Heartwood Quests while Training: Two Birds with one stone...

[Basara]

The following is a guide one can follow while training crafting skills from whatever, towards their final goal (be it GM or 120, depending if they have powerscrolls). Quests are described below by their required items, not their actual names (which can differ, if offered in both Heartwood & Sanctuary)

Part 1: Tailoring

<u>Flower Garland quest:</u> Can start at 10.0 skill. will give gains (if you haven't used a power scroll) until 35.0 (+2.5 for every 5 points over 100 for power scroll used - up to 45.0 if 120 power scroll used)

<u>Kilt quest:</u> Can start making at 20.7. can gain up to 45.7 without using power scroll.

<u>Fancy Shirt quest:</u> Can start making at 24.8. Can gain up to 49.8 without using power scroll; up to 59.8 if a 120 Powerscroll used. This is probably the one a crafter will start with, if they just buy the skill, instead of using an advanced character blacksmith. Frankly, given New Haven quests, doing a custom starting template isn't worth it for warrior, caster or crafter templates, anymore. As Tailor (as far as I know) doesn't have an accelerated gain quest/area, just take cloth to Heartwood and do the quests.

<u>Studded Bustier quest:</u> this one is more of an endgame training quest. Most useful for recipes gathering while training up an Advanced Character Blacksmith (which starts with 70 tailoring). Can start gaining on it at 82.9. Can gain all the way to GM on it without using powerscroll, 105 if a 105 PS used, 110 if a 110 PS used, 115 if a 115 PS used, 117.9 if scrolled to 120. Granted, the gains over 110 will be pretty slow, but if you're still trying to get the three rare recipes (not as big a demand for them on SP, probably, but you never know), it might be worth the effort.

Part Two: Blacksmith:

Blacksmith quests have an advantage in that there is a New Player Quest in New Haven for Accelerated Skill Gain. Essentially, start out as a standard blacksmith (or even start with just a little amount of bought skill), get the "Hammer Time" quest from George Hesphaestus, then start cranking out the Bascinets for the Heartwood quest until you hit 50 skill, or a full backpack. If the latter, walk to the New Haven gate, go to Yew, then go into Heartwood, cycle through the quests until you get the appropriate quest (IIRC, "Nothing Fancy"), mark the items, and get the satchels. When empty, return to New Haven for more accelerated training.

<u>Bascinet quest:</u> Can start attempting to make bascinets at 8.3 skill. Unlike Tailor (where items start at 50%), Blacksmith items start at 0 skill. Most likely, one will be starting with between 30 &amp; 40 skill. Will be able to gain on Bascinets up to 58.3 skill, if no powerscroll used. Add 2.5 points for every 5 points of powerscroll over 100, up to 68.3 if you've already used a 120 Blacksmith scroll.

<u>Heater Shield quest:</u> Because of the high ingot cost, this one can pretty much be skipped. Skill starts at 24.3, can gain up to 74.3, unscrolled (up to 84.3 with a 120 PS).

<u>Broadsword quest</u>: This is likely to be your second tier of training with quests - perhaps even the first tier, if you start at a skill higher than 50 in Blacksmithy. Can start crafting at 35.4 skill (at 0 - which is why I don't recommend it for the New Haven accelerated training area, as you'll be less than 30% at the end of accelerated gains - you'll probably lose more ingots from failures than the extra 5 per bascinet, plus extra 5 bascinets per quest, would cost). Gains will run up to 85.4 skill without a power scroll, up to 95.4 with a power scroll. Even after gains stop, this is the optimum for continued quests for smith recipes.

Dragon Helm quest: Don't bother - too hard to make, and to get ingredients, and scales worth much more as library collection donations (20 scales = 400 library points, or the equivalent of a 6000 GP check donation for EACH helm crafted, if successful - think of each quest the equivalent of throwing away a 60k check). If you must try it, it can be gained on all the way to 120 skill, but it's really not worth the trouble.

These are the two quest types for the skills that go up to 120. My follow-up reply, will look at skill train possibilities for the Carpenter, Tinker and Fletcher skills, all of which have a hard 100 skill cap.

 

[Basara]

Part Three: Bowcraft/Fletching

This is the best one of the lot. One can go all the way from skill purchase to Grandmaster doing nothing but quests, and will be likely to have most (if not all) rare recipes, and maybe a runic or two, by the time you're done.

<u>Step One - "A Simple Bow" (bow quest):</u> You start with a 50% chance of success at 30 skill. the chance of success appears to go up at a 5% per 4 skill point rate, hitting maximum at 70 Skill.

<u>Step Two - "Ingenious Archery I" (crossbow quest):</u> One can start making these normal crossbows at 60 skill, again with the oddball 5%/4 ratio gains. You can gain on it up to GM, but the gains will slow down so much, you really won't want to. Switch to the next step at 80 skill.

<u>Step Three - "Ingenious Archery II" (heavy crossbow quest):</u> One can start making heavy crossbows at 80 skill. You can gain on it up to GM, but as the next step uses the same amount of wood per bow, with better gains (and less weight), move on at 90 skill.

<u>Step Four - "Ingenious Archery III" (repeating crossbow quest):</u> One can start making repeaters at 90 skill. Use this quest up to GM. If you still need recipes (or are going for runics) after hitting GM, go back to the "A simple Bow" quest.

Don't Bother With: The Lethal Darts quest. the F-Darts are problematic, as instead of requiring 1 dart with 10 uses, they require 10 separate darts - but all your wood on you is turned into a single, multi-use, dart when you craft. So, isntead of having to constantly pull individual boards off your packy into your pack, it's easier to just stick with bows. Also note that the harp quest is a CARPENTER quest on the bowyer. Don't do it unless training your carpenter.


Part Four: Tinker

The Trinket weavers are a bit multiple-personality-disorder, for quests. They have quests for carpenters and tinkers, while giving recipe rewards for those two skills, the masonry subskill of carpentry, AND Inscription, Alchemy &amp; Glassblowing.

The following quests are ones taking tinker items from the trinket weavers.
Necessity's Mother (Tinker Tools)
The Far Eye (spyglasses)
Tick Tock (clocks - require multiple assembly steps)

These Quests are also tinker quests, and come from the Grape &amp; wine tenders behind the trinket weavers.
Beer Goggles (barrel taps)
The Song of the Wind (fancy wind chimes)

First; Quests to Avoid:
1. "Reptilian Dentist" is nominally a Tinker quest, but you get its quest item from killing a named monster in the Blighted Grove, not crafting.

<u>2. "Tick Tock" (clock quest):</u> Requires making clock frames (0.2 tinkering required to start, advancing at 2/1 rate) and clock parts (can make starting at 25 skill - chance is 0.2% at 25.1, advancing at 2/1 rate). Assembly of frames and parts as a unit is 100% successful at 0 skill. The clock parts are stackable. Essentially, this is something you would train on (if at all) AFTER 25 skill, preferably after 30 or 35 to actually make the frames at least half of the time, and have a marginal chance of making the parts. However, your best choice is to SKIP THIS QUEST.

<u>3. "Message in a bottle" (potion bottles):</u> have to be bought or crafted by an already GM alchemist that has glassblowing. Not worth the effort, and doesn't train your skill.

***********
Tinker Training steps.

Start With - <u>"Necessity's Mother" (tinker tool quest; Trinket weaver):</u> this is the best one to do to start out. Start it after buying some skill (you can make starting at 10 skill - buying up to 30 would have you at 40% to start), preferably at the New Haven Tinker New Player quest (Amelia). Fill your pack with tinker tools in the accelerated gain area, until you finish the quest or run out of space, then go to Heartwood for this quest and turn them in (going back to Amelia and more accelerated gains if you've not hit 50 yet). You'll be able to gain on Tinker Tools until you hit 60 skill. Switch to the next quest sometime between 45 and 60.

Next Step - <u>"Beer Goggles" (Barrel taps; Wine &amp; Grape Tenders):</u> Can start at 35, but the skill percentages aren't good enough to bother with until 45 to 50 skill. Can train on until 85, but you're better off switching to the next step at about 80.

Last Step - <u>"The Far Eye" - (spyglass quest - trinket weavers):</u> These can be started at 60, but you start at 0% at 60, so you might want to train on other stuff till 70 or 80 skill (like the previously-mentioned lockpicks). These will take you all the way to Grandmaster.

Optional - <u>"The Song of the Wind" (fancy wind chimes - Wine &amp; grape tenders):</u> Only go this route if you're having trouble getting gains near GM with the spyglasses. The chimes use almost 4 times the ingots as the spyglasses, and are only 30% to make at 95 skill. Expect to use or lose a LOT of ingots, going this route.


Part Five: Carpenter

The Carpenter doesn't have many choices for Heartwood quests, yet they have the most rewards. Heck, sometimes, the other quests (like bowcraft &amp; tinker) GIVE completed carpentry ITEMS from the recipes as rewards, not just the recipes.

The two Carpentry quests are "Arch Support" and "Stop Harping on Me". Both are available from trinket weavers, but some of the other quest givers also offer one or the other.

Due to the spread-out nature, it might be more worthwhile to spend some of the time in Britain, making items for the library collections.

This first part is using just Heartwood...

Step One - <u>"Arch Support" (foot stools):</u> Can start crafting these at 11 skill (50% chance). Can get gains on them up to 36 skill.

Later Step - <u>"Stop Harping on Me" (lap harps):</u> Requires 63.1 carpentry and 45 music. Can gain on these until 88.1.

This section uses a mix of Heartwood Quests and Library collections

Step One - "Arch Support"
Steps Two &amp; Three - No matching item at either spot - use wooden box, until you get enough skill to make Ballot Boxes (47.3), then do ballot boxes until 63.1 (if you have the required music) or 70 (if you don't have music skill)
Step 4 (with music) - "Stop Harping on me"
Step 4a (no music, but have 40 tailor): Fishing poles starting at 68.4, donating to fisher NPC at the library.
Step 4b (no music, no tailor, or if you want folding steel glasses more than the fisher glasses): Starting at 70, Bokutos, donating to Samurai NPC at the library.
Step 5 (after gaining enough or gains stop with step 4, any of the options): Shepherd's crook, donating to the Animal Trainer NPC at the library. Can start as early as 78.9, or as late as 95 (when Bokuto gains would stop).

 

[Basara]

These methods make arms lore gains a snap, as well.

Tailors can gain Arms Lore when crafting the Flower Garlands and Studded Bustiers.

Blacksmiths can get Arms Lore gains off crafting everything but (I think) shields, and it even might be possible (though rare) from crafting shields.

Fletchers can get Arms Lore gains off crafting bows &amp; crossbows of any type.

While none are in the quests, tinkers can gain Arms Lore crafting the tinker-made weapons.

Carpenters can gain Arms Lore when crafting armor and weapons; for the alternate crafting paths I suggested, Bokutos and Shepherd Crooks would potentially give gains.