| This is fairly common knowledge among japanese blacksmiths, I think, so I guess I can divulge information on this without risk. That and I'm not so dependant on goblin gear for money anymore heh.
Anyway.
Goblin helms, masks, mail, and armor can all be "broken down" via lightning crystals or cut apart by wind crystals to make raw materials. We blacksmiths need only concern outselves with the mail and helms.
lightning crystal + goblin helm = 1 bronze ingot OR 1 iron ingot OR 1 steel ingot
lightning crystal + goblin mail = 3 bronze ingots OR 2 iron ingots OR 1 steel ingot
The exact skill needed to execute this synthesis is unknown to me, but I started doing it at 22 skill. You can make a lot of money off this if you get a lot of iron or steel, and if goblin mail/helms sell cheaply on your server. Or you can farm your own. I do a little of both, really. I still get a lot of failures with this at 60 skill, though it's no so bad anymore. Instead of frequent failures, now I just too much bronze(boooo).
Wind crystals are easier to handle with goblin helms/mail, but also yield less exciting results. Helms can yield either 1 bronze sheet or one iron sheet, while mail will yield 3 bronze sheets or one iron sheet. I've never seen steel sheets from either one. I've heard at least one report that using wind crystals in this fashion will sometimes give skill at around skill 20 or so. I uh, can't really confirm this. I don't seem to get any skill at skill 50+ while doing this.
While I'm at it, you should also know that lightning and wind crystals can be used with quadav backplates, and I'm certain that lightning crystals can be used with quadav helms and antican pauldrons. The pauldrons and backplates will sometimes yield darksteel, though you need at least 60 blacksmithing skill to get this result(I think). I got my first darksteel ingot from a backplate the other day, and I'm pretty happy about it.
Finally, lightning crystals can be used on just about ANY piece of craftable equipment. Whether or not you can break it down seems to be based on your skill with the craft skill(s) that was(were) used to contruct it in the first place. What you get as result seems to be a semi-random pick from the list of components needed to make the object. For example, breaking down a yew wand yields yew lumber, but when I did the same to a kunai, I got a lizard skin. Go figure. |