Guide Writing Contest - Tman Memorial - Part 2 of 3

I like the animal quest idea. Another great alternative way for people to earn gold. Plus a complete walkthrough for the quest itself.

I'm going to go nuts changing these topics around..lol

I think a good guide, one which hasn't really been mentioned, would be a pvp related one about the mechanics of pvp and how to do well. A complete guide would include strats/tactics/builds for ctfs and other pvp events. I get messaged constantly asking advice and tips on pvping, pvp builds, etc. I really think there is a lack of good, in-depth guides on pvping, group pvping, 1v1s, and the mechanics of lots of different spells and how they're used in pvp.

Anyway, this is a great idea Treasureman! I know you've already received a bunch of different ideas and I hope to make picking them a little more difficult.

http://stratics.com/threads/how-to-steal-in-trammel.101270/

Bulk Order Deeds​

What are BODs?

No, it's not BOD-Man fragrance spray. Bulk Order Deeds (BODs) are sort of like quests for crafters. BODs on UOR currently come in two flavors: Crispy Tailoring and Chocolatey Blacksmithing. Essentially, an NPC hands you a bulk order deed and tasks you with mass producing a certain type of item for them. What they are planning to do with twenty pieces of female leather armor is their business, you're just here to collect the fabulous rewards.

Remember these commercials from the 90s? Fun Fact: They're still making this stuff. Which implies someone is buying it.​

Why Should I do BODs?

Did you not just read the part about the fabulous rewards? Completing a BOD and turning it in earns you a golden (coin) shower, in addition to other rewards. Generally, the rarer and more difficult the BOD, the better the prizes. The official rewards matrices are listed below:​

Tailoring:
http://www.uorenaissance.com/info/?page=g_bod_tailor_gold
http://www.uorenaissance.com/info/bod/tailor.html

Blacksmithing:
http://www.uorenaissance.com/info/?page=g_bod_smith_gold
http://www.uorenaissance.com/info/bod/smith.html
NOTE: The +1/+3/+5 mining gloves in the blacksmith reward matrix have since been replaced with gargoyle shovels. Mining gloves are now dropped as loot from ore golems.

400 gold looks really impressive when you separate it into 6 piece stacks.​

How Do I Get BODs?
NPCs won't give you bulk order requests if you can't fulfill them, so first things first, you'll need 100 tailoring and 100 blacksmithing.

​

Some really cool guy has a giant post in the guides forum on how to train these skills:

http://uorforum.com/threads/one-guide-to-rule-them-all-one-guide-to-find-them.682/#post-2903

In case you're allergic to links, here's a quick guide to training up your crafting skills:

Blacksmithing:

Code:

55 --> 72 kryss or cutlass
72 --> 90 short spear
90 -->100 plate gorget

Tailoring:

Code:

48 -> 53  Fancy Dress
53 -> 74.6  Robes
74.6 -> 99.6 Oil Cloths
99.6 -> GM  Studded Leather Gorgets

To receive a bulk order deed, walk up to a tailor or smith shopkeeper and say 'order status'. They'll hand you a bulk order deed. That's it. Simple! There is no time limit on the request, so you can fulfill the order now or in three years.

​

The difficulty of the bulk order deed you receive is random, on a weighted scale. You may get a mostly useless BOD like I did in the picture above: "15 exceptional bone helmets". Or you may get one of the most valuable: "20 exceptional valorite plate gorgets".

Now that you've got your first bulk order deed, naturally your next question is not 'How do I complete it?' No way. The question you're asking is, 'How do I get more?' You can collect a bulk order deed of each type from NPC vendors once every 6 hours. So that means you can collect ... (one moment, doing complex math in my head) ... 4 tailoring BODs and 4 smithing BODs every day!

But wait there's more! Every time you complete a BOD, it immediately resets your collection timer. Turn in a completed BOD and you get another one on the spot.

But wait, there's even more! The limit of collecting BODs once every 6 hours only applies account-wide. Since you can have three accounts on UO:Renaissance, you can have a tailor & smith on each of your three accounts!

​

But wait, there's EVEN more! Currently, there are only tailoring (green) and smithing (gray) BODs available on UO:R, but the fabled carpentry (orange) BODs are right around the corner in a Coming Soon(tm) patch. Despite the name, carpentry BODs will actually be made up of three crafting skills: carpentry, tinkering, and fletching. So you're going to want those skills too!

​

What are these small & large BODs I'm reading about in the rewards pages?
Small BODs ask the player to complete just one type of item. (i.e. '15 exceptional fancy shirts')

Large BODs ask the player to complete a collection of multiple type of items. (i.e. '20 broadswords and 20 viking swords') Unfortunately, the crafter cannot simply mass produce the items and turn them in to complete a large BOD. He/she must first find the matching small BODs that go along with that request, which can complicate matters quite a bit.



How do I fill my BODs?
Step 1: Make the Goods
The easiest way to get this done is Razor. All hail the great Razor, savior of keyboards and computer mice. Run a looped macro to mass produce however many you need. This macro makes the last item you created nine more times, so start off by manually making one of the item you want. Adjust the loop counter to crank out however many you need.

Code:

Assistant.Macros.ForAction|9
Assistant.Macros.GumpResponseAction|21|0|0
Assistant.Macros.WaitForGumpAction|949095101|False|300
Assistant.Macros.EndForAction

(macro assumes crafting GUMP is already open)

This works great for easy BODs that have a 100% crafting success rate and 100% exceptional chance (like cloth tailoring BODs), but smithing and more difficult items can get a bit trickier. You could manually count how many exceptional items you craft, but that sounds horrifically like work.

There may be a variety of ways to tackle this, but I've always used the following macro. A pile of Nightshade serves as a counter of sorts. Whenever an exceptional item is crafted, the macro moves one Nightshade from my inventory into a bag in my bank box. Once the Nightshade in your inventory runs out, the macro stops making items and starts spamming a notification. Again, start by manually making one item before hitting Play.

Code:

!Loop
Assistant.Macros.IfAction|50|1|1|Nightshade
Assistant.Macros.GumpResponseAction|21|0|0
Assistant.Macros.WaitForGumpAction|949095101|False|300
Assistant.Macros.IfAction|4|0|exceptional
Assistant.Macros.LiftTypeAction|3976|1
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:00.4000000
Assistant.Macros.DropAction|0x40431344|(-1, -1, 0)|0
Assistant.Macros.PauseAction|00:00:00.8000000
Assistant.Macros.EndIfAction
Assistant.Macros.DoubleClickAction|1092928523|3999
Assistant.Macros.WaitForTargetAction|30
Assistant.Macros.AbsoluteTargetAction|0|0|1092928523|21|41|0|3999
Assistant.Macros.ElseAction
Assistant.Macros.SpeechAction|0|52|3|ENU|0|DING! FRIES ARE DONE.
Assistant.Macros.EndIfAction

(macro assumes crafting GUMP is already open)

NOTE: Lines 11, 12, and 13 in the macro is double clicking scissors and then targeting themselves. I seem to remember Razor being kind of weird with reading system messages from crafting windows and 'clearing' the system message in between cuts helped the macro perform better. Would be curious if anyone knows why this is!


Step 2: Combine with Deed
Double-click the deed and then single-click the requested items you just made to fill the deed. Easy enough! But do this more than once and you will already feel the carpal tunnel creeping in.

Once again, automation to the rescue! The macro below vacuums up all your items into the deed in just a couple seconds. Make sure to Re-Target the item type you want to combine in. If the deed calls for exceptional items and a non-exceptional item is targetted by Razor, the deed will automatically reject it and spin through its actions again, so just let it run until its full.

Code:

!Loop
Assistant.Macros.GumpResponseAction|2|0|0
Assistant.Macros.WaitForGumpAction|1526454082|False|1
Assistant.Macros.WaitForTargetAction|30
Assistant.Macros.TargetTypeAction|False|5901
Assistant.Macros.WaitForGumpAction|1526454082|False|1
Assistant.Macros.WaitForTargetAction|30

(macro assumes combine GUMP is already open)

If the BOD called for exceptional items, only non-exceptional items should be left in your inventory at this point. Smelt them down / cut them up to get a portion of your resources back -or- save them for a rainy day when you get a BOD that is asking for non-exceptional items. This macro uses scissors to cut up the item type that was just made. Make sure to Re-Target the last line to change the item type you want to cut up.

Code:

!Loop
Assistant.Macros.DoubleClickAction|1092928523|3999
Assistant.Macros.WaitForTargetAction|1
Assistant.Macros.TargetTypeAction|False|5078

Step 3: Get prizes
Drag the completed deed onto an NPC and your fabulous rewards shall be dispensed.

​

How Do I Organize my BODs?

I know that verite plate gorget BOD is around here somewhere...​

BOD books: Learn them, love them. They are essentially containers that only work for BODs. Drag a BOD onto the book and it will be stored inside. Easy! In addition to reducing your item count, they have these radical filters that allow you to quickly find what you're looking for.

​

Pretty great! That should be all the organization you need, right? Well, time for the drawback: Each BOD book can only hold a maximum of 500 BODs. Maybe that's enough for the small fries, but you're big-time. You're going to need lots of storage. The next natural progression in organization is "one book for tailoring, one book for smithing." The game even has a built-in function to change the color of the BOD books.

​

That helps, but you can still go further. Break it down by material type and BOD size!

​

And for the real men, you can even have a book for each reward type. I didn't go that far, which I guess says something about my manhood or something.

Some players like to keep a spreadsheet that matches their BOD collection, but manually keeping it up to date has always proven to be much more work than its worth (for me), especially when it comes time to remove items from the spreadsheet. What you have in-game inevitably becomes out-of-sync with what you have in your spreadsheet at some point. Keep your collection properly organized and I find that gets the job done just fine.

Bottom line: you're gonna want a lot of BOD books. Players sell them for cheap, so stock up.





How do I become a high-roller?
Everyone dreams of swimming through fields of blood-red mask dyes and valorite hammers, but how do you actually get there?

Just another day in my Villa of Valorite Hammers.
This image was totally created on the UO:R live server.*​

Pulling a high-end deed from the BOD lottery is extremely rare. This post by Chris introducing BODs provides a look at your chances of snagging a rare deed. For instance, let's say you've got your eyes on a valorite hammer. If you take a look at the Valorite section, you'll see a teensy 0.5% next to it. Ouch. Now recall that the BOD has to be a 20-piece to be eligible for a valorite hammer. It also has to be armor... plate armor. It also has to be exceptional. And you need one of each piece to complete the set, no duplicates. Oh, and you need the large too. Bleh.

Those comparisons I made earlier about BODs being like the lottery start to look pretty apt at this point. So how do you build your own Villa of Valorite Hammers?



1 - Time (And lots of it)

You've probably heard the phrase "it's a marathon, not a sprint." Well, BODs are a Forrest-Gump-esque-cross-country-run, not a marathon. This is a portion of the game that is won by the patient and determined, and there are no good shortcuts.

You can haul in 24 BODs per day between your three accounts. Some people have these weird things called 'jobs', 'families', and 'a need to sleep' that make it difficult to rake in the full 24 each day, but maximizing your daily BOD income will get you to your goal that much faster.

Some years ago, Dalavar crunched the math on how many BODs of each type you can expect to haul in over the period of a year. The point is, lace up them running shoes and bring a couple extra pairs for when these ones wear through.



2 - Flippers

​

In case you're one of those really impatient people that doesn't want to wait literally YEARS for every 20-piece-exceptional-valorite-plate-armor-BOD to magically fall into their laps, your trip to the big leagues may be fueled by flippers.

It has a variety of names (flipping, churning, cycling), but flipping is the practice of completing easy BODs in order to get another shot at the BOD lottery. Turn all of your crappy iron broadsword BODs into another chance at glory. Then go and buy flippers from other players and cycle those too. Most players report losing money on flipping, but that valorite hammer ain't gonna forge itself.




3 - Trading / Collaborating

There's also that weird part where you remember that UO is an MMO. There are many other players out there collecting BODs, so advertise what you're looking for. Hit up the Trading Post forum. Hit up the #UORTrade channel. Over time, you'll meet some people to regularly trade BODs with. If you are part of a guild, you can also offer to combine your BODs with others to take a share of the final rewards.




Closing Thoughts
So that's the guide. Phew. So I know what you're thinking now: "Mr. Hasselhoff, that all looks like just way too much work. Is there any way I can still make money off of BODs, preferably while I just sit on the couch in my underwear, eating potato chips and watching Netflix?" Ah, now you're speaking my language. The answer is "Yes! And pass those chips over here!"

One of the easiest ways to cash-in is by cashing-out: collect BODs and then just sell them to other players. If you're a minimal-effort-to-maximum-reward type of person, than this is the route for you. Jam those BODs into a book and load it onto an NPC vendor. Whether due to a bug or by design, NPC vendors on UO:R don't raise their daily vendor fees for BODs, so load them up.

Blatant Self-Advertising Alert:
BODs can be purchased at Hasselhoff Industries, next to Yew Bank on Vendor Henrietta!​

* Live test Server.

Basoosh ... my lord. i like it

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It feels a little weird posting guides about the same content others have already written, but I wanted to join in the fun and I love writing guides.

Here is my submission:
http://uorforum.com/threads/the-business-of-bulk-orders.16637/

I wrote it in Microsoft Word, so I am slowly transposing it to the forums. I will have finished posting everything by April 30th.

Hello All
Many thanks for your guide submissions. I have been very impressed thus far! Great job all!!! The guides are due May 1st therefore you have until the end of tomorrow (May 1st, 24+ more hours) to finish your work. I have been in touch with Treasureman who has been experiencing some internet issues however will be back with us early this coming week. Please give us some time to review the guides and discuss. I don't expect an official winner announcement for another week or so. Also, Part 2 of the guide contest will be announced at that time. Thanks all.
-Z

All,

The guide contest was very difficult to judge and the material submitted was insanely valuable to the UOR cause. The final results of phase 1 have now been decided on and are as follows... All remaining un-chosen runner up prizes will be split between the 2 runner up participants due to clear sign of dedicated/hard work put forth into the guides and their participation in this event..


FIRST PLACE - GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Prize 2 story statue or gold equivalent

@Lyta


RUNNER UP - SECOND PLACE (was very very close to first)
First choice of runner up prizes

@Gideon Jura


RUNNER UP - HONORABLE MENTION
Second choice of runner up prizes

@Basoosh

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Wow! Amazing! Thank you so much, I'm ecstatic! Thanks Treasureman and the other competition organizers and to Gideon and Basoosh. It was a really fun competition.

Congrats Lyta and thanks again for the guide

BUMP for Part 2

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Amazing topic and prizes Treasureman. Sadly I don't have enough experience with the Halloween event and all 4 X-mas scrolls to take part talking about builds and tips. I really hope there are some good guides on this topic, I look forward to reading them!

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Can I come over and smoke that Hookah if you win?

Sadly, I can't participate in round 2, too. Not enough experience with this topic.

@Treasureman: Is the thieving guide round cancelled?

@BlackEye The Thieving guide is still on the table, I just wanted this guide pushed out before Halloween, Christmas, etc