the 5,000 stupid question crafting thread

[Hungkung]

I just started really crafting.
I lost my mind in the 2nd hour
I lost my buttons in the 3rd hour
and I started to dribble somewhere between midnight and dawn.

in lieu of the fact there is so much I can't figure out I'm starting this thread to ask the questions which I should be ashamed to ask but just am not. hopefully someone is lurking out there who is still tied up in thier own personal shame sprirals who this will help too.

Question #1.
with building boats/houses. On 1 account, assuming you build 3 crafters (more?) to supply you all the stuff when you send it to the lucky homeowner, it is not a craft-skill to put it up? or is like lego's you just keep taking stuff out of your bag til your mom threatenes to suck them all up with the vacume.

#2
I don't understand dusts. *insert pitiful cat-being-stepped-on-then-glaring-at-you-look here* I mean I made the votary, drifter jute thingies ok, and ended up with a +1int +1ac cap. can someone explain in simple charlie brown words how to use stuff?

only 4,998 to go! see you in june!

[Ysharros]

Originally Posted by Hungkung

I just started really crafting.
I lost my mind in the 2nd hour
I lost my buttons in the 3rd hour
and I started to dribble somewhere between midnight and dawn.

Hang in there. Crafting in Vanguard is *not* for everyone, in just the same way that not everyone likes to (or can competently) play a tank, or a cleric, or a rogue. However, it does reward persistence and it *does* get easier to understand. With practice, Grasshopper, anything is possible.

Trawl through this forum if you have a bit of spare time -- there are lots of other question posts in the last 6-8 weeks, some of which might help you out too. The wiki, while still in its infancy, also has some gems of knowledge.

Question #1.
with building boats/houses. On 1 account, assuming you build 3 crafters (more?) to supply you all the stuff when you send it to the lucky homeowner, it is not a craft-skill to put it up? or is like lego's you just keep taking stuff out of your bag til your mom threatenes to suck them all up with the vacume.

It's at least 4 crafters *if* you wanted to make every single piece yourself. I'm a total crafting addict, and even I wouldn't contemplate trying that. I *could*, but there are much better ways to be spending my time.
For info though, on basic 1-story Thestran houses you'd need a Mineralogist (Artificer) for the bricks and probably the cornerstone, a Carpenter (Artificer) for the boards/logs/beams -- unless either or both of those are plain Artificing, in which care either will do, though I doubt it (specialists can confirm). You also need a tailor for the roof thatch, at least on Thestran houses, and finally a blacksmith for the handful of Iron Fasteners.

As to the question itself, specialists make the bits and pieces, but anyone can chuck them into the construction bin. So Joe Owner needs no crafting skills at all -- as long as he can source his building materials somehow, he can build his house. At least, that's how I understand it. I'm still trying to figure out who I can mug for the ~7-10g it'd cost to buy my house bits.

(Actually I consider 7-10g perfectly reasonable for a basic house. The way it seems to be set up, most people aren't likely to consider getting a plot before their late teens/early 20s in whatever is their main sphere. The plot itself ain't cheap, and the house costs are even worse. This is a good thing -- houses are an item and money sink as far as I can tell. I detest exclusivity, but I do approve of "frighteningly expensive" as long as everyone has a chance to go broke over it.)

#2
I don't understand dusts. *insert pitiful cat-being-stepped-on-then-glaring-at-you-look here* I mean I made the votary, drifter jute thingies ok, and ended up with a +1int +1ac cap. can someone explain in simple charlie brown words how to use stuff?

Charlie Brown wouldn't be playing Vanguard. Charlie Brown would be hiding in Snoopy's doghouse holding Linus's blanket.

Dusts can be added to stuff at specific points in the crafting process -- exactly when, and to what, varies by the dust. "Attuning" dusts, those blue ones which are all you can use at tier 1, are added to raw materials during the refining process. In tier 2 you get dusts which can be added during the finishing process to achieve other/more varied effects. I don't want to get too specific here because bonuses and crafted gear just underwent a serious change and may undergo some more in the coming weeks - so right now it's probably best to stick to the basics.

So, let's say you know you want to make Mondo Gloves of Intelligence, as a budding tailor. You get your Dust of Intelligence and add it to your jute bolts during the refining process (now don't blink! You might miss the adding button!). One dust can make up to 5 bolts, if you have the make-3 and make-5 actions (you'll get those later on; if you don't know what I mean, ignore it for now). You'll end up with a Charlatan's Jute Bolt -- and the higher the quality of the bolt, the more starting quality you'll have when you use those in a finishing item. (An A-qual gets you 18% starting quality iirc, and lower grades will get less.)

Depending on the grade of your final item, you'll have bigger or smaller bonuses. You *will* have an INT bonus on the gloves, because that's what you used to make them, but it might be +1 if you get a C grade or +4 if you get an A grade. THose numbers are for illustration only and shouldn't be taken as binding blahblahrapidvoicelikeonthecommercials.

That's probably enough for now. Keep asking -- there are plenty of us here who can help, many of whom are way more informed than I am.

[Alarion]

#3? For recipe drops, which only come from work orders (right?) - can you get them from NPCs, that are not tagged as refining/finishing taskmasters, that give work orders? For example, there is a NPC in Bordinars Cleft that gives blacksmithing (maybe others?) work orders, and many are repeatable. Would I have a chance at the rare recipe drops from these? They are not "Batch" work orders - in fact, they don't have a "Set" or "Batch" moniker, yet they ask you to make 3 of said item, no matter what work order it is.

[NuitWaters]

Its my understanding that the Housing components are primarily composed by a Minerologist.
They get quests for bricks/cornerstone as well as the beams/boards. I believe this is because the Board/Beam Recipes fall under the Artificer heading.

In regards to the recipe drop question, i know the NPC's you are talking about, there is also one in Rindol Field. His WO's are grey to me at 19 so i doubt you would get a drop from someone like this but I could definately be wrong.

Rare drops for me tend to come from Batch orders, i always to moderate and to C quality to save time.