Fastest and least wasteful way to level your Cannith Crafting

This guide is for anyone who wants to use Cannith Crafting, but is uncertain of the best approach or who wants to gain CC levels quickly and efficiently (i.e. while using the least possible resources and producing the minimum of wasted shards).

This method's effectiveness is highest for the player who is willing to invest some DDO Points. Still, it can be done without. You'll just use more Cannith Essences... a LOT more. Even so, some of the ideas in this guide are valuable for anyone seeking to raise their CC level. This approach takes a lot of the pain and repetition out of leveling Cannith Crafting skill. It will also leave you with the minimum possible amount of crafted shards to either store to use later or to destroy due to lack of storage space.

This guide is primarily aimed at those who wish to craft bound gear (BtA) for their own toons. Once you can successfully craft ML34 shards (CC level 310-320 or so), the guide will have done its job. The principles will continue to work thereafter, but the resources required will increase (double the essences per shard) and are not considered in the What you will need section.

1. Cannith Essences. A lot of them. If you're willing to spend some DDO points, probably 60-100,000 essences. If not, possibly double that or even more.

2. Crafting XP Bonus Elixirs (CXP pots). If you have everything together and do this all at one sitting, you might only need an hour's worth (1-2 CXP pots).
a) You can buy CXP pots in the DDO Store (up to +100% CXP for 30min). These are the best option.
b) You can earn one Greater Crafting XP Elixir (+75% CXP for 30min) by simply running the Cannith Crafting Tutorial in House K (It's not available in the House C crafting hall for some reason) http://ddowiki.com/page/Cannith_Crafting_Tutorial
c) 50 House C Favor will allow you to buy 10%/30min CXP pots, but I strongly recommend that you invest in one of the previous options.

Note: More XP per success means crafting fewer shards and using fewer essences. It's worth investing in the best possible CXP pot.

3. Crafting Success Boosters (CSB). One for each shard you attempt to craft. Best case, that means a few hundred.
a) DDO store sells x25 35% Crafting Success Boosters. Best option.
b) The Cannith Crafting Tutorial will allow you to select x5 25% Crafting Success Boosters as your reward in lieu of a CXP elixir. Note that you can only run this tutorial once per life.
c) You can buy 10% Crafting Success Boosters from the House C Patron if you have 50 House C Favor.

Just as with CXP pots, the better the CSBs you use, the fewer essences you will waste. Spending DDO points on the best CSBs is preferable. Using the 10% CSBs will waste a lot of essences. Expect the required essences to triple using them as compared to the store 35% CSBs.

You can use a combined approach. Use 25% success boosters at lower levels where the number of essences/shard are low and switch to 35% boosters as the amount of essences on the line increases.

Some believe that being an Artificer will aid in this process. For example, I find in ddowiki:

"Artificer Craft Mastery

This feat grants you a +1 bonus to all of your Crafting Levels for every second (even) Artificer level you posses.
Your crafting level is first calculated based on what your current experience total would put you at, then the Artificer bonus levels are added. This means you save dramatically on leveling costs and time, particularly at higher crafting levels."

This is entirely correct until the final sentence.

Actual comparisons between a toon with Arti levels and that same toon the following life without demonstrates this to be false. What the Arti feats do is raise your effective crafting level, leaving all else equal. What this means is that as an Artificer, at any given time you'll be crafting a higher-level shard for the exact same XP. This will increase essence use for no corresponding benefit.

DON'T follow this guide on an Artificer life, if you can avoid it.

(The advantage to Artificer levels arises only when you wish to craft a shard for which you are under-level. It can be handy when you're making gear, but is a handicap when leveling your CC.)

1. Pick a 'Double crafting XP weekend'. The XP advantage is obvious. This will literally save you half the materials.

2. Go to the Bound Shards device.

3. Drink your Crafting XP Bonus Elixir.

4. Craft ONLY Minimum Level shards. This limits your required resources to the CXP and Success Boosters listed above and Cannith Essences. You will require no collectables.

5. Select the shard that has the lowest success chance. At any given Crafting Level, there'll be a bound ML shard with a 3% or 4% success chance. Successfully crafting this shard will give you a huge pile of CXP (details below).

6. Put the highest value Crafting Success Booster you can into the Booster slot. If (as recommended) you use a 35% Booster, this will raise a 3% success rate to 38%. On average, you'll craft a shard every third try (ballpark). If you must economize on CSBs, use lower-value ones first. Failures will waste fewer essences. (With 25% CSBs, you'll succeed about every fourth try. With 10%, you'll only succeed about one attempt in eight.)

7. Craft the shard. If you fail, continue to try until you succeed. Failures are normal (see point 6 above).

8. IMPORTANT: Between shards, close and re-open the shard workshop window. This will refresh the listed success rates. They do not update themselves when you gain one (or more) crafting levels. You only need do this each time you successfully craft a shard that raises your crafting level. You do not need to do it when you fail, nor if your success doesn't provide a crafting level increase. If you're not sure, close and re-open the window.

9. Craft only bound ML shards until you reach the point where there are no more bound ML shards available (ML34 is the highest). At this point, you will have achieved the goal of this guide. You will be able to craft any bound item, including the 'Extra' slot (requires Cannith Marks). Note: If your CXP pot runs out before you reach this point, drink another.

10. If you wish to continue leveling beyond where bound ML shards are available, switch to the Unbound Shards device and craft unbound ML shards. At that point, the number of essences per shard will double. And that exceeds the scope of this guide.

Given a double crafting XP weekend and a decent CXP elixir, each shard should net you around 3K CXP. (This is based on my memory of having done this some while ago and idr what CXP elixir I was using.. probably the +75%).

A crafting level around 300-320 will allow you to successfully craft pretty much anything for your own toons (i.e. every bound shard). This includes the Extra slot and Insightful shards. You'll know your crafting level is high enough when you can craft ML34 shards at a decent success rate.

This will require approximately 350K-400K CXP total, or about 120-130 successful shards crafted (out of around 300-400 attempts if you're using 35% Crafting Success Boosters; if you're using 25% Boosters, it would be another 100-200 attempts and associated essences). It will also use up a ton of essences (though fewer than other methods). I'd estimate you'll probably use in the neighborhood of 60K-100K Cannith Essences. Regrettably, idr how many I used, and my estimate is based on an average of around 200-250/shard. In reality, a bound ML shard uses MLx10 essences. However, since at the lower levels it takes fewer shards to level, the average number of essences/shard will be on the high side.

Using this method, I leveled from Crafting Level 30 to 326 in a single day on one of my toons.

Materials required, XP per shard, etc, are, unfortunately, an estimate. I wasn't planning on writing a guide when I did this, so I didn't track them adequately. I've attempted to calculate or remember what I can. Obviously the biggest issue with this lies in the uncertainty of two things: How many essences you should have before you start, and how many Crafting Success Boosters you will require. YMMV

I'd greatly appreciate any updates and info by anyone who uses this system so as to make those numbers more accurate.

And I'd like to reiterate once more: If you don't use the best CXP pots and/or CSBs, the amount of essences required will skyrocket. I understand that everyone's circumstances are different. Some VIPs will happily blow a few thousand DDO Points on a couple of CXPs and a raft of CSBs (and maybe even to buy essences), whereas some F2P players won't want to spend a single one. The system will work for both, but the F2P player will require a huge amount more Cannith essences. It's for that player that I've included the info on the pots and boosters you can acquire in-game.

Whether you take the F2P or VIP approach, the value of this system is that it leverages the high XP per shard available on the low-base-chance shards to minimize essence use and the sheer number of shards one has to create (and later store or decon). In fact, the maximum number of storage slots this system could require for the output ML shards is 34. And the truth is that at low levels, each successful shard will propel you through more than one level (3000 CXP takes you from CC level 1 to about 75), so that you may avoid crafting some few of the 34 possible ML shards even once.

Once you've acquired the CC level to craft whatever you want, you have to decide what you want to craft and collect the materials.

You can find overall info on Cannith Crafting on DDO Wiki here:
https://ddowiki.com/page/Cannith_crafting

The best gear planner I've yet found (including slot planning and resource requirements) is here:
http://ccplanner.byethost14.com/

And when it comes to finding specific collectables, try here:
https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/486116-Collectable-Farms


I myself have crafted a complete set of gear for leveling, with upgrades every 3-5 levels. It contains slots with gear common to all my toons (Sheltering, Resistance, Fort and Con, for example) as well as variants based on toon type: melee, ranged, caster (and all the possible caster stats). It has made me pretty nearly independent of named gear, allowing me to forego farming same. Needless to say, this required a lot of collectables. Fortunately, I'd been collecting them for quite some time.

Whether you envision crafting an entire gearset across all the levels from 1 to 30, or simply a single item to fill a particular niche in your gear, Cannith Crafting is an excellent tool to have in your repertoire.

I hope you find this guide helpful. Happy Cannith Crafting!

Since I've been asked, here's my actual Cannith Crafted gearset. It's listed in a bit of shorthand so it might not be immediately clear what I've done.

First, you'll notice that each gear item exists at multiple levels up to ML20 (for Reincarnation). I've made some of these at Epic levels, but I'll leave those out. They're easy enough to derive, because the MLs chosen are when the effects increase. With some effects, that happens with every level (Wizardry, for example), while others remain the same through several levels (e.g. Spell DCs). I chose to have a workable item at as low a ML as reasonable, and then another each time the effects improved enough to make it worthwhile. For most items, that equates to 4 or 5 iterations between L1 and L20 (the relevant levels for Reincarnating).

The actual format looks like p/s//e{*}, where
p = Prefix
s = Suffix
e = Extra slot (available at ML10+)
* = Augment in appropriately-colored Augment Slot (where possible Augments go in COMMON items to reduce quantities required). Blanks with Green Augment Slots are best, because they can take Yellow, Blue, or Colorless Augments, which provides maximum flexibility. Unfortunately, the Auction House provides no means to search for items by Augment Slot.

Ins = Insightful

If we take the melee goggles for an example:
"Goggles: Seeker/Deadly//Assassinate {Yellow/Green: Fear Immunity}
ML4 3/3, ML7[8] 5/4{*}, ML10 6/5//3{*}, ML15 8/6//4{*}, "

The item is for the Goggles slot.
The CC blank must have a Yellow or Green Augment slot into which I slot a Fear Immunity Augment (available at ML8, shown by {*}). The ML7 goggles' actual ML is 8 because of the slotted Fear Immunity Augment. I didn't remake the item at ML8 because the bonuses don't change between ML7 and ML8.
The two (or three at ML10+) CC effects added to these goggles are Seeker (Prefix), Deadly (Suffix), and Assassinate (Extra).
Thus, the ML10 exemplar will have Seeker+6, Deadly+5, and Assassinate+3. Add the Fear Immunity Augment and you have four effects on a non-named item.

There's no room to outline ALL my logic and planning here, so feel free to ask any questions.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

MELEE
-----
Goggles: Seeker/Deadly//Assassinate {Yellow/Green: Fear Immunity}
ML4 3/3, ML7[8] 5/4{*}, ML10 6/5//3{*}, ML15 8/6//4{*}
Helm: Int/Accuracy//Ins Int {Green: Proof vs Poison}
ML4 3/5, ML5 4/6{G}, ML10 6/9//2{G}, ML15 8/12//3{G}, ML18 9/14//4{G}
Wis/Accuracy//Ins Fort {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML10 6/9//38{G}, ML15 8/12//47{Y}
Wis/Stunning//Ins Wis {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML4 3/4{Y}, ML5 4/4{Y}, ML10 6/6//2{G}, ML13 7/8//3{G}, ML18 9/10//4{G}
Ring2: Balance/Dex//Ins Dex {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML5 7/4{}, ML10 12/6//2{}, ML15 16/8//3{}
Gloves: Doublestrike/Healing Amp//Ins Str {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML4 4/12{Y}, ML8 6/19{G}, ML11 7/24//2{G}, ML13 8/27//3{Y}, ML18 10/35//4
Doubleshot/Healing Amp//Ins Accuracy
ML5 3/14{Y}, ML10 4/22//4{G}, ML14 5/29//5{G}

CASTER
------
Goggles: ML1 True Seeing/Underwater Action
ML10 Necro Focus/Ins Necro Focus; Evo/Ins Evo{G}
(Note: Below ML10, the Spell Focus Mastery on the Helm = SF [school] and Ins SF is not yet available. SF [school] doesn't improve after ML10 until ML17.)
Helm: Int/Spell Focus Mastery//Ins Int {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML5 4/x{} (8? 4/2{}), ML10 6/2//2{}, ML15 8/3//3, ML18 9/3//4{}
Wis/Spell Focus Mastery//Ins Wis {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML5 4/2{Y}, ML10 6/2//2{}, ML15 8/3//3{}, 18?
Ring2: Cha/Devotion//Ins Cha {Yellow/Green: ???}
ML5 4/59{}, ML10 6/77//2{}, ML15 8/94//3{}, ML18 9/104//4{}
Gloves: Spell Pen/Spell Lore//Ins Spell Pen
ML4 2/4{Y}, ML10 3/5//2{}, ML18 4/8//2

COMMON
------
Neck: Con/Sheltering//Ins Con: {Green: Natural Armor}
ML2 2/4{+1}, ML5 4/9{+2}, ML10 6/14//2{+3}, ML15 8/19//3{+6}, ML18 9/22//4{+8
Trinket: N/A
Cloak: N/A
Belt: Dodge/Str//Ins Dodge: {Yellow: FF}
ML4 3/3{*}, ML10 6/6//2{*}, ML15 8/8//3{*}
Ring1: Wizardry/False Life//Ins Heal: {Colorless: Master's Gift}
ML1 FF{*}, L5 71/Regen{*}, ML10 112/21//6{*}, ML15 154/29//8{*}
Boots: SPEED + Guard (random lootgen) {Green: Protection} or N/A
Have: ML6 III{G}, ML9 V+2{}, ML10 VI+3{+3}, ML19 IX{+5}
Bracers: Resist/Fort//Parrying: {Green: ML4 Mod. Fort; ML8 Heavy Fort; ML12 +1MDB; ML20 +2MDB
ML2 2/43, ML4 3/-{MF}, ML8 4/-{HF}, ML10 5/-//2{HF}, ML13 6/87//3{1MDB},
ML18 7/104//4{1MDB}


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As you can see from the list, there are some items that I didn't bother to make crafted versions of, because the effects possible would mostly or only have duplicated effects I have elsewhere. It is quite possible to put together a different combination of items and effects with a similar overall effectiveness.
Some items have multiple versions, depending on the stat used (Helms with Int vs Wis, for example).
Inevitably, there are a few effects that a particular build will get that they don't specifically need. Str is on all the belts, for example, even though Str builds are getting rare (I built these quite some time ago.). Also the amount of Dodge available on the belts will quickly outstrip what a heavy-armored toon can use. You can either use a named belt in those situations or craft an alternative. [Deathblock is available as a Belt Suffix, so a Belt could be crafted around that and add it to the gearset instead of covering it elsewhere. Ex. Belt: Con/DB//Ins Con and Neck: Poison or Disease Ward/Sheltering//Ins Poison or Disease Ward. OR you could plan on having PRR/MRR on Armor (common) and have the Neck free for Named items.]
Keep in mind that this set was crafted several Updates ago, so changes in systems may have made bits of it non-optimal.

So almost every toon will use all the COMMON pieces and add whichever of the CASTER or MELEE (including ranged) ones that are suitable to the build.

Take a Wizard caster for an example. They'll have the following gear:
Goggles: Evocation Focus/Ins Evocation Focus
Helm: Int/Spell Focus Mastery//Ins Int
Neck: Con/Sheltering//Ins Con{Natural Armor augment}
Trinket: Named or Fire Lore/Combustion/Ins Combustion (or equivalent elemental)
Cloak: Named
Belt: Dodge/Str//Ins Dodge {Feather Fall}
Gloves: Spell Penetration/Spell Lore//Ins Spell Penetration
Ring1: Wizardry/False Life//Ins Heal {Master's Gift}
Ring2: Either Balance/Dex//Ins Dex or Named
Boots: Either SPEED + some Guard {Protection Augment}, or Named
Bracers: Resistance/Fortification//Parrying
Weapons will usually be caster ones for a different element than the Trinket, or Named. Usually the Weapons are caster ones and the Trinket is Named.
Armor: Named or Random Lootgen

This setup covers:
Defense: Sheltering (which affects both PRR & MRR), Fortification, Resistance, Parrying, False Life, Ins Heal, Dodge, Ins Dodge, Natural Armor, Guard, Fear Immunity
General: +5% XP, Feather Fall, Str, Dex/Ins Dex, Balance, SPEED (though I have the Quiver of Alacrity, so Named boots are more common)
Stats: Con/Ins Con, Int/Ins Int
Casting: Wizardry, One Focus/Ins Focus school + the generic Focus Mastery for all others, Spellpower/Ins Spellpower, Spell Lore/Ins Spell Lore for 1 school + the generic Spell Lore for all others, Spell Penetration/Ins Spell Penetration

There's no question this doesn't cover everything, though the Named options throughout add flexibility to cover more. Deathblock/Deathward is specifically not included (I have DW clickies and The Cloak of the Mimic is fun at low levels, with the Cloak of Night at higher ones).

I freely admit that designing this setup was a lot of time and effort and crafting it required far more farming for ingredients than I really enjoy. But it really does simplify leveling when you're on the TR train and what's really important is that it's 'good enough' and covers all the crucial bases.

Update 55 introduced new unbound combined prefix shards. All require Cannith Crafting level 400, 800 essences, 15 Purified Eberron Dragonshard Fragments, and 5 mystical ingredients.

Armor Destroying = Armor Piercing + Destruction (requires 5 Mystical Band) for Weapon
Champion's = Speed + Combat Mastery (5 Mystical Goblet) for Trinket
Initiate's = Spell Penetration + Wizardry (5 Mystical Bottle) for Gloves
Sabotaging = Seeker + Deception (5 Mystical Urn) for Goggles
Silver Flame's = Turn Undead Level + Dice (5 Mystical Dried Fish) for Necklace
Warded = Curse Resistance + Protection from Evil (5 Mystical Vessel) for Ring
Watchful = Dodge + Heightened Awareness (5 Mystical Plant) for Belt

These new prefix shards add some additional power to certain crafting recipes, but they can only be made UNbound and thus require a higher CC level than the guide is optimized to achieve. I mention them because if you follow the guide and are only making items for your own toons, you might never notice they exist, since they won't show up in the bound shard creation station.

The ingredient requirements are also steep, both because they're unbound and because they use the 'mystical' ingredients that drop in various places in the game, but are used for nothing else.