, especially for Free-to-Play Accounts, you might only have the (initial) option of 2 alts, and even for VIP diving in with 4 alts may be less than appealing. Fortunately, those 4 work in 2 matched pairs:

• Armourer + Woodsman (Tailor, Metalsmith, Woodworker)
  (Light & medium (leather) armour, heavy (metal) armour, bows & wooden weapons, instruments, etc.)
  Prospector supports Metalsmith, Forester supports Woodworker and Tailor* (Farmer is a surplus Gather skill - ignore it for now, or grow some pipeweed and call it good, or find a Cook to partner with.)
  
  (* The raw hides themselves come from killing animals, they are not ''gathered" as separate raw resources in the same way that wood or ores are. So both characters are collecting hides, and the Forester then turns all into leather.)
  
  
• Tinker + Historian (Jeweller, Cook, Scholar, Weaponsmith)
  (Jewellery, consumables (foods, potions, scrolls, etc), metal weapons, etc.)
  Prospector supports Jeweller and Weaponsmith (and Scholar for dyes), Farmer supports Cook (and Scholar for dyes), Scholar supplies Scholar materials. (This is the only pair that supports 4 Production Crafts.)

That doesn't mean you have to choose one of those pairs, but if you do, and find someone who has the other 2 covered, between the two of you it's all good for every possible Craft.


There are only(?) five other combinations that work well together for 2 alts. To find a good match, we look at what Gather Craft is lacking in one Vocation, and find a Vocation which provides that with its Gather Crafts (without simply duplicating that Production*).

[/color][/b] for the metal ingots (Scholar, Weaponsmith, Metalsmith; & Tailor is unsupported)
o Historian, + Explorer for the metal ingots (Scholar, Weaponsmith, Tailor)
o Armsman, + Explorer for the wood (Woodworker, Weaponsmith, Tailor)
o Tinker, + Woodsman for the food (Jeweller, Cook, Woodworker)
...and...
o Yeoman, + Woodsman for the leather (Tailor, Cook, Woodworker, 2 Farmers)[/ul](* Note that combinations like Armourer + Explorer (2 Tailors), or Armsman + Woodsman (2 Woodworkers), or Historian + Armsman (2 Weaponsmiths), gain less - the Production Craft that you're solving for one Character is already fully covered by the second.)

3-way combinations get more creative - I'll leave those up to you. You can't cover all 7 Productions, but you can cover most of them.


Secondary Production considerations - bells and whistles:

As I mentioned above, each class has a basic production, but also has many other items, especially Class-specific items, that it can produce. In choosing a mix of Professions for more than one Class, these might be a consideration.

Also a consideration is how many ''Basic Recipes'' one gets, because there are also that many empty slots for "found" (aka Drop) recipes at slightly higher levels, that are only found by luck or by purchasing them in the Auction House. These advanced recipes are repeated at every Tier, and there are 7 Tiers...

("Recipes" are the secret to producing anything, not just food. Weaponsmith recipes, Tailor recipes, Jeweller recipes, Scholar recipes - all work the same.)

All Crafts can produce some varieties of decorations for houses, and many have some sort of cosmetic recipes.

o Jewellers - Champion Class items, Runekeeper Weapons, LoreMaster Talismans. 4 basic recipe slots.
o Tailors - Burglar kits, Runekeeper Class Satchels, Captain Armaments, 14(!) basic armour recipe slots (7 light, 6 medium, & cloak).
o Metalsmiths - Hvy Armour (Grdn 15, Capt/Champ 20) & Shields (Guardian/Warden, Captain/Champion 15, and Minstrel 20), RuneKeeper Class items, Crafting Tools. 8 basic armour/shield recipes.
o Weaponsmiths - all metal Weapons. Burglar Tricks, Guardian/Warden Shield-spikes, Hunter Traps, Throwing weapons. 7 basic weapon recipes.
o Woodworkers - all wood Weapons, Champion Horns, instruments, Captain Emblems (consumable), & Rune-keeper Parchments, Warden Carvings, 7 basic weapon slots (+ crossbow)
o Cooks - LoreMaster pet's food (recipes vary - medium)
o Scholars - Loremaster and Minstrel Books, LOTS of consumables, some special for most classes (recipes vary - many)

On top of these can be dozens of additional, optional class recipes at any given Tier.

Also, for those Vocations with 2 Production Crafts, only 1 can become "Guild Specialized" - that is, get access to the very best secret recipes. The other is not limited, but only one can truly excell. So, for instance, if a character takes Armourer (Tailor for Light/Medium Armour; Armoursmith for Heavy Armour & Shields), they can become a shining Tailor and very good Metalsmith, or vice versa, but if you want the best of both you need 2 different characters, one to join the Tailor's Guild and one the Metalsmith's. Just another consideration.


And if you still can't decide, or are just the curious type, there's always Plan C... (see next...)

---

A final thought on being a good Craftsman...

It's difficult for any Crafter to know what other Crafts have to offer, even for their own Class. Others may look to you for advice, esp if they're unfamiliar w/ your Craft(s) or their Class - try to know what you can make for other classes, what options are (esp for recipes w/ varied outputs), to advise them.

[Amrun]

[/color][/ul]

(This option is not as complex as it might look - first I'll give the basic concept, then I'll do the full math for each Class's needs, so it's all lined out.)

In short, the goals/benefits of this approach are:

• Sample each Craft briefly.
  
• Don't spend a lot of extra time doing so - less than 1 extra hour (total!) invested to make a decision that will stay with your character(s).
  
• Gain good, simple starter gear while doing so (that is better than 95% of what you'll find before Level 12 or so!)
  
• Understand each Craft well enough to make an informed decision on which one is for you, based on first-hand, personal, hands-on experience.

If that's intriguing, read on...

(And if you do this, you only need do it once, not with every character - unless you like it, and want to.)

If you change Professions, you keep all the Crafting Experience in any Crafts that overlap - if changing from Explorer (Prospector, Tailor and Forester) to Armourer (Prospector, Tailor and Metalsmith), you keep your previous Prospector and Tailor Crafting status - nice! If there is no overlap, you simply start from zero.

The Master/Mistress of Apprentices will let you change Professions as many times as you want, and even give you a gift start kit for each different Profession. (So, in the above example, you would receive a Metalsmith starter kit hen you change to Armourer, but not a 2nd Explorer or Tailor kit.)

So why not romp on that hospitality, and try them all? And, while you do that, make some quick Tier 1 items that you can use, and get your lowbie off to a quick start in the item department. And, as an end goal, get first-hand experience in each Craft so you can better decide which one is for you?!

(Note - with each new Craft, you will be given a simple intro quest/task, to find/produce a few simple items, and be given the materials to achieve them. DO THESE QUESTS. Do NOT use the materials to make something else - or, if you do, make the requested items on your own later, before changing to the next Profession. If you do, you will get a bonus gift when you finally decide which one you want to stick with - if you don't, no gift.)


This should actually add very little time to your gaming experience, and delay your character very little - it should be achievable during the normal progress of a few hours of regular game-play and questing, requiring maybe one extra stop early in the Crafting areas. And you'll have a nice collection of lowbie items, and a real feel for each Craft.

Don't bother to buy recipes or even open dropped scrolls yet, not unless you're really excited about making them - you'll lose them if the Crafts don't overlap when you change Professions (unless there's overlap, as above).

Changing Professions is simple - just talk to any Mistress/Master of Apprentices, and select your next Profession - done.

Note - at each step, you may have to buy some additional components from the Vendor or Supplier. Just do it if you want the items - they're worth it.

---

In short, you'll be doing the following:

1) Start as Explorer (which has the Tailor Craft), do your regular questing and gather hides, wood and metal for all future Crafting needs,. Make some lowbie light or medium* armour.

(* Even Guardians, Captains and Champions can only use medium until Level 15-20).

2) In any order, continue on to try Tinker (Jeweller & Cook), Historian (Scholar & Cook), Woodsman (Woodworker) and (optionally) Armourer (Metalworker, for heavy armour &/or optional crafting tools).

3) If you didn't select your preferred Vocation last, then change to that one now - done. 7 Professions in under an hour, and you'll have some starter gear from each* and a firsthand feel for what each is like.

The only difference, Class to Class*, is what raw materials the Explorer needs to gather to later produce what you'll want to make, to get the most out of that Profession while you're there.

(* All Classes will enjoy

• all 6 armour pieces & a cloak
  
• all 7 jewelry pieces
  
• at least 1 weapon
  
• some food that helps morale (aka hit-point/health) regeneration
  
• a bonus crafting scroll.
  
  Depending on class restrictions (and personal choice), they may also get
  
• a second weapon
  
• a bow
  
• heavy (metal) armour
  
• and (optionally) some +1% bonus Crafting Tools.)

---

o 1) Start as Explorer.

Do the Intro Prospector, Forester and Tailor Into Tasks.

Do some adventuring. Kill some animals, but also aim for bandits/goblins. (They drop stuff handy for Scholar Crafting. Keep any Aged Scraps of Text, Early Third Age Relics and Worn Tablet Fragments - you'll have the rest covered.)

Keep your Radar on Prospector. You'll be gathering ore for jewelry, weapon(s) and possibly armour/shield, so the number depends on your class and level:

s you adventure you'll spot "Rowan Branches". Swap tools (from Prospector to Forester) and gather them when you see them - you'll only need 12 at most.

Make the wood into planks; 2 logs = 1 plank. You'll want 4 logs for each weapon you may want*: one-hand, staff, spear, bow, javelin, whatever. Burglars/Champions/Hunters, you dual wield, so add another 4 for that. Turn these into planks, 2 planks/weapon, +2 more /extra.

You'll also find that you've gathered some light hides, just by killing animals - process those into light leather. Open your Crafting/Tailor tab, select the armour item (light or medium, or cloak) appropriate for you character, and mouse-hover over the pictures at the top of the compare the armour you're currently wearing. If it's better, make it and wear it - 2 leather will make 1 component (all "leather pads" here), and 2 hides make 1 leather, so you'll need 4 hides for each item, up to 28 hides (14 leather) if you want a complete set of light/medium armour + cloak).

(Note - If Light Armour, you'll have a choice between "armour" and "robes" - take the robes, you don't need "Power" at low levels, and they're otherwise identical, except for appearance. Medium armour offers no similar choice.)

(*All but LoreMasters and RuneKeepers will prefer the bronze weapons from the Weaponsmith Crafting - they're just better bonuses (or more generally used by all Classes). Loremasters will want a wooden staff. Hunters will want a bow. Wardens will want a javelin and a spear. Others may or may not be able to use ranged weapons, depending on their level.)


(If you (will) have new alts, you can double these numbers and mail the final pieces cheap.)

---

The next steps can be done in any order, and all in the next visit to any major Crafting area with a Mistress/Master of Crafts.

If you think you know which Profession you'll want, do that one last (or the one that has the most Production Crafts in common with whatever you will want to finally have).


o 2a) Change to Tinker.
Do the Intro Cook task, make some biscuits (they'll come in handy in tough situations!). Do the intro Jeweller task. (You already did the Intro Prospector Task in step 1.)

Use 14 of the Copper Ingots from Explorer to make 7 pieces of copper jewelry for yourself and/or your alts/friends, or just to sell. Mouse-hover over the recipes to compare with your current equipment.


o 2b) Step over to the Mistress/Master of Apprentices, and change to Historian.

Do the intro Scholar, Weaponsmith and Farming* tasks.

If you happen to have the ingredients from drops, make some extra scrolls for whatever Profession you think you'll end up as, or for combat/whatever. Lots of options, depending what loot you've acquired.

Use the bronze to make a dagger** (or two if Burglar, Champion or Hunter) (or, if a Captain, a Greatsword** if you prefer a 2-handed weapon.)


o 2c) Step over to the Mistress/Master of Apprentices, and change to Woodsman.

Do the Intro Woodworker and Farming* Tasks. (You already did the Forester Task in step 1, with Explorer.)

Make , plus melee**. Mouse-hover over the pic in each recipe to see if it's better than what you have, and/or to see which bonuses work best for your character. (See article: "Stats & Choosing Gear for Lowbies", thealliancekinship.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=83 )

(* Farming is duplicated - you'll only do that Intro Task once.)
(** These are the best (non-RP) choices, trust me. Daggers and Greatsword add morale, which will help you more than any other choice.

You'll make twice as many melee weapons as you need, 1 wooden and 1 bronze set. Some classes may not be able to use some - variations are too complex to detail. Pick what you want to keep, sell/gift the rest.

Mouse-hover over the pic in each recipe (top right) to see if it's better than what you have, and/or to see which bonuses work best for your character. & See article: "Stats & Choosing Gear for Lowbies")


o 2d) If (and ONLY if) you want Minimum Level 15 Heavy Armour, Step over to the Mistress/Master of Apprentices, and change to Amrourer.

Do the Intro Metalsmith Task. (You've already done Tailor and Prospector with Explorer in Step 1).

Use 12 the Bronze Ingots to make 6 Bronze Chain Links, and make 6 pieces of armour, 1 for each body area*.

*NOTE - Each armour recipe can create 3 different results! Mouse-hover over the picture at the top to see the bonuses of the final product, and use the arrows in top-right to select which option you want. Usually a choice between Might, Vitality, Agility and/or Power. Take Might over the others, Power last. (See Article "Stats and choosing Gear for Lowbies").


Also, by now, you should have an idea which Vocation will be your final choice. Optionally, buy the 3 recipes for Bronze Crafting Tools from the Apprentice Metalworker, and use the last 12 bronze ingots to make yourself Crafting Tools for those 3 Crafts. Or not - you'll need iron tools soon enough, but if you want that +1% until Level 13 when you can use iron tools, jump on it now.

---

o 3) Decide what Craft will be your final one, and (if you're not there already, as the last choice in Step 2) change to that. (And get rid of any surplus crafting materials in your Inventory - any Vendor will buy them for a few silver, or trade or give them to someone.)


Congratulations - you now know more about Crafting than 99% of new Players - welcome to your new Profession!

[Akeira]

Wow!!! I think that's all one can say. Very nicely put together tutorial.

[Amrun]

<Amrunor bows low to Akeira>

Thanks!

It's a lot of info, but choosing a Craft is not (for everyone) a simple "If X Class then choose Y Craft" decision. (Altho' I just edited it all, re-organized a little, and added exactly that shortcut for those who want such.)

Done.

<Amrunor dances around like an elf>
<Amrunor agrees with the Modify button>
<Amrunor scowls at the Modify button>

[Faral Garriden]

AMAZING!!!! SIMPLY AMAZING!!!! I am totally impressed!!!!

[Herebrand]

This is THE guide to crafting. A fantastic resource for our kinship. Can we get a permanent link to this post put on the homepage?

[Cuarlang / Legladhor]

Amrunor, thanks very much for this write-up. =) (Mayhap I'll finally figure out what vocation Legladhor should have. hehe)

And I agree that this should perhaps be made a sticky thread.

[Amrun]

Apr 21, 2012 20:17:43 GMT -5 Cuarlang / Legladhor said:

(Mayhap I'll finally figure out what vocation Legladhor should have. hehe)

(Starts with a ''p'' and rhymes with ''biker''...) ;D

Seriously, thanks!

Next article - Deeds & Virtues for Lowbies. (need to catch my breath before that one...)

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