Duh, the sequel: Crafting

[melodramocracy]

or, Chapter 2 of the Uninformed GW2 Player journal.

Crafting in this game doesn't work like WoW, a fact that it took me a while to grasp (and more than a few mats wasted). What I mean by that, is that in WoW often the most effective way to level a craft was to find the recipe with the lowest number of required materials, and use it until it went green (or grey in some cases), and then move onto the next recipe.

In this game, you don't want to take any 1 specific item or part, and just make them until the recipe turns blue. You want to be using the discovery tab as often as possible, producing the lowest sheer quantity of items possible, and then move on.

Lets take Armorsmithing as a low level example:

Once you learn the trade, you're given the ability to make bolts of jute, bronze ingots, some insignias (IIRC) and a few pieces of armor. Make all your bolts and ingots, and skip making anything else for now.

As a side note, I cannot recall if you're given the recipe for any insignia's at this point. If you are, you want to make ONE of each type. Now, make 3 chainmail glove casings and linings. Go to the disovery tab, put in 1 casing, 1 lining, and one insignia, and presto. Now repeat the process for the other 2 insignia's you've made.

Now, if needed, go back and make 3 more of those insignia's, and repeat the entire process making chestpieces.

Long story short, discovery levels a craft FAR faster than production, and uses far less raw materials to do so. So don't make life difficult for yourself, like I did......and if anyone needs 11 bronze helmet casings, hit me up :P

[Cattleya]

Didn't realise this at first when I did some tailoring. Oh, all that jute.
Fortunately I knew it before starting weaponsmithing. Iron/steel was terrible even while knowing exactly what to do.

[Zephyr Storm]

Yeah, I wished I had realized this before I had used up so much jute for tailoring lol. I figured it out when crafting wool stuff though and it's been much easier since then leveling up my crafting professions. Thanks for the info though...I'm sure it will help others out quite a bit!

[Rhywolver]

Ah, yes, the bronze helmet casings, sold all of them to the next NPC.

For someone who loves to be a completionist, the professions will be one hell of a farming game. Personally, I don't feel like it is necessary to combine every kind or armor with each insignia, but I'll bet there are a ton of people out there that will be freaked out by that.