Is crafting worth the effort?

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I've always neglected these feats in games like NWN, but in TOEE it seems that they are more developed and effective in the game. However, I don't understand all the complexities involved in using them, so I'm wondering if they are really worth the effort? If so, at what levels should they be taken? And is there anything I should be doing now in order to "prepare" for crafting, so that I don't take a dead-end path later when I get a feat?

Thanks.

 

Yes, it's worth it. When should they be taken? Well, you're not going to get that many feats, so it's generally best to take them at the levels when they become available (3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, etc.). Craft Arms and Armor is one of the few ways to have your own custom items (Flaming, Shocking Burst, Icy Burst, and so on).

My current party has two clerics, two wizards, and a bard who are all taking crafting feats to use the extra XP for creating Gloves of Dexterity, potions, unique items, etc.

Although, you're not using Co8, are you? I believe there are some of the feats (craft wand?) that are not worth taking without the mod.

 

No, just Moebius' patch. I was thinking about Craft Wondrous Item and Craft Arms/Armor, but wasn't sure when to take them (I guess levels 3 and 6 on my wizard, or maybe 6 and 9? I just hit 3 so I need to decide quickly.)

Also, I wanted to make sure I would actually be able to do something with them instead of wasting those feats. I hate the idea of paying XP, but oh well....as long as I meet all the criteria for crafting and don't find that I missed out on doing something important and now I'm stuck with useless feats.

 

Of the two, I would favor Craft Wondrous Item over Arms/Armor, but do remember that you won't be able to make the really great stuff until later levels.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that too. The wondrous items seem better, and even though I think my wizard can take that at level 3, I'm going to wait until at least 6.

 

Paying XP doesn't bother that much in the higher levels, especially with a level cap: the crafter can't lose any levels and in level 10 the lost xp wont mean much.

You may need certain spells or be of certain alignment to create some abilities. For example: a cleric must be lawful and have order's wrath spell to craft axiomatic (bonus damage to chaotic creatures) weapons.

 

Crafting rings, rods, and wands is worthless without the mods,and even with them, not worth much. But you can't go wrong with all the different Wonderous Items and Arms & Armor. You'll run out of money before you run out of stuff to make.

One good trick is to gather all of the spiked bugbear shields and shields of Iuz you find and make them +1. It will cost you 500gp and 40XP, but you can sell them for 1500+/-gp, a 1000 gp profit, and 40XP won't kill your spellcaster in the long run, especially with the level cap. Not sure if those shields are modded in however.

 

Are any of the gems I'm finding used for crafting? I'm holding onto them in case they are, but the dollar signs flashing in front of my eyes are starting to tempt me to take them to the jeweler.

Is there a list of everything you can craft and all the reqs for them?

Thanks.

 

You don't need any items for crafting, other than the weapons and armor for CA&A. The only things you need are XP, GP, and the proper spells/level requirements. Sell your gems and use the money to craft!

There is a crafting guide by Lord Plothos available right here at Sorcerer's Place in the ToEE game section. It is an excellent guide to weapon and armor crafting, but doesn't really go into much depth for crafting wondrous items, iirc.

I agree with the others, btw - CA&A, CWI, and possibly craft wands are the only crafting feats worthwhile in vanilla. Craft Rings and Craft Rod/Staff or whatever are pretty worthless without the Co8 mod.

 

Thanks!

 

I find that crafting magical items make the game so much easier. I use both Craft Wonderous Item and Craft Arms and Armour.

CWI is for stat boosting items. Get +6 Str gloves for your melee characters, +6 Int headband for your Wizard and +6 Dex gloves for your archers.

Craft Arms and Armour will allow you to make weapons that are far better than weapon you will ever find (save one). By the end of the game, all 5 of my characters are wielding a +3 holy axiomatic flaming frost shock weapon. Most enemy you face are chaotic evil, so the holy axiomatic will deal an extra 4d6+3 damage before weapon damage. Then you have flaming frost and shock for another 3d6. (I think you can have a max of 4 bonus damage so I only ever get a max of 6d6 instead of 7d6. It's just a limitation of the game.) The archer using rapid shot can take down the toughest enemy on the opening round quite often.

You have to have a cleric with the law domain to enchant a weapon with the Axiomatic property. You have to have a cleric with the good domain to enchant a weapon with the Holy propery. That is why I always get a lawful good cleric with the law and good domains.

You also have to have a caster of level 10 and a fire spell (fireball or flame strike) before you can add the Flaming propery. The Frost and Shock needs a caster of level 8 with appropriate cold and lightning spells (ice storm, lightning bolt, call lightning).

I sell almost all of my items to get gold to enchant my items. The XP is not much of an issue I find. It's well worth it.