EQ2 Tradeskill Discussion from EQ Traders.

[Akaran_D]

We recently got to ask SOE a few questions and we recieved answers from Ben Skelly, EverQuest II Mechanics Designer about tradeskills in Everquest 2.

Can you tell us more about the classes and subclasses of the artisan tree?

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We have expanded the artisan advancement path to give players more choices in what tradeskills they wish to specialize. You begin with the artisan archetype, which lets you to try out a range of recipes to see what kinds of items you enjoy making.

Once you have achieved level 10 in the artisan archetype, you select your class. The class choices are craftsman, outfitter, and scholar. The craftsman specializes in making brews and beverages, food, wooden weapons and shields, and furniture. The outfitter makes metal weapons and armor, as well as leather and cloth armor. The scholar deals in spell upgrades, combat art upgrades, jewelry, talismans, potions, and poisons.

Once you have progressed to level 20 in your artisan class you make your subclass choice. The choices for subclass are based upon what class you have chosen.

The craftsman can choose from the provisioner, who makes brews, beverages, and food; the woodworker, who makes staves, bows, shields, arrows, and instruments; or the carpenter, who makes different types of furniture used to decorate player houses.

The outfitter can choose from the armorer, who makes metal armors (plate and chain); the weaponsmith, who makes metal weapons (swords, axes, daggers, hammers, etc.); or the tailor, who makes cloth and leather armors.

The scholar can choose from the jeweler, who makes talismans and jewelry; the sage, who makes combat art and spell scrolls; or the alchemist, who makes potions and poisons.

How much interdependence will there be with the various artisan classes and subclasses?

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A key feature of this new artisan structure is that it introduces much more interdependency between professions. For example, you might be an armorer who is making a set of plate mail for your friendly neighborhood ogre. Crafting the armor might require some small studs and struts to be made by a jeweler, as well as some padding from a tailor. The armorer will make the large plates of metal and will assemble the armor to create the finished product.

One of the most often asked questions is, which class and/or subclass gets Baking and brewing. Which get Fletching? Editors Note: We asked this before the reveal of the change in artisan classes, I am including it here for completeness.

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The craftsman class gets baking, brewing, and fletching. The provisioner subclass specializes in baking and brewing, while the woodworker subclass specializes in all things fletching.

One concern that keeps popping up is, will an Artisan be required to choose one of the 4 other archetypes before they are allowed off refuge Isle? And related to that, are there any introductory quests for artisans on refuge isle like there are for the other classes, or do you just need to go chose your starting city right away, if you want to skip the "combat" archetypes.

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There are quests on the Isle of Refuge that introduce players to tradeskills just as there are quests for the adventuring archetypes. You will still be required to pick your adventure archetype before you can leave the Isle, as that is an important aspect of your character. But you can go to the cities soon after arriving on the Isle of Refuge, so you won't be forced into lengthy adventuring quests if you choose not to stay on that path.

The crafting shop that one pledges themselves to is an interesting idea. Will a person be committed to one such that they cannot change shops at a later time, or will faction allow them to move shops as they gain reputation?

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The crafting shops are part of our tradeskill social structures. Once you choose a tradeskill shop that you'd like to join, you work to build your reputation within that shop and thereby gain certain benefits. If you decide that you don't like that shop anymore you can pledge yourself to another shop, but you will have to build up your standing again in the new location.

We realize SOE has stated that crafting quests will be limited on a certain number per day, will this impact the ability of a crafter to be self sufficient (excluding adventuring) while leveling? Will we have to be dependent on others to buy our wears consistently to fund the given trade?

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As we currently have the system designed, we do not limit the number of quests that an artisan can complete in a day. You can feel free to advance at your own pace.

Our tradeskill social structure system allows you to be a fully independent person. You can gain experience, standing, and money by completing tasks that any workshop can assign to you. You will not have to be solely dependent on others to buy your wares to fund your trade, but to make the truly great items in the game you will need certain items obtainable by skilled and daring adventurers.

Thank you for your time in answering these questions.