This tutorial hopes to introduce DDO (Dungeons and Dragons Online – Eberron Unlimited) players to Cannith Crafting in terms that are easy to understand.  The guides currently available are complicated and better suited to experienced crafters.  Note that there are other types of crafting in DDO and that this guide is for the recently released Cannith Crafting features.

The Crafting Hall

First, you need to know where the Cannith Crafting Hall is located!  Go to the Marketplace and look at your map.  On the eastern (right) side of the map you will see an exit to House Kundarak.  Once you’ve entered House Kundarak you will only have to take a few paces to see the Crafting Hall ahead and on your right.  Walk up to the darkened doorway, click your mouse, and enter the Crafting Hall.

Next, take the tutorial offered by the Crafting Hall’s greeter who stands just inside the entrance.  His tutorial is quite simple and will give you a fast example of how to create a crafted item.  Read his instructions closely and you will not have any difficulty completing the greeter’s tasks.  The Crafting Hall itself can be a little imposing when you first see it.  Don’t be discouraged.  Actually, half of the hall is nearly a mirror image of the other half, the only difference being that one side has a bank and the other an auction house.  Each side of the interior of the building has the devices and materials you need for crafting.

Cannith Crafting

There are essentially three things you can do in the Crafting Hall that pertain to crafting items:

• Item Deconstruction:  This is the act of removing a magic effect from an item.  Essences are primarily gained from finding them as loot in quests, but deconstruction is a great way to augment your stash of essences.  The accumulation of essences will need to be a high priority for your character if you want to get to higher level Cannith Crafting.  By deconstructing items – or by creating them, you gain Cannith Crafting experience.  Crafting levels gained through experience allow the crafter to produce more powerful magic items.  The more items you bring into the Crafting Hall for deconstruction (rather than selling), the faster you will accumulate essences and crafting experience.

• Shard Creation:  The creation of magical shards is undoubtedly the quickest way to gain crafting levels.  Crafting shards are created from essences.  If you place one essence of any kind in a Shard Device within the Crafting Hall, you will be provided a list of recipes.  These recipes can be followed to create the type of magical shard you need for placement on your item.  Note that shards are either bound or unbound.  Both types can be sold, but unbound shards are required to make saleable magic items.  If your desire is to make magical items that you will use yourself then use the Bound Shard Device to create Bound Shards.  If you wish to make magical items that you can sell then craft unbound magical shards using the Unbound Shard Device.  You will notice a percentage of success for each shard you wish to craft.  Any percentage under 50 and the game will not allow you to make the shard creation attempt.

• Shard Application:  You may have noticed at the Deconstruction Device an option for deconstructing an item by removing all of its current properties.  You will not gain essences from this operation.  Any item that you are going to combine with shards must be deconstructed in this manner first.  No non-deconstructed item will allow you to place magical shards on it.  Once you have a deconstructed item made ready for crafting, you may place it in either the Unbound Items Device or Bound Items Device.  If you created unbound shards then use the former device.  If you created bound shards then use the latter device.  Place the deconstructed item in the device and again you will be given a recipe list.  Find the recipe you desire and, if you have the required shard(s), the ingredients required to make the new item will be placed in the machine.  You may also place items in devices manually, of course.  Combine the shard(s) with the items and you will have your own crafted item that can be sold or used, based upon whether it was created with unbound or bound shards.  All items are bound once a player equips them.  So if you plan to sell your unbound item, don’t equip it!

Cannith Crafting is an amazing game system within a wonderful game.  Hours of enjoyment can be had by players willing to learn more about crafting as they go along.  Trying to craft without learning about the trade will cause you to lose wealth and time.  Ask other crafters about their experiences or use the Advice channel in game if you run into any crafting problems.  After all, that industrious dwarf standing beside you at a crafting device just might be willing to share some crafting secrets!

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