leveling tip for tradeskillingFollow

I just started to play up an alt to angle him into a different and complimentary artisan class for my main (to make quills and paper for my main, who is now a scholar).

I started at almost lvl 4 artisan. Had 20 tin clusters. Bought 20 coal and 20 fossil tempers. Made 20 pristine tin bars and made it nearly to lvl 5. Made a few tin spikes and was lvl 5. Bought the books to get new recipes.

Then I remembered someone saying they had noticed a nice 'artisan exp. bonus' each time they made an item for the first time. So I decided to try forging all tin items I could. I made a buckle, an edge, a hilt, a stud (if that's what it's called), etc. Got to lvl 6 at least twice as fast as grinding out 20 tin bars and 4 spikes. Now, I was also making blue things and not green. So I'm not sure this is conclusive.

But you may want to try this as you power up artisans. Heck with what people are charging for bags and boxes, it might very well be worth it to have a tier two artisan alt making those for your characters (I understand a pristine maple box holds 12 items - but is heavy so is only good for in the bank).

Anyway, either because the tin items were blue - or there really is a bonus for the first time making something - I did skill up to lvl 6 way, way faster than I'd skilled to lvl 5. Give this a try and see if it helps you level faster. If there really is a first-time bonus, don't overlook all those cooking recipes. There are zillions. Make your own packet of spice to save money (it's way cheaper than buying one ready made) - packet of spice is used in most cooking recipes, it seems. Oh, if you eat player made food, each one lasts longer - and some people say you regen health and power faster compared to merchant-bought food. I'm not sure if the regen part is true, but it does last longer.

Also, note which buttons work for which recipes (the artisan buff buttons). Funny, one tin item recipe required wood working buttons! This is good practice to learn which of these do what - mastering these buttons helps you make a higher ratio of pristine items when you are not just going for exp and are trying to make an item for use or for sale. GL!