Most of us would rather be wielding a sword than a spoon. Time in front of the stove can yield silver and gold, but it does not allow us to progress swiftly in the area of spells and weapons. During my time in the kitchen, I have developed a system that not only results (in most cases) with the best food and drink, but also gets me away from the stove and back on the battlefield. I am sure that everyone has a system that works for them; I have had best results with this one. (NOTE: for those who are not provisioners, the same principles will work for you. You will merely need to study the results of your tradeskill spells to see what works best).
This guide is for those who have reached the level of skill and possess the Rapid Boil/Foresight/Pinch of Salt spells. There are other guides out there (the one recommended earlier in this thread is very good) that delve more deeply into the math of durability and progress, and if you have the interest you should seek them out. This guide will show, as simply as possible, how to achieve quality items and retain as much power as possible so you can quickly begin making another item.
Rather than just when the situation called for me to use certain spells, I began proactively using the spells soon after I received Slow Simmer/Realization/Spice Up. Unfortunately, I do not remember the combinations I used, although if one makes a few recipes and tries the three spells in different orders, s/he will discover the best way to use them.
I arranged my spells in the following order, and will be using the corresponding numbers (as assigned by EQ) to describe how the system works. The first three spells received are Constant Heat, Awareness, and Seasoning, which I placed in the 7, 8, and 9 slots. In 4 through 6 I placed Slow Simmer, Realization, and Spice Up. In 1 through 3 I have Rapid Boil, Foresight, and Pinch of Salt. Once I was able to use Rapid Boil/Foresight/Pinch of Salt, I found I am now only using the 1 through 6 keys.
Strategy is based on the following:
• The 2 and 5 keys will erode power, and possibly more than usual when used in certain combinations.
• The 1, 3, 4, and 6 keys will not erode power. You can use them even if your power is gone.
• The 1 and 3 as well as the 4 and 6 keys, in those two combinations, will increase the quality bars (the four bars that raise the level of your food from bland to delectable). The spells on the 1 and 3 keys are more powerful and give you the opportunity for a larger increase in quality. Both combinations also have a negative effect on your failure bar (the one that moves from right to left and also helps determine the top level of quality of your item).
• The 1 and 6 keys are also a good combination to use. The 3 and 4 keys combination is a weaker form of 1 and 6, and I personally never use it.
• The top quality bar moves more slowly than any of the four quality bars, and the bottom failure bar moves more swiftly than any of the other failure bars.
The stove can be tricky and may malfunction at any time, but generally, your results will be:
• 1 and 3 keys – neg 16 to failure, pos 82 to quality
• 1 and 6 keys – neg 6 to failure, pos 66 to quality
• 1 and 2 and 3 keys – neg 16 to failure, pos 100 to quality
• 1 and 6 and 5 keys – pos 4 or 6 to failure (yes, it adds!), pos 66 to quality
PUTTING THE STRATEGY TO WORK IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS
In all situations, it is extremely helpful – and sometimes critical to your success rate – to cast as soon as you begin, not after you get you’re the result from the first round.
Build Components
Since these do not have to be quality items, I usually use the 1-2-3 combo before the first round, then just the 1 or the 3 before the second round. The casts before the second round are minimal, keeping the item from jumping to the second level on one round and reducing the number of stacks you have in your pack.
Casting the spells in this manner keeps your power high and allows you to finish this component in a short period of time.
Trivial Items
I tried not paying attention while using recipes trivial to me, but found I sometimes lost quality, which was not acceptable. With the goal to cook the best quality item in the shortest amount of time, I used a combination of spells.
Generally, I use the 1-3 combination most of the time. If my failure bar starts to get too short on the bottom row, I switch to a 1-6-5 (my habit is to press the keys in that order, because I then have the option of adding the 5 or leaving it out). Adding the 5 key should normally give a positive boost to the failure bar. By just using the 1-6 combo I move my quality bar forward at a slower rate than the 1-3 combo, but my failure rate is cut by almost 63%.
When should you switch from 1-3 to 1-6-5? I begin to get a little nervous when my failure bar reaches or goes below halfway (this is the failure bar on the 4th row). I will use the 1-6-5 until I feel better about my success rate, and then usually switch to the 1-6.
Challenging Recipes
Actually, anything that is not trivial I always want my power to be almost or at maximum. You never know when the stove is going to rear its ugly head and try to take control. The only way possible to fight that is to use a lot of power.
As soon as I begin, I am casting with the 1-6-5 combo. Remember, the top quality bar moves like molasses in January and the bottom failure bar can disappear faster than cookies in a kindergarten class. The purpose is to get the quality bar to the second row where it will begin moving faster while getting positive numbers to the failure bar and keep that green line buried in the right wall.
Unless your power is endless, once the quality bar reaches the second row you can switch to 1-3 or 16 (depending on where the failure bar is). If the failure bar is very close to the right, I will switch to 1-3; if it is close to the middle, I am using the 1-6 combo.
While you are busy watching your quality and failure bars, keep a close eye on your power bar at the same time. If you run out of power, you are at the mercy of the gods and the stove. While the idea is not to use all your power so that you can recover more quickly, you still want to make the best item you can, so if you need to keep using the 1-6-5 combo, use it!
Additional Tips
Sometimes, timing can be everything. One of the other reasons I use the 1-6-5 in the order stated is that I can press the 1 and 6 keys and know that I should get the quality bar to move, even if I am out of power. If I am out of power, it is not like when you are in battle. Power will return, and may return at any time during the round. If I need to add the 5 key to the 1-6-5 combo so that I may get a positive failure reaction, I watch my power carefully to see if I can add the 5 key into my round of casting.
If you happen to lose the bottom quality row, don’t panic. Start hitting the 1-6-5 combo. If the stove treats you right, you will increase the failure bar and the fourth row will return. I have done this many times, and as long as the stove doesn’t interfere with one of those quirky things it does from time to time, you will achieve high quality.
If the stove hits you three or four times in the beginning with disastrous rounds, as long as you have not completed the top quality row, stop the cooking process (click STOP). You will lose a lump of coal, but better than losing some of your best ingredients.
Know that once you lose the bottom row, it gets easier to complete the remaining three, so if you don’t mind an item that is not perfect, keep going.
On easier and trivial recipes, don’t panic if the bottom failure bar moves almost to the left right at the beginning. Start using the 1-6-5 combo. It is my experience that in the great majority of these incidents, the stove will stop beating on you and allow the failure bar to move up as your quality bar moves toward completion.
The 2 and 5 keys cannot be used interchangeably. Rather than 1-2-3 or 1-6-5, try 1-3-5. The results are horrible – I have always experienced a hit to my failure bar. I recommend you stay away from it.
What to do when a spell is called for? I am not sure (hehe). For a while, I simply made sure I pressed that spell key somewhere in whatever combination I chose, then began making sure I pressed that key first. Either way, I don’t see my Artistry going up any faster, nor do I experience any painful losses to my hit points.
As with any skill, you will have to use these ideas until you get a feel for how they work. The more you use the combinations, the more you will know when to use which one to save power while still making high quality items. I have had great success with them and pass them on to the young provisioners, as well as encourage other crafters to discover the combinations within their own crafting spells
Laijia
Antonius Bayle server