Akki-Chan

[align=center][/align] Hello and welcome! My name is Hiname, and today I want to introduce you to the glorious art that is crafting! There is a lot to know, and even more to do, but I will try to teach you all the basics, to get you hooked and interested in everything a skilled or experienced hand can do. And today, I will be using the Goldsmith profession as an example. Why, because that is what I do, obviously. Well then, shall we? [Chapter 1: The basic skills] Crafting is more than just pushing buttons and swinging a hammer around like some brainless oaf. In fact, there are a many, different techniques you must master to craft truly beautiful things. Let us have a look at the most basic skills you will come across.. This is the most essential thing of all, evidently, as this is what will make your desired item make progress. Quite literally so. needless to note, it will not consume your CP, because otherwise you'd find yourself get stuck. Would be silly. The heart of quality. Without this, everything you will create will be mediocre at best. And let's face it, people want quality. And they pay good for it. Always try your hardest! Note, using this will cost you 24 CP. We will learn about that soon. This skill is so absurdly important, I would label it the most important one if there wouldn't be Basic Synthesis. When the durability of your craft reaches 0, be it via failure, progress or quality, it breaks, and you fail. With Master's Mend, no matter how expansive the skill is, you will never see this happening though. Keep an eye on your CP! This baby here can save your hide if you're dealing with precious or rare material and cannot afford to go for quality, or when every little point of durability is precious. I, personally, haven't run into many cases where I needed this yet, but I am grateful to know it's there when things get tricky. One of my favorites! Not only do the effects of this last through the whole crafting process, each time you improve quality, it gets better! Ain't that something? I'll teach you about control in the next section though. Yup, you're seeing right! A skill that makes you stare at your craft without doing anything. Fancy, huh? Why that is a precious tool, you'll learn when we talk about conditions. Now this is a true "Things just got real." skill for when you're attempting to craft truly difficult things that might be a bit over your horizon. In combination with Observe, you can squeeze some precious durability out of a delicate piece. So, that'll be the basics. Now that we have this down, let's have a checkup on conditions and quality! [Chapter 2: Quality and Craft Conditions] I keep talking about how quality is important. Now let us have a look at how we actually get there. When you crafted materials before, you must have noticed that line where it says "Condition: Normal"... Well here's where things get interesting. At some point during your basic training, you will start to see.. this. Here it says "Good"... Now what does that mean for you? It means, if you use a Touch skill to improve your crafts quality, you will get better results. Good is not the only condition though, you will also run into Poor and Excellent. Pretty self-explaining, but Poor means, you should better not waste precious CP on an attempt to improve quality, while Excellent can give you a huge boost in Quality. Note though, if your attempt fails while the condition is Excellent, it will drop to Poor in the next step. A crafters greatest tool is precision. And good material! I cannot stretch this enough, quality material results in quality goods. While a skilled craftsman can make quality out of everything, good material will make it all the much easier. Here, let me show you something. This should tell us a few things. ... Well for one, I need to go harvest some wind shards soon again. But for the other, it means I have some quality materials available to use in this piece. Note, in the top right, where it says "Quality: 0 / 866"? This is where you will start with when you begin crafting at currently set conditions. 0 is always that 1% base chance to produce quality. Not exactly the best outlook, is it? now, lemme add my available quality materials to this... There. That looks a little better already, does it? Now, how much might that be? 9%. Well that's something, no? It should be noted that, the higher your quality already is, the stronger the effects of raising quality will be. Don't be surprised to see jumps of 30% or more if you improve a crafts quality over 50%. Now, excuse me a moment, I have to pick up some material to show you more... ... There we go. Now, let's see about this again, yes? Now, ain't that something? Nothing but pure quality available for an all fresh start with an all fresh item. How does that look like then? 15% right off the bat, and half the max quality number filled. You can expect some serious number jumps if you start to improve quality now. Here, let me get to that... I gain roughly 15 progress each time I use basic Synthesis, so I have to use that 5 times to finish the craft. I will stop at 4. Then focus on quality. Use Masters Mend when durability gets low. And finish the craft with basic Synthesis when I run out of CP to improve quality. Aaaand.. tadaaa. Beautiful, isn't it? Now, that's that about quality and crafting. Now, shall we get to look the part? [Chapter 3: A Crafters Gear] Some people might say "Well duh, Hiname, it's not like I'm out slaying dragons, why should I worry about what I wear?" Well lemme tell you then, being a crafter has just as much to do with managing your own gear as it has with supplying others with theirs. Here, lemme show you. Let's visit a store in Ul'Dah who sells gear to get you started with. There. Gwalter sells the most basic gear for Gatherer and Crafter. What we're looking for is stuff liiiike.. hmm.. THIS! Yes, that's the stuff. Notice what that thing can do. that's the important bit for us here. Craftmanship and Control. Craftmanship determines how much Progress you make when using synthesis skills. While Control determines how much Quality you add when using Touch skills. But that's not all, no sir! Notice the other gear I'm wearing? Well lemme show you, I was able to make some nifty things for myself. You see the pattern here, aye? You need all the CP you can get, so make good use of trinkets like these! So, to recap... Control, Craftmanship, CP. You need them all, just try to balance your gear sooner or later towards what you want. [Chapter 4: The work of a crafter] And now, let us talk about Tradeleves. These are basically what brings the food to the table when you're not the trading kind. You can find them at the same places where you find any other kind of leve. Eustace here can supply you with them within the walls of Ul'Dah. Tradecraft Leves are fairly simple though. But let's cover this, anyway! You pick one you think you can do. You craft the desired item. You turn it in... You claim your reward. It really is that simple. BUT, and that's quite a big but, there is always something deeper behind everything we crafter do. I mentioned this time after time again, but let me spell it out for you one more time. Quality! Beats! Everything! What does this mean for tradecraft leves? Weeeeell... let me pick a different one. But this time, we will turn in a high quality item. Now, what's the difference, other than more effort? Well.. Firstly, we get warned about what we're about to do. Formalities, really... But the next step is oh so much sweeter. Yup, you're seeing this right, this ain't no typo. Ding ding ding ding, jackpot! Now THIS is what I call compensation for my efforts. But wait, it gets BETTER! Because, well, you must have noticed before. Our daily limit how many leves of any type we can accept is limited. We get only 6 allowances per day, so spend them well. So, with this in mind, I want to point out something exceptionally juicy. Let me pick out this leve in particular here... Three decorated copper scepters. Sounds like some work to do. But the pay is looking great, right? Now, in the spirit of what I keep telling you all over, what happens if we turn in three high quality scepters? Let us find out. Now, not only do we get our 200% reward, what is awesome by itself.. Yup, that's right. That's one juicy load of a reward. But we're also leaving quite an impression on our client. So impressive in fact... We're offered an extension to our contract. And what does this mean for us? It means, that we can repeat the job, basically start from scratch. We get to do the same tradecraft leve WITHOUT spending an additional allowance! And as long as we trade in ONLY high quality scepters, without exception... We can do this again.. and again... and again... and again... So, keep working hard, deliver quality and get rich! It's amazing what hard work can do for you if you put effort behind it, isn't it? And that's all I have to teach you about the early tradecraftleves. [Chapter 5: Shared Skills] Phew.. For such a small chapter, there sure was a lot of work into it to have something to show off, you know? Sooo, let's get straight to it. Have you ever wondered "I can do this while crafting rings, can't I somehow apply my knowledge of metall while working in the armor forge?" Actually, yes, you can! Well, to a degree. Remember the skill Manipulation? Notice how it says, at Affinity, Requires: Disciple of the Hand. Unlike the other says, stating they require Goldsmith. that means, Manipulation is a "shared skill". So how can you make use of that? So I went through some effort and visited other workshops to learn a few things. Let's check them out. You should be familiar with your skills interface now. We're right now interested in the tab that reads "Additional". Next step up... We select one of the professions we have learned a shared skill from. There it is. From Armorsmithing, we learned Rapid Synthesis, a powerful Synthesis skill with 250% effectiveness, but only a 50% success chance. We tick the little box on the left of said skill.. and now we repeat the same thing with the other job I learned... Careful Synthesis is a weaver skill. It has only 80% effectiveness, but a 100% success chance. Perfect for the final finishing touch. Now, as you see, on the botton of that screen, are five slots, of which two have filled as we selected our skills. From this point, you can drag the skills onto your skill bars. And use them for your future crafting needs. That's all there is to say about shared skills, really. So that is about it for the very basics! That should get you all set and started for the long, rocky but very rewarding road towards becoming a master crafter. I hope you find peace and enjoyment in whatever profession you pick up. And, should you find yourself in need of assistance or companions on his road.. the Anvil is recruiting! Have fun and good luck on your way! Kind regards, Hiname Dawnpride

Okay then.. I just found out that Balmung is a legacy server... Sooo, allow me the innocent and maybe uninformed question.. What the acctual *beep*? Why would you, as a new or non-legacy player, put yourself through the ordeal of joining a legacy server? You're starting all new on a server crammed full with a max level characters who saw everything the old content has to offer. Chance for new characters to make decent money with something that issn't already delivered by max level characters who have easy access to EVERYTHING - Zero. Chance to purchase gear or other goods that aren't absurdely overpriced by said max level characters... Virtually zero, as well. So, someone, please, elaborate for me why a new/non-legacy player would want to go through this madness.

Things weremoving relatively smoothly. The construction workers were hard at work, the great halls were looking more impressive by the day. Crafting stations were getting installed, the gardens were prepared to be planted with fresh green all around. The whole place was brimming with activity. And that, the ambitious sun seeker hoped, would stay like that once the construction finished. She looked at a large sign that would soon find its place over the gates leading into the main hall of her company. In large, proud letters, the sign read "There are no heroes. Only courage and good equipment." With a satisfied grin on the pale lips, she nods to the workers that were just carrying the large sign by. "Great, just like I wanted it. Onwards, boys!" Climbing the stairs into the first floor, she leaned against a large stone pillar and looked over the crafting halls below. It was about time... The world needed heroes, capable warriors and adventurers. But there was something she believed, the world needed even more than that. A brand name to equip these adventurers first top notch quality. A faint chuckle sounds from her lips, as she closes the differently colored eyes and thinks back. Not too long ago, she was giving a speech on the topic to gather willing workers around her. In her mind she recalls the moment when she was standing in front of the large construction site. Her memories blur how many people were there that day. No matter how hard she tries, she simply cannot remember. "The whole of Eorzea is taking up arms these days. You cannot walk down a single street without someone calling out to you to recruit you to take up the sword and fight for what is right! Many of our friends, our families have answered to this call and have set out to seek the many wrongs in our troubled world. So, why did WE remained behind, in the safety of our walls and our homes? Some say we are cowards. Say that our courage does not measure up to those that left to fight. I cannot speak for the all of us... but I know why I chose to remain. My skills, my duty and my conviction are not served out there! They will serve HERE. Because I saw what this world needs..." She recalls having to take a deep breath there, because her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would choke her any second. "I will serve the adventurers and future heroes of our world in a way I know I can. In a world they will appreciate. In a way that can carry them to victory. We are a city of craftsman. Of artisans. Of merchants. Yet here we are, all trying to go through the day and make ends meet, peddling our wares one for himself. What suffers in the end, is what we are selling. Our materials run short, we settle for bad materials because we cannot afford the good things in our struggle for competition. Is that what we want to offer our friends and family, who left to fight for everyone’s freedom and safety? No... They deserve THE BEST. They deserve to fight in the best gear they can possibly carry. And for THAT, i will work. What we are building here today, will one day we a name every adventurer out there knows. And will turn to when the need for new gear arises. Today, thee Silver Anvil, will make its rise. As a gathering of united craftsman, eager to serve the greater good. Blacksmith, chefs, goldsmith, carpenter, alchemists, whatever! If you are able to craft something, no matter how small, the anvil has use for you! And, by extension, everyone who fights out there. Because, with your help, we can make THEM win the fight! Someday soon, this place will open its gates.. And I will be waiting. For every one of you who is willing to join the war from behind a crafting station, will find home, work and shelter in these halls!" Maybe it was just her imagination. A fabrication of her memory to make her feel better. but she remembers the sound of applauding people all over the place. And that, so she hoped, was a good sign. Soon, this building would be fully done, and things would start to get serious. But she was ready.. She was burning to get started. This was an opportunity.. not only to make some serious fortune.. for she genuinely believed, that a company like this, could change the world. And win a war. It had all just begun here. And yet.. it felt like she had been here before. Waiting for a chance to start anew. What a curious feeling... [Next up: Chapter 1 - Dry earth breeds misfortune.

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A lot of the EU folks are acctually going to Balmung then, huh... Might have to change that on my guilds setting then. *makes a little note for later*

Small update: Forums are a bit polished up and the application and information forum should now be accessible for guests. Derp.

[align=center][/align] [align=center][/align] The Silver Anvil is recruiting! Good day and welcome! Today we would like to give a few snippets of information about the silver anvil, its organization, its goals and future projects. What is the silver anvil again? The anvil is a free company for merchants, craftsman and gatherer on the server Gilgamesh. We want to represent Gilgamesh's prime company for all things crafting roleplay, to where you can turn when things need be done both in style and quality. So what is in for me then when I want to join or make business with the anvil? Members of the anvil enjoy all the comfort that comes from a company dedicated for crafting. When you run into a dead-end with your need for material, be it hard to gather or made from different crafters, there should always be someone around to help you out. Roleplaying a crafter is not always easy. Find company with others who want to do the same! Business partner of the anvil will find themselves not wanting, either. Not only are we set to deliver high quality to make our name a famous one, we like to think of our prices more than just fair. Dedicated roleplay from newbie to veteran and high quality production values all in one business partner, what more can you ask for. And what do I need to bring long when I want to join? Pretty much just yourself, a dedication to your craft and to roleplay. That is all we require from you. So how is the anvil structured? Again, fairly simpel. Newbies will begin as a bronze member for a trial period, that much should be simple to understand. After that, you become a silver member, and gain access to the mutually available guild storage, free to use and share with your fellow craftsman. Being awarded a gold member takes some dedication or great contribution to the guild. But it comes with its perks, as it allows you to apply for a specialized position within the anvil. Like signing up to become a broker and manage business or hook up craft order contracts. Generally, the anvils members are allowed to pursue their own craft and work, while the anvil acts as platform for distribution and advertising. During great projects though, each member is called upon to pool their efforts for this mutual goal. What do you plan for the future then? The anvil is currently in preparation to revive its old tradition of the Anvil Market, a regularly re-appearing event in which the anvil will set up shop publically to offer services like craft, repair, meld and of course the selling of high quality goods. Highlight of each market will be an auction of wares of exceptional rarity or value, look forward to it! In addition, the anvil, after forging an alliance with our shield and sword, the Echo Knights, will be available to take requests for otherwise specific RP events where participation of merchants or crafters is beneficial. Escort of overland goods transport comes to mind. Don't shy away from calling upon the anvil for such things when we have no announcements of our own. Sounds great! Where do I sign up or where can I reach you? The anvil can be either found here, or in game under the name Hiname Dawnpride. Though each of our members should be able to give you closer information should you require any more. We hope to see and hear from you soon!