Category:Crafting (LotRO)  

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The November 2010 update introduced significant interface changes to the crafting process. They did not really change it in any material sense, but it is much better organized, now, and easier to understand. The major updates were:
  • Multiple Output recipes now let you clearly choose which version of the recipe you wish to craft
  • Get Recipes button for the LotRO Store added. Takes you to special recipes for the currently selected craft. Recipe prices vary from 20Turbine Points ($0.20)  to 160Turbine Points ($1.60) .
  • Get Ingredients button for the LotRO Store added. Allows you to buy an Ingredient Pack<s> (for 25Turbine Points ($0.25) ) that provides enough ingredients to complete one build. This means that you do not need to keep stacks of ingredients just in case you need to make an item or two for an Alt. The Packs and the items made with them are Bound to Account. Some recipes will require multiple Packs.
  • Increase Craft XP button to the LotRO Store added, where you can buy 5 Scrolls of Lesser Craft Acceleration<s> for 250Turbine Points ($2.50)  or 5 Scrolls of Greater Craft Acceleration<s> for 395Turbine Points ($3.95)  which adds 25% or 50% to crafting XP, respectively, for 10 minutes.
  • The crafting panel is now split side-by-side rather than over/under. This allows more recipes to be seen at one time. Also, the Recipe to be Made view (right-side) now shows both normal and Mastery results in a single view (rather than tabbed).
I know, we already have several Crafting guides, but I found them to be organized in a confusing manner. Maybe it is just me, and maybe this guide is really just for me to figure out how it all works, but so be it. If it also helps one other, I will be content with that. -Bludwyng

There are 10 different Professions, grouped by three's, into seven Vocations. Obviously, most professions will be a part of the skill-set of more than one Vocation. You can only practice a single vocation at a time, but can change vocations at any time by speaking to a Master of Apprentices. Any experience in the professions of your former vocation are, unfortunately, lost. On the up side, this system allows practice and mastery of three professions, not just one. Every Vocation gets at least one Gathering profession and one Production profession.

Contents [hide]

Recipes

All professions receive their basic recipes for each proficiency level automatically, but for the Production professions that is just the start. Almost all mobs in the world have a chance to drop recipes, especially intelligent monsters (Brigands, Orc-kin, etc). Also, recipes for Journeyman and Expert are for sale from the Novices in the Crafting Halls.

On the Profession pages we list mainly those recipes that come automatically with each new crafting rank. Other recipes must be bought or found.

Proficiency and Mastery

For each Crafting Profession there are six levels of Proficiency: Apprentice, Journeyman, Expert, Artisan, Master, and Supreme. You will start as an Apprentice in all three Professions that fall within your Vocation. When you reach 200 points in any one of them you will need to complete a simple quest. Who gives it to you will depend on what the profession is and where you are. It will be either the Supplier, or a Novice or Expert in your profession. Next you will need 400 points of Apprentice-grade practice and 280 of Journeyman. When you complete the 400 Apprentice-level points you may again talk to the same NPC for the quest to be considered as having mastered your Apprentice lessons. Do the same for Journeyman and you will become an Expert. Before you can unlock Mastery of your current rank and get your next rank you will need to perform a small quest which you can get from your craft's vendor. Gathering crafts get this from any Supplier.

Only when a given Tier of proficiency is mastered can you get recipes of that tier to crit for special highly-valued items, and only then can you work on Proficiency of the next higher tier.

Experience Points Required to Rank Up
TierProficiencyMastery
Apprentice200400
Journeyman280560
Expert360720
Artisan440880
Master5201040
Supreme6001200

Critical Success

Once you have mastered a proficiency level, recipes of that tier have a chance to "crit". These means you have a chance (starting at 5%) to make a product that is better than the basic recipe states. For refining this results in more product. Crit Chance can be improved through the use of special materials, such as Crude Whetstones<s> for Weaponsmithing. These special items drop from all mobs throughout the world. Be sure to offer for trade any items that you cannot use in exchange for those you can.

To use the mastery item, click on the tab with the blue background and the anvil. There you can see your base Critical Success chance and any items that can be used to raise it. You will also see an icon there of the item you could make if the recipe procs a Critical Success. Check the Use box to tell the crafting tool to use a mastery item. Be sure to un-check it when you want it to stop or you could unintentionally burn through all your mastery items. Save them for items that have a chance to proc gear you really want!

Supreme

When you achieve proficiency at Master-level skills you will need to visit a crafting Master at one of the Crafting Halls before you can begin work on Supreme-level skills.

Tools

Possession and use of higher quality tools increases the base chance for Critical Success and/or decreases the time it takes to create/plant/harvest so you work faster.

Gathering vs. Production

Most professions fall into one of these two categories, while a couple can do both. Gathering professions are the gatherers of raw resources. They can then refine them into an item that is usable by one or more of the Production crafts. Production crafts take the refined resources and turn them into products of use to other players.

The two exceptions are Farmer and Scholar. Farmers actually create their own resource nodes by planting seeds which grow into fields that can then be harvested. Scholars are the only class that both Harvest and Produce.

Cook is the oddball. While he can turn Farmer produce into food, he can also harvest wild produce directly without a farmer (but then, everyone can harvest the wild produce nodes, but only Cook and Farmer get the Track Crops skill).

A word about Resource Nodes: In the beginning of LotRO we all thought that a given harvest node would appear in the same place as the same type every time. We later learned that in fact every spawn location for any node of the same type and tier has a random chance to be any node of that type and tier each time it respawns. This means that the Copper Deposit you harvest now could be a Tin Deposit the next time you run by it. Because of this we have begun work on consolidating all the Object pages for the same Type and Tier into a single Object page so you can see all of the locations at a glance. An example would be Journeyman Mineral Deposit which could be any one of four different nodes: Barrow-iron Deposit, Rich Barrow-iron Deposit, Silver Deposit or Rich Silver Deposit.

Guilds

Only Production crafts have Guilds. So, while there is a Tailor Guild, Explorer's have no guild for Forestry and Prospecting as those are not Production skills. Recipes obtained from your guild are Superb and guaranteed to crit every time.

To join a guild you must be an Expert in the relevant profession. Once you have joined your Guild Master will explain the advancement system, but basically you buy a recipe that allows you to craft an Small Expert item which has a 24 hour cooldown and can be Bartered with your Guild Leader for an increase of 400 Reputation. After one completion you should be able to buy the Medium Expert recipe which requires more material, has a 3 day cooldown, and barters for 1,200 Reputation. So, the higher you get and the more of these recipes you have the more of them you can craft and the faster you can gain Reputation. Since it takes 10,000 to rise from Neutral to Acquaintance, and 20,000 to get to the level above that you are gonna be making these things for a long time.

Quests

There are a few quests in Middle Earth that crafters absolutely must do. It would be criminal to pass them up. One such set of quests are the three Bounty quests at The Dead Man's Perch in the Barrow-downs. These quests, Bounty: Barghest Eyes, Bounty: Cardolan Relics, and Bounty: Wight-skulls (all are level 20), each reward more than one rare crafting material such as Small Whetstone<s> and Sapphire Shard<s>, and each offers your choice of a Journeyman Scroll Case, such as Journeyman Tailor Scroll Case<s>, which contains a random rare recipe. Each of these quests can be repeated three times.

There is another set of three at Nen Harn in the Northern Bree-fields. For a display of the quests that are specifically for Crafters, see the Crafting quest series.

Vocations

Talking to the Master of Apprentices
Talking to the Master of Apprentices
To learn a Vocation, or change your Vocation, simply speak to any Master of Apprentices. These can be found in most places where you find a concentration of crafting stations (Forge, Oven and Workbench). Choosing the right Vocation for the Production Craft that you want to master is important if you want to be as self-sufficient as possible. The Master of Apprentices will give you the basic Apprentice recipes and a set of Basic Tools. These are of low quality and you should look for an upgrade as soon as possible.

For example, a Tailor needs leather, and lots of it. Anyone can kill bears and get hides, but only the Forester can tan the hides into leather. So if you want to be a Tailor, then Explorer would be your Vocation of choice.

Any of your Gathering professions will also include a tracking skill that, when turned on, will cause Resource Nodes of thattype to show on the minimap of the UI. Only resources for that profession will highlight and, if you have more than one, swotching back and forth is not advised as there is a cooldown before the tracking skill can be used again. Just pick the one resource type you need most and keep that one turned on at all times.

Vocation ProfessionsNotes
ArmsmanProspector, Weaponsmith, Woodworker
ArmourerMetalsmith, Prospector, Tailor
ExplorerForester, Tailor, Prospector
HistorianFarmer, Scholar, Weaponsmith
TinkerCook, Prospector, JewellerCommunity-created Tinker's Guide on Lorebook
WoodsmanFarmer, Forester, Woodworker
YeomanCook, Farmer, Tailor

Professions

The following sections will include information on the Type, Vocations, Tools and Crafting Stations needed, as well as some basic information on Recipes and Materials. Only the most basic of profession's needs will be covered here.

Cook

The Cook specializes in the production of food for traveling adventurers. Everything from power and morale regeneration to temporarily boosting things such as agility and might are possible from the culinary skill of the cooks of Eriador. In addition, each region has its share of peculiar specialties, such as Mushroom Pies from the Shire, for players seeking something a little off the beaten track of Cram and Water.

Farmer

The farmer concerns himself with the growing of different types of vegetable and pipe-weed crops on various plots of land scattered throughout the Bree-land and Shire areas. They grow the hops and berries needed for the wonderful ales and beers brewed throughout the land and provide the resources for cooks to make their culinary works of art for the hardy adventurers.

The first fields you will probably plant will be in Staddle. A Pipeweed Field is at Gammy Bogg's Farm, and a good Vegetable Field can be found next-door as well as a Novice Farmhand for you to buy supplies from. Leveling up is very easy here, at least through Expert, and can be done quickly.

Each recipe is in three parts. First is the sowing of seeds and reaping of harvest. Harvesting yields Fair Crops and Poor Crops. Next is the processing of fair and poor crops. Fair crop gives you finished Produce, Poor Crop gives only seeds for you to reuse. If you are lucky, Harvesting and Processing can also give a Rare for Tailors, Cooks or Scholars. There are three kinds of Crop you can grow: Pipeweed, Vegetables, and Grain. All require some number of seeds plus a Bucket of Water<s> and a Handful of Fertilizer<s> (which can be bought from appropriate Farmhands). Recipes above Expert will require better Water and Fertilizer, and better Farmland.

On some recipes you will see the Mastery tab light up. This means that there are additional ingredients you can add that will improve your crop (increase Critical Success to 100%), such as Pile of Rivendell Soil. These can be purchased from Expert Farmhands.

The Field of grown crops will appear in the direction you are facing when planting is finished so you can turn during planting to avoid having the fields appear one on top of the other. This makes Harvesting easier. Do not ever plant more than four Fields at the same time, and not more than three unless you are very alert, or the first will "wither" and fade before you can harvest it. Simply right-click the field to harvest it just the same as any harvestable resource node. No other farmer can harvest your fields. It is flagged just the same as if it were a mob corpse someone else killed.

TIP: If you plant four fields at a time and turn between each so they do not overlap, you can click on all four to harvest, one after the other, and you will harvest all four, in the order clicked, with no further action!

One more thing: Farming is hard work and hard on your tools. Get the best tools you can afford, but also be sure to watch their Durability and repair them often! That said, it is also the easiest Profession to Master, as you do not have to hunt for Resource Nodes.

For recipes of all gifted recipes, by tier, see Farmer.

Forester

The Forester involves himself primarily with the gathering of wood. Searching the wilderness, they use their sturdy axes to cut and collect a variety of different materials. These woods, such as Rowan, Lebethron and the rare but prized Black Ash, are then treated and shaped into usable sections for other crafters.

At each tier you will be able to take 2 hides and make leather, and a type of wood (plus some wax) to make a Plank of lumber.

For more information, including a table showing what you can harvest and what you can make from it, see Forester.

Jeweller

The Jeweller will focus on the creation of objects and adornments for a wide variety of adventurers. It is said, as well, that the Jeweller can create true works of art.

See Jeweller for more information.

Metalsmith

The Metalsmith is an expert on all matters relating to metal, and as such is a craftsman of heavy armor, shields and a variety of tools. Certainly any aspiring guardians, champions and captains will seek the services of the Metalsmith on a frequent basis to help forestall disaster from befalling them. Utilizing a forge, the Metalsmith is able to create works of great strength for the benefit of all the free peoples of Middle-earth.

Guardians in particular should take note of their services: for if one cannot provide a strong front line defense, then darkness will consume not only the person in question, but all allies involved.

Prospector

The Prospector is a master gatherer who specializes in the accumulation of material ore. With a sturdy pick in hand, he will maneuver his way throughout Eriador in search of the richest mineral deposits that still remain in the world. Many players shall certainly prove that the Dwarves are not the only ones who are masters of mining. Copper, Mithril, Ancient Iron, these are just a few of many lodes of ore yet to be discovered behind that next mountain range for the hardy prospector.

Arguably the most common gathering profession, the prospector is quintessential to the success of Armsmen, Armorers, Explorers and Tinkerers. For in each of these vocations the use of material ore is essential to the craft of weapons, armor and the like. Any player that finds the need of ore would certainly be advised to gather at every possible moment and save whenever possible.

For each tier there will be two types of Ore that may be mined, a Hard Metal and a Soft Metal. For each ore type there will be normal and large nodes. Large nodes will have the same drops but will yield more of the ore and a better chance at multiple Rare harvests. At a Forge you may Smelt the Ore into Ingots (2 to 1). Then you may Refine the ingots into a final product such as Bronze and Steel or various precious metals. Gems can be polished by a Jeweler and used in recipes by Armorsmiths, Weaponsmiths, Metalsmiths and, of course, Jewelers.

For tables of Harvestables by Tier and Smelting & Refining recipes and results, see Prospector.

Scholar

The Scholar is among the most useful crafts in all of Middle-earth, but certainly benefits fellow trades-persons the most. Through the collection of lost lore from the first and second ages of the world, the Scholar puts the lost pieces together and creates helpful recipes, such as dyes and potions and scrolls of this lost lore, for their peers.

One of the nice things about Scholar is that you do not need a crafting station to craft (at least not the simple, early recipes). You can do it anywhere.

For more information, see Scholar.

Tailor

The Tailor masterfully crafts all sorts of light and medium range armor, such as padded, quilted and sturdy leather, including clothing for the fashionably inclined. Though the armor they mold is not as doughty as the armor crafted by the Metalsmith, it should never be underestimated. Minstrels, hunters and lore-masters rely on the lighter variants for optimal protection and ease of movement.

The Tailor is a highly warranted craft for those in need of protection on the field of battle. Henceforth, if one takes the path of a minstrel, hunter or lore-master, it would be advisable to seek the services of the Tailor on a regular basis.

Weaponsmith

The Weaponsmith is the crafter of shaft and steel. In these troubled days of Middle-earth, many adventurers look towards these individuals in hopes of a fearsome weapon to gain an added edge in battle. Utilizing the hot fires of the forge, this crafter is able to create swords, spears, axes, hammers and much more.

In any battle against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron, a valued weapon in hand will mean the difference between victory and defeat, life or death. It is for this reason that players should seek out the Weaponsmith at every possible opportunity to ensure they always have the advantage in battle.

Woodworker

The Woodworker is a master of wood and haft that allows him to create an array of deadly weapons for ranged and melee combatants alike. Utilizing a work bench and various tools, the Woodworker can create a large variety of bows, staves and spear hafts from many different types of treated lumber.The Woodworker tends to be a frequent proprietor for Hunters and Lore-masters, but many Guardians and Champions have also taken up the study of Wood lore as well. Much like the Weaponsmith, a reliable bow or stave often means the difference in battle, and as such the relevant players should acquire their services often.

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This page last modified 2010-12-04 18:50:17.

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