Insider Trader: Jewelcrafting, the final stretch part 1
Despite the overwhelming support from our readers during our brief but flower-tastic adventures as HKO-Insider, I will be unable to delve any further into the professions of the Flower Kingdom. That's okay; they were prejudiced against jewelcrafters anyway.
Two weeks ago, I posted Insider Trader's guide to the final stretch of Alchemy, and Runstadrey posted the following comment in response:
Excellent article, very in depth and thorough. I'm eagerly awaiting the same treatment for my stalled JC.
How could I resist a request preceded by flattery? I might have even produced this last week, had patch 2.4 not have dropped; after all, we can't have all of our jewelcrafters stalled mid-level. I am looking forward to reading the comment section for this guide, as the cheapest way on paper always varies because of unique server economies.
For the first part of the guide, which will show you how to reach 355 jewelcrafting in the cheapest manner possible, pass on through the break.
Each week,
Insider Trader takes you behind the scenes of the bustling sub-culture of professional craftsmen, examining the profitable, the tragically lacking, and the methods behind the madness. For more guides to maximizing your chosen profession, check out the final stretches for Leatherworkers and Alchemists alike. For a complete list of profession guides, feel free to peruse our directory.
As always, you might want to deviate from this guide under the following circumstances:
The market is particularly bad for an item mentioned here, or sufficiently profitable for another item in the same level bracket.
The materials for other items and cuts are easier and cheaper for you to acquire for whatever reason.
You want to wear or use one of your items; always milk a skill point out of that, even if it is not the cheapest point.
There are several existing jewelcrafting guides on the net, and here are the ones I found most helpful:
From the forums, written by Highlander on EU-Terenas.
To gain the first several points, you will have many cheap choices, not only because of the availability of the gems, but also because of the number of cheap options. You may actually find that you can purchase the gems you need from the auction house for less than you can sell the ore, so scope out your market before you start prospecting.
The following patterns begin at yellow, turn green at 320, and turn gray at 340. I am making the recommendation that you move on at 310 for efficiency, but that is a personal choice. For each cut gem, you will require one uncut gem. As an example, for the first recipe, [Inscribed Flame Spessarite], you will need one [Flame Spessarite] to cut.
All of the following patterns can also be bought or trained from the Master Jewelcrafting Trainers in Hellfire Peninsula; Kalaen for the Horde in Thrallmar and Tatiana for the Alliance in Honor Hold. I will also name a few classes to which you might be able to market each gem, but this is by no means an exhaustive list.
To start, let us avoid recipes gained through faction reputation to simplify things.
300-310:
[Inscribed Flame Spessarite]: Rogues, feral druids, and retribution paladins, to name a few, might snap this gem up.
[Glowing Shadow Draenite]: The spell damage is ideal for casters, and the stamina bonus makes this a likely warlock piece.
[Solid Azure Moonstone]: The heavy stamina on this gem makes it ideal for tanking warriors and warlocks.
[Teardrop Blood Garnet]: This gem is great for holy paladins and priests, as well as other healers.
[Brilliant Golden Draenite]: Any mana-user who either stacks intellect like Lego, or is in need of an extra boost, will be in the market for this gem.
[Radiant Deep Peridot]: Another caster gem, you might find an opening in the mage market.
The following are similar to the above patterns, with a few minor differences. You can begin using them at a skill level of 305, and also begin at yellow strength, not orange. They turn green at 325 and gray at 345. As they use the same basic gems, these are mainly alternatives in case you are crafting for yourself, friends, guildmates, or find a better market on your server for certain cuts over others. These patterns, too, can be purchased from your trainers in Hellfire Peninsula.
305-315-325:
[Bright Blood Garnet]: With 12 attack power, you will find a market for hunters as well as any damage-specialized melee classes.
[Bold Blood Garnet]: A pure strength cut, expect that rogues, warriors, and paladins might find this enticing.
[Jagged Deep Peridot]: This gem is great for hunters as well as damage-specialized melee classes.
[Sparkling Azure Moonstone]: Pure spirit is most notably a restoration druid's delight, although other healers and mana users will stack spirit depending on their specs and playstyle.
As you can see, the choices for the first 10-20 or even 40 points are quite numerous. If you do not wish to simply clean the auction house of one type of gem, you can pick and choose the cheapest, most useful, or most marketable. You can also put out a call to your friends and guildmates, as on most servers, the uncut gems such as [Shadow Draenite] sell for 2 or 3 gold at most. Using handouts and gems you pick up, you can cheaply motor your way through the first portion of your journey to 375.
315-325:
[Glinting Flame Spessarite]: Unless you want to take any of the above cuts, primarily the second batch, right up to 325 when they turn green, or have already begun collecting faction rewards, this cut may be your only new trick for this bracket. Also available from your HFP trainer, this pattern will go green at 335 and gray at 355. The hit rating and agility make it desirable for hunters, as well as melee classes.
For the skillpoints remaining to take you all the way to 350 and thus two thirds of the way to 375, you need not yet stray from your trainers in Hellfire Peninsula. These gems will begin 325 at yellow, hit green at 340 (alas), and turn gray at 355. Although there are other options we will explore from 340-350 when you would otherwise be working on green cuts, sticking with the cuts of the cheap gems might be more cost-effective.
325-350:
[Smooth Golden Draenite]: Critical strike rating is great for any class not dependent on spell critical strike rating instead.
[Sovereign Shadow Draenite]: Strength and stamina are good tanking stats.
[Rigid Golden Draenite]: Hit rating is keen for anyone who does not primarily make use of spells.
Alternatively, you can choose to manufacture [Mercurial Adamantite] and either sell it or, looking ahead in the guide, save it, depending on the method of reaching 375 that you might choose.
325-345:
[Mercurial Adamantite] can take you from yellow at 325 to green at 335 before finally turning gray at 345. If you find a strong market for the stuff, know some needy engineers, or are choosing the jewelry method to 375, you might want to make this stuff while you can get the skill points.
For each piece, you will need 4 [Adamantite Powder] and 1 [Primal Earth]. This is one of the places that your mining vocation will come in handy, although the materials can also be purchased from the auction house. To obtain the dust, simply prospect [Adamantite Ore] until you get enough. You should receive motes and gems for your troubles, as well as the dust.
The more expensive, albeit more interesting and perhaps quicker, route:
340-355:
[Heavy Adamantite Ring]: Although there has been jewelry you could have been using to level your skills up to this point, for the most part, it was a more expensive, higher-risk endeavor, as the market for most jewelcrafting goods is quite saturated. Still, compared to spinning your wheels with green cuts, you might prefer to make this ring instead. With 42 stamina, this ring might sell to casuals of almost any class.
This ring pops in orange at 335, turns yellow at 345, green at 355 and gray at 365. As you can see, it will more than suit your needs for this level bracket, and indeed is not horrendously expensive to manufacture. Each ring will require one [Mercurial Adamantite] and one [Adamantite Bar].
Tune in next week for part two of this guide, which will walk you through several different paths to achieve your last twenty skill points, including a discussion about utilizing patterns that can be obtained through reputation with various factions.
