Crafting Skills

From Vanguard WikiSpheres

Introduction

Skills determine what actions are available in each crafting step and what actions are available to remedy complications. This is different than overall crafting level which determines what recipes and work orders are available to you.

Skills are increased when actually doing an action using that skill. Skills are limited by overall crafting level. To review your skills open up your character sheet and access the crafting page. At the bottom will appear an Equipment, Skills, and Attributes tab. Click on the Skills tab.

To help you control skill-ups you can turn off and even decrease skill advancement by utilizing the -, lock, and + buttons to the right of a skill.

Each of the crafting professions have parent skills and process skills, and each of these are divided up between refining and 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.

It is currently believed that 100 points in a parent skill will add +1 table slots (work orders provide 2 fewer slots).

Process Skills

The process skills affect the use of crafting actions during the session. The refining process for a trade uses one station skill, one utility skill, and one tool skill; the finishing processes for a trade share one of each skill type as well.

Tool

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

Utility

skills affect actions that 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.

Skill Pools

Finishing Parent Skills

Finishing parent skills are limited 20 points per level available to spread among the three skills. These skills dictate the overall difficulty of finishing recipes, finishing table space, and finishing assembly recipes available.

NOTE: it is strongly recommended that you only spend your points in two of the skills. You want to be sure to level your main profession finishing skill (Artificer, Blacksmith, or Outfitter) and one specialty skill.

Finishing Process Skills 

Finishing process skills have 25 points per level to spread among the three skills. The thing to watch here is that the more used skills really advance quickly. Be sure to arrive at a balance by turning off and on these skills.

Refining Parent Skill 

Refining finishing skill is one skill with a limit of 10 points per level. This skill dictates the overall difficulty of refining recipes, refining table space, and refining assembly recipes available.

Refining Process Skills

Refining processing skills have 25 points per level to spread among the three skills. The thing to watch here is that the more used skills really advance quickly. Be sure to arrive at a balance by turning off and on these skills.

Skill Example: Artificer

Below are screenshots of a beginning Artificer taken after completing the tutorial.

The bar above each set's skill list represents how much more skill ups you can achieve in your current level.

General Material Refining

shows Forming at 1 with 29 more skill ups possible at this level. Forming is so low because this is a crafter who has just completed the tutorial and has done no refining at all so far.

Material Refining

shows Shaping Tools at 1, Shaping Utilities at 1, and Shaping at 1. It also shows 69 more skill ups are possible at this level. Material Refining works much like Material Finishing explained below.

Material Specializations

shows Artificing at 10, Carpentry at 12, and Mineralogy at 1. It also shows 37 more skill ups are possible at this level. If this character wants to be a Carpenter then locking Mineralogy would ensure that their skillups went to only Carpentry and Artificing. If on the other hand this character wants to be a Mineralogist then they should click on the minus sign (-) next to Carpentry to ensure that skill-ups only go to Mineralogy and Artificing and that the 12 points in Carpentry get redistributed. Note: The redistribution doesn't happen until all the points in Material Specialization are used up.

Material Finishing

shows Sculpting at 7, Sculpting Tools at 4, and Sculpting Utilities at 14. It also shows that 47 more skill ups are possible at this level. For Finishing Processing skills it's important to remember to balance them out. Utilities usually get used more than any other skill as they are what bumps up quality. In order to ensure that complications can be remedied efficiently it would be good to lock Sculpting Utilities for a few work orders to balance out the other two skills.