Crafting - A Guide to Ordnance.

[Archived Post]

Recovered and reposted from the old forums.

If you have questions you want answered, or information you think I should include, please let me know. Also, if you don't think you have the patience to read through this, or you are confused about crafting in general, scroll down and read the last paragraph from my third post.

I've seen lots of posts about how crafting is not user friendly. About how it doesn't make sense, etc. In only one respect do I agree. I think that the recipe results should be viewable from the blueprints screen before you spec or purchase them, so you can make an informed decision. To that end, I have screenshotted all of the recipes up to 334 skill(where my char was sitting at at lvl 31 when the beta was supposed to end). I will be posting them here. Let me summarize crafting you for.

You must choose a discipline. You must choose a specialization from that discipline

In my case I chose Arms and Ordnance.

They have now changed the way custom stat gear works. Only certain stats can be used on certain slots, and the overall values are lower than they used to be. While crafting can still be interesting, you will find that quest rewards and/or really lucky drops can be significantly better than anything you can craft. Unless they are trying to devalue the gear to make nemesis/unity gear more appealing end-game, I don't really understand why they limited the choices the way they did. I have read the reasoning behind it, but I don't understand it, especially in light of the premise of the game which is customization.

How do I choose a discipline?
Your upgrades boost your stats, so you need to choose your discipline based on character concept and your planned super stats(focus stats), rather than your planned power framework. Each discipline has a specific stat which it is completely lacking. The stat voids are as follows:
Arms has no Pre
Mysticism has no Con
Science has all the stats, although the Pre and Con are both low on all fixed stat items.

Please note that for science you might get less focused items because they are spread with more stats. Also, I do not know how this affects fixed stat vs. variable items. If someone with science could give me the values for Pre and Con vs. Int, Str, and End so I could compare, it would be nice(please include the level of variable item, and please take the stats at the highest rarity).

Arms has the best healing items, and root grenates, incendiary grenades, etc.
Mysticism has poor healing items, lots of summon items, and a lvl 20 req item that does 300+ damage with 25 charges on a 30s cooldown. I believe the damage scales, but could be wrong.
Science has HoT and ablative shield items, as well as damage buffs and debuffs.

How do I choose a specialization?
If coins had 3 sides I would say flip one. Specialization is only cosmetic. It allows you to make upgrades that better suit your hero's lore.

You gain skill primarily by breaking down upgrades from your discipline that you do not need, and alternately, by making(and then breaking down) recipes

For the most part I only broke down bound arms upgrades and crappy ones. Good BoE ones went on the AH. Even with that I was still able to easily keep my crafting in line with my level(at least in terms of recipes). It takes a while to get new mats once you hit a new tier. As your skill gets higher, you get less and less skill for each item you break down, to the point that it becomes most efficient to break down single star items one at a time for the one point each. Also, generally 4 zero star items will give you 1 point(you can see the star rating at the bottom. 0 is actually a fraction, so keep adding 0 star items till it hits 1). You can break down more than 1 item at a time in the same window. As far as I know there is no limit on how many items.

I switched Specializations... What happens to my blueprints?
You keep them, but you can only use them if you have that school and enough skill. For completionists out there, you could max out 400 in ordnance, get everything, then respec to fighting styles and get to 400 again and get everything, then the same for alien metabolism. Its kind of redundant though.

Help! I am trying to break down an upgrade or several upgrades at one time and it tells me it failed every time! What do I do?

One(or more) of those upgrades is a quest reward that cannot be broken down. You can tell which one it is because it does not show you any resulting materials in the result box. Any attempt to research that includes that upgrade will fail. Its vendor trash.

The stats seem kind of weird, or none of the sets have exactly what I want!

This is only true at low levels. Once you get into your 20s, you start being able to craft exactly the stats and rarities you want. I will explain more about it later.

Its so hard to get materials. I can never make what I want!

Then you aren't breaking things down enough. Unless I had just hit a new tier of materials, I never found myself short... not once. And I leveled through 3 crafting trees(mysticism/echanted gear, Arms/fighting, and Arms/ordnance) on 3 different chars.

EDIT: This is not necessarily true once you are in your upper 300s. I've run out of materials several times. You wind up with tons of materials again while you are farming for insights to get the rare patterns

There are so many different materials, and I need so many to make anything. I don't want to keep them in my bags, but its a pain to go back and forth to the bank.
So don't go back and forth! Once of my favorite innovations of this game is that, if you have the mat, you can use the mat. It doesn't matter if its in your bank or your inventory. Bank them all, and use them whenever you want. Your recipe will automatically pull the mat from the bank.

Ok, so what can I make that I would care about?

How about +45 to a single stat at lvl 26 on a primary item? +10-12 on a secondary?
At lvl 31 you get a complete set of primary and secondary recipes which you can customize for all slots. More on that later.

[Archived Post]

There are two kinds of crafting recipes in your specialization tree. Fixed stat recipes and Variable recipes. Fixed stat recipes are very simple. You can make an item with these stats and only these stats, it requires X Y and Z. Variable recipes are much more fun, and this is where crafting comes into its own. Alongside your recipes, you can also purchase enhancements. You've probably been buying them for a long time, but you had no idea what they did. Each of those enhancements represents a stat or an effect. On variable recipes, you get a choice of a major enhancement, or a minor enhancement, or both. You also get a slider to determine rarity (hint, the more rare the item, the better the stats).

Valdir has posted a very thorough list. I am replacing my list with his, with a big thank you.

Major

Stats
Monstrous(Radiant) - str
Supersonic - dex
Strengthened - con
Force - int
Enhanced - ego
Radiant(Monstrous) - rec
Power - end
Brilliant - str/dex
Amplified - str/rec
Kinetic - dex/rec
Powerful - end/int
Integrated - end/ego

Other
Striker - +offense
Willpower - +100% root/hold/confuse resist, +pdef/edef
Neutronium - +50% crushing damage resist, +pdef/edef
Questionite - +50% all paranormal damage resist, +pdef/edef
Kendrium - +50% all energy damage resist, +pdef/edef (identical to Energy Shield)
Energy Shield - +50% all energy damage resist, +pdef/edef (identical to Kendrium)
Controller - +15% root/hold/confuse strength, +offense
Exoskeleton - +9.1% dodge, +25% avoidance

Broken (These don't do anything as far as I can tell)
Crushing - ?
Kata -
Sleeper Agent - Enhanced fighting with chance to confuse
Pacifier - Enhanced fighting with placate
Engineer - Enhanced fighting with + energy strength and +offense
Adhesive - Root
Impact - Enhanced fighting with 10% chance knockback +offense
Cyborg - 5% chance +energy
Sonic - ?
Lightning - 5% chance electric damage
Killing Attack - Offense power to self(20s buff)
Formula(test) - ?

Minor

Stats
Colossal(Luminous) - str
Colossal(Hazardous) - str
Accelerated - dex
Accelerated(Deffensive) - dex
Reinforced - con
Reinforced(Banded) - con
Controlled - ego
Controlled(Piercing) - ego
Electrified - rec
Energized - end
Energized(Galvinized) - end
Fulminating - str/dex
Fulminating(Volatile) - str/dex
Heightened - str/rec
Fantastic(Modified) - str/dex/rec
Amalgamated - dex/rec
Sharpened(Fantastic) - con/str/dex
Developed - con/end/ego
Modular - ego/end
Other
Stabilized - +50% knockup/knockback/repel resist
Energized - -50% energy decay, +offense
Plated - +pdef
Grounded - +edef
Destructive - +crit severity, +offense
Microcell - +0.5 Energy Regen, +pdef/edef
Transistor - +0.5 Energy Regen, +offense
Scanning - +100% Perception, +60 Minimap Radius, +offense
Life Supporting - +5% max health, +pdef/edef
Half Broken?
Overlord's - +50% root/hold resist, +pdef/edef
(tooltip on Overlord's says "Reduced Endurance cost on all Control powers.")
Survival - Health on kill
Machinist's - Endurance on kill
Atomic - 50% AoE power cost(dropped works, crafted does not right now)

So given this list, a poor quality Monstrous Collosal primary item will have 48 STR on it at lvl 31. Additional levels of rarity increase it by 2 stat per level(i.e. 50, 52, and then 54 for a rare item). A Poor item has very low crafting mat requirements, so its often worth it to build the lowest level one right away(you can make them very soon after you get the recipe) and then upgrade them for the minor bonus when you have the excess materials.

Krivasran has sorted all the stat enhancements based on which slot they can be added to now.

Ordnance crafting enhancements, could the OP please tuck these in because our enhancements are stupid and don't list slot. I don't have all the enhancements, I just bought the stat boosting ones.

Utility Major:
Powerful - End/Int
Intergrated - End/Ego
Kinetic - Dex/Rec
Force - Int
Power - End
Cyborg - ???
Enhanced - Ego

Utility Minor
Devleoped - Con/End
Energized - End
Controlled - Ego
Microcell - +.05 Energy Regen
Reinforce - Con
Modular - End/Ego
Scanning - +100% Perception, +60 Minimap Radius

Offensive Major:
Amplified - Str/Rec
Brilliant - Str/Dex
Monstrous - Str
Radiant - Rec
Supersonic - Dex
Striker - Offense

Offensive Minor:
Sharpened - Con/Str/Dex
Colossal - Str
Accelerated - Dex
Reinforced - Con
Fulminating - Str/Dex

Defensive Major:
Formula - ???
Exoskeleton - +9.1% Dodge, +25% avoidance
Energy Shield - +40% all damage resistance, Additional energy defense
Strengthened - Con

Defensive Minor:
Fantastic - Str/Dex/Rec
Colossal - Str
Electrified - Rec
Energized - End
Controlled - Ego
Accelerated - Dex
Heightened - Str/Rec
Fulminating - Str/Dex
Amalgamated - Dex/Rec
Life Supporting - +5% HP



Here are compiled screenshots of all of the recipes for the Ordnance specialization up to 334 skill(from lvl 1 up past lvl 31). If anyone can show me how to make the code actually display them instead of just linking them, I would appreciate it.

Utility Upgrades (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Blizzisme/utilityupgrades_small.jpg)

Offensive Upgrades (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Blizzisme/offensiveupgrades_small.jpg)

Defensive Upgrades (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v485/Blizzisme/defensiveupgrades_small.jpg)


If you go through these, it should help you decide if the fixed stat/lower level recipes from this spec are right for you.

Special thanks to hirebrand for the science blueprints

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hirebrand/sets/72157622573886366/detail/

Yay for batch processing! Will post one set for Mysticism and Arms later.




My crafting trainer wants an <insert name here> instead of money!!! What is this and where do I get it?

People will notice that there are quite a few recipes that do not require money to buy, instead they require either:

Profundity -> Mysticism
Insight -> Arms
Epiphany -> Science

and come either in slight, mild, normal, or great flavors.

You get these as random bonuses for breaking down items in the research window. Again, researching is good.

Some recipes at 400 require as much as 3 greater flavor ones PLUS 10g. It can take quite a while to farm those out.

When you break down components, the closer to 5/5 stars you are, the more likely you are to get inspiration items which are appropriate to your level. It would be very nice to have conversion recipes for these to go up and down in quality, but unfortunately breaking them down is the only way.

WingedKagouti said it better:
To get a Great Profundity (Tier 4) you need 301+ Skill and a 5/5 rating. Note that the chance to get one is not as good as the chance to get a Profundity (Tier 3) with 201-300 Skill doing 5/5 rating research.

To get Profundities of a lower Tier than your current, do reseach with lower ratings than 5/5. At 301+ Skill, a 1/5 rating has a low chance to give you a Slight Profundity.



Sometimes when I pick up materials from crafting nodes around teh world I see a graphic and I get a buff! What is this?

When you harvest a crafting node in the world, you will likely get an effect based on what kind of node it is. Arms nodes will give you a damage boost. Mysticism nodes give you an end boost, and science nodes give you a HoT.


For everyone who doesn't have the patience to go through what I wrote, here is crafting in a nutshell.

Choose a school(you can click on the skills talk point at the vendor and he will tell you which stats they don't give you). Choose a specialization(pick one at random). Break down all upgrades you find from your school for materials and skill ups(if its better than what you have use it, and break it down when you replace it). Sell all other upgrades you don't need on the AH or trade to other players for MORE upgrades from your school. Buy all blueprints(recipes) from your school. Check all new recipes. If its better than what you have, make srue you have all the listed mats(nothing is red in the requirements list) and then hit create. When you get to choose your own stats, select the stats. Slide the rarity meter towards rare until you reach the best quality you can make. Hit create.

There you go, crafting in a nut shell.

[Archived Post]

couple things to add

First you can put multiple items in the research window when breaking them down to achieve a higher score (1/5 meter).

Second that the subspecialization is purely cosmetic (ie ordinance under arms).

You can put multiple items in the research window. I mention above that you can put in multiple zero star items to bump it up to 1 star(in my experience, 0 star items in the appropriate level range usually convert at about 4 for 1 star). Just reread and you are right, while I did imply it I didn't actually say it. I've added it in. Thank you.

Retracted... specialization is cosmetic.



I guess the only other factors for me to consider would be consumables or variation in the added abilities. I don't think there is a complete list for all disciplines yet though, right? Anyway, I figure I can just pickup anything I'm missing from AH or friends.

As I can't get into game right now, I am doing this off the top of my head, but Arms offers a heal item and an ablative item(damage absorbtion). Science offers a HOT, and mysticism offers an item which gives you a big heal immediately, and then damages you for 50% of the healed amount after 30 seconds. I don't remember the secondary item from science and mysticism. I will check tomorrow at head start. The consumables do not change based on specialization.

are the power replace recipes different by specialization? or are they all the same across arms?

Power replacers are the same across each of the disciplines. They are separate from the specializations. So all of the arms get the same power replacers. All of the mysticism get the same. All of the science get the same.


The images you have of the recipes are too small to read.

If you are having trouble reading it, save them instead of viewing them in the web browser and open them on your computer. You can zoon in as close as you need. each of the pictures is about 500k. They started as 8.5X11, but the height was cropped down based on the used space, and they are 144 dpi(can provide higher if you really need it, but why?). Basically what this means is that you should be able to save them to your pc, zoom in on them, and read them at any level of magnification you want.

[Archived Post]

Since people seem to be having trouble skilling up, I am going to add a section in here specifically on researching items to reach 400.

The math behind crafting

At the bottom of your research window you will notice a bar. This bar is separated into 5 sections. As I recall, the ratio changes from 201 to 300, but from 1 to 200 and from 301 to 400, the ratio is the same.

1st star = 13.25% of the bar
2nd star = 4.5% of the bar
3rd star = 10.29% of the bar
4th star = 22.05% of the bar
5th star = 50% of the bar

EDIT: levels a char to 201 and checked. Ratio from 201-300 IS different.

1st star = 1.49% of the bar
2nd star = 10.45% of the bar
3rd star = 14.92% of the bar
4th star = 22.39% of the bar
5th star = 50.75% of the bar



(Just as a side note, if they ever fix up crafting to the point where I can get really excited again, I will get you exact values for each of the stars, not just a % of the bar)

Crafting is divided into tiers:
Tier 1 = 1-100 skill
Tier 2 = 101-200 skill
Tier 3 = 201-300 skill
Tier 4 = 301-400 skill

As you rank up through the tiers you get diminishing returns from even level gear. Generally the higher the rarity, the more the item is worth. You can see the exact worth of the item by watching how much of the bar at the bottom of your screen fills up.

In tier 1, you can often hit 5/5 stars with greens or even yellows.
In tier 2, you can hit 5/5 stars with blues, and greens will usually give you around 3 stars, as I recall.
In tier 3, you can hit 5/5 with purple items. Blue items can hit up to 4/5, and greens will give you 1 or 2 stars... Yellows will give you 1 star.
In tier 4, 2 yellows will give you 1 star, 1 green will usually give you 1 star(or just slightly less than a star). Blues will give you 3 stars. Haven't had many purples to break down, but I would hope they would still be 5/5.

Credit goes to Javablood for filling in the values for this section

In tier 1, researching with 5/5 stars will give you 10 points.
In tier 2, researching with 5/5 stars will give you 4 points.
In tier 3, researching with 5/5 stars will give you 3 points.
In tier 4, researching with 5/5 stars will give you 2 points.

In tier 3, researching with 1/5 stars will get you 1 point
In tier 4, researching with 1/5 stars will get you 1 point



Now that you know the values, here is how to level crafting
As you can see above, in tier 3 and tier 4, you get more points researching 1/5 star items than you do stacking items to try and get to 5 stars.

In tier 1, break down everything, chances are you will max out your crafting VERY easily... many of your items will give you 10 points, and even without that, it is very easy to get up to 100.

In tier 2, break down everything you can. Most of the time you will want to break down just single items. Start with your yellows and higher, save your whites. If after posting up your yellow/green/blue item you are near the mark for the next star, you can add white items to inch yourself up to the line. whites give some value, although it is very low.

In tier 3, break down everything you can. I found in t3 that 2 whites gave me 1/5 stars. That made it very easy to level through T3. Its possible that its a bug with the ratio of points to stars. Break down 1 yellow/green/blue for points. Break down 2 whites for points.

In tier 4, I sold all of my whites, and only broke down yellow plus. The value of the whites is so small most of the time it does not visibly move your bar. Break down 2 yellows, or 1 green/blue.

If you find yourself short points and you are near a level mark where you can switch to the next tier, you can craft yellow/green/blue gear to break down. Look for items which give you a good balance between economy(cheap to make) and stars.

So what do I need 5/5 for?

Researching items is the only way to get inspirational items (profundity/epiphany/insight).

Breaking down items with a total of 5/5 stars is the ONLY way to get inspiration items appropriate for your level/tier.

If you need lower level inspiration items, the general rule of thumb is that you subtract a star for each tier you want to go back. So if you are in tier 4 and want to get tier 3 inspirations, research using 4/5 stars. If you want tier 2 inspirations use 3/5 stars. etc...

Drop chance on inspiration items can be very low, so be prepared to break down many 5/5 items to get enough inspirations that are appropriate for your tier.

[Archived Post]

2nd reserved

[Archived Post]

Thanks Mors, I wondered what the heck crafting was all about. Sounds like they are all basically the exact same, except with a few different stats. Was hoping for something less bland, but ah well. Thanks again for explaining things.

[Archived Post]

This has been added to my faq. Good job :)

[Archived Post]

Right Regardless of your Field IF you like picking items up to complete Missions Sooner or later you will need to Craft basic 4 slot Bags and to organize your materials for crafting latter..
You get a 50 item limit to each component sack.
Some materials you can gain by Deconstruction/Experimentation are not primary ingredients in your School.
IF in a super group this is a great place to learn how your Bank Storage works.. so other people can use the components before you just sell them.

a Great place to start is When you need to do the Mission "Craft a Contrivance"

You can break up the Tutorial minor gear you have replaced or not bound and used.. loot to bump your status and get the components to complete the quest without even leaving the safe base area..
So you get the XP almost free,, the device and learn more about crafting.

Right Op The Blueprints for good things require Insight ect earned through experimenting..in your field plus the Skill level and Monetary price.. So IF you check the list at the Trainers Store and its red you need a component / insight or Monetary cost.. The full details of what it takes to make are shown to the left of the item on the purchase screen. For Science /Arms the Lead Shield plate or Power Rod is given to you for anti radiation generator or device after you meet the requirements. Mystics get an empirical crystal. It's fun playing something in all schools to compare.. but tis not like Diablo II was for swapping at a camp fire for solo. Here you need the team .. IF somebody really likes crafting more they can make some great gear for you better then mission rewards.

In beta Closed during limited hours of operating it was good to unwind near a sessions end crafting Open Beta had more time to get use to the CO system and How a Guild house or Super Group and Bank worked for storing items to free up your characters storage.. hate to forget an item that has no use in a bank vault might as well gain crafting skill breaking it down i N a nice safe Hall in MC REN CEN and meet new people..

[Archived Post]

Nice add. also, if you don't want to get the item from your trainer OR you want/need to make a second rad shield(i.e. you crashed, game went down, whatever) you can do so by accessing the mining node behind your trainer in the crisis zone.

[Archived Post]

how do I chose the stats i want to pick, I keep getting str when im an archer...

[Archived Post]

how do I chose the stats i want to pick, I keep getting str when im an archer...
Custom crafting starts at 205 skill after getting the apropriate blueprints, you need 1 base (you'll find these in your specialization) and at least one enhancement.

Also, Science is more focused on DEX for the static blueprints than Arms.

[Archived Post]

how do I chose the stats i want to pick, I keep getting str when im an archer...

You need to look at the secondary effects of the stats before making the decision. Your super stats will always add to your damage at a fixed ratio, so the question becomes what else do you want it to do. If you want frequent crits, go high dex. If you want higher damage crits, go ego. If you want better knock-backs and knock-back resistance, go strength. If you want more life go con. Better healing(and either more aggro in defensive stance or less aggro in all other stances) go presence. More max endurance take endurance. Front-loaded damage, take recovery.

If you want to spam abilities or cast higher end abilities, you could take end and int, for example. Int reduced the end cost of abilities.

If you are going invulnerability, you might want to take str and con for the scaling...

[Archived Post]

Very cool, great read, thanks.

[Archived Post]

Thanks very much!

You saved me from changing my crafting in a panic.

-Xiero

[Archived Post]

Nice write up, but what determines the following...

How do I get a:


Profundity
Slightly Profundity
Mild Profundity
Great Profundity


This I would like to know, as I've done many breakdowns and sometimes I get them, but I have yet to get a Great Profundity. So I'm curious as to what the breakdown is.

Thanks

[Archived Post]

Nice write up, but what determines the following...

How do I get a:


Profundity
Slightly Profundity
Mild Profundity
Great Profundity


This I would like to know, as I've done many breakdowns and sometimes I get them, but I have yet to get a Great Profundity. So I'm curious as to what the breakdown is.

Thanks

I would guess it's related to either your skill level or the level of the items you're breaking down. When I was low level and breaking down level 1-9 items, I would get slight insights, when I was breaking down level 10-20 items I would get mild insights, etc.

[Archived Post]

Yeah, I have many of those myself, just trying to figure out how to get the Great Profundity. I've done many 5/5 rating crafts/breakdowns and still notta.

[Archived Post]

Its based on your skill level, mostly, from what I've been able to see. The level of the item seems to play a part, as I seem to get more higher discovery items from higher upgrades and more lower ones from lower upgrades, but the biggest factor is your skill level.


EDIT: And the number of stars is always a huge factor. 5/5 stars is most likely to give you a discovery item which is appropriate for your tier, rather than an earlier version.

[Archived Post]

Nice guide, would be easier to read with colour coding, bolding or something more pleasing to the eye.

[Archived Post]

This I would like to know, as I've done many breakdowns and sometimes I get them, but I have yet to get a Great Profundity. So I'm curious as to what the breakdown is.
To get a Great Profundity (Tier 4) you need 301+ Skill and a 5/5 rating. Note that the chance to get one is not as good as the chance to get a Profundity (Tier 3) with 201-300 Skill doing 5/5 rating research.

To get Profundities of a lower Tier than your current, do reseach with lower ratings than 5/5. At 301+ Skill, a 1/5 rating has a low chance to give you a Slight Profundity.

[Archived Post]

To get a Great Profundity (Tier 4) you need 301+ Skill and a 5/5 rating. Note that the chance to get one is not as good as the chance to get a Profundity (Tier 3) with 201-300 Skill doing 5/5 rating research.

To get Profundities of a lower Tier than your current, do reseach with lower ratings than 5/5. At 301+ Skill, a 1/5 rating has a low chance to give you a Slight Profundity.

Thanks, WingedKagouti!

I was able to figure it out now, thank you very much.

[Archived Post]

Does anyone know what dictates a 5/5 rating on something? I haven't had something I could break down that gave me a 5/5 in a long, long time. I don't know why. Usually stuff is a 2/5. I am level 26 with a 278 arms crafting level but just cannot get an insight for the life of me and it is because I can't find a thing to break down that gives me the needed 5/5.

[Archived Post]

You know you can stack multiple items in there until you get to 5/5? The OP makes that point, albeit about adding four 0/5's together to get a 1/5.

Sometimes I browse the market for cheap items to break down. Just a thought. Various factors in the game (read: retcon, buying recipes) make it difficult for me to accumulate much wealth, though.

If you really REALLY need a Profundity, you can always craft stuff then break it down. If it's not 5/5 (probably won't be) then just save a bunch of them and experiment until you get to 5/5.
You'll be losing all the components, but it won't be costing you any Profundities. And you can always buy more components at the auction, if it's that important.

I'm not playing right now, but I assume those skill books are Bound. They should undo that and allow them to be sold in the market.

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I did not know that, I am dense. I stopped stacking items early on when I realized I could increase my champion skill faster.

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The higher the rarity of the item, the more stars you get. The higher the level of the item, the more stars you get.

Blues usually give either 4 or 5 all the way up into the 300s... still not 400 on any of my chars

Pushing all the way to 5/5 stars by adding multiple components can take a lot. You can craft out cheap greens and then break down stacks of them to try and get it though...

[Archived Post]

Specialization is NOT purely cosmetic, although if someone wants to provide the screenshots I will retract that. While the stats that are focused on are the same, the actual recipes differ. So if you want a specific item with fixed stats, the specialization matters. Once you get past lvl 25, it becomes largely irrelevant, however, as you can craft whatever stats you want on the custom stat items(although the fixed stat items are still different and can, in theory, be better than a custom stat item).

In what way are the specializations different. I mean other then the action figures you get.

I'm curious as even the game tells us they are not when you go to choose them for the first time:
Quote from initial trainer:
"Each specialization is mechanically identical but has its own look and feel. In other words, you can create the same things as the other specialization; they will just look different."

Here are three examples:
Fighting Styles: Spirit of Fire Technique
+18 Endurance, +4.2 Defense
Level 3, 6 Res Value
Components: 4 Machine Gears, 1 Argent Arms

Alien Metabolism:Se'ecra Endorphine Dossier
+18 Endurance, +4.2 Defense
Level 3, 6 Res Value
Components: 4 Machine Gears, 1 Argent Arms

Ordnance:Communication Visor Diagram
+18 Endurance, +4.2 Defense
Level 3, 6 Res Value
Components: 4 Machine Gears, 1 Argent Arms

All the same.. and it stays that way all the way up to 100 skill at least.. I got bored w/doing it after that. and it gets expensive and useless as they are all the same. On the other hand I'm a skill 100 MASTER in arms.. what flavor item do you want.. oh yeah, I can make that.

Does it change after 100? 200?

Regardless of specialization, you get access to exactly the same power replace and enhancements blueprints, nevermind bags, consumables and conversions. So what's different?

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At the time when I wrote that my gf was able to make arms patterns that I did not have an equivalent for. She was doing alien metabolism as I recall. I will update it.

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Having trouble finding Arms caches at level 11-20 components. Maybe cause they are brown like the maps, but my Science character finds Science caches every minute or so in Millenium City, Arms caches are about once every 15 minutes. Any place have alot of Arms caches?

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Having trouble finding Arms caches at level 11-20 components. Maybe cause they are brown like the maps, but my Science character finds Science caches every minute or so in Millenium City, Arms caches are about once every 15 minutes. Any place have alot of Arms caches?

Just curious, but have you turned on seeing them in the mini-map? I seem to find them with only a little trouble, I agree, they seem rarer then science ones but not overly so that I thought they might be 'missing'

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This is a great guide! Thank you OP!

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You say you keep the blueprint if you switch specilization but if you return to that specialization do you lose the 400 science points you invested in that specialization or do you keep it, im confused.

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You say you keep the blueprint if you switch specilization but if you return to that specialization do you lose the 400 science points you invested in that specialization or do you keep it, im confused.

If you change specializations you lose all points so far... So... if you have 400 points in science and lvl 400 recipes from science specialization A, and then respec you go down to 0 points. recipes from any specialization in science only require points in science, they don't care about spec. So as you level up specialization B you will get access back to all of your patterns from specialization A as it levels up. Not sure if this is clear or not.

If you go from Science specialization A to mysticism specialization A, you will retain the recipes from science, but you will not be able to use them because mysticism does not fulfill the science requirement.

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Wow, that is an incredibly helpful post...thank you :)

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Regardless of specialization, you get access to exactly the same power replace and enhancements blueprints, nevermind bags, consumables and conversions. So what's different?

There is no difference. It's pure lore/RP flavor. Using arms as an example, Ordnance, AB and FT can all make items with exactly the same stats, just different names and descriptions.. I'm assuming that any that don't fit that pattern should be reported as bugs.

I'm currently putting together a crafting database of every single craftable item in the game, including the variants brought on by the major and minor enhancements, and in collecting data I've found 2 or 3 examples of items that don't match when they should. At some point in time I'll submit that list to AP.

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There is no difference. It's pure lore/RP flavor. Using arms as an example, Ordnance, AB and FT can all make items with exactly the same stats, just different names and descriptions.. I'm assuming that any that don't fit that pattern should be reported as bugs.

I'm currently putting together a crafting database of every single craftable item in the game, including the variants brought on by the major and minor enhancements, and in collecting data I've found 2 or 3 examples of items that don't match when they should. At some point in time I'll submit that list to AP.

/bug them in game whenever you find them, they'll get put into Jira and be individually tracked so I can make sure not to miss any of them.

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Is research after arms 300 supposed to come to a sudden halt?

I got a lvl 34 item and went to research it and didn't get a single star, is it supposed to be like that?

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Is research after arms 300 supposed to come to a sudden halt?

I got a lvl 34 item and went to research it and didn't get a single star, is it supposed to be like that?

Yup... after 300 they have to be much rarer items to get stars.

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It doesn't come to a halt, but it does become harder to progress. Basically, each item, even if it says 0 stars, has a value. This value may be a fraction of a star, but it is still there. If you look at the yellow bar at the bottom, you can see where it is. I sometimes put up a white item and see 0 stars, but the bar fills halfway to the 1 star mark, or a third of the way, or a quarter, but there is noticeable movement. You can put in multiple items at the same time to boost the overall value.

The higher the rarity of the item, the higher the crafting value, the more stars it has. So a white might give you half a star, a yellow might give you 1 star, a green might give you 2... etc...

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Ordnance crafting enhancements, could the OP please tuck these in because our enhancements are stupid and don't list slot. I don't have all the enhancements, I just bought the stat boosting ones.

Utility Major:
Powerful - End/Int
Intergrated - End/Ego
Kinetic - Dex/Rec
Force - Int
Power - End
Cyborg - ???
Enhanced - Ego

Utility Minor
Devleoped - Con/End
Energized - End
Controlled - Ego
Microcell - +.05 Energy Regen
Reinforce - Con
Modular - End/Ego
Scanning - +100% Perception, +60 Minimap Radius

Offensive Major:
Amplified - Str/Rec
Brilliant - Str/Dex
Monstrous - Str
Radiant - Rec
Supersonic - Dex
Striker - Offense

Offensive Minor:
Sharpened - Con/Str/Dex
Colossal - Str
Accelerated - Dex
Reinforced - Con
Fulminating - Str/Dex

Defensive Major:
Formula - ???
Exoskeleton - +9.1% Dodge, +25% avoidance
Energy Shield - +40% all damage resistance, Additional energy defense
Strengthened - Con

Defensive Minor:
Fantastic - Str/Dex/Rec
Colossal - Str
Electrified - Rec
Energized - End
Controlled - Ego
Accelerated - Dex
Heightened - Str/Rec
Fulminating - Str/Dex
Amalgamated - Dex/Rec
Life Supporting - +5% HP

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This is a great thread and deserves a bump. :)

I really like and enjoy crafting. I admit that it took me a while to figure it out, but now that I've crossed that threshold, I'd like to see it expanded. Almost into sub-game type system. As others have stated above, some parts of it are a little bland... but hopefully they will add more variety to consumables to all the skill sets.

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I actually loathe crafting...my one massive pet peeve for most MMO's. That being said, I know it's necessary....so for us people who like to game, but would not at all consider ourselves a gamer (half of the language I read on these forums reads like Greek to me, lol) - should we pick a specialization and then craft it to the hilt, then when done, do that with a new spec...or, I guess the better question is - for a complete n00b - what is the easiest method for crafting....anyone have a "fool proof" way of approaching this to get maximum gain?

If you have already picked "arms" for crafting, does utilizing science or mysticism items hinder you? Or should those just be broken down for components and used for items within the skill-set (I would assume this is the better way to go).

I guess what I'm really saying is - if anyone has some helpful advice for folks that "don't have a clue", that would rock.

I can log in and kill stuff, but all this crafting mumbo jumbo hurts my tiny brain =)

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I keep getting disappointed, as I spent hours crafting - and lo and behold next quest, I receive an item that gives me +10 - 15 more in the stat I want.

*sigh.

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I actually loathe crafting...my one massive pet peeve for most MMO's. That being said, I know it's necessary....so for us people who like to game, but would not at all consider ourselves a gamer (half of the language I read on these forums reads like Greek to me, lol) - should we pick a specialization and then craft it to the hilt, then when done, do that with a new spec...

If you don't like to craft in MMOs you absolutely don't have to here. There are tutorial missions in the two initial Crisis zones to get you started on it, after that you can completely ignore it if you want to.

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If you don't like to craft in MMOs you absolutely don't have to here. There are tutorial missions in the two initial Crisis zones to get you started on it, after that you can completely ignore it if you want to.

Heck, you can even ignore those missions. The moment you step into the final instances of the crises, there are glowies that will give you the item that you craft that's necessary to complete the mission.

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Great post!

I would just like to add that I recommend serious crafters NOT rush to go into next tier. Take your time and get all the inspirations and get every BP you can and save a few 'in case' new ones appear in the future before moving on into the next tier. It is SO MUCH easier getting inspirations when you're lower level than it is at higher levels (and they are not tradable). I have a few toons at 400 skill and that's what I am regreting now. You will encounter BPs that you thought you'll never want to use now (or ever), but you might change your mind in the future or the game may change. Once you get a high level toon, the amount of items you get for research is enormous because higher level items are worth more research wise than lower level ones (sorry, I have no numbers) while you're in a lower tier.

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Anyone know whether the modifiers listed in the first couple posts as bugged are working now?

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Is Ordnance bugged? I've got a lvl 23 with 273 skill, have researched several 5 star items, and have yet to get a single Insight.

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If there are any bugs, Instight generation isn't one of them. They aren't terribly common but I have a few on my Arms crafter.

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Looked into some of the crafting bugs here and they still seem to be there.

Here's a complere or nearly complete list of the powers flagged as AoEdmg for the purpose of the Atomic upgrade (offensive minor) and for Cyborg/Power/Artifact (utility major):

Sonic Arrow, Explosive Arrow, Submachine Gun, Rocket, Micromunitions, Shoulder Launcher, Condemn, Thunderstrike, Fireball, Conflagration, Force Detonate, Ice Burst, Ego Sprites.

That's it. Compare that with Catalyst, where nearly every power in most ranged powersets qualifies. Atomic upgrade is horrible in comparison. Cyborg/Power/Artifact are slightly hurt by this as well, but not nearly to the same degree.

I think the problem simply is that most of the powers that should be flagged as AoEdmg, are not flagged as such. For those powers that are flagged as AoEdmg, it seems to work as intended.

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In OP post there was mention of posting the details for how to custom tailor enhancements. Is the information anywhere else? Particularly level vs quality, is there a list of customizable blueprints? Also can a high level char make low level enhancements for super group use? Thanks much.

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Another useful section would be in alternate powers, such as the Viper VibroBlaster = Sniper Rifle, or the Gun Drone = Munition Bots, or the grenades, etc. A whole section on devices would really be helpful. I find myself crafting these more than I do the equipment replacements.

It should be noted that several of the devices fall under the "Uncatagorized" section and not devices in the crafting panel. The actual only device that shows up under device is the RAD Sphere.