Home » Guides » ESO Guides » ESO Blacksmithing Guide: Sets, Weapons, Armor and Fast Leveling

ESO Blacksmithing Guide: Sets, Weapons, Armor and Fast Leveling

Crafting Blacksmithing Guide for Elder Scrolls Online with details on how to craft powerful Heavy Armor and Melee Weapons. Blacksmithing is very similar profession to Woodworking and Clothing and mostly the same rules apply. The Blacksmithing vocation is very useful for end game players, because there are some fantastic Sets that have always remained strong (namely Hunding’s Rage and Law of Julianos). Max level in Blacksmithing also lets you improve any acquired Purple Gear to Legendary Gear, which is extremely valuable to complete end game sets. You can, however, still utilize this vocation as you level up, as the material cost for lower level Crafted Sets is quite minimal. Just keep in mind that until you reach the Champion Ranks, it may be more trouble than it’s worth, as you will quickly “out level” it.

ESO Blacksmithing Guide: Basics

To start with Blacksmithing, you can interact with any Blacksmithing Station. To get certified talk to Millenith. She can be found near the Fighter’s Guild in any starting area, Vivec (Morrowind) and Alinor (Summerset).

By completing this simple quest, you unlock Blacksmithing Writs, which are an important component for leveling up Blacksmithing. To start creating Armor, Weapons and Furniture, go to any Blacksmithing Crafting Station. 6 options will be presented:

Refine

The Refine option is used to create Ingots out of Raw Ore collected. Raw Ore is usually found close to rocky areas and mountains. Ore found depends on Character Level (50% chance) and Metalworking Passive (50%). Refining Ore also gives small chance of acquiring materials used for Traits and Improvement. Keep in mind that as of Update 19 you will gain Dust randomly from Ore nodes, so looting them will help you acquire Jewelry Crafting Materials.

Refining Ore

Creation

This is where you create Armor and Weapons. To switch between these 2 simply click on the Weapon or Apparel icon located below  the Creation tab icon. In order to create an item you need to:

  1. Choose which item to create
  2. Choose Ingot type and amount (amount determines level, press + and icons to change amount)
  3. Choose the Style which determines how gear will look. Unlocking new Styles is done by acquiring Motifs which usually drop anywhere randomly, but can also be obtained in other ways. Style materials are generally acquired through deconstructing, refining and via a vendor that usually stands near Blacksmithing Station.
  4. The final optional step is to choose a Trait (Trait materials are obtained by deconstructing gear and refining Ore)

Crafting Cuirass

Deconstruct

Deconstruction means destroying an item in order to get materials from it and Inspiration (Crafting XP). It is the primary way of leveling Blacksmithing since it gives more Inspiration than Creation. Keep in mind that you do not get much Inspiration from deconstructing items that you craft yourself, but you do from items others have crafted.

Improvement

Improvement means upgrading item quality. More materials used equals a higher chance of success. Items are destroyed upon failure, so ideally you would want to use enough materials to reach 100%. Improvement materials can be found by deconstructing items and refining Ore.

Improvement Tab

Research

Traits are researched through this option. Items can be researched only if they have a magnifying glass icon next to it. Upon successful Trait Research, you are given an option to use that Trait in Creation but only for that same piece of equipment you acquired the trait from. For example, if the Training trait has been researched from a helmet, you can use that Training trait on any future helmet created.

Diagrams

The Diagrams option is used to create Furnishings. Recipes for more Furnishings drop randomly and can be also bought from Guild Traders and Guild Stores.

ESO Blacksmithing: Traits, Crafted Sets & Transmutation

Researching Traits on every piece of equipment is very important for multiple reasons. When out in the world you will stumble upon Special Crafting Stations where you can craft Sets that give specific Set Bonuses. These bonuses depend on the Crafting Station. Every Set has a Trait Requirement, meaning if you did not research enough Traits for that piece of equipment you wont be able to craft it in that Set.

Example:

At this crafting station 3 Traits researched for any piece of equipment are needed.

Crafting Cuirass with Seducer Set Bonus at Special Crafting Station

So if I want to craft Cuirass of the Seducer I need to have any 3 Traits researched for Cuirasses. If I want to craft Sabatons of the Seducer also any 3 Traits researched are needed but for Sabatons. Do not forget that at Special Crafting Stations every vocation’s Station will produce same Set Bonuses. For example if you use the Jewelry Station at this same location, Seducer Rings and Necklaces can be crafted as well.

Another important aspect of having all Traits researched is that you can utilize Transmutation. Transmutation offers an option to change Traits on equipment but binding that item in the process to the user. Bound items are non-tradeable but can still be deconstructed or used on alternate characters via your Bank. Transmutation can only be done in the Clockwork City DLC area or at any player housing that possesses a Transmutation Station. Visit the Hall of Refined Techniques in the Brass Fortress to start Transmuting.

Transmutation Process

In order to Transmute an item you’ll need:

Transmute Crystals are obtained via Daily Random DungeonsVeteran DungeonsTrialsUndaunted PledgesPvP and Holiday Events. They usually come in form of Transmutation Geodes that need to be opened via your inventory to receive Transmute Crystals. The amount each Geode possess is somewhat randomized, with higher quality possessing more. Keep in mind that you cannot store more than the cap (200) in your inventory, so don’t open your Geodes if you are already there.

ESO Blacksmithing Skills

Upgrading Blacksmithing Skills is crucial to creating powerful equipment while also being efficient to reduce the leveling grind. Upgrading these passives is done by investing Skill Points into them. Skill Points are earned through various means such as leveling up, doing quest chains with skill points as a reward, non repeatable dungeon quests, Skyshards and ranking up in PvP.

Metalworking

Metalworking increases a crafted item’s level by allowing the use of higher quality Ore. Upgrade as soon as it is available because it is important for fast leveling.

Keen Eye: Ore

The Keen Eye passive makes Ore in nature more visible due to the glow effect. Useful for spotting Ore easier from afar but it is an optional upgrade and completely up to each player’s preference.

Miner Hireling

Enables a Hireling that farms Ore and other Blacksmithing Materials and sends them via mail. It is an important passive because it helps you stockpile materials that can be sold or used for crafting and selling equipment via Guild Trader.

Metal Extraction

This passive increases the chance of acquiring more materials when deconstructing and refining. Considering that deconstruction is integral for leveling up, Metal Extraction is recommended to level up as soon as it is available for easier material stockpiling.

Temper Expertise

This passive improves your chances of upgrading item quality via Improvement. Important for end game when crafting high level gear but not relevant for leveling unless you do a lot of Crafting.

ESO Blacksmithing Leveling Guide

The best way to level Blacksmithing is to deconstruct everything, and doing lots of Dungeons is the best way of amassing lots of Weapons and Heavy Armor.  Next to that, Daily Blacksmithing Writs are always a nice boost with the possibility of nice rewards as well upon completion.

The fastest method requires a friend or alternate character. Here is step by step guide:

  1. Both need to craft lots of Iron Daggers level 6 (most efficient)
  2. Trade or exchange via Bank if using an Alt and deconstruct all.
  3. Repeat first 2 steps until Blacksmith Rank 5 and then upgrade Metalworking passive to level 2 so you can use Steel Ingots.
  4. Now both keep crafting Steel Daggers level 16, deconstruct them until Blacksmith Rank 10 and then upgrade Metalworking again
  5. Orichalcum Dagger level 26–>deconstruct until Blacksmith Rank 15–>upgrade Metalworking
  6. Dwarven Dagger level 36–>deconstruct until Blacksmith Rank 20–>upgrade Metalworking

You get the point. Keep doing that every 5 Blacksmith Ranks, with the only difference being the different Ingot used. If low on ore/ingots, visit Guild Traders to buy more or go back to farming Ore.

ESO Blacksmithing Guide: Final Tips

Blacksmithing in ESO is a rewarding vocation that can take some time to level up but can be boosted with the aid of a friend or alternate character. Having an option to create fantastic end game gear is always good for profit and self sustainability. Blacksmithing is highly recommended for any Tank Roles.

Learn where the best places to farm Ore are, because there are definitely better places than others. Rocky areas are probably the best, but some other areas are known for having a lot of Ore as well (like Deshaan for example).

Do NOT Refine any more materials than is necessary to craft what you need until you have maxed out the Metal Extraction passive. This will give you the highest yield of Tempering Aloy, which is used to upgrade Epic quality items to Legendary. These are valuable items, and there is no reason to waste the opportunity to acquire them by processing materials you do not even need.

As with any Crafting Vocation, Inspiration gain can be boosted by 10% from ESO Plus, 10% from the Orc Race and 20% from the Inspiration Boost Champion Skill.


Stay tuned for more ESO Guides as we take on Crafting, Dungeons, PvP and of course, Builds! Check out our Jewelry Crafting Guide, Enchanting Crafting Guide, Alchemy Crafting Guide and Leveling Guides.

If you want to find out more about the upcoming changes with Update 19 read about them in Elder Scrolls Online Wolfhunter Changes: The Age Of The Werewolf. You can also check out the upcoming dungeons in The Elder Scrolls Online: Wolfhunter Dungeons Preview.

About the Author

Games

Comments

Log in to leave a Comment

Latest from Fextralife