Hello,
I'm working on my first artisan character, so crafting is pretty new for me. I have a question that I hope can be answered: can weapons that have special abilities("mana up", "health") be crafted or are they drop-only...? How can they be acquired?
Also, if an item fails to be crafted, do you receive anything at all? Any general advice for artisans would be greatly appeciated, as well. Thanks!
to get items w/ special abilities, you need to craft the weapon first, and it will be "blank" then you use soul crystals of specific colors to add the ability you want with help of a local blacksmith.
and no, if you fail an item craft, you don't get squat (if you fail a weapon/armor enchant ie. +3-+4 you'll get a certain amount of whatever grade crystals)
a good suggestion, if you are gonna over enchant a wepon AND put an special ability on it...try the over enchant first that way you dont use all your adena placeing and SA on it and then blow it up..ahveing an SA doesnt give you anymore or any less of the specific grade crystals when it pops...
each weopon will basically have 3 sa's it can have. but every weopon will need a crystal of the appropriate level. take a weopon to a blacksmith in town (make sure it isnt equipped) and it will show the sa's available, and what is needed to imbue the weopons with the abilities.
Some general advice.
-Find a scavenger dwarf that you like playing together and do often party with him. He can share spoil with you and you can craft his ss and crash his items to crystalls for free in exchange. It can be the begining of a vary profitable partnership.
-Take some seeds for manoring (manor is your FRIEND), grab both of you polearms and head for catacombs (clerics/oracles would love to join too). You'll get a lot of spoiled items, manor crops and good exp.
-Never sell basic mats to anyone. Only items you craft.
-Don't bother crafting items below B-grade apart from armor parts that close a set (brigandine helmet, elven mithril gloves, mithril boots, etc.) The rest of the itmes are easier (and cheaper) to buy from shops or through 7 signs (with ancient adena), so don't bother.
-Always have in your disposal all ss and bsps reciepes for your grade (and crafting skill). Even if it means to buy them. Of cource the partnership with the scavenger can help here too.
As a sidenote, SAs come in with C grade. They also cost beside the Soul Crystal (Stage 5-8 for C grade weapons, 9-10 for B grade weapons, 11-12 for A grade weapons and 13 for S grade weapons) a little adena fee aswell as some gemstones (grade of gemstones and weapon must match). Everytown blacksmith can add SAs to C and B weapons, but A and S grade weapons SAs can just be done with the Blacksmith of Mammon.