Crafting in Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is an essential aspect of the game that allows you to create and improve weapons, armor, and consumables. This in-depth guide covers all crafting professions, including leveling, material farming, and crafting strategies for optimizing gear and consumables.
Overview of Crafting Professions
There are six crafting professions in ESO, each with its unique focus and skill line
- Blacksmithing: Craft and improve heavy armor and metal weapons.
- Clothier: Craft and improve light and medium armor.
- Woodworking: Craft and improve bows, staves, and shields.
- Enchanting: Create glyphs to enhance weapons, armor, and jewelry.
- Alchemy: Create potions and poisons with various effects.
- Provisioning: Cook food and brew drinks that provide temporary buffs.
Levelling Crafting Professions
To level up your crafting professions, follow these tips:
- Deconstruct Items: Deconstructing items yields crafting materials and inspiration (crafting XP). The higher the item’s quality and level, the more inspiration you gain.
- Complete Crafting Writs: Daily crafting writs provide inspiration, gold, and materials. These are available at notice boards in major cities after completing the crafting certification quests.
- Invest Skill Points: As you level up your crafting professions, invest skill points in their respective skill lines to unlock new recipes, improve crafted items, and reduce material costs.
Material Farming
Gathering materials is essential for crafting. Here’s how to farm materials for each profession:
- Blacksmithing, Clothier, and Woodworking: Harvest ore, cloth, and wood nodes in the overworld. Refine raw materials at crafting stations to obtain usable materials and upgrade materials.
- Enchanting: Harvest runestones from enchanting nodes in the overworld. Combine Potency, Essence, and Aspect runes to create glyphs.
- Alchemy: Gather plants, mushrooms, and water nodes in the overworld to obtain reagents and solvents. Experiment with different combinations of reagents to discover potion and poison recipes.
- Provisioning: Loot crates, barrels, and sacks in cities, dungeons, and the overworld for ingredients. Purchase or find recipes to learn new food and drink combinations.
Crafting Strategies for Optimizing Gear and Consumables
To make the most of your crafting efforts, follow these strategies:
- Research Traits: Research item traits at crafting stations to unlock the ability to craft items with specific bonuses. Researching takes time and increases with each trait learned for a specific item type.
- Upgrade Items: Improve the quality of crafted items using upgrade materials (e.g., tempers, tannins, resins). Higher-quality items provide better stats and bonuses.
- Optimize Glyphs: Craft glyphs with the appropriate Aspect runes to match the desired quality of the gear. Utilize glyphs that complement your character’s build and playstyle.
- Experiment with Alchemy: Discover hidden potion and poison effects by experimenting with different reagent combinations. Craft potions and poisons that enhance your abilities or hinder your enemies in combat.
- Cook and Brew: Learn a variety of food and drink recipes to provide a range of buffs tailored to your character’s needs. Use higher-quality ingredients to create more potent consumables.
Mastering crafting in ESO requires time, dedication, and experimentation. By understanding the intricacies of each crafting profession and employing effective leveling, material farming, and crafting strategies, you can optimize your gear and consumables to enhance your gameplay experience. As you hone your crafting skills, you’ll become an invaluable asset to your friends, guildmates, and the broader ESO community.
