Game Mechanics: Human Cultural smith impractical

[Nuesnada]

Karana and server developers. I respect what the goal is of the server. This server is closest we players have to what original everquest was. I enjoy my time here and will continue to play.

I will be hanging up my Blacksmithing hammer. I really wanted to be one the first human smith to 250 skill or closest to that we can get on this server. Unfortunately this goal is not possible or will require so much time to make it impossible for me. The need to farm High Quality ore makes human Cultural smithing waste of time for reward.

For the last 3 week I have done nothing but farm high quality and smith human freeport cultural armor with my time i have to play on this server. In that time I have been able to make 1 full suit of rallos zek imbued field plate and a few pieces of karana imbued field plate. Mind you i planned ahead and purchased the temper materials before cultural was even put in and i have enough material minus the seaweed for 200 tempers. i made 45 tempers soon as cultural was introduced. I say this so you understand that all my play time has been dedicated to just farming High quality ore in that past 3 weeks. My smith toon skill is 190.

Yes the ore is tradable and I have spent over 3000 platinum in buying the ore, but their is just not enough players on this server to farm ore to sustain the current needs of humane cultural smith.

DATA:

I am 52 ranger <my smith is now a 5th level cleric 209 wis>

The average for skill up form 190 to 250 was 20 combines per skill point increase. I know this for i did human cultural on live toward end of velious when it was practical do. Their was lots of data show this on eqtraders not sure if that data exists anymore i will have to check out when i get some time. So to skill up just from 190 to 200 skill will require me to do 200 combines

I can kill 16 to 20 cinder/flame / inferno goblin per 20min cycle, that is the loop from gnomes entrance <where the charred guardian shield guy show s up> to the inferno captain room to the blazing elemental room and back to gnomes. I kill some goblin in area around this path.

I will average 2 bricks of small or large kind in that cycle. IN 2 hours of farming that is 12 bricks of small or large size or block <when that is fixed> . if they where to drop evenly <more thank likely will not> i would get 4 small 4 large 4 blocks. when converted that is 5 Folded high quality metal sheets, 2 large brick san 1 small. in 10hours of farming just ore you should be able to get 56 blocks and 2 large bricks.

*** Edit *** 40hours of farming will result in 226 blocks of High quality ore and 2 large brick left over. one its is al converted will result in roughly 217 blocks. This should be enough if varience of 20 combines per skill point hold true, to get a human smith to 200 skill.


2 High Quality folded sheet item 220 to 232 12 skill points 240 combines if variance holds true. 48 hours of farming ore.

3 High Quality folded sheet items 233 to 242 skill. 9 skill points 180 combines if variance holds true. 38hours of farming ore.

Temper materials 2 mug sea foam <furies in ocean of tears> + 1salt water seaweed <fished ocean of tears> + Fish wine = 1 temper.


Imbued gems not hard to get as you can pay 5 to 10 plat each and take 30min or so get 20 gems imbued.

*** EDIT *** 216 HOURS OF JUST FARMING ORE NOT COUNTING TIME TO GET TEMPER MATERIALS. I average 3 to 4 hours of play time here on p1999 i would have to do nothing but farm ore for 55 days straight just to get enough ore to possibly get to 242 skill.


In conclusion It is not worth spending precious game time to continue to work on human cultural smithing in it current format <or block dropping format>. I know for a fact that Variance in skill gain can be s bad as up to 60 to 100 combines for one skill point post 200 skill.

Not having the ore on a merchant just means that you will not see many human smiths doing cultural. I understand that how it was on live and the server admins wish to keep as close to live as possible. I personally will not continue. So far i Know of only one other smith working on human cultural with 180 ish skill. I will leave it to him to continue.

I hang up my smithy hammer and go back to other adventures in everquest.


Thanks for listening

Tanarel 52 ranger , Buskier 5th level cleric <former human Cultural smith>