As a crafter I've noticed quite an influx of new and returning players to the game on Phoenix. And many of these people seem to lack the information or the knowledge to make their own templates. So i figured I'd try making a guide where i cover most of the common questions and mistakes that I've seen while crafting.
Now granted, this guide is probably a few weeks late. But hopefully It'll help someone!
I'll divide this guide into sections to make it easier to navigate.
What should you know before making your template?
The first and most important part you should is what stats your classes needs.
So for example, if you are a caster (one of the easiest roles to template for in DAoC at this patch level), then you should be aiming to cap the following stats
After that you should at the very least be capping your main skill (+10 to the skill). Some casters will be required to cap more than one spell line. For example the Enchanter would want to cap the Mana spell line for the heat debuff and the Light spell line for their base line nukes.
I'll use another example here since there are a great variation of classes and stats in this game. Let's use the Warden, it's a hybrid class that can both heal and melee, so what should you focus on?
This class has 5 stats (STR/CON/DEX/QUI/EMP), at least 3 spell lines (MELEE/REG/PARRY) and both a power pool and a health pool. Many people who play classes like this, where it's hard to cap everything, ask me what stats they should aim for.
And quite honestly, all of this depends on what kind of role you want to play. So my recommendation is to either research your class and role more and then build the template based on that, or ask for advice. But most of the time all you need are the base 3 stats for your class and everything else is a bonus. Cos if you want to make a perfect template it usually requires very high utility RoG's and MP (100%) crafted pieces.
Next is what all classes need to cap
These stats apply for all templates.
Some classes will require you to cap power as well, but all classes need these two capped to make a good (or perfect template). Now when it comes to resists, the goal is to cap at 26% but if you go lower in one or two resists by 1-3% it's not the end of the world. For example, all races have racial resists, so making a sacrifice in a point or two in the racial resists to reach cap on everything else is usually OK.
So how do you template?
First you want to decide on which drops you need in your template.
Here you want to pick items with unusually high utility and/or special procs and charges. A clear example here is your class' TG/Galla/Sidi body armor. These pieces usually come with high utility and a higher than normal heal proc.
Other examples can be very high utility rings, bracers or cloaks with a stat charge that suits your class.
After that you need to fill in with RoG's
I would recommend either farming your own RoG's or buying them cheap from housing. Start with buying RoG's to fill stat gaps in your template. And whatever you do, stay away from RoG's that have a really high number of just one or two stats. Your ideal RoG should have a good balance of many medium stats.
Try finding RoG's that look like this for example,
This item has a decent utility level and a good spread of stats.
Now obviously if you go higher utility you get more stats out of an item, but that also means it will cost more.
Once all of that is done you will need to craft the remaining pieces and fill in the gaps!
This is where you need a spellcrafting software. There are many viable options here and most of them work really well for older versions of the game like Phoenix. But my clear favorite is Loki 1.4 (Google that!).
Loki is good because it helps you fill the gaps automatically. All you need to do is set the parameters and it will do the rest!
So an empty template would start like this in Loki. I'm using an Enchanter for this example and I've decided to put high priority (seen in Green) on the stats i need to cap first and low priority (orange) on those stats that aren't as important yet.
1. This is where i chose priority. First select the stat you want and then change the priority you need.
2. Here is where you either use a dropped item, where you input the stats manually, or tell the program to use a crafted item and "Optimize" the stats for you.
3. Once all your items are filled in all the appropriate slots you set the "Effort" to max and then click "Consult" and the program will run until it has completed trying to make a template based on the requirements.
Now if the program finishes with a lot of stats being far from cap then you need to get higher utility RoG's or go higher on the crafted items. If you are overcapped by a lot at this point, look for replacements on those items.
A few tips
Let me know if i need to correct anything or if there's something you'd like me to add to this!
Now granted, this guide is probably a few weeks late. But hopefully It'll help someone!
I'll divide this guide into sections to make it easier to navigate.
What should you know before making your template?
The first and most important part you should is what stats your classes needs.
So for example, if you are a caster (one of the easiest roles to template for in DAoC at this patch level), then you should be aiming to cap the following stats
- Intelligence
- Dexterity
- Constitution
After that you should at the very least be capping your main skill (+10 to the skill). Some casters will be required to cap more than one spell line. For example the Enchanter would want to cap the Mana spell line for the heat debuff and the Light spell line for their base line nukes.
I'll use another example here since there are a great variation of classes and stats in this game. Let's use the Warden, it's a hybrid class that can both heal and melee, so what should you focus on?
This class has 5 stats (STR/CON/DEX/QUI/EMP), at least 3 spell lines (MELEE/REG/PARRY) and both a power pool and a health pool. Many people who play classes like this, where it's hard to cap everything, ask me what stats they should aim for.
And quite honestly, all of this depends on what kind of role you want to play. So my recommendation is to either research your class and role more and then build the template based on that, or ask for advice. But most of the time all you need are the base 3 stats for your class and everything else is a bonus. Cos if you want to make a perfect template it usually requires very high utility RoG's and MP (100%) crafted pieces.
Next is what all classes need to cap
These stats apply for all templates.
- Resists to 26%
- Health to 200
Some classes will require you to cap power as well, but all classes need these two capped to make a good (or perfect template). Now when it comes to resists, the goal is to cap at 26% but if you go lower in one or two resists by 1-3% it's not the end of the world. For example, all races have racial resists, so making a sacrifice in a point or two in the racial resists to reach cap on everything else is usually OK.
So how do you template?
First you want to decide on which drops you need in your template.
Here you want to pick items with unusually high utility and/or special procs and charges. A clear example here is your class' TG/Galla/Sidi body armor. These pieces usually come with high utility and a higher than normal heal proc.
Other examples can be very high utility rings, bracers or cloaks with a stat charge that suits your class.
After that you need to fill in with RoG's
I would recommend either farming your own RoG's or buying them cheap from housing. Start with buying RoG's to fill stat gaps in your template. And whatever you do, stay away from RoG's that have a really high number of just one or two stats. Your ideal RoG should have a good balance of many medium stats.
Try finding RoG's that look like this for example,
This item has a decent utility level and a good spread of stats.
Now obviously if you go higher utility you get more stats out of an item, but that also means it will cost more.
Once all of that is done you will need to craft the remaining pieces and fill in the gaps!
This is where you need a spellcrafting software. There are many viable options here and most of them work really well for older versions of the game like Phoenix. But my clear favorite is Loki 1.4 (Google that!).
Loki is good because it helps you fill the gaps automatically. All you need to do is set the parameters and it will do the rest!
So an empty template would start like this in Loki. I'm using an Enchanter for this example and I've decided to put high priority (seen in Green) on the stats i need to cap first and low priority (orange) on those stats that aren't as important yet.
1. This is where i chose priority. First select the stat you want and then change the priority you need.
2. Here is where you either use a dropped item, where you input the stats manually, or tell the program to use a crafted item and "Optimize" the stats for you.
3. Once all your items are filled in all the appropriate slots you set the "Effort" to max and then click "Consult" and the program will run until it has completed trying to make a template based on the requirements.
Now if the program finishes with a lot of stats being far from cap then you need to get higher utility RoG's or go higher on the crafted items. If you are overcapped by a lot at this point, look for replacements on those items.
A few tips
- Overcharge values are 33.5 for 99% and 37.5 for 100% - This is a flat 5 OC on both.
- You don't always need your charge items in your template. Some charge items can be used from your inventory.
- Stay away from drop weapons in your template unless you absolutely need a certain proc or charge. They tend to make the template harder to make.
- Remember your stats if you weapon swap a lot. You might be capped on everything using a weapon and shield and lose stats when you switch to your 2hander.
- Also, don't craft con and HP on weapons if you can avoid it.
- If a spellcrafter is charging you more than 250g (I'm pretty sure it has settled on all 3 realms by now) then look for someone else to help you out.
- Starting with a DECENT but cheap template where you cap, or nearly cap, most of the important stats is a LOT better than not running a template at all because you're broke!
Let me know if i need to correct anything or if there's something you'd like me to add to this!