Sunday, February 3, 2008

Leatherworking is Lame, except when it's not.

Not happening this weekend. Yesterday, Dad spent stripping wallpaper. Then the boys had their acting/singing lessons and the family went to a late lunch. We got home. Dad went back to work on the walls while mom checked the AH, did a bit of mat farming and levelled up my sencondary leatherworker a bit. Now I just have to level him up. After that we all watched an old favorite: The Music Man, with Robert Preston, John Ford, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, and a very young Ron Howard. We chose this movie because the boys are learning the song, "Gary, Indiana". Besides, it's one of my favorites.

Before I get into the leatherworking part of this post, a bit more about the boys. They started taking tap dancing last year after watching "Singing In The Rain". After knocking the crowd dead at their recital last spring, they wanted to try being in play. So I signed them up for a children's production of "The Aristocats". In the fall, instead of doing soccer, they chose to continue with the tap lessons and do another play, "The Jungle Book." This winter, in addition to tap, they are working privately with the acting teacher to work on their singing. Plus they've started piano. My husband and I joke that we are doing everything we can to prepare our children for a career in Vaudeville.

Now on to the awful profession of Leatherworking.

Actually it's fine at beginning. The stuff you can make for yourself, assuming you're playing a class that wears leather, is better than anything of the early quest rewards. And the light leather armor kits are nice, too. This is doubly nice for us since we typically run a bunch of low level characters. They can all start off with a Handstitched Leather Vest at 45 armor, plus a +8 light armor kit. With two or three low level skinners feeding our low level LW, everyone gets decent armor and the LW is able to progress fast enough to make decent stuff for everyone's level. Until you get to the items requiring tough mats. But this is universally true in the crafting professions. You drool over the propect of making those sweet Toughened Leather Gloves, only to find that by the time you can either farm the mats or have the gold to buy them, you're sporting better gloves. But this isn't unique to LWing.

No the real problem with LW is twofold. First is that Leatherworkers-in-a-hurry to skill up, following a guide or something, will make about 30 of some decent but piece that doesn't require anything but leather and thread. And then dump them all the AH. Items like the Dark Leather Belt, which has decent stats for it's level, same than an "of the Monkey" piece of the same level. So forget about making and selling nice belts and pants at around level 20. This also goes for any selling any drops. Or bracers in the 30s. Or head gear in the mid 30s. I have seen 20 or more Nightscape Headbands priced at less 60 silver. Actually I like this situation. I buy them all up and DE them for Vision Dust and Lesser Nether Essence.

My main grumble with LW is at the upper levels around 250-300. My lvl 60 LW can make all these blue items with mats that she can easily farm, that no one wants because the only stats they have are resistances. I know these were for pre-BC content that hardly anyone ever does anymore, so of course no one want to buy them. Frostsaber and Chimeric and Living. Make 'em and DE 'em, I guess.

2 comments:

Ribeye-Skywall(US) said...

Here's your leatherworking fun time tooltip: Wicked Leather Headband. Right up there in awesomeness with "White Bandit Mask" and "Netherweave Belt" from tailoring, this is a DE dream, as well as *the* most cost-efficient craftable to get Illusion Dust and (more specifically) Greater Eternal Essences, which will somtimes show up in pairs from a DE. Considering that it takes only 12 rugged leather and chincy Trade Goods mats to do this, it's a scream. 300% profit turnaround from AH prices if you buy the leather to make it all (with a semi-reasonable server economy)and have any luck whatsoever with getting Essences off your DE (Plus, the occasional Large Brilliant Shard!)

Michele said...

Ooo, Have to try that one soon. I am finding the Enchanting as a gathering profession is pretty darn lucrative.