Hi there! I'm Ividyon, a Lv. 30+ tanky Knight and Lv.38+ Blacksmith on the iRO2 server Odin, and I'm here to bring you a detailed guide to Blacksmithing with lots of pictures, handy tips and other info collected by hand and from the web. This is meant to be a one-stop resource for Blacksmiths, providing all they need for a smooth profession experience, as I haven't seen any other concise guides like this around.
This guide is a WORK IN PROGRESS and will be growing constantly, its formatting refined and new info added. If you spot any missing info, errors or if you've got ideas for improvement (new farming spots, other suggestions), do not hesitate to write about them!
Copyright stuff: In case you want to re-publish parts of this guide - text, pictures, whatever - you can go ahead as long as you either link back to this thread and/or mention that I (ividyon) made it. Thank you!
Table of Content
0. Changelog
1. What is a Blacksmith?
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Trainers
1.3. Guardian Skill
2. Types of Materials
2.1. Minerals, Ores and Ingots
2.2. Monster Materials
2.3. Disenchanted Elements
2.4. Anvils
3. The Blacksmith and You
3.1. Leveling the Blacksmith
3.2. Selling your crafts (Vendor, Auction House)
4. Farming Spots
4.1. Ore Farming Maps
4.2. Monster Material Farming Spot
5. Thanks and Useful Links
6. Conclusion
0) Changelog
14/05/2013 - Initial post!
1) What is a Blacksmith?
1.1) Introduction
The Blacksmith is one of Ragnarok Online 2's four side jobs that each character can select beside their main class. Blacksmiths gather precious ores from rocks and nodes around the landscape and smelt them into Ingots in order to create powerful weaponry and armor that can take a good amount of punishment. Their Job Guardian, Vulcan, significantly improves their Movement Speed and Haste/Vigor Rates for 30 seconds.
The Blacksmith is capable of creating Weapons for every class, Heavy Armor for Swordsman classes, Quivers for the Ranger class as well as Shields for the Knight class. They also create Runehole Punch items that add a rune socket to equipment. The creation of Weapons and Runehole Drills makes them viable for any class, but the Heavy Armor crafting as well as the general idea of the character working with heavy, sturdy materials makes them a popular choice among Swordsmen, Knights and Warriors.
1.2) Trainers
As with every RO2 profession, Blacksmith trainers can be found in almost every town or quest hub. Trainers teach Blacksmiths new smithing plans for a certain fee and also sell Anvils, reagent items required for Blacksmith item crafting. The main job trainer is <Blacksmith Expert> Crupaz who can be found in Prontera, the capital city of Rune-Midgarts. Besides the usual services Crupaz also offers the questline that allows you to summon and develop your Guardian spirit.
1.3 Guardian Skill
Blacksmiths have access to a special job Guardian, Vulcan, which is a powerful spirit that grants the Blacksmith and their party a nice speed buff for 30 seconds. Once the player has completed the initial Guardian Summoning quest at Crupaz, they can call it by clicking the job icon on their character frame.
The Guardian can only be summoned when the orange bar is full, which it depletes upon summoning. The Guardian takes about 30 minutes to fully re-charge on iRO2.
Summoning the Guardian grants the Blacksmith the following boost:
[Vulcan Code] Level 1: Movement Speed +30%
[Vulcan Code] Level 2: Movement Speed +60%
[Vulcan Code] Level 3: Movement Speed +90%
Additionally, the Blacksmith's entire party (as long as they are in range) benefits from the following effect (which is shared among all Job guardians):
[Beyond Limit] Level 1: Haste Rate +10%, Vigor Rate +10%
[Beyond Limit] Level 2: Haste Rate +20%, Vigor Rate +20%
[Beyond Limit] Level 3: Haste Rate +30%, Vigor Rate +30%
improving their Attack/Cast Speed as well as reducing their cooldowns. The entire party also receives the [Soul Exhaustion] debuff, which prevents them from benefitting from another [Beyond Limit] boost in the next 10 minutes.
The Guardian acquisition and level-up quests can be grabbed at Prontera's <Blacksmith Expert> Crupaz and require the following:
Level 1 Quest: Blacksmithing Job Lv. 10
1x [Rugged Mountain Gaiters] (requires Blacksmithing Lv. 12)
Level 2 Quest: Blacksmithing Job Lv. 30
1x [Brilliant Leader's Chain Gaiters] (requires Blacksmithing Lv. 32)
Level 3 Quest: Blacksmithing Job Lv. 45
1x [Chain Gauntlets of Fiendish Massacre] (requires Blacksmithing Lv. 46)
2) Types of Materials
2.1) Minerals, Ores and Ingots
The Blacksmith's unique way of gathering job materials is mining Minerals. Rocks containing valuable ores are strewn about the landscape; it's up to the Blacksmith to find and gather them for their contents!
Ore nodes generally look very unconspicious, but their size makes them more visible than, say, Alchemist flower pickups. They also emit a faint sparkly glow which often appears in the distance before the actual mineral does.
Mineral items are split up in Small ores, Medium ores, Large ores and Ingots, which can be converted into the respective next stage. Mineral nodes contain a random amount of 1-2 Small, Medium and Large ores of their respective quality as well as, sometimes, a Large ore of the previous quality.
2x Small Ore = 1x Medium Ore
2x Medium Ore = 1x Large Ore
3x Large Ore = 1x Ingot
Ingots are required for crafting items, but converting ores to other ores and to Ingots nets the Blacksmith a decent amount of job EXP. In fact, gathering and converting ores makes up for a large part of Blacksmith EXP gain.
The qualities of ores are as follows:
Job Levels 1-10: [Small Rock], [Medium Rock], [Large Rock] => [Ingot]
Found in: West Mt. Mjolnir, East Mt. Mjolnir
Job Levels 10-20: [Small Copper Ore], [Medium Copper Ore], [Large Copper Ore] -> [Copper Ingot]
Found in: South Plains
Job Levels 20-30: [Small Iron Ore], [Medium Iron Ore], [Large Iron Ore] -> [Iron Ingot]
Found in: Izlude Hill, Payon Forest
Job Levels 30-40: [Small Silver Ore], [Medium Silver Ore], [Large Silver Ore] -> [Silver Ingot]
Found in: Maple Forest, Divided Plain
Job Levels 40-50: [Small Gold Ore], [Medium Gold Ore], [Large Gold Ore] -> [Gold Ingot]
Found in: Verta Delta, Sograt Desert, Road of Blessed
I have determined a bunch of useful ore farming spots and drawn maps for them. You can find them in the Farming Spots section below.
2.2) Monster Materials
There are 5 types of materials that are sought by all professions. Various crafting recipes require varying amounts of these materials. They are:
[Firmament Essence], [Earthly Trace], [Root of Life], [Monster Fragment], [Spirit of Ruin]
Blacksmiths, Artisans and Alchemists past Job Lv. 20 can convert these materials into [Radiant Firmament Crystal], [Glorious Earth Crystal], [Eternal Life Crystal], [Mystical Fragment Crystal] and [Dazzling Trace Crystal], which are crafted from 3 items of the respective type and used in higher-level crafting recipes.
These materials are dropped randomly by monsters of all levels and can be traded with other players. The Farming Spots section below features my favorite spot for farming these items.
Important: Especially [Firmament Essence] is in high demand across all four professions, making it more valuable than the others. Pay attention to how many of these you spend during leveling.
2.3) Disenchanted Elements
Equipment past Lv. 25 can be disassembled using reagents bought from <Disassemble Expert> NPCs. Doing so turns the equipment into Elunium and Oridecon powders, which are used to fortify Armors and Weapons, respectively, as well as an amount of disenchanted Crystals that are used in Blacksmith item crafting. These items are:
Lv. 25-39: [Dim Crystal]
Lv. 39-??: <TODO: Figure out other items>
As Blacksmiths create equipment in order to level up, it may be a wise idea to immediately disassemble it for crystals to use in later crafting. It is up to the Blacksmith to decide whether they want to vend their creations for money or just straight disassemble them for parts.
2.4) Anvils
Anvils are the Blacksmiths' reagent item for equipment crafting. For whatever reason, each item creation consumes an amount of Anvils of its respective level, making zeny a consideration in crafting equipment. Anvils are sold by Blacksmith trainers around the globe, making them easy, yet costly to get.
3) The Blacksmith and You
3.1) Leveling your Blacksmith
As you smelt ores, create equipment and generally live out your profession, you gain Job Experience which raises your Job Level. Job EXP is completely separate from Class EXP and does not contribute to your character's class level or combat skills.
Blacksmith Job EXP can be earned in the following ways:
- Gathering Minerals
- Any item creation in the Crafts window
- Khara Missions
- Job-related quests (West Mt. Mjolnir, Guardian questline)
As you level your Blacksmith, you have three potential bottlenecks: Ingots, Monster Materials and Zeny. You can ease the pain on the first two requirements by paying attention to what items you craft. Often there are recipes (typically, Weapons) which are quite cost-ineffective and take a lot of resources for little experience gain. Compare the following:
As you can see, crafting the [Dual Dagger of the Ruined Spirit] would eat a lot of Ingots, Crystals and Anvils for comparatively little EXP gain, making the latter two options more useful for leveling the Blacksmith. The second option, [Fierce Battle Chain Boots], takes only 3 [Iron Ingot]s a unit, but consumes 3 [Firmament Essence]s, while the third option, [High Affluent Gaiters], requires one more [Iron Ingot] but only 2 [Root of Life], along with carrying a small EXP penalty. This means the third option would be recommended for someone who is trying to save on monster drops, but has enough ingots to spare. Always check the recipes available to you and pick the smartest path in terms of experience to material ratios!
Again, don't forget that [Firmament Essence] is in higher demand than other monster drops, making it a valuable resource to save!
Sometimes you may have gathered more than enough ores, but find yourself lacking in monster drops, or vice versa. Sadly, it can't always be guaranteed that you will be able to smoothly level your profession as you progress through regular quests and regions, meaning you will either have to abandon your profession or invest some time into farming materials. The Farming Spot maps at the bottom of the guide will help you with the latter.
Purchasing new recipes and Anvils necessary for smithing can cut into your budget quite a bit. To avoid pitfalls, spare some time for math so that you buy only the required amount of Anvils, and only buy recipes you know you are going to use - equipment for your class that is better than yours, equipment for your friends, or recipes useful for profession leveling.
3.2) Selling your crafts (Vendor, Auction House)
One of the legacies of Ragnarok Online 1 is the ability to run your own player shop and sell your own items. This comes in handy for a Blacksmith who wishes to sell their crafted goods or surplus materials. It is even possible to offer your crafting services for a fee! Once you reach Job Lv. 10, you can open the Shop window with Y (or drag it onto your menu bar at the bottom left) and begin vending your items!
Important points to consider:
1) The price you set counts for the ENTIRE STACK of items, not just one of them! If you put 5 [Jellopy] in the store for 5 Rupees, people can buy all 5 [Jellopy] for 5 Rupees total, rather than 25 Rupees. If you wish to sell smaller stacks, split them manually in your inventory with Shift+Click before vending.
2) The "Craft Item" service in the vendor window uses the customers' materials! This means you cannot offer to craft items using your own resources. While I hope Gravity changes this soon, the only useful application of the "Craft Item" service right now is to also offer base materials in the Vendor window, so that people can buy their own materials to use your crafting service with.
3) Vending requires you to stay motionless and logged-in, effectively disabling you from playing your character. This makes it a good idea for periods where you need to AFK or take a break. If you want to sell items without your involvement, you should use the Auction House instead.
<TODO: Auction house image and info!>
4) Farming Spots
Here's a bunch of easy, fast-respawning farming spots for your convenience! I have found these to be useful in my Blacksmithing career, and perhaps so will you.
Farming Pro Tip: Switch to the least populated channel available to avoid competition in farming the spots.
Farming Pro Tip: Watch a show (be it TV or anime) while farming! I have found that watching The Boondocks and Sword Art Online in a small Media Player Classic window set to "Always on Top" has incredibly increased my tolerance of farming. People with their own TVs or secondary monitors have it even easier in that respect. Listening to some good music is also a good idea, but doesn't quite cut it for me. Personal choice!
4.1) Ore Farming Maps
Without further ado, my carefully prepared farming maps:
4.2) Monster Material Farming Spot
I have found that, on iRO2, any monster in any level range has the same chance to drop crafting materials. This means that it is incredibly easy to farm crafting drops by slaying newbie enemies in West Mt. Mjolnir. As they respawn instantly, players with a high enough level (especially those with AOE skills) can farm up a TON of materials quite quickly.
My favorite spot is West Mt. Mjolnir's Poring Pound, in the Mastering cottage. There is a tiny spot at the left side which harbors 6 tightly-knit Porings that respawn almost immediately and are far from any Mastering spawns...
...making them perfect cannon fodder for my Grand Cross. Pow!
Not only do they give you a ton of material drops, but you can also use the abundance of [Poring Card]s to finish all your card-collecting Khara missions. Useful!
Farming Pro Tip: Bring a friend! One of you can slay monsters while the other collects. This makes the process twice as fast!
5) Thanks and Useful Links
RO2 database links: Gaming-Base.net
6) Conclusion
Some copypaste from the introduction:
This guide is a WORK IN PROGRESS and will be growing constantly, its formatting refined and new info added. If you spot any missing info, errors or if you've got ideas for improvement (new farming spots, other suggestions), do not hesitate to write about them!
Copyright stuff: In case you want to take parts of this guide - text, pictures, whatever - you can go ahead as long as you either link back to this thread or mention that I (ividyon) made it. Thank you!
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I hope you enjoyed reading and got some use out of this guide. I am looking forward to your feedback, criticism, praise, hatred etc. Good luck, fellow Blacksmiths!
- Ividyon
Edited by sanastro, 15 May 2013 - 11:27 PM.