Game Update 56 smoothed out the initial crafting quest progression even further, making it easier for new crafters to get up to speed quickly with their crafting careers.

While you can start directly with this tutorial, if you are new to the game or new to crafting, I strongly recommend that you start with Tutorial: Learning to Harvest, followed by If I Had a Hammer. These new introductory quests will give you a harvesting bag, a bank box for storing harvestables, a travel speed charm, and some basic instruction that will be helpful. Go on, go click the links above and do the quests. We'll still be here when you get back!

If you do the above quests, the final step of If I Had A Hammer will direct you to your tradeskill tutor. If you are skipping the quests and just want to do the crafting tutorial, find one of the following:

• Kelethin: Ikile Harmonia outside of Tunare's Pages
• New Halas: Glin Hammerhelm in the Raven's Roost area of New Halas
• Qeynos: Jason Merrytoe in the Ironforge Exchange Building in North Qeynos
• Freeport: Vissa D'Dbth at the Coalition of Tradesfolke in West Freeport
• Gorowyn: Rozokal Niba'mok in the Wards in Gorowyn
• Neriak: Szinjss X'Vemtor, NE of the Dockside Markets in Neriak

For my example below, I am using Jason Merrytoe in North Qeynos. Since I can't be sure if folks are going to skip over the two quests listed above, I'm going to drop you right into the dialog about learning to craft. Your tradeskill dings may differ, you may get some different text, but you'll be led along this basic progression.

Tutorial: Forging Ahead

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "All right, let's learn about the crafting process itself. You'll need to have some harvested elm, tin, and roots in your bags. Shall I tell you a bit more about the crafting stations and your tradeskill arts, or do you want to just get going?"

You say to Talwith Darkcloud, "Elm, tin, roots ... check. And I'd like to learn more before I start, yes."

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "There are a number of different crafting stations that can be used to make different items. For example, you would use a forge to make metal armor, and a chemistry table to make potions. The other crafting stations are: the sewing table, the woodworking bench, the sage's engraved desk, the stove & keg, and the jeweler's workbench."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "And what skills will I need?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "You will find your tradeskill arts in your knowledge book (press K, under tradeskills). You may want to sort these by category, using the sort button at the top right. You will have 6 tradeskill arts for each of the 9 tradeskill professions, and also a couple of special arts that are used for recipes not related directly to one tradeskill specialty."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "This looks a bit complicated ..."

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "It's not really all that complicated once you get the hang of it! Just remember that for any recipe, you will have six tradeskill arts that you can use if you want. If you mouse-over or examine the arts in your book, you should see what each of them do. Three will add progress, and three will add durability. When you open up the crafting window, the correct skills you need will automatically appear at the bottom. Or, if you prefer, you can drag the ones you want onto a custom hotbar. Either way, when you're crafting you will want to be sure you know which ones add progress and which ones add durability."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "So what happens next?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "The first step in crafting anything is the recipe. The recipe you select determines what you will create. Open your recipe book from the main menu, or press N, to see yours. If you're new to crafting it will be empty, but as you gain more recipes they will be listed here and you can use the Search box at the top of this window to easily find recipe names. You can also create custom filters using the Edit button. "

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "Once I find the recipe I want to make, what then?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "In this window you would select the name of the recipe you wish to use and then click Create. You will need to be near a crafting station of the appropriate type. If you click on the crafting station directly, your recipe book will automatically filter to show you only the recipes you can make on that station. Once you click Create, you will move to the Resource Window which shows you the list of ingredients that recipe requires. If you have all those, you click Begin and crafting starts."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I think I'm ready to give it a try."

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "I'd like you to make a candelabra for practice. While you craft it, I'd like you to pay attention to the blue and green bars in the middle area. This shows you your progress (blue), and the durability (green) of the item you are creating. The goal is to increase your progress without losing too much durability. To create the item, you need to fill all four blue progress bars. If you lose at least one full bar of durability, you will not be able to do this unless you can regain that durability again. It is safest to keep your durability near maximum just in case of unexpected critical failures."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "How do I stop losing durability then?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "That's where the reaction arts I mentioned come in. You can use these to add progress (blue) or durability (green). Mouse click these or press 1 through 6 on your keyboard. You can use these skills proactively throughout crafting to influence the outcome - for example, use skills that add durability if your durability is dropping. Every 4 seconds a crafting 'round' completes and you will see numbers indicating your overall progress and durability loss or gain for that round above the crafting station. This is generally easier to see in third-person view (use your mouse wheel to scroll out)."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "It might be easier if I just try it out. Can I give it a try now?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Of course! It'll be easier to understand once you can see it in action. Here's a recipe book, and some fuel. Scribe the recipe book by finding it in your inventory and right-clicking it. Check that you have some elm, tin, and roots in your bags, and head over to the forge. Click on the forge to bring up your recipe list, and select the recipe for the Simple Candelabra."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "Thanks. Here I go."

Tutorial: Countering Problems

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Moving on to the next lesson, you should be aware that there are some hazards associated with crafting. Why, back in the old days, it wasn't unusual to see piles of injured bodies beside the forge! We've managed to build slightly less dangerous forges since then, but no matter what craft you choose, there are still dangers to counter. "

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "Like what?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "During the crafting process, you will sometimes see a warning icon appear in the area below the four progress bars. The warning icon will match one of your reaction art icons, and will have a name indicating the type of danger. The crafter can correct these problems by ensuring the next reaction art they use matches the icon of the warning. Successfully doing so will avoid bad things occurring (such as a loss of progress, or durability, or even injury to the crafter) and may also result in unusually good things happening (such as progress or durability gain, a skill bonus, or even the discovery of a rare harvest)."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I didn't see any of that while making the candelabra ...

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "No, that was a particularly easy recipe. In most other cases though, you have the chance of these warnings appearing. They're random, but will always occur at the beginning of a new crafting round. You have until the end of that 4 second round to counter the event. I'd like you to go to the jeweler's workbench now and create a lead bracelet. You'll find the recipe in this book. Take care this time to watch out for warnings and counter them correctly. And don't forget you can also use your arts to help out even when there's no warning showing."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I'll do my best!"

Tutorial: Learning to Cook

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Well done! I hope you avoided any serious injuries. So, now you know the basics of crafting, and I hope you understand how to obtain the best quality results while avoiding injury. Now, would you like to try a few more recipes to learn about the nine types of tradeskill you can specialize in?"

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "Yes please."

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Well, let's see. You've made a candelabra using the carpenter skills, and learned that carpenters make items that can be placed in houses. Carpenters also make strong boxes for storage, and sales containers for selling items to others. You've also made a bracelet - jewelers make jewelry like this, and they also make combat art upgrades for scout types. "

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "So what next?"

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Now why don't you try your hand at provisioning, and make some Jum Jum Cider? Food and drink help an adventurer's power and health to regenerate faster between battles, so a provisioner's goods are always in demand. You'll need some harvested jum jum, and some liquid, which the fuel merchant will sell (aerated mineral water works just fine, and adds that extra fizz). "

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I'll be right back with that cider!"

Once you have your Basic Kindling and Aerated Mineral Water, head to the stove & keg. Find the jum jum cider in your recipe book, craft it, and bring it back to the NPC for some tradeskill experience and 19 copper, then continue on with the next lesson.

By this time, you have likely noticed that while the NPC asks for you to craft certain items, you still have the items once you complete the quest. You can use them, sell them or throw them away, as desired, once you have gained quest credit for them.

Tutorial: The Art of Weapons

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Next we'll look at weapons. These can be made by both weaponsmiths and woodworkers. Weaponsmiths are masters of metallic weaponry including swords, axes, daggers, and hammers. Woodworkers are skilled at working with wood, creating wooden weapons such as staffs, batons, and cudgels, as well as bows and arrows and wooden bucklers and round shields for the defense of their allies. They also craft powerful totems that possess restorative properties. Practice both crafts by making a tin hand axe, and an elm greatstaff."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I'll do my best."

Tutorial: Scribing Scrolls

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Sages possess an unsurpassed knowledge of the arcane. They apply this knowledge by scribing spells onto scrolls that increase the might of healers and mages. Create a scroll of Shackle and bring it to me."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "I'll start now."

Tutorial: Alchemical Experiments

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Excellent work. Now let's look at alchemists; they create deadly poisons and magic potions from almost any material, benign or otherwise. These concoctions provide benefits in battle, such as healing, resistance, or extra damage against a foe. Alchemists also make combat art upgrades for fighter types to improve their abilities in battle. Make me an Essence of Intercept to practice these skills."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "On my way."

Tutorial: Essential Outfitting

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Now let's look at tailors and armorers. Armorers focus on heavy plate and chain armor, while tailors specialize in the creation of lighter cloth and leather armor. Tailors also make backpacks and other items from cloth or leather. Show me that you can create a tin chainmail coat, and a rawhide backpack."

You say to Jason Merrytoe, "Coat and a backpack coming up."

Jason Merrytoe says to you, "Excellent work! I hope you now have an idea of what each tradeskill class does, and how to do it. At level 9 you'll need to decide which crafting path you will follow, by speaking to the Crafting Trainer near your local tradeskill area. The Crafting Trainer also sells your recipe books, so be sure to pick those up! Come back to me at any time and I'll be happy to give you refreshers on this information. Should you choose to continue a career as a crafter, I wish you the best of fortune!"

Congratulations, you're done! Make sure to make note of that mention of the crafting trainer, as it is likely that you have made enough tradeskill experience from completing this quest that you will be ready to purchase and scribe Artisan Essentials Volume 8, and possibly Volume 9 as well. This would also be a good time to buy the Advanced Artisan books for levels 2-9 as well, in case you harvested any rare resources and wanted to try your hand at crafting something with them.