Crafting, who's really doing it?

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LotusEater

I brake for blue butterflies
Another thread got me thinking about the crafting system and how many players really throw themselves into it, or whether it is mainly viewed as a necessary evil at best.

Personally, I set some pretty strict crafting guidelines. Nothing is bought. Period. Every weapon I use, every potion I drink and every item I enchant comes from the rawest possible ingredients. If I want to power level, I have to mine the ore.

Animals are hunted for leather. Soul gems are looted or mined from Blackreach. They are only filled with souls I claim or fissures in Soul Cairn. Everything worked from ore, no exceptions. Daedra Hearts cannot be bought (I won't lie, this one stings sometimes). Only looted items can be disenchanted, etc.

Now I'm obviously leaning towards one side of the scale here, I'm one of those guys that gets excited when he finds some iron ore hidden by weeds. I'm just curious to see who here has thrown themselves down the crafting rabbit hole and whether or not you enjoyed it.
 

Darth Brogan

Sith Lord
Another thread got me thinking about the crafting system and how many players really throw themselves into it, or whether it is mainly viewed as a necessary evil at best.

Personally, I set some pretty strict crafting guidelines. Nothing is bought. Period. Every weapon I use, every potion I drink and every item I enchant comes from the rawest possible ingredients. If I want to power level, I have to mine the ore.

Animals are hunted for leather. Soul gems are looted or mined from Blackreach. They are only filled with souls I claim or fissures in Soul Cairn. Everything worked from ore, no exceptions. Daedra Hearts cannot be bought (I won't lie, this one stings sometimes). Only looted items can be disenchanted, etc.

Now I'm obviously leaning towards one side of the scale here, I'm one of those guys that gets excited when he finds some iron ore hidden by weeds. I'm just curious to see who here has thrown themselves down the crafting rabbit hole and whether or not you enjoyed it.


Wow, that's pretty insane. Have you ever reached 100 smithing or enchanting without power leveling? I think Bethesda's patch which made xp related to the cost of the item was really dumb, but I never power leveled them before the patch, it seems impossible to get to 100 without power leveling now, which kinda kills some of the roleplaying experience sometimes.
 

jarif

Well-Known Member
Wow, that's pretty insane. Have you ever reached 100 smithing or enchanting without power leveling? I think Bethesda's patch which made xp related to the cost of the item was really dumb, but I never power leveled them before the patch, it seems impossible to get to 100 without power leveling now, which kinda kills some of the roleplaying experience sometimes.

its not ''dumb'', you can't just become the best smith in the entire game in just one day, thats not how roleplaying works, progression.
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
I luv crafting as well, although I don't put nearly as many restrictions as you do. I agree that I do not buy weapons (other than arrows at the fletcher, but only when I don't have the raw materials available). While I do mine all the ore I can get my hands on, I do not have an issue purchasing raw materials. I rarely need to buy leather though as I also do an awful lot of hunting and take ALL my pelts and skins. I actually don't really need to buy Daedra hearts very often as I can usually find them in any number of places (I had a string on this and I use it all the time now). I always get to 100 on my smithing, alchemy, enchanting and speech right away rather than concentrating on my armor & weaponry.

Personal favorites are steel armors (particularly wolf) until I can craft dragonbone, and daedric weaponry (ebony until then though), not because they're necessarily stronger, but because I like the look. Just don't really like the daedric armours.
 

jarif

Well-Known Member
I luv crafting as well, although I don't put nearly as many restrictions as you do. I agree that I do not buy weapons (other than arrows at the fletcher, but only when I don't have the raw materials available). While I do mine all the ore I can get my hands on, I do not have an issue purchasing raw materials. I rarely need to buy leather though as I also do an awful lot of hunting and take ALL my pelts and skins. I actually don't really need to buy Daedra hearts very often as I can usually find them in any number of places (I had a string on this and I use it all the time now). I always get to 100 on my smithing, alchemy, enchanting and speech right away rather than concentrating on my armor & weaponry.

Personal favorites are steel armors (particularly wolf) until I can craft dragonbone, and daedric weaponry (ebony until then though), not because they're necessarily stronger, but because I like the look. Just don't really like the daedric armours.

in the console i was really bumed out they did this and i thought it was dumb but the idea of roleplay on PC just changes everything, you know what i mean, you could be a hunter just killing everydear and using their pelts but being the greatest smith just changes everything
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
in the console i was really bumed out they did this and i thought it was dumb but the idea of roleplay on PC just changes everything, you know what i mean, you could be a hunter just killing everydear and using their pelts but being the greatest smith just changes everything
I have had to make some adjustments though. As I RP I already had some experience from my youth up near Windhelm. I got some tips from the smith there as I sold him many ores, hides and pelts that I came across while hunting and fishing as well as the occassional rusty weapon found. In return he gave me some basic training (which explains why I knew the basics when I started the game). I also make it a point, as I like my crafting to seek out smiths that will train me and pay them for it as well as get the free tips by doing some minor leg work for them.

I realize it may not be totally realistic, but, I do make an effort to explain my skill. I figure 2 years of constant practice probably made me pretty good. I also make sure that I collect ALL of the books on smithing (and there are quite a few) - not just the ones that give me extra skill points.

Just my method. Even at highest level, I still hunt my own leather, mine my own ores and sell my goods so that I build a reputation. I figure, if I was that good a smith, people would know about me.
 

Darth Brogan

Sith Lord
its not ''dumb'', you can't just become the best smith in the entire game in just one day, thats not how roleplaying works, progression.

No, I mean it's dumb because it's insanely hard and takes insanely long to get to 100 if you just craft all your armor and weapons, because I don't know about you, but I don't really use that many sets of armor and weapons. I usually only make a new set of armor when I get a new perk, and I can't get a new perk unless I keep smithing, so I wind up power leveling. The only other use I could see for smithing things is to make money, but even then you don't level too much, especially at the later levels. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that crafting skills don't really fit in with the rest of the skills. To level one-handed, you just keep doing damage with a one-handed weapon, to level smithing, you keep smithing things, and there's not too much of a purpose to smithing a ton of things, except for money. Alchemy works well, because you makes a bunch of potions, then you use them, then you can make more potions. I think Bethesda can add some kind of job where you can be a smith or an enchanter and people come and tell you to smith them things which would act as a miscellaneous quest, then they would give you money. I just feel like I'm forced to power-level if I want to get to Daedric or Dragon armor, because I don't have anything I need to craft, except a set of armor and a few weapons.
 

Daelon DuLac

How do you backstab a Dragon?
No, I mean it's dumb because it's insanely hard and takes insanely long to get to 100 if you just craft all your armor and weapons, because I don't know about you, but I don't really use that many sets of armor and weapons. I usually only make a new set of armor when I get a new perk, and I can't get a new perk unless I keep smithing, so I wind up power leveling. The only other use I could see for smithing things is to make money, but even then you don't level too much, especially at the later levels. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that crafting skills don't really fit in with the rest of the skills. To level one-handed, you just keep doing damage with a one-handed weapon, to level smithing, you keep smithing things, and there's not too much of a purpose to smithing a ton of things, except for money. Alchemy works well, because you makes a bunch of potions, then you use them, then you can make more potions. I think Bethesda can add some kind of job where you can be a smith or an enchanter and people come and tell you to smith them things which would act as a miscellaneous quest, then they would give you money. I just feel like I'm forced to power-level if I want to get to Daedric or Dragon armor, because I don't have anything I need to craft, except a set of armor and a few weapons.
I'm just the opposite. I smith a lot of armor and weapons and, since they keep dissappearing out of the vendors inventory that I sold it to, I just assume that someone must be buying them. I usually make tons of leather armor since it seems to go fast. With potions, I just make more and more and more and never use 90% of them at all and end up selling them or end up with 1,000's of them just cluttering up my home. I agree that it would be a great side quest thing if I could really be a smith or an alchemist or an enchanter, but, hey, ya can't have everything.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
Another thread got me thinking about the crafting system and how many players really throw themselves into it, or whether it is mainly viewed as a necessary evil at best.

Personally, I set some pretty strict crafting guidelines. Nothing is bought. Period. Every weapon I use, every potion I drink and every item I enchant comes from the rawest possible ingredients. If I want to power level, I have to mine the ore.

Animals are hunted for leather. Soul gems are looted or mined from Blackreach. They are only filled with souls I claim or fissures in Soul Cairn. Everything worked from ore, no exceptions. Daedra Hearts cannot be bought (I won't lie, this one stings sometimes). Only looted items can be disenchanted, etc.

Now I'm obviously leaning towards one side of the scale here, I'm one of those guys that gets excited when he finds some iron ore hidden by weeds. I'm just curious to see who here has thrown themselves down the crafting rabbit hole and whether or not you enjoyed it.
It kinda is a necessary evil tbh. I use a heap of armor rating enchantments but never *EVER* use health enchants cuz they make me feel way too op'ed even on master diff, the way i see it if there good enough to break thru my armor they deserve to win. I have on occasion tricked out my boots with carry weight enchantments cuz it really burns me when i'm forced to leave a powerful expensive piece of armor or weapon behind, but thats about it for me.
As for heading all the way to blackreach each an every time u need soul gems i commend u bro, that is some insane dedication there! And i can honestly say i would never have the patience for that. Crafting is viewed by some as a huge op'ed method of playing and i've even met some that don't do it at all, of course those players don't get very far either, lol impo enchanting is one of the coolest features in the game and if it weren't in skyrim i'd still love the game, just maybe not as much. ;)
 

LotusEater

I brake for blue butterflies
It kinda is a necessary evil tbh. I use a heap of armor rating enchantments but never *EVER* use health enchants cuz they make me feel way too op'ed even on master diff, the way i see it if there good enough to break thru my armor they deserve to win. I have on occasion tricked out my boots with carry weight enchantments cuz it really burns me when i'm forced to leave a powerful expensive piece of armor or weapon behind, but thats about it for me.
As for heading all the way to blackreach each an every time u need soul gems i commend u bro, that is some insane dedication there! And i can honestly say i would never have the patience for that. Crafting is viewed by some as a huge op'ed method of playing and i've even met some that don't do it at all, of course those players don't get very far either, lol impo enchanting is one of the coolest features in the game and if it weren't in skyrim i'd still love the game, just maybe not as much. ;)



Well, I don't always have to go all the way to Blackreach. I use looted ones from anywhere. :)

Regarding the difficulties in power-leveling, it's possible, just not gonna happen in a couple hours. I still make and enchant cheap items all the time. I just gather instead of buy. I found that by the time you factor in all the load screens going in and out of stores and dealing with NPC's to power level, you can almost as quickly just mine and gather the stuff while questing usually. For instance, the best and most expensive potion ingredients are plentiful in nature... not so much at the shops.
 

Nighthiker77

Well-Known Member
I love crafting, mainly smithing. I don't buy anything I could make, but i buy tons of materials. Adrianne is having a hard time keeping up with demand, so I help her out at the forge. I'm usually tight with Eorland Graymane too, and frequent the outdoor forges /vendors quite regularly.

I have done a lot less alchemy and enchanting lately than I used to, but i don't think I'll ever bother with a character that doesn't smith. I tried it and it wasn't for me. Its one of my favorite things in the game.
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
Well, I don't always have to go all the way to Blackreach. I use looted ones from anywhere. :)

Regarding the difficulties in power-leveling, it's possible, just not gonna happen in a couple hours. I still make and enchant cheap items all the time. I just gather instead of buy. I found that by the time you factor in all the load screens going in and out of stores and dealing with NPC's to power level, you can almost as quickly just mine and gather the stuff while questing usually. For instance, the best and most expensive potion ingredients are plentiful in nature... not so much at the shops.
I see, problem is its pretty rare to find soul gems on enemies, only bodies i ever loot that contain them are from high level mages and even then there always empty so i still have to fill them. Every now an then you'll get extremely lucky and clear out a camp that has a chest with a filled black soul gem hidden within but its very rare and only the hardest camps and caves contain these chests.
Some ingredients are plentiful providing u know where to look and at what time of day but usually its not that easy, cryodilic spadetails for example can only be fished out of certin ponds at certin times and even then it takes a *LOT* of patience! Not to mention an argonian character or water breathing enchant, plus you'll still only catch around 1 spadetail for every dozen salmon, when i do this i usually catch 1 spadetail every 20 to 30 minutes, its a *LONG* boring process! So i only do it when i'm in dire need of a restoration potion and all the alchemists are sold out.
 

LotusEater

I brake for blue butterflies
I see, problem is its pretty rare to find soul gems on enemies, only bodies i ever loot that contain them are from high level mages and even then there always empty so i still have to fill them. Every now an then you'll get extremely lucky and clear out a camp that has a chest with a filled black soul gem hidden within but its very rare and only the hardest camps and caves contain these chests.
Some ingredients are plentiful providing u know where to look and at what time of day but usually its not that easy, cryodilic spadetails for example can only be fished out of certin ponds at certin times and even then it takes a *LOT* of patience! Not to mention an argonian character or water breathing enchant, plus you'll still only catch around 1 spadetail for every dozen salmon, when i do this i usually catch 1 spadetail every 20 to 30 minutes, its a *LONG* boring process! So i only do it when i'm in dire need of a restoration potion and all the alchemists are sold out.


Dwemer ruins are pretty good for gathering soul gems but you are right, they aren't exactly plentiful. It's a little more cumbersome but a couple trips to the right spots and it gets a lot easier. For instance, just left the Soul Cairn with Serana. Looted items:

5 Black Soul Gems
9 Black (filled w/grand)
4 Common gems
5 Common (filled)
2 Grand
2 Grand (filled)
2 Greater (filled)
34 Lesser
4 Lesser (filled)
38 Petty
8 Petty (filled)
9 Daedra Heart

Not a massive haul but I was mainly targeting petty and lesser gems so in that regard I did real well. That's in addition to the other loot.
 

Rumor

Member
With my first character, I limited most of my crafting to materials that I looted/found/mined. As I progressed through characters, I've leaned more towards buying materials but rarely finished items (things that have an enchantment I want, or items I cannot make are the exceptions). Usually the only items that I make from scratch are things that I intend to be worn by myself or follower, sometimes I'll make additional items for enchanting. I make all the potions I use with exception to Potion of Extreme or Ultimate Healing/Magicka/Stamina. I've made less than 100 weapons/armor combined, but improved more than 1,000 of each with my current character. Stats also record 3,800 barters.

I see crafting as a "chore" within Skyrim. I keep at it though I'm beyond needing benefit to speech skill or finances. It's just part of the game. I loot most of the weapons/armor I find laying about or off NPCs I kill. I then turn around improve them before I sell them. I will buy certain raw materials, ingredients and soul gems - doing so dually serves to keep my inventory cycling and increases the vendor's gold so I can sell them more stuff. Just because I buy the materials doesn't mean that I'll walk away from ore or ingredients I find wandering about ;).
 

HappyFaceClown

PunkNation
Dwemer ruins are pretty good for gathering soul gems but you are right, they aren't exactly plentiful. It's a little more cumbersome but a couple trips to the right spots and it gets a lot easier. For instance, just left the Soul Cairn with Serana. Looted items:

5 Black Soul Gems
9 Black (filled w/grand)
4 Common gems
5 Common (filled)
2 Grand
2 Grand (filled)
2 Greater (filled)
34 Lesser
4 Lesser (filled)
38 Petty
8 Petty (filled)
9 Daedra Heart

Not a massive haul but I was mainly targeting petty and lesser gems so in that regard I did real well. That's in addition to the other loot.
Yea i forgot about the soul cairn, that place is loaded with soul gems! Also dwemer spiders contain them. I was more less talking about finding them in the open world.
 

Dagmar

Defender of the Bunnies of Skyrim

LotusEater

I brake for blue butterflies
Here's a little data for those interested.

Ran the lake from Riften through the river to Ivarstead on a little 'on the way to a quest' fishing expedition. Left Riften at 1:28PM gametime and arrived at the water wheel in Ivarstead at 6:56PM.

Gathered:

12 A. Longfin
13 C. Spadetail
8 Hiscarp
12 River Betty
5 Salmon Roe
17 Silverside Perch
2 Slaughterfish Eggs

Passed on dozens of Dartwings and a few Nordic Barnacles. No Green Thumb perk (not sure if that matters for fish, seems to for Slaugherfish Eggs iirc)

Also for those struggling to find fish, check barrels on docks.
 

WillnRoll

Member
Now my trilogy works as follows: during my adventures I try to collect and buy all the ingredients that I can get (35 hours of game play = 1000 lbs of ingredients), as well as filling a lot of Soul gems, then I go to my house and craft a lot of potions, with the right tools for Alchemy, I reach level 100 and go to legendary in one session, after I am done, I go to all the markets in the game, sell all the potions and replace them with all the ingots, leather, ores that I can find, get back to my house, smith a lot of stuff, again sometime I get from level 15 to 100 and legendary it in one session, after that I go and enchant most of them using the gems I filled during my adventures, this method is granting me a lot of gold, and a lot of skills, from my point of view you can't call that level farming, because my character is considered doing all this work to get some gold for his family to have a the best quality of life :)

What really helps me collecting all of these is that my character can carry 600 lbs with the "Deep pocket" perk and the blessing from "The Steed Stone", and the "Green Thumb" perk which allows you to collect two plants every time you harvest is not bad at all too :)
 

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