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{{Profession Guide}}
{{Profession Guide}}
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This is a strategy guide for the {{Profession|stonemason|3=1}} profession.
This is a strategy guide for the {{Profession|stonemason|3=1}} profession.

Revision as of 20:33, 29 January 2025

This is a strategy guide for the  Stonemason profession.

See the Stonemason page for a full reference on how the profession functions.

Gameplay Loop

Stonemason involves creating weaponry for the Hammermage faction. A list of these weapons can be found here.

  1. Every craft needs a type of stone, which can be gathered using the  Miner profession. Stones can also be purchased directly from Poffit's Interesting Rocks, located three rooms away in the Goblin Marketplace.
  2. You also need wood for some crafts, which can be gathered using  Woodcutter profession before being more refined using  Carpenter, or alternatively can be purchased in its already processed form from the Timber Merchant Shop.
  3. Stones are etched using the T.E.A. Machine, located within Sculpting Room, which requires Gas Leeches to provide power.
  4. Taking the etched stones (and refined wood items if needed)to the various workbenches in the Stonemasonry Room allows players to start crafting weapons (and shields), which will be untuned.
  5. These untuned weapons can be stored using the Quartermaster spell until the bank is full, at which point they may be sold to the Quartermaster in Hopeport.
  6. The experience obtained by crafting a weapon or shield only depends on the materials, and the fastest experience will always come from making the highest level recipe available.
  7. Each recipe has a range of levels that it can produce, with the value of the products depending on the level and type of item made, as well as the rarity which is randomly determined.

Profitability

The value of the weapons made by a stonemason depends on the level, which is chosen when making the weapon, and the rarity, which is randomly generated. Each weapon recipe can use the same materials to make a wide range of levels, starting at the level when the recipe is unlocked and continuing to the level at which the next variant of that weapon is unlocked. For example, the common hammerfist recipe is unlocked at level 38, and the next variant is unlocked at level 87, so common hammerfists can be made from levels 38 to 86.

Item level

Making money as a Stonemason relies on creating and selling the highest value weapons that the player is capable of making, using the cheapest resources available. This necessitates using significantly lower levelled recipes than what the player is capable of making, which results in a tradeoff between profit and XP. For example, a player at level 44 stonemason will get the fastest XP by using their recently unlocked recipe to make level 44 Stone Slab Shield (moderate) out of 4x Rugged Flint, but the same player may make level 44 Stone Mace (basic) for a similar sell value, but using much cheaper materials.

Rarity

The rarity that a weapon is made at also affects the value, and different level brackets have different distributions of the rarities and cost multipliers of the higher rarities.:

Rarity Levels 0-19 Levels 20-199 Levels 200-500
Frequency Value
multiplier
Frequency Value
multiplier
Frequency Value
multiplier
Common 1/4 1x 5/8 1x 29/32 1x
Uncommon 2/4 ~1.6x 2/8 ~1.6x 2/32 ~5x
Rare 1/4 ~6.4x 1/8 ~6.4x 1/32 ~21x

In the level range of 0-19, Uncommon and Rare weapons are quite frequent, and Rare weapons make up a significant fraction of the total value made when selling weapons. Once weapons are crafted above level 20, the frequency of Uncommon and Rare weapons decreases significantly, without much change in the value of the weapons. This results in about 50% less value being made from crafted weapons, simply because there are fewer weapons at higher rarities. To avoid falling into this trap, weapons should continue to be crafted at level 19 for stonemason levels up to around 35. It is at this point that the higher base value from the higher levels outweighs the decreased frequency of Uncommon and Rare weapons.

There is a second change in the rarity distribution at stonemason level 200. Uncommon and Rare weapons each become 4x less frequent if they are crafted at level 200 and above. However, this is compensated for by the fact that the value of Uncommon and Rare weapons also increases by approximately 4x. Therefore there is no need to make weapons at lower levels to maintain profit.

Weapon type

The type of weapon also has a strong effect on the profit to be made. Melee weapons all use Timber in their recipes, which generally costs more than stone to buy since it is an already-processed material. In addition, the quantity of items used in the recipe directly affects the price to obtain the materials. The last factor to account for is that Deathstone is significantly more expensive than other stones. For all of these factor, the increase in material costs is not fully reflected in the sell value of the weapons made.

When selecting an item to craft for profit, it is advised to choose an item that only uses 3 or 4 stones, such as Throwing Stones, Stone Discs, Bolas, Stone Slab Shields, or Stone Chunk Shields.

Levelling strategies

The most XP per item will always be obtained by making the highest level weapon recipe available, however since different weapons can make use of the same resources in differnt quantities for different XP values, there are some tips and tricks that can be utilised. Furthermore, simply chosing to always make the highest level recipe it will often be extremely expensive, so chosing a slightly slower method can be significantly cheaper, saving time in the long run from having to earn money to afford the faster methods.

Rather than divide this guide into sections based on level brackets, it is more relevant to divide it up based on the type of stone that is used. Different variants of the same stone (e.g. Coarse vs Fine vs Perfect) use exactly the same strategies. It is also important to remember that etching the stones at the T.E.A. Machine gives experience, so can be performed in batches at the start of each stone type bracket.

Crafting brackets by stone
Level range Stone Variant
0 – 5 Flint Coarse
6 – 11 Basalt Coarse
12 – 17 Andesite Coarse
18 – 27 Granite Coarse
28 – 37 Deathstone (or Granite) Coarse
38 – 47 Flint Rugged
48 – 57 Basalt Rugged
58 – 68 Andesite Rugged
69 – 78 Granite Rugged
79 – 86 Deathstone (or Granite) Rugged
87 – 96 Flint Average
97 – 106 Basalt Average
107 – 117 Andesite Average
118 – 127 Granite Average
128 – 137 Deathstone (or Granite) Average
138 – 147 Flint Fine
148 – 158 Basalt Fine
159 – 168 Andesite Fine
169 – 178 Granite Fine
179 – 188 Deathstone (or Granite) Fine
189 – 199 Flint Sturdy
200 – 232 Basalt Sturdy
233 – 266 Andesite Sturdy
267 – 300 Granite Sturdy
301 – 333 Deathstone (or Granite) Sturdy
334 – 367 Flint Perfect
368 – 401 Basalt Perfect
402 – 435 Andesite Perfect
436 – 468 Granite Perfect
469 – 500 Deathstone (or Granite) Perfect

Flint

Flint is used to craft:

Flint crafting comparison
Item Number of flint Timber Notes
Hammerfist 2 1 Hickory Pole Most expensive, least XP
Throwing Stones 3 Most cost-efficient XP
Stone Slab Shield 4 Most XP per item, but slower

Within each variant of Flint weapons, Hammerfists are the first item to be unlocked and the worst item to craft. They require timber and so are quite expensive to make, and give the least XP. It is advised to stockpile Flint and etch it in large batches until the level craft Throwing Stones is reached, thus avoiding crafting any hammerfists at all. This etched flint will be used for the later crafting, so it is not wasted XP, but it will mean that the cost of buying the flint is locked into the etched stones until the weapons are made. This may not be practical at very high levels, such as Perfect Flint. One hammerfist may be crafted for its album XP bonus, but they should not be used as a main training method.

Throwing Stones are the second item to be unlocked, and are the most cost-efficient way to craft with Flint. They require only 3 etched stones each, so 8 can be crafted per inventory. It is advised to craft throwing stones all the way until Basalt is able to be crafted.

Stone Slab Shields are a more expensive way to craft Flint than Throwing Stones. They require 33% more materials (and cost), but only give about 15% more XP. When the additional time is taken into account to etch the additional stones, these shields are actually less XP-per-hour than throwing stones.

  • Cheap Method: etch Flint until you have enough to reach Basalt, then craft throwing stones until you can etch Basalt.
  • Fast Method: etch Flint until you have enough to reach Basalt, craft throwing stones until you can craft shields, then craft shields until you can etch Basalt.

Basalt

Basalt is used to craft:

Basalt crafting comparison
Item Number of basalt Timber Notes
Stone Mace 2 1 Hickory Pole Moderate expensive and speed
Stone Discs 4 Most cost-efficient XP
War Hammer 3 1 Hickory Pole Fastest XP

As with Flint, it is advised to stockpile and etch enough Basalt to reach the next type of stone before starting any weapon crafting. The quantity of basalt needed depends on which variant is used.

Stone Maces are in the middle of the tradeoff between expense and speed. They do require timber to make, but since they only use 2 stones they are still somewhat fast and actually cheaper than Stone Discs, which use 4 stones.

Stone Discs are the most cost efficient way to craft basalt, since they only use stones and give a bit more XP than stone maces. They are slower XP than maces though, due to needing 4 stones per item.

War Hammers are the fastest

  • Cheap and Fast Method: etch Basalt until you have enough to reach Andesite, then craft stone discs until you can etch Andesite.

Andesite

Andesite is used to craft:

Andesite crafting comparison
Item Number of andesite Timber Notes
Bolas 3 Most cost-efficient XP
Stone Chunk Shield 4 Moderate expensive and speed
Double Headed Hammer 4 1 Yew pole Fastest XP but most expensive

As with all other stones, it is advised to stockpile and etch enough Andesite to reach the next type of stone before starting any weapon crafting. The quantity of andesite needed depends on which variant is used.

Bolas are the most cost efficient way to craft andesite, since they only use 3 stones.

Stone Chunk Shields are in the middle of the tradeoff between expense and speed. They don't require timber to make, but they do need 4 stones to be etched. They give less XP per stone than Bolas, give the XP faster.

Double Headed Hammers are the fastest way to craft andesite, but are very expensive since they need 4 stones as well as timber. They are typically about 3% faster XP than shields but 60% more cost.

  • Cheap Method: etch Andesite until you have enough to reach Granite, then craft bolas until you can etch Granite.
  • Fast Method: etch Andesite until you have enough to reach Granite, craft stone chunk shields until you can craft double headed hammers, then craft double headed hammers until you can etch Granite.

Granite

Granite is used to craft:

Granite crafting comparison
Item Number of granite Timber Notes
Throwing Clubs 5 Moderate expense and speed
Great Stone Mace 4 1 Suave Pole Most expensive, slowest XP
Polished Stone Shield 5 Most cost-efficient XP

As with all other stones, it is advised to stockpile and etch enough Granite to reach the next type of stone before starting any weapon crafting. However, as the next type of stone is Deathstone, it may be better to stockpile even more granite to skip all the way to Flint.

Throwing Clubs are in the middle of the tradeoff between expense and speed. They don't require timber to make, but they do need 5 stones to be etched, so they are quite slow.

Great Stone Maces need timber and 4 stones to make. They are the most expensive and slowest XP from crafting Granite. One great stone mace may be crafted for its album XP bonus, but they should not be used as a main training method.

Polished Stone Shields are the cost cost-efficient way to craft granite. Like throwing clubs they use 5 stones but no timber, however they give a bit more XP.

  • Cheap Method: etch Granite until you have enough to reach Deathstone, craft throwing clubs until you can craft shields, then craft shields until you can etch Deathstone.
  • Fast Method: etch Granite until you have enough to reach Deathstone, the craft throwing clubs until you can etch Deathstone.
  • Combining with Deathstone method: etch Granite until you have enough to skip Deathstone and reach Flint, then craft shields until you can etch Flint.

Deathstone

Deathstone is used to craft:

Deathstone crafting comparison
Item Number of deathstone Timber Notes
Throwing Hammers 2 3 Pine pole Moderate expense, slowest XP
Great Hammer 4 1 Yew Pole Most expensive, moderate XP
Sling 3 Cheapest and fastest XP

Deathstone is extremely expensive, even if it is mined due to the cost of Explosives. As with all other stones, it is advised to stockpile and etch enough Deathstone to reach the next type of stone before starting any weapon crafting.

Throwing Hammers are have a moderate expense and are the most XP per deathstone, since they only use 2 stones. Despite using 3 timber poles, they are cheaper per item than all the other deathstone weapons, but dont give much XP per hour.

Great Hammers need timber and 4 stones to make. They cost around 50% more per hour than throwing hammers, and give about 8% more xp per hour.

Slings are the cost cost-efficient way to craft deathstone. They only use 3 stones and no timber, so are also the fastest XP.

  • Cheap Method: Do not craft deathstone, craft Granite instead. See the above section on Granite.
  • Fast Method: etch Deathstone until you have enough to reach Flint, craft great hammers until you can craft slings, then craft slings until you can etch Flint.