A very basic crafting question!

[Ilkuul]

Hey guys,

I'm a total newbie to this kind of game, but have really enjoyed my first experiences with it — going through the introductory quests, etc. Now I'm out in the 'real' world of Middle-Earth, and I'm hitting lots of stuff I don't understand. The Lotro wiki is great, and I've learnt a lot from it, but it often assumes a basic set of knowledge (maybe from other MMORPGs) that I just don't have.

So please forgive me for asking a very basic question: I've just spent some real money in the Lotro store so I can post in these forums and get help when I'm totally stuck!

I decided I wanted to try crafting. So I went to the nearest craft hall, spoke to to the necessary people, and chose the Explorer vocation (Forester, Prospector, Tailor). Now I've been given certain tools and materials by the Supplier, and I'm told to use the materials received to craft a piece of brushed light leather and a thin rowan board.

OK. Fine. Good. One little question: HOW?

I can't find an answer to this anywhere. I thought this was something I'd be taught. How am I supposed to craft something? Do I click on the materials? Equip the tools? Go to some special place? (Couldn’t find anywhere in the Craft Hall.) Find someone like a trainer? Learn a skill? (Where? How?)

I know this is really baby stuff, but I'd be very grateful for a few pointers on how to proceed from here!

Thanks!

[Evodius]

The Crafting Master of Apprentices persons who gave you the quest tells you what you have to do, you should also have a quest.

Open your crafting menu and on the right-hand side it tells you the tool you need to equip, and the workplace neccessary (if any). Usually it reads like workbench, forge, etc...

Go to one of those places (yellow anvil on map) click it, and it'll open your crafting menu and just click Make.

If you're on Arkenstone I can show you in-game.

[djheydt]

Note also:

You open your crafting window either by going to the row of little icons at the very bottom of your screen, and clicking on the third from the left. Or by typing the letter T. (Which of these you prefer to do will depend on whether you're a mouse user or a keyboard user.)

Inside the crafting window, you have three screens, one for each of your skills. Forester and Prospector are gathering/processing skills. Each has an icon that you can put on the top of your skill bars, called Track Wood and Track Mines. Click on one or the other (alas, you can't have both active) and if you're outside, you'll see small green crosses on your mini-map, each showing you where there's a wood node (looks like a branch lying on the ground*) or an ore node (looks like a pile of rock sitting on the ground). The node will have a label floating above it, unless you have "floaty names" turned off. To turn them back on, hit N.

You've started with three sets of low-level tools: an axe, a pick, and a set of tailors' tools. Equip the one you intend to use today (double-click on it; it'll go to the equipment slot on your character portrait) and activate the appropriate Track skill by clicking on that.

Roam the landscape, find all the nodes you can and harvest them. If an animal attacks you, kill it; it will provide you with Hides. (If something other than an animal attacks you, kill that too; it may not drop anything you need, but you can sell it to any vendor for in-game money.)

When you've finished cruising the landscape, go back to the Crafting Hall in the town you're working out of, and go to the Forge to turn ore into ingots, or to the Workbench to turn wood nodes into Boards and hides into Leather.

At some point, with luck, you'll get a Universal Toolkit as a Hobbit Present -- or you can buy it in the LotRO Store for 150 silver. This will stand in for all three kinds of tools, and you won't need to switch them. As your character levels, you'll be able to use higher-level toolkits, which an Armoursmith can make for you.

I may have just told you a lot of things you already knew. If there's anything else you need to know, post here again.

[Ilkuul]

OK, thanks guys, I didn't even realise I had a Crafting panel! I appreciate the detailed instructions.

I did look at the quest I was given, but all it said was, "Using the ingredients you received, craft a piece of brushed light leather"—and likewise for the wooden board. It didn't say where to go. But the Crafting panel tells me I need a workbench, as you mentioned, djheydt. Seeing as I already have the materials, I assume I can just go to a workbench, equip the necessary tool, and then the "Make" command will become active? (It's greyed out now.) Your instructions about collecting materials are what I need to be doing after this, is that right?

Sadly I'm on Laurelin, Evodius, otherwise I would really have appreciated an actual demonstration.

One other question: The Craft Hall I went to and 'signed up' for this is in another town. Do I have to go back there to do this, or can I use the Craft Hall in the town where I am? (If I can find it! Been hunting around everywhere…)

Again, many thanks for your help!

[Nosdracir]

OK, thanks guys, I didn't even realise I had a Crafting panel! I appreciate the detailed instructions.

I did look at the quest I was given, but all it said was, "Using the ingredients you received, craft a piece of brushed light leather"—and likewise for the wooden board. It didn't say where to go. But the Crafting panel tells me I need a workbench, as you mentioned, djheydt. Seeing as I already have the materials, I assume I can just go to a workbench, equip the necessary tool, and then the "Make" command will become active? (It's greyed out now.) Your instructions about collecting materials are what I need to be doing after this, is that right?

Sadly I'm on Laurelin, Evodius, otherwise I would really have appreciated an actual demonstration.

One other question: The Craft Hall I went to and 'signed up' for this is in another town. Do I have to go back there to do this, or can I use the Craft Hall in the town where I am? (If I can find it! Been hunting around everywhere…)

Again, many thanks for your help!

You've got it right. Just need the correct tool equipped and be near a workbench. You can use any workbench in any location. Some people even have one in the yard of their house in a housing area.

Note that tools slowly wear out and have to be repaired. If you collect hundreds of hides and try to turn them all into leather you'll have to stop and repair a few times. Cost of repair is trivial.

Have fun!

[GarethB]

Just a note about crafting tools.

The tools you are using are just the basic version and you need to swap which tool you have equipped depending on what crafting task you want to do. There are better tools that will do everything, no need to swap tools for different tasks. There is a version of these called "universal tools" that have a small chance of being in a "hobbit gift", meaning you get them for free, but the chance of receiving them is small. Over a long enough time you will get them from a hobbit gift eventually, or you can buy them from the LOTRO store. These tools are not bound to a single character, so you can share them between alt characters on the same server/account, and they can be used for ANY craft in the game.
https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Item:Universal_Toolkit

There are also player made crafting tools, but only one craft can make those, metalsmith, and the player made tools have a player level requirement (you must be level X or higher to use them).
https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Ite...eyman_Explorer
https://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Ite...emnet_Explorer

These tools will become bound to the first character that equips them and cannot be shared with other characters. These tools are also craft-specific, so the Explorer tools only work for a character that has the Explorer craft vocation. There is no player-made version of the universal tools, all player-made crafting tools are vocation specific.

[Rugongrod]

did you right click on the boxes in your inventory to open them up and reveal the contents within?

[Ancalagon-]

did you right click on the boxes in your inventory to open them up and reveal the contents within?

interesting.....

[clavdiv]

Hi Ilkuul

Just a suggestion, based on your original post.

Lotro has the ability to show floaty names over items like crafting workbenches , forges, scholar studies etc

This "floaty name" option is toggled by pressing the letter n on your keyboard

From your description, of not knowing where to go in the craft hall, it sounds like maybe you had floaty names turned off ?

Anyways thought I would throw this tip in, please disregard if not relevant

[Sealana]

OK, thanks guys, I didn't even realise I had a Crafting panel! I appreciate the detailed instructions.

I did look at the quest I was given, but all it said was, "Using the ingredients you received, craft a piece of brushed light leather"—and likewise for the wooden board. It didn't say where to go. But the Crafting panel tells me I need a workbench, as you mentioned, djheydt. Seeing as I already have the materials, I assume I can just go to a workbench, equip the necessary tool, and then the "Make" command will become active? (It's greyed out now.) Your instructions about collecting materials are what I need to be doing after this, is that right?

Sadly I'm on Laurelin, Evodius, otherwise I would really have appreciated an actual demonstration.

One other question: The Craft Hall I went to and 'signed up' for this is in another town. Do I have to go back there to do this, or can I use the Craft Hall in the town where I am? (If I can find it! Been hunting around everywhere…)

Again, many thanks for your help!

Most players on Laurelin are very nice people. If you ask on world chat someone will craft you tools appropriate for your explorer vocation and your level.