[Raolinx Aeromancer]

CRAFTING GUIDE


TRADES
The main decision a crafter needs to make is which trade they will select. Each trade can produce different things and works with different materials.

ARTIFICER
The artificer works with stone, wood, and gemstone. They can create all matters of wooden melee and ranged weapons, as well as a small amount of weapons made from stone. They can also create magical focuses to increase the power of spellcasters.

BLACKSMITH
The blacksmith works mainly with metal, and includes the skills of weaponsmithing and armorsmithing. They make the vast majority of weapons, and fashion all types of heavy armor.

OUTFITTER
The outfitter deals in leather and cloth. They fashion all lighter armors, and can create work clothing for harvesters and crafters. In addition to armor and work clothes, they can create bags, pouches, and normal clothing.

SKILLS
Skills are a major part of the crafting sphere, and determine along with your level what actions are available to you during the crafting process.

Each crafting trade has a one parent skill for refining, three process skills for refining, three parent skills for finishing, and three process skills for finishing.

PARENT SKILLS
The parent skills govern the overall difficulty of the recipes, as well as the crafting inventory space available. They are also used in the assembly process.

Parent Skills List
Artificer Refining: Forming
Artificer Finishing 1: Carpentry
Artificer Finishing 2: Mineralogy
Artificer Finishing 3: Artificing

Blacksmith Refining: Metallurgy
Blacksmith Finishing 1: Blacksmithing
Blacksmith Finishing 2: Weaponsmithing
Blacksmith Finishing 3: Armorsmithing

Outfitter Refining: Material Preparation
Outfitter Finishing 1: Outfitting
Outfitter Finishing 2: Tailoring
Outfitter Finishing 3: Leatherworking

PROCESS SKILLS
The process skills affect the use of crafting actions during the session. Of the three processes for finishing and refining, there is one station skill, one utility skill, and one tool skill.

Tool actions require tools. Tools are non-expended items such as chisels and shears that are put in a crafter’s tool belt.

Utility actions require utilities. Utilities are expendables used during the crafting process, such as charcoal or cleaner.

Station skills affect actions that do not use a tool or utility. Station actions are often linked to complications as well, although not always.

Process Skills List
Artificer Refining Station: Shaping
Artificer Refining Tools: Shaping Tools
Artificer Refining Utilities: Shaping Utilities
Artificer Finishing Station: Sculpting
Artificer Finishing Tools: Sculpting Tools
Artificer Finishing Utilities: Sculpting Utilities

Blacksmith Refining Station: Smelting
Blacksmith Refining Tools: Smelting Tools
Blacksmith Refining Utilities: Smelting Utilities
Blacksmith Finishing Station: Forging
Blacksmith Finishing Tools: Forging Tools
Blacksmith Finishing Utilities: Forging Utilities

Outfitting Refining Station: Material Processing
Outfitting Refining Tools: Material Processing Tools
Outfitting Refining Utilities: Material Processing Utilities
Outfitting Finishing Station: Stitching
Outfitting Finishing Tools: Stitching Tools
Outfitting Finishing Utilities: Stitching Utilities

SKILL POOLS
Finishing Parent Skills
3 Skills 20 points per level

Finishing Process Skills
3 Skills 25 points per level

Refining Parent Skill
1 skill 10 points per level

Refining Process Skills
3 Skills 25 points per level

ATTRIBUTES
Attributes augment the effectiveness of crafting actions.

The crafting attributes are linked to certain types of skills. They will generally give a bonus to skills of the type they normally affect.

Attributes List
• Finesse: This statistic mostly helps tool actions.
• Problem Solving: This statistic mostly helps in dealing with complications.
• Reasoning: This statistic helps mostly with utility actions.
• Ingenuity: This statistic helps mostly with station actions.

CRAFTING PROCESS & ADVANCEMENT
Crafting in Vanguard is an intricate process and can be a little daunting at first.

The following information should breakdown all the important aspects in an easy-to-understand format.

CRAFTING ACTIONS
Crafting actions are the abilities of the crafter. They affect the overall progress of the item you are making, as well as the quality.

While the amount of actions you will start with is minimal, you will achieve more as you gain levels and skill. For example, after raising a skill a bit you may notice that you have a new action available. This action, as well as the action family it is in, will glow to indicate it is new.

Higher level actions generally add additional tactics to the process and give you options you did not have previously.

RECIPES
Recipes are what a crafter can create. They can be viewed in the crafting abilities section. Temporary work order recipes, which will usually disappear when the order is completed, can also be viewed here.

You will see in the description what tools, utilities, and ingredients are required.

Work order recipes have a number of charges listed as well to represent the materials given to you by the taskmaster. You do not need harvested ingredients for most normal work orders.

WORK ORDERS
The primary method of advancement in crafting is by doing work orders. Work orders are taken from taskmasters. There are normally two main types of crafting task masters: The normal ones hanging around the crafting halls, and the special ones located elsewhere. Going out of the crafting hall to find work will reap better rewards and experience, but will generally be a good bit more effort.

When you’re ready to take a work order, approach the taskmaster and select “Request Work Order.” You will be given instructions, and a new recipe or two.

Now, you simply have to complete the recipe. Check the recipe for any information you may need. Buy the supplies you’ll need, and then head to the appropriate crafting station. Each recipe completed will bestow some experience to the crafter.

After you complete the work order and get the items you need, return to the taskmaster and select the option to complete the work order, and receive your extra experience and reward. Higher grade items may be required to receive full credit from the taskmaster.

You can also abandon work orders at a taskmaster if you so desire.

CRAFTING PROCESS
Before you start crafting, make sure you have put your tools in your tool belt. Also make certain the tool belt itself is equipped. You will also need to have any utilities required for this recipe in your inventory. Check the recipe descriptions if you are unsure of the items you will need.

After you have equipped your tool belt and have the proper items, right-click on the crafting station and select the option to start crafting. The recipe window will pop up. Select the recipe you wish to do.

When you’ve selected a recipe, the crafting inventory will then appear. Low level crafters start out with a minimal amount of slots to use, but as they get more skilled and work smarter, they will gain more "workspace" slots. The inventory is for utilities, which are expendable. Keep that in mind if you put a 1 charged utility in your crafting inventory. Note that the crafting inventory is also used to put anti-complication utilities in (under the "Other" heading).

After you have your items set up, start the recipe. The game won't let you continue unless you have the needed items. The crafting window will pop up now, and you’re ready to begin.

The action points are listed near the top, and the recipe must be completed before they run out. Start the process by clicking the appropriate icon, working in the first section, and attempt to complete it while raising your quality. Watch your quality bar, as quality is important in work orders and regular recipes. Only certain actions will increase quality, those listed with “Quality” in their description. “Progress” actions will add towards completing the step.

If all goes well, you should be able to finish the recipe without any trouble. More likely however, you’re going to run into complications.

COMPLICATIONS
Complications can help or hinder your crafting process. A number of them will do both.

Complications will pop up to the right of your crafting process window. They will be listed as the complication (above), and the remedy family (below). Clicking on the remedy family will show all remedies that character knows for that complication. Fixing complications costs action points, and some are quite expensive to repair. However, leaving them there can possibly be detrimental to your crafting process, and may result in even worse complications.

Oftentimes it will come down to a choice of trying to work through the complication, or taking care of it and hoping it won’t slow you down too much.

Not all complications are bad, and it will take some thought and planning to maximize their values and minimize their detrimental effects.

Some remedies may require tools or utilities to use them. These will have to be added to your tool belt or crafting inventory like normal tools and utilities.

CRAFTING ITEMS
Crafting an item is done in the same manner as work order recipes, but the finished result will be an item or part of an item that can be used by players. Refined items are used in finishing recipes, and finished items are either full items, or parts that will need to be assembled.

ASSEMBLY
The assembly section of your crafting ability book has categories in which you can see what assembly recipes you can do at your skill and level.

Most assembly recipes will appear as you learn them.

GETTING STARTED
Crafting is usually done in the crafting areas of cities and towns. The first step is to find the crafting area, and the main crafting trainer. The main tutorial NPC in each area should direct you to him or her if you have trouble finding the crafting trainer.

Just follow their instructions, and you'll be on your way to crafting. The trainers will supply you with enough tools and utilities to begin your career as a crafter. You can purchase additional tools and utilities from crafting vendors, and you will receive some as rewards for completing work orders.

PARENT SKILL ADVANCEMENT


Related disciplines have been rolled up into crafting "archetypes" which we now see as the professions of Artificer, Blacksmith, and Outfitter.

Do not be fooled by this into thinking all Artificers (or Blacksmiths or Outfitters) will be alike! It is IMPORTANT to note that each of these archetypes covers 2 disciplines, each made apparent in that archetype's Parent Skills list.

It might be helpful to someone newly learning about VSoH crafting the look at Parent Skills almost as trades unto themselves. With that thought in mind, in a way there are really SIX specific types of "crafter" in VSoH, as follows:

Disciplines under archetype ARTIFICER:
1. Carpentry - Makes items made from wood (i.e. Timber)
2. Mineralogy - Makes items made from stone (i.e. Basalt)

Disciplines under archetype BLACKSMITH:
3. Weaponsmithing - makes swords, hammers, etc., non-wood weapons from metal (i.e. Copper)
4. Armorsmithing - makes heavy armor from metal (i.e. Copper)

Disciplines under archetype OUTFITTER:
5. Tailoring - Light armor and other trade clothing (textile plants)
6. Leatherworking - Medium armor, backpacks, etc (skins)

When deciding what you want to do in VSoH as a crafter, it might be helpful to pick one of the above 6 discipliines for what you want your MAIN focus to be. Then once you've got that decided, you'll know what crafting archetype to pick when you begin your toon's VSoH crafting career.

You would want to neglect the other parent skill from the 2nd discipline under the archetype you chose. You will find that in the UI for your character you are able to block progression of skill advancement for parent skills (keeping in mind that you only get 20 points per crafter level between all three, it turns out you can max two and have the other at 0).

If you leave all three parent skills unlocked at all times, then you work on various recipe types, you'll eventually find yourself a "jack of all trades" under that archetype and not able to make the really hard stuff for any one particular discipline.

If, on the other hand, you lock down one of the two parent skills you'll find that you'll be able to make high quaility gains in recipes applicable to the particular discipline you're focusing on.

Note: While you can put your skills anywhere you want, generally the two specific parent skills will follow their own path of specialization concerning recipes. The generic skills (Blacksmithing, Artificing, and Outfitting) are not special paths. That doesn't mean that training those skills won't be rewarding, as there will be high level blacksmithing recipes. It just means that special blacksmithing recipes will generally be provided to both "Weaponsmiths" and "Armorsmiths."