Yeah it gave us no trouble today at all.

Feng is my crew's larceny specialist. Mira and Brenna are not above thieving, they simply aren't very good at it. Now we need to find an assassination specialist. Feng is fine killing in the name of the Dominion, and stealing, but draws the line at murdering innocents. The others aren't suited for assassination either.

Can confirm. Teach the shits some traits and you start getting better ones, too. 'Course, if you don't farm regularly you might end up eating through materials pretty quickly, especially with characters that aren't at max character level and get crap materials half the time. Not to mention the awful inventory management hell if you don't have the Craft Bag. No this isn't from experience, what are you talking about?

Too bad the price Glass Motif Fragments was absolutely destroyed. Used to make some decent gold from them. Now I got nearly 2 full stacks of them in the bank.

Before the price was increased, my plan was to use vouchers for the Hlaalu Furnisher's documents, but welp. Maybe they'll add new things worth buying come Horns of the Reach.

==

It's really hard not to dip your hands into strange cookie jars, tbh. I've had the habit since the SP TES games, and in this game it's much more rewarding so it's good to have a dedicated thief. Hates usually takes care of that, but Jo'zira sometimes uses his inherited Khajiit powers to find shinies as well, but only for fun, not as a profession. Don't ask Eolan to steal. Ever. Don't mention where you got your goods, either. (He knows, and he'll hold a grudge, but he won't react if it's not mentioned. Not like he can do anything about it, though.)

On that note, early in his life he ran into a purple-level treasure in an owned container. You can't imagine how painful it was as a broke new player to give that up. Luckily, it was a time when they were only worth around 750 gold. Ew. (I think it was the hilt of the Blade of Woe? Or some sort of Daedric hilt)

==

It sounds like Cincinnatus wanders really far. I love those little bursts of inspiration that the characters get sometimes. Too bad in Eastmarch you happen to see the opposite and are given the Idiot Ball for an important quest, especially ridiculous after doing Shadowfen.

==

Anyways, my furnishing materials are piling up so I made some furnishings for a friend's house. Maybe too many but idk. That aside Fjotreid's in the mid 30's now thanks to dailies and farming for Dwemer Pet Pieces. Someone had the gall to tell him to "Put a shirt on, Fabio" while he was waiting for armor. Look, he's not about to hike aaaaaall the way to his inn room to change. Screw social norms. (Easier to say that in Black Marsh than Vvardenfell, I suppose...)

So given the conversation for the past few posts, you folks are saying that it's beneficial for all of one's characters to be able to craft? Does Khajiit have this right?

Let me offer my 2 $eptims worth on crafting. Buffy the magplar is a master of the three ‘consumable’ crafts. Buffy the magsorc has mastered the three ‘durable goods’ crafts. They both have a point in seeing clothing and alchemical plants. They both have points in deconstructing the durables (to get more purple/gold tempers). They both have points in the passive that makes food last longer. They both have all skills at a skill level of 50.

I think going beyond that, it boils down to writs. And I don’t care for them. I tried them early on so I would know how they work but found them too much like domestic chores and didn’t enjoy them. I guess they can bring in some money but I find the game just about throws money at you anyway – more than Buffy needs anyway.

One thing I’ll point out is that some of the furniture crafting recipes call for skill in more than one craft (like food and metal for example). If I cared much (which I don’t) about furniture crafting, I would tend to put a few more points into cross training the crafts for one character.

I guess my advice would be to do writs for a time and see if they appeal to you. Clearly, many people enjoy them but I do not.

Mira is Khajiit's crew's blacksmith, woodworker, leatherworker, and clothier (mainly because she knew the Imperial motif automatically). Brenna is their provisioner, alchemist, and enchanter (or she will be; she only has skill points in enchant as of right now).

IF you want heaps of Master Writs; Psijiic Ambrosia recipe fragments; Glass Fragments; and rare provisioning mats. Otherwise, you don't need to. I had just Misa and Bubba doing it since Housing released; and was getting a couple low level Master Writs about 2-4 times per week. On rare occasions I got a high level Master Writ. Adding Calia I got 12 Master Writs in two days only two of them were for just 2 vouchers; the rest were between 5-49.

So it is all in what you want to do, like Acadian said. He doesn't like doing Writs - I don't mind them at all, and want the stuff I can get with Master Writs. (that is how I got the crafting stations for the Guild Hall !!! )

Not going to lie, Khajiit found that he was spending more time gathering mats for writs than actually playing the game for a while there, which kind of wore on him after a bit. This one supposes that he feels similar to Acadian about it, so at least for now we will just have Mira y Brenna be our craftspeople.

And again, thank you for letting us use your facilities that you have worked so hard to obtain, mALX. You're awesome!

Oh yeah, if you are having to farm mats to do it = that makes a big difference. I used to have to farm, which is why for so long it was just Misa doing all the Writs. I actually built Bubba up to crafter just to replace Misa, but in the end just decided to use both. (ended up really liking doing the high level Writs because they take much less time and much less mats. So decided to keep both of them doing it).

About the Guild Hall - it has never been my house. I planned to buy it for no other reason than for us to have a Guild Hall where we could meet and hang out. The whole excitement about getting that place was that we could all use it; so it had to have amenities for us to use (crafting stations, target dummy, and eventually a banker and merchant = and hopefully later on some Mundus stones !!!! )

Speaking of writs (in general): since I am still a scrub here, especially at crafting, I have a question. Would it really be worth my while to sink my teeth into doing some writs? I have one for black-smithing that I haven't cared much to do yet. I take it such writs would accelerate my leveling in crafting skills or no?



Lol, yeah, he does like to travel and go sight-seeing. To be honest, it didn't occur to me just how crazy long the journeys he is taking across the provinces are. But that's just how he is, I guess.

Well writs are like quests so the xp you get for turning them in goes towards your overall level. Also, you often get items with the "Intricate" trait that gives you large boosts to progression in the crafting skill that the item is made from. The problem with writs that Mira ran into was that she would often run out of mats to do writs (because they require a good number of resources), so she would then have to spend an hour farming nodes to get enough mats to fulfill the writ order. So in conclusion, in Khajiit's experience writs are good for extra xp and for building your skill in a given craft skill, but can be a headache sometimes too.

What the holy hell is up with "The Covetous Countess" TG tip board quest? Khajiit read that you can get many different categories of stuff that the Countess wants but so far she's only given Feng one type out of like 6 times doing it: Ritual items and oddities. Also, sometimes it will tell us that we have stolen the amount of goods we need but when we go to launder said goods, it sets the count back to zero. Wtf?

Oh, and Feng received his first Abah's Watch page (Shoulders), which he promptly put in the bank, and Mira promptly withdrew. She then discovered a practical problem with this style: polished shillings are a pain in the ass to acquire. Still, good looking stuff!

This one knows, right?

But please, excuse Khajiit's earlier harsh language.

For the Crafting Writ discussion, I will say that the lowest level is an okay source of gold if you're in desperate need. Since it's the lowest, you always get back a guaranteed 25 (or so) units of the material you used for Equipment writs. At max character level it's around 3250 gold a day for all six professions. You might need to do some occasional farming, though, so ymmv.

But yeah, it's only really worth it if you like crafting and have a dedicated crafter. With the recent changes, it's probably best to have multiple ones, too, since you only get the max tier of material half of the time otherwise. (But again, ymmv) There was even a point where you could make much more money by selling the materials instead :V (The chance to get ambrosia/glass fragments and gold tempers aside)

I do them cause I like crafting. I like gathering materials. Also it's my main source of cash aside from motifs since I don't run dungeons and such anymore cause I suck at the game. or rather I'm too lazy to l2p again

But hey! Welcome to motif gathering, Khajiit. (I actually bought like 20 Polished Shillings when I got the style, tbh)

Mira found 90something of them for 9something00 gold. Was tempted to get them but in the end it just seemed unwise given that we only have the shoulders part of the motif.

Thanks for the tips, my marsh-friends. I'm not hurting for money, but I'll probably do a few writs for the experience and a little extra gold. I would like to buy one of the nicer houses soon, for one. But I have to go find some iron ore deposits, which--since I leveled up my blacksmithing enough to where I am starting to see high iron and orichalcum deposits much more--have been hard to come across for some reason.

Ooh if you are seeing both of those then Khajiit is afraid you won't see iron again unless you use a new character to farm for you. That said, you won't need iron ore if you leveled up blacksmithing; the writs automatically adjust themselves to work with whatever material you are currently on (steel for high iron in this case. You are seeing Orichalcum because that is what your level dictates you should be finding, though you won't be able to work with it until you upgrade blacksmithing again). Khajiit will send you some iron just in case you have an open writ that requires iron to complete.

Rader, I sent you some iron. Let me know if you need more, I have plenty. Still have some low-level characters wandering around.

hazmick, what do you think of the Defiler set? Elke is wearing it with Hundings. The first time I saw the hunger do its thing I wanted to barf. Lol. But for now she’s enjoying it. Pfft. Nords. I have some extra pieces if you need them, but sadly no belt or bow.

monkey, I love the drawing of Fjotreid and Eolan! I think it would be great to have a thread of your work in the Art Forum so that you could include your Skyrim art, hint hint. I have gone back through threads here and at Haven hunting for drawings that I’d like to see again. You could post new drawings in context in their relevant game threads and also in your art thread so that we wouldn’t miss any and would still be able to find them again easily. Just a suggestion.

Buffy is at the cap as far as finding crafting nodes. What she finds is that most nodes are for the top level materials but she will often find nodes for the very bottom as well. For metal, for example, she finds rubidite and iron nodes. That is consistent with my understanding that you should always find a number of the bottom level nodes.

Is Buffy at all skilled in blacksmithing?

If I am not mistaken, what you find while farming is just the lowest and highest level of each character's skill level and character level.

Example: if your character is level 160 but has not put any skill points into leveling up their blacksmithing = they will bring in Iron Ore and Rubedite Ore.

** and so if their character is level 20 but has sank 10 skill points into master level blacksmithing = they will find the (Steel) Ore and Rubedite Ore.

(If I'm not mistaken).

I think mALX said it much more clearly than I did. Lol.

For Khajiit, yes. Buffy in her sorceress configuration does our metal, cloth and woodworking. In her templar configuration she does our food, potions and enchantments. That seems to work very well.

It is too late for this character, but I'll give you a tip on leveling your crafting skills: don't sink any skill points into actually leveling that skill until your "skill level" of it reaches 50. The only exception to this is Alchemy; which levels up much faster the higher level potions you create.

The reason for this is that you can level them up MUCH faster if they are level one. How:

Everything you do at or above your level raises your skill level. Anything you do below your skill level doesn't raise your level. (So if you are at the base level = EVERYTHING is at or above your level. If you raise it before you reach level 50; your skill level won't raise on anything you deconstruct below whatever skill level you have spent skill points raising it up to).

Deconstruct everything you don't need or want. Grinding up items levels above your own raises your skills up VERY quickly. So if you have a character higher level than the one you want to make a crafter = have that character bring home all the junk, and have the crafter deconstruct it.

This was a LOT easier before One Tamriel, because you could sneak your main character into the higher level areas and get equipment that was way above their level = bring it home and deconstruct it. Now you have to have an older character provide it to the younger ones to train them up.

Save up the skill points you will need, and once the character reaches level 50 in that skill = sink the points into leveling up that skill all the way to the top. They go from base (Iron) to the top (Rubedite) in one swoop which means not having to struggle to find all those in-between ores throughout the growing process. And it also means you can store up a good supply of iron ore for the next character that you create.

Anyway, it is just a suggestion. I do it this way because it is quicker to raise the levels and easier to do the writs in the meantime/between time.

If you do this though will you get any mats for deconstruction?

Yes, of course! And of course you can still sink skill points into "increase the materials you gain from deconstruction" and "use fewer Improving Tempers" because neither of those changes your skill ability level. The only one you don't want to raise is the ability level one (usually first on the list).





I think Khajiit is right about that.






BWAAHAA! Yeah, they are pretty disgusting! But I've seen others using the set, and it is very cool when that Hunger jumps out and joins the battle! (Freaked me out the first time, till I figured out it was the Defiler, lol).

Very much enjoying it so far - love the hunger! I was initially worried that the hunger activation rate would be too low, but it pops quite often and works well stacked on top of all the other poison damage that Haa-Rei already does.

Seriously? That's kind of irritating and is rather counter-intuitive to the freedom that TES is supposed to provide. I know as an MMO it can only do so much in that regard compared to the single-player titles, but this seems like something that would be relatively easy to account for.

Yeah, I do have an open writ for iron. Guess I should have taken care of it when I first got it, but I really wasn't interested in it then. Thanks for the iron, Khajiit.



Hey, thanks Grits. Always appreciated. I luckily had some iron left over and made a cuirass, but I still have to make one or two more of those and a few other pieces of iron equipment.



Ah, thanks for the info. So that seems to have a lot to do with why I was getting almost nonexistent experience when I deconstructed some stuff before. I've also been tried to do more researching of equipment when it isn't something I'm going to use or if I think it is more useful than to deconstruct. I haven't sunk too many skill points into the respective crafting skills, but it looks like I should hold off on doing that further for now. And I'll be sure to do the crafting writs as soon as possible whenever I get them. Luckily I've only leveled up blacksmithing to be able to do steel stuff at the moment. At least this means more skill points freed up for combat skills.

It is strategy - but if you need any armor made for your characters in the meantime; just post it on here. I am sure myself or one of the other members will be happy to make it for you until you are ready to skill up.

Yeah Rader, Mira is always willing to help in this regard. She's versed in all of the racial styles (including Imperial), and a few others aside. She also knows many traits across all gear crafting disciplines. mALX has also made some really primo stuff for this one's characters too (including Brenna's prized Draugr staff! ).

Wow, Grits, you weren't kidding when you said you had plenty of iron, lol. Thanks for the help. The writ is out of the way now. I'll be sure to be quicker about fulfilling them in the future should I take them.

Appreciate the offer, Khajiit and mALX. Later on I may ask for a high level melee weapon or staff or bow (although I haven't trained with bows at all yet).

Feng has some training in bows but he isn't far enough along in it to actually like it. He does way more damage with his melee (through the assassination, shadow, and dual wielding trees), and so is at a disadvantage when he tries to use his bow.

Post a link to the thread's post in the relevant threads as it updates? Yeah, I think that works! Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone. Once I finish the thing I'm working on (my motivation and ability to work on it ebbs and flows) I'll get it started.





Before One Tamriel, you used to find specific materials in specific zones. So for example, you'd always find Iron in the starting zones of your alliance (Bleakrock, Bal Foyen, and Stonefalls, using EP as an example) and, say, Voidsteel in the later Cadwell's Gold zones. It had its issues, like only ever finding Ruby-tier materials in DLC zones (eventually expanded to Craglorn and Cyrodiil--although even then it was based on your character level), and much higher competition for gathering them.

So honestly, the change is both a blessing and a curse for crafters and non-crafters alike. I, for one, hope they keep experimenting with it to find a good middle ground.

==

Anyways, I'm at least 16 vouchers away from finishing my IC crafting station set. I started doing what I should have a long time ago, and I'm holding onto the Master Writs instead of using them immediately.

Long story short, I'm in an interesting position as far as accumulated vouchers go, with enough vouchers on Eolan and enough Master Writs he's able to complete to hold out for one or two more small master writs instead of having the characters who got the drops to do them themselves. Yes, I'm willing to break taboo and have Eolan do a Master Woodworking writ if it means getting the last attuneable. (It rewards 45 vouchers for a 3-trait set)

Might have some trouble upgrading it, but I guess that makes it more palatable. Hates is still technically crafting it, just directing Eolan so that he gets credit. :U

That aside, the motif hunting train continues in Vvardenfell. Fjotreid's at level 43 now, though, so the really nice armor drops will soon stop being a waste.

Cincinnatus retrieved the Amulet of Kings and has made his way into the Hollow City, although he had to use the wayshrine there to get out and take care of some other business that needed to be addressed. Chiefly, he needs to go back to the Harborage for the Council of the Five Companions quest. (I also probably will want to make him a bit stronger, I'm assuming, but he did wreck Mannimarco. He was even able to tough it out when a Bone Colossus and a bunch of Risen Dead and other enemies tried to gang up on him and came fairly close to killing him).

Which reminds me: without going too "spoiler-y," what level would everyone recommend fighting Molag Bal at? I am at level 31 right now. I still have to get the forces of the Three Alliances as well as Vanus Galerion and Laloriaran Dynar before fighting him, but I was curious as to what you all fought Molag Bal at if you did it after the One Tamriel update.

On the final fight with Molag Bal, Buffy the magplar (healer) and Buffy the magsorc (lightning + pets) both did it at around CP 200 or so I think, after One Tamriel but before Morrowind.

Here's my non-spoilery advice: Do all the quests you can find in Coldharbour - the more folks you help the more help you'll get on the final trek to Molag Bal. Once you really actually get to him, you will be solo but buffed and beefed up substantially by divine forces (Trust the Force). Both times the fight was nicely exciting but very manageable. If you have gotten through all the quests to get there, I figure you are ready. Enjoy and good luck!

i am pretty sure that whole "Take down Molag Bal" thing was set up to be done at Level 45. Originally - I don't think you could get those quests before level 45; but One Tamriel changed that. So now - pretty well figure you can do it whenever you feel froggy.

Misa did it at CP level 130 or something; but that was just before One Tamriel. I have no idea what that fight is like after One Tamriel, because they beefed up most of the World Bosses then (but I have heard from others that Molag Bal is actually easier now/since One Tamriel; so ... )

I still got a bit in the main quest to do before I can face him anyways. I just was curious because I want to be prepared and finally beat him, but at the same time I didn't want to face him too early. It would feel kind of...cheap, I guess, to defeat a Daedric Prince--and the King of Domination at that--at what seems to be a relatively lowish level. Then again, that divine buff would perhaps mitigate that feeling at least somewhat.

Thanks for the advice, Chorrolites. I think I may try to get to like level 35 or so so it feels more like I am "ready" to duel the god of Schemes himself, but other than that I feel pretty confident.

I felt that way too, but mostly I waited so long because I was REALLY nervous about that battle. I think at level 45 I started prepping and building up my character as tough as I could; did all the quests in Coldharbour that I could find (I missed a couple, but didn't know it at the time) plus finished out the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild questlines, etc. But all this questing did build up my character A LOT from the time I started till I actually entered his domain. I was probably overpowered for the fight by then, because Misa didn't die even once.

But that said, I am about to bring Britta through this = my first time taking Molag Bal on since the One Tamriel changes. So I guess we will be finding out about how this will go down at about the same time, lol. Britta just finished both the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild, and has the main questline "5 companions" done. All she has to do now is finish up the Ebonheart line and go to Coldharbour/do those quests. She is CP (will probably be about 500 by the time she finishes all that and meets Molag Bal).

All I can feel is sweet, sweet release. Who thought it was a good idea to have crafting stations in a PvP hellhole? Having them in the middle of remote hellholes is bad enough. At least fulfilling Master Writs will be less stressful now.

And with that, the daily crafting writ frenzy ends. The Squad's moved into their individual homes and will be leaving Strident Springs Demense pretty lonely for a while until the need to stack up on writs returns. That said, doors are still open for those that need the IC stations for whatever reason.
I never did fully furnish the place. Ah well, I wouldn't be done until I had a banker anyways.

Guess now I'll just focus on getting the gold decoration recipes. Shooting for Poison Cabinet and fur table first. Also some research scrolls.

Also, since it seems I'll be spending some time on the project a little longer, I thought i'd give a sneak peek at what I got so far. (Warning: the image is HUGE)

You scale to all content, so level doesn't much matter, and main quest stuff is supposed to be easy since it's designed for the majority of players. As Acadian said, just do everything in coldharbour and then feel free to jump in and kick Molag's Bals.

Awesome that you got the IC stations !!! I have seriously thought about getting some of the attunable tables for our guild hall; it might help if we have enough members doing master writs! Also, would love to get those working mundus stones too, but at 4000 crowns a piece = not likely to end up with more than one or two. I am hoping they eventually open them up onto the Master Writ program so we can get them easier.

Oh, and I should have the banker installed at the guild hall by our next guild meet !!!!

monkey, congratulations!! The kindness of others is the only way Elke will ever fill IC set Master Writs. Sending crafters through a PvP area makes no sense to me. I appreciate your stations very much! Awesome sneak peek at the squad in Coldharbour. For now I will hold my questions.

Speaking of Master Writs, Jerric got another one, so now he has a grand total of… 4 vouchers. Lol. Maybe when Elke gets all traits researched, she will at least get some more writs to work with. At this point the crew is collecting them two at a time from Lleduri’s Alchemy and Enchanting.

mALX, congrats on the banker!! What a huge convenience, thank you so much! Jerric did some cooking there the other day. It will be awesome for him to make provisions and then simply hand them to Tythis for distribution.


Jerric has been adventuring in Reaper’s March with an eye on local real estate. He just completed a quest that gave him a heartbreaking decision to make. Hats off to the writers who made him care so much and also crafted a scenario where he actually was the right one to make such an important judgment call.

Haha, I definitely will do that in the near future. I know a lot of stuff is leveled, but I was thinking (and somewhat hoping) that his level wouldn't be entirely dependent on mine. I am fine with leveled content and advocate for the inclusion of such, but there is a fine line and it seems that too much in ESO is level-scaled, IMO.

Oh well. Molag Bal's day of reckoning will soon be at hand.

I was just talking with a friend about how quite a few quests thrust all the important decisions on you and there will often be very little justification for, but if I'm right about which quest you're referring to then I have to admit this is one of the times where outside input was important and TOTALLY justified. Hell, even Jo wasn't sure of his decision.

I also really, REALLY liked the throwback to a similar quest back in Khenarthi's Roost (which was eventually solved off-screen). Nice bookends for the Aldmeri Dominion questline. Loved it. I WILL say that I wish those characters made more than one cameo before Reaper's March. I felt like the Reaper's March arc was a little...separated from the rest otherwise. But that's just me. AD is my favorite alliance questline of them all either way.

==

So after grinding in the Public Dungeons, Fjotreid finally reached level 50. Now he can start getting actual useful armor and weapon drops. :U Also he can go after the treasure maps he's been saving up. It probably wont' mean Buoyant Armiger motifs regardless of level but again, set armor pieces. I guess.

He's also donned the fancy Warden costume to hide said armor pieces as a symbol of his growth since he arrived in Vvardenfell. He's gotta be like...19 now? I lost track of how much time's passed in the Squad's world. :T Either way, Skyshard gathering outside of Vvardenfell is next. He's decided to join the Undaunted for a while, at least for delve exploration, so it's a good excuse as any.

Oh! I also found out the weirdly equal Weapon and Spell damage stats were due to 1T scaling. On some level I guess I'm glad.

The banker is in! WOO HOO !!!!

If you are referring to the quest I think you are, that one left me feeling so unsettled and unsure of whether the decision I made was the correct one or not. Maybe there is no correct one, but I agree with you = hugely touching questline, and I didn't expect that in a place like Reapers March! It was pretty Awesome!

I've decided to take the advice given here and just plunge into wrecking house in Coldharbour, after freeing my fellow Saxhleel in Murkwater from the Dominion. Already came across a quest to free some Fighters' Guild members from some labor camp, and came across a Dremora that I recognized from the Ebonheart Pact questline. Coldharbour looks like it has plenty for me to do to go up a couple levels.

A kind of annoying thing that happened was that while I was in Stormhold yesterday I went and bought a new staff because the staff I had was weakening and a lower level...only to come across a way better staff off of an Ogrim I killed in that labor camp. I'm not hurting for money, but it was still a decent chunk of money I spent so it is a bit bothersome. Oh well.

Khajiit never bought any gear for any of his characters. Next time you find yourself in that situation, simply ask one of us if we could make you a cool weapon/piece of armor. This one speaks only for himself when he says he won't charge you for his services, but mALX never charged Khajiit for anything either.

I quite enjoyed Coldharbour and its questing, which kind of surprised me since it looks kind of depressing and not at all 'wood elfy'. Lol.

Sounds like you are on the right track, Rader. I recommend leisurely explore/quest the SW part of the map like you are doing. Then do the SE part of the map. Then when that is all done, the game will nudge you into the upper portion of the map.

Khajiit found Coldharbour's quests really fun and he was surprised at how darkly beautiful the place was despite all of the torture/brutality nastiness.

Last time we went through CH, Buffy was in her sorceress aura - accompanied by her clannfear and matriarch twilight. I finally clued in on all that eerily pretty blue water being 'the waters of Oblvion' from which Daedra spawn and that was the reason both her summons are that bluish color. Neat.