Geerlok Tools and Tradeskill Modifiers
Certain items boost your tradeskill success rate while equipped. The two big ones are Geerlok tools (cheap, easy to get, +5%) and tradeskill trophies (earned through quests, up to +15%). There are also various dropped and quest items that do the same thing.
The short version: get a trophy going for any tradeskill you're serious about. Everything else is a stopgap.
How the bonus actually works
The modifier is a percentage of your current skill. If you have 200 Smithing and equip a +15% trophy, the game treats your skill as 230 for that combine. Your real skill doesn't change — it just pretends you're better than you are when rolling success.
A few things that trip people up:
- They don't stack. If you're wearing a 15% trophy and a 5% Geerlok at the same time, you get 15%. Not 20%. Only the highest one counts.
- They don't help you skill up. Modifiers only affect whether the combine succeeds or fails. Skill-up checks and trivial thresholds use your real, unmodified skill.
- They scale with skill level. +15% at skill 300 = +45 effective points. +15% at skill 50 = +7 points. They matter a lot more once you're high-level.
- You only need them equipped during the combine. Swap in, hit Combine, swap back to your normal gear.
Trophies — the best modifier in the game
Trophies came in with the Prophecy of Ro expansion. Each tradeskill has its own trophy that evolves through 7 stages as you complete combines at specific skill tiers. A fully evolved Grandmaster trophy gives +15%, which ties with the best dropped items in the game.
| Stage | Bonus | How it feels |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | +1% | Barely noticeable |
| Apprentice | +2% | Still barely noticeable |
| Freshman | +4% | Starting to help |
| Journeyman | +5% | Same as a Geerlok |
| Expert | +8% | Now we're talking |
| Master | +12% | Significant |
| Grandmaster | +15% | Best in slot, permanently |
Start the trophy quest early. You evolve it by doing combines at specific skill breakpoints, so the sooner you start, the more naturally it levels up as you skill up. See the Trophy Quests guide for the full walkthrough.
Geerlok tools — the cheap starter option
Geerloks are tinkered items that give +5% to a specific tradeskill. Each tradeskill has its own Geerlok variant. They go in your primary equipment slot.
They're useful early on — before you've leveled a trophy past Journeyman — but they get outclassed fast. Think of them as training wheels.
Making one requires Tinkering (trivial 215), so unless you're a gnome or know one, you'll be buying from the bazaar. The components come from Luclin and Gunthak mobs plus gnome vendors in Katta Castellum.
Best-in-slot modifier items
Beyond trophies, various dropped and quest items also give tradeskill modifiers. Most cap at 15%. Here are the notable ones:
Crafting tradeskills
| Tradeskill | Item | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemy | Mundunugu Medicine Stick | 15% |
| Alchemy | Umbracite Swarm Orb | 15% |
| Baking | Denmother's Rolling Pin | 15% |
| Brewing | Brewmaster's Mug | 15% |
| Fletching | Fletcher's Arrow | 15% |
| Jewelcraft | Intricate Jewelers Glass | 15% |
| Jewelcraft | Gem Encrusted Choker | 10% |
| Make Poison | Peerless Pestle | 15% |
| Pottery | Clay Flinger's Loop | 15% |
| Smithing | Blacksmith's Adamantine Hammer | 15% |
| Smithing | Hammer Of The Ironfrost | 15% |
| Spell Research | Ethereal Quill | 15% |
| Tailoring | Mystical Bolt | 15% |
| Tailoring | Akhevan Shadow Shears | 15% |
| Tinkering | Hovering Contraption | 15% |
Most of these drop in mid-to-high-level content. If you're just starting out, don't worry about hunting them down — a trophy will get you to the same 15% through gameplay.
Fishing
Fishing is its own thing. Modifiers come from poles (primary slot) and bait (ammo slot):
| Item | Slot | Bonus | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed Fishing Rod | Pole | +5% | It breaks eventually |
| Ancient Fishing Pole | Pole | +3% | Unbreakable |
| Circle Flies | Bait | +4% | Consumable |
| Treble Flies | Bait | +3% | Consumable |
| Dry Flies | Bait | +2% | Consumable |
When modifiers matter (and when they don't)
Use a modifier when:
- You're doing expensive combines and failures cost real plat
- You're working recipes at or above your skill level
- You're pushing past 300 effective skill on high-trivial expansion recipes
Don't bother when:
- You're grinding cheap skill-up recipes — modifiers won't make you skill up faster
- The recipe is well below your skill and you're already succeeding 95% of the time
- You're doing no-fail combines (some recipes can't fail)