Massive Nerd

Yesterday I previewed Gathering. Now, what to do with all that stuff?

Craft!

Aion has 6 main crafts:
Cooking - Food buffs are very important in Aion, even moreso than in WoW and other games.
Alchemy - The same can be said for potions. Alchemy can also make Spellbooks and Orbs, Sorcerer and Spiritmaster weapons.
Armorsmithing - Makes Plate and Mail Armor, as well as Shields.
Weaponsmithing - Swords, Maces, Daggers, Greatswords and Polearms
Handicrafting - Jewelry, Bows and Staves
Sewing - Cloth and Leather Armor

For this preview, we're going to use Weaponsmithing, an awesome choice for my Beta Gladiator.


First off, find your trainer. In Pandaemonium, all the crafting trainers are in one section of the city. A small amount of Kinah will teach you the skill of your choice up to level 99.


To start crafting, simply right click on the appropriate table.


This will open the Crafting window. The window displays all recipes you know, and clicking on the recipe will display the necessary ingredients.


Starting a craft will open the same Pass/Fail Window as Gathering. Once the craft is started, the materials are consumed. You are also locked out from any actions while the Craft is working. So, if the Fail bar starts growing, you're stuck.

After a successful craft, many recipes will have a chance for a High Quality outcome. If this happens, a SECOND Pass/Fail Window will open, and attempt to create your HQ item. A White item will attempt to create a Green, Green to Blue and Blue to Gold. Some recipes can even "Double HQ."


Work Orders are the primary method of leveling your Craft. These are special quests you pick up fro your trainer. You can obtain the first one at Level 1, and gain a new one at 10, 20, etc. In these quests, the trainer will give you a special quest item, and ask you to make something out of it. This involves picking up a reagent or two from the nearby vendor and cranking them out. The crafting itself will raise your skill, not the quest. Instead, turning in the quest will grant you random reagents and even recipes!

I like this. Instead of cranking out random worthless items to level up, the Work Order system is much smoother. The only limit to your leveling is time and money. Also, since crafting items in Aion is a much more in-depth process, it makes your ACTUAL craft that much more special.

You CAN level any Craft in the game up to 399 skill. However, you can choose only two to "Master" beyond that. You can create 95% of available items at 399 skill, but only Master can make the best stuff.

That being said, I would not recommend attempting to level more than one Craft at a time. The Kinah investment required for each craft is overwhelming.

Bottom line: Aion's Crafting system is incredibly robust. Much more fun, intricate and rewarding that WoW's, without being as mind-numbingly complex as Final Fantasy XI. I enjoy it greatly.