Before You Start

Tradeskilling in EverQuest costs time and platinum. Understanding how the system actually works before you spend either will save you both. This page covers the core mechanics — caps, failure rules, skill-ups, and restrictions — so you can make informed decisions about what to craft and when.

Tradeskill Overview

EverQuest has twelve tradeskills divided into three categories based on access restrictions.

Open to All Characters

Open but Specialized

Class-Restricted

Skill Caps

Your first tradeskill among the seven standard skills can reach 300 without spending any AA points. All remaining standard tradeskills cap at 200.

To push additional tradeskills past 200, you need the New Tanaan Crafting Mastery AA line. Each rank costs 3 AA points and allows one more tradeskill to advance past 200 (up to 300). Once purchased, the next skill you practice to 201 consumes that AA rank.

Spell Research Caps

Spell Research has unique caps depending on your class archetype:

How Combines Work

Every combine follows the same steps:

1. Open a tradeskill container
2. Place the required ingredients inside
3. Click Combine

The result is either success (you receive the crafted item) or failure (you lose some or all ingredients).

Both success and failure consume ingredients. There is no free practice — every attempt costs materials.

Trivial vs. Failure

These are two separate concepts that new tradeskillers often confuse.

Trivial means a recipe can no longer grant skill-ups at your current skill level. Every recipe has a trivial value. Once your skill meets or exceeds that number, you stop gaining skill points from that recipe.

Failure means the combine didn't produce the intended item. Failure can happen at any skill level, even well above the trivial. Having a recipe go trivial does not mean you'll always succeed at it.

Skill-Up Mechanics

Skill-ups follow a simple principle: you can only gain skill points from recipes whose trivial is above your current skill level. The further you are below the trivial, the better your chance of gaining a point on each combine.

Key rules:

• Skill-ups are checked on every combine (success or failure) as long as the recipe is not trivial
• Higher-trivial recipes give more consistent skill-ups at lower skill levels
• Skill-ups become less frequent as you approach the trivial
• Above 200, skill-ups slow down significantly regardless of recipe choice

Stat Effects

There is a common misconception that stats influence combine success. They don't. Here's what stats actually do:

• Skill gain speed: The higher of your INT or WIS influences how quickly you gain skill points
• Success rate: Determined solely by your skill level relative to the recipe trivial, plus any AA or modifier bonuses
• Stats do not determine success or failure

Skill Modifiers

Several items and systems can raise your modified skill — your effective skill level for purposes of success chance calculations.

Geerlok Automated Tools

Geerlok tools are tradeskill-specific items (e.g., Geerlok Automated Hammer for Smithing) that add to your effective skill. These are among the first modifier items you should acquire.

Tradeskill Trophies

Introduced in the Prophecy of Ro expansion, trophies are evolving items that grow as you craft. A fully evolved Grandmaster trophy provides up to +15% skill modifier. Each trophy is tradeskill-specific and evolves through completing combines at various skill tiers.

Other Modifiers

• Certain AAs grant flat or percentage bonuses to tradeskill success
• Some equipment has +tradeskill modifiers
• Salvage AAs can return components on failure, reducing material cost

Choosing Your First Tradeskill

Some practical considerations:

Quick Reference

• 12 tradeskills total: 7 open, 2 specialized, 3 class-restricted
• First skill caps at 300, others at 200 (without AAs)
• New Tanaan Crafting Mastery: 3 AA per rank to unlock additional skills past 200
• Trivial = no more skill-ups, not guaranteed success
• Stats don't affect success — only skill level and modifiers do
• Never stack duplicate ingredients in a combine container
• Trophies give up to +15% modified skill at Grandmaster
• Start your trophy early before you out-level the required skill ranges