Cultural Armor Prices
 

So I am very interested in making some cultural armor, particularly high elf armor. However since the patch from 10/8/13, it seems impossibly difficult and expensive. I was doing some math, and for 1 full suit of Mystic Koada'Dal Armor, you are required to have 85 Blue Diamonds, just to enchant the metal. Then you still need the metal itself, which is not cheap; the temper, the imbued gem, molds etc. Additionally, you need access to a 49 chanter to enchant the metal, and another character to imbue the gems, not to mention raising your blacksmithing to well over 200 skill. Then you still have the ability to FAIL. Do the stats on this relatively low end gear, which will eventually get replaced with planar really justify the outrageous cost?

The only reason I care so much is because I love doing tradeskills, and it's a shame to see the cultural tradeskills are basically inaccessible unless you have access to a guild bank.

The gem portions of the metal enchanting is removed with Velious. This is a really, really big deal for cultural smithing for a lot of peeps. Unfortunately it means you gotta wait for the server to enter that era, but hey. It is getting closer every day, and once it's here you're in business.

I personally leveled up a little dwarf cleric and capped 175 skill off of banded armor solely for the Imbued chain armors that can be made. Just the Brell chain armor offers a slightly higher AC over Fineplate, +3 / +4 str / sta bonuses, fire resists, AND can be worn by rogues. The overall fighting stats + AC are flat out better than either Ry'gorr or Crustacian shell which will be floating around in auctions, and the imbued armor will be easy as all hell to make.

Rogues are top dogs of raid DPS for Velious. Players cluing into this wanting Twinks will be a suitable market for gaining the skill.

Meanwhile, the other cultural armors (especially Ogre War Plate or human forged Rallos Zek plate) will see a resurgence of popularity just for the raw stats they provide on every slot they fit in. But for now, yeah, we gotta wait.

Hopefully we'll see not only lower prices on these items but increased availability.

I paid about 15k for a full set of Mystic Koada'Dal Armor last year.

My guess is that a lot of the same mystic koada'dal pieces are getting traded around. When I bought the armor a year ago or so, it was 2-3K per piece. I feel like I see the breastplate being sold for like 7-9K recently. Probably an older one getting traded around.

Just for clarification: I don't believe this is at Velious launch, but a few months after in the timeline.

Yea, most likely when they added the blue diamond jewelry and the gnome cultural stuff

It was an April 2001 patch (4 months in Velious)

http://www.tski.co.jp/baldio/patch/20010417a.html

Yeah. I bought mine for 3k for the small pieces, 3.5 for the big, before the changes were made. Most of the pieces are currently like 6-10k. I've been trying to sell the last piece that I have left from when I used to wear this stuff, the legs, for 7k and have gone weeks without a buyer. I made a decision yesterday that I was probably gonna drop the price to 4k- if people are buying the shit for 8 I don't like to go half price, but I don't think anyone is actually buying this shit anymore at all.


Seeing this thread, I realize how insane this all is and I think I'm gonna go down to 3.5.

Doing cultural armor is a total waste of time now since the nerf. But as been stated a few months into Velious I think it will be worthwhile. So yeah, raise your skill level but, hold off till Velious ever comes out. :)