Introduction to Crafting

Crafting

Introduction to Crafting

Three of the most common activities in the Entropia Universe are hunting, mining, and crafting. Hunting consists of killing mobs to acquire whatever items they were carrying. Mining consists of searching for resources in the ground, and extracting whatever is found. Crafting is different. Crafting consists of creating items from their raw materials using blueprints. Each item that can be crafted requires its own specific blueprint. This means that by crafting with a particular blueprint and recipe of raw materials, you are guaranteed to receive the associated item in return, if the crafting attempt is successful. Crafting literally allows you to choose your own loot, unlike hunting or mining. Crafting is not necessarily the best choice of initial activity for new players with limited funds, however. Piecing elaborate items together is not easy for your avatar, and failure will result in some or all of the raw materials going to waste. This can be quite a costly loss for new players who are inexperienced at crafting. Colonists who spend a portion of their time crafting are called crafters. Pleasantly note that you will never be forced to select one activity for your avatar; it is possible for a single colonist to be a hunter, a miner, a crafter, and much more, simply by taking part in each associated activity. This guide contains basic information to help you begin your journey as a crafter. However, the crafting process itself is rather simple to learn; the most useful tool a crafter can work at building is a solid understanding of the Entropia Universe economy.

Preparing to Craft Your First Filter

The Calypso Gateway offers new colonists their first blueprint book and blueprint as part of the crafting tutorial. The blueprint book is "Components (Vol. I)," and the blueprint is "Basic Filters Blueprint." You may continue to use these items to craft, after the tutorial, for as long as you wish. You can purchase additional blueprint books and blueprints at any Technician. The Basic Filters Blueprint is used to craft "Basic Filters." The raw materials required to craft Basic Filters include 1 Lysterium Ingot and 1 Oil. Each time you attempt to craft Basic Filters using the Basic Filters Blueprint, these raw material will be consumed in the process. If the attempt is not successful, you may or may not be able to salvage some of them. Other blueprints, used to craft different items, will require a different recipe of raw materials. To determine the raw materials required to use a particular blueprint, click "Show Detailed Information" in the Item Info window, and note the "Design" section. To determine which blueprint book to place a particular blueprint into, click "Show Basic Information," and note the "Book."

Once you have acquired a blueprint, along with the required blueprint book and raw materials, you will need to find a Construction Machine or Local Crafter (they both serve the same purpose). Ensure that the blueprint is stored inside the blueprint book, and operate the Construction Machine or Local Crafter. The crafting interface will appear, along with Inventory (with the Blueprints tab active by default). Open the correct blueprint book from your Inventory, and navigate to the page with the blueprint you wish to use. Click the blueprint to place it into the Construction Machine or Local Crafter.

The list of raw material ingredients needed to craft the item will appear in the window on the left side of the crafting interface. The window on the right side displays the types and quantities of raw materials you have placed into the Construction Machine or Local Crafter, which you can do by dragging the raw materials from your Inventory to the center window. You may place a larger quantity of raw materials than is necessary for one crafting attempt; in fact, this is quite a common practice among crafters, as it is often desirable to attempt to craft the same item many times in a row.

Stackable items are crafted as variable-size stacks, and the Basic Filters serve as a fine example. Each time you successfully craft using the Basic Filters Blueprint, you might create one Basic Filter, or you might create multiple. The condition values (or "current Trade Terminal values) of non-stackable items vary as well. To account for this, the crafting interface provides a slider, which may be used to optimize each attempt for the quantity or condition of the item. The slider may be set to quantity, condition, or anywhere in between. Setting it closer to the quantity end will also increase the probability that the crafting attempt is successful. A gauge at the bottom-left corner of the interface will display this success rate. Optimizing for condition is less than useful for stackable items, as such items do not have condition values. It is generally considered a poor choice for non-stackable items as well, due to the negative effect it has on crafting success rate. Additionally, the condition value of an unlimited non-stackable item may be increased later at any Repair Terminal or Repairman, and the condition value of any non-stackable item may be altered during the crafting process, using a different trick (explained later). Optimizing for quantity is usually the better choice.

The interface provides a feature called "Auto Mode," which you may enable if you wish to make more than one attempt in a row automatically. While crafting on Auto Mode, attempts will be made continuously until you run out of raw materials or manually close the crafting progress bar.

If you craft armor or clothing (which Basic Filters are not), you will also need to select which gender of item to create. This option appears when you place a blueprint used to craft armor or clothing into the Construction Machine or Local Crafter.

There is also a help button, which provides further detail on the crafting interface when clicked.

Finally, there are three buttons at the bottom-right corner of the interface. Clicking "Clear" will return to your Inventory all raw materials that you have added. You can click "Exit" to close the interface and stop crafting (click this now if you have changed your mind and decided to take up the Decoy Dispensing profession instead). If you are ready to make your crafting attempt, click "Manufacture" to start the process.

Crafting Skills

Because the Entropia Universe is centered around its real cash economy, it is not possible for every crafter to consistently create valuable items that outweigh the costs of crafting. The successful crafter must find a way to set himself or herself apart from the group. One of the most important ways to become cost efficient as a crafter is gaining crafting skills. Ultimately, crafting skills cause your crafting success rates to be higher, affect the condition values of your crafted items in a positive way, and increase the odds of creating larger quantities of stackable items. Skills and professions are intimately tied to your ability to use different blueprints efficiently. To determine the minimum levels you should reach before using a particular blueprint, click "Show Detailed Information," and note the recommend level for the profession related to your blueprint.

Quality Ratings

The Quality Rating of your blueprint is also very important. All blueprints have a Quality Rating which contributes to your crafting success rate, odds of getting a higher condition value for non-stackable items, and odds of creating larger quantities of stackable items, while you use the blueprint. The Quality Rating of an unlimited blueprint is initially 1.0, and increases as you craft using the blueprint. Quality Rating increases occur randomly when the blueprint is used, similarly to how items increase in tier. To view the Quality Rating of a blueprint, click "Show Detailed Information." Limited Blueprints do not have a Quality Rating. Instead, the remaining number of available crafting attempts is displayed in the detailed information section.

Blueprint Books

Each blueprint fits into a specific blueprint book. The correct blueprint book to use is dependent upon the type of item the blueprint is used to craft. Every item that can be crafted is classified as an "Armor," "Attachment," "Component," "Enhancer," "Furniture," "Material Texture," "Tailoring," "Tool," "Weapon," or "Vehicle" type item. Blueprints and blueprint books are color coded using the same scheme, making it is easier to find the proper blueprint book for your blueprints. However, some blueprint book types have multiple volumes, so you may need to check the blueprint's basic information.

Residue

Residue can be used when crafting a non-stackable item to improve its condition value. If you place residue in the crafting interface along with the raw materials, it will be consumed during the crafting process, and the condition value of the crafted item will be increased by an amount equal to the Trade Terminal value of the residue. Note that will receive a global message or Hall of Fame entry based on the original value of your crafting loot; residue will not increase the odds. If there is more residue than is necessary to increase the condition value of the crafted item to its full Trade Terminal value, only the appropriate quantity will be consumed. Residue is useful when crafting limited items, which cannot have their conditions increased later at a Repair Terminal or Repairman, if the Market Value of the item is higher than the Market Value of the residue.

The Economy

The most useful tool for a crafter is an understanding of the economy. It is possible to chose your own loot when crafting, so interpreting and predicting the level of demand for each item you have the ability to craft allows you to make more intelligent choices. Knowing which items you have the skills to craft efficiently, along with an understanding of how things work, can make you an excellent crafter, and help the Entropia Universe economy to thrive.