[Bowcraft/Fletching] How many boards to GM?

[Seismic]

I checked the FAQs/Stickies and didn't see this listed:

I'd like to know how many total, regular boards it takes to GM Bowcraft from 33 or so?

Thanks

 

[Sir Kenga]

I spent around 300k, but i'm sure it is possible to gm with half of it.

 

[Basara]

There are some older guides that may or may not have been successfully imported giving the info.

However, most of that info for the craftign skills other than fletching I've removed from the existing FAQs, because a lot of the info was originally compiled pre-AOS, and a lot of items were added in AoS, SE & ML to change that schedule.

Bowcraft/fletching is probably the only crafting skill that was not directly affected in this matter, but was affected by the addition of the Bow quests in Heartwood, as one can now train all the way to GM doing nothing but the quests (and getting the benefits from the quests along the way), and not have to sell or throw away anything.

I don't think it took me anywhere near that much wood, and I even got a fletching runic during training, along with all the recipes and a really good talisman (note: do not wear a talisman during training).

 

[Shinners]

I might be misundestanding this post, but by doing the quest to make like 10 bows etc from the fletcher i can gm from doing just that?

 

[Basara]

Shinners:

Do the quest for 10 bows over and over from 30 to 60 skill
Then switch to the Ingenious Archery I quest (which is normal crossbows)
When you reach minimum level to make Heavy Crossbows (70, I think), switch to doing the Ingenious Archery II quest.
Lastly, when you are able to start making Repeaters, switch to Ingenious Archery III quest, to go the rest of the way to GM.

The easiest way to get the quest you want is to drag a bar off the quest-giver, then click repeatedly until you see the quest you want (then accept it). Set your crafting to always mark as quest item, and only make the amount to fill the quest (using make #). That way, you don't have to worry about going overweight dropping stuff to the ground, or having to re-mark as quest items any leftovers.

 

[Kellgory]

I've GM'd several fletchers in Heartwood just as Basara described. Nice way to get talismans, kits, and fletching recipes. I use the oak kits to get balanced bows to imbue. When you run out of boards, just run outside and chop some trees. The only problem, is that the quest that would have given better gains between in the 50-60 skill range was changed, so when you hit that range the gains will be a little slow.

 

[Basara]

What happened was that the quest was changed from Fu-ki-ya darts to crossbow bolts(which you can make at 0 skill) because the dart manufacture works the same as arrows and bolts, only the end result is treated as 1 item.

Example:

Weapons: 100 tool uses to make 100 items
Arrows/bolts: All material in pack up to the lower # of the required item (feathers and shafts) gets made in 1 tool use - is a stack that can be separated into any number.
Fu-ki-ya darts: All materials made into ONE dart, with that # of uses, that CAN'T be separated into smaller numbers. Note that NPC darts come in 1 (or maybe 1 or 2) uses.

As a result, without using illegal software, you have to keep the materials in a container off you (like a secure, your bank or a packy), and move one board at a time onto you to make 1 dart at a time, to train.

With no quest any longer, it's not really worth the effort, unless you're going hard-core material conservation mode (and with how easy it is to collect normal wood, it's not the issue that, say, tailor or smith materials is).