Armor Crafting 101
Originally Published by Spooky
In Guild Wars, armor is 'custom fitted' specifically for your character, which means you have to have it made for you. After all, you can't expect that that Knight's Cuirass of Fortified Rockitude that dropped from that Trog over there would fit your tiny little Monk, right? So the first person you need to see is called a 'Crafter', and these are NPCs that can be found in the major towns (and in some cases, hiding out in the Explorable Areas.) If you're having trouble locating them (Towns are often very crowded!) you can hold down ALT on the keyboard, which will highlight the names of NPCs. You can use this to help lead you to their location.
Upon talking with the Crafter, he'll bring up a list of all the armor components (and other items) he is capable of making, and there's a lot of useful information for us here. First is the level requirement involved in wearing these armor pieces. If your level is equal to, or greater than, the required level, you'll be able to equip them. If you are of lower level, you'll still be able to craft them - however, you won't be able to use them until your character is sufficiently leveled. Next, you'll find information about the statistics of that set - almost all of them have something different to offer. While they all have different appearances (if you're trying to find something you feel looks good) they also can convey different bonuses. Some sets might offer you more protection from Elemental damage at the expense of AL (Armor Level) to Physical damage, while others might protect you from certain types of attacks, or provide you with more Energy. You can see all the set types and bonuses at our Armor section. It's important to consider these bonuses, so you can choose the armor type that best fits your style of playing. The last bit of information are the crafting components and gold cost necessary to make that piece of armor. Gold may be self explanitory, but what about crafting components?
Crafting components are items that you will find either from containers, (chests, barrels) as the result of an enemy drop (as an example, a skeleton dropping a bone) or items that you gain from salvaging.. well, salvage items. Salvage items are obtained in the same manners stated above, but there's an extra step involved in using them - you're going to need a Salvage kit. Outfitter NPCs will sell these to you in two varities: regular, and expert. The expert kit first becomes available at the Yak's bend outpost - these kits cost more, but may yield you more crafting components or rarer salvages. All that's needed to use either kit is to double click it, and then click the salvage item. Congratulations! You're now the proud new owner of something more useful than you just had a minute ago. Keep in mind that both kits only have 25 uses to them before they disappear - it's a good idea to use them 24 times, and then sell them back to the Outfitter. You'll get half the money you paid for it back which can then be used for buying a new one - a good tradeoff instead of only one extra salvage, in my opinion. So now that we know how to get crafting components.. the next question is where do we get them? For that, you can refer to our Salvage Materials section.
Now you've got all the means necessary to get yourself some swanky new custom fitted armor! But please note - as you'll see, each piece of armor will be labeled "Customized for [Character Name]" this means these items are usable by you, and only you. Do not trade your armor to other players, and do not trade for theirs - neither party can use these items, and it is only a loss for all involved!
The last big thing you've got to consider is when you want to craft new armor. Keeping up with new sets for each level can become a costly endeavor, especially if you're dealing with sets that require expensive or less common components to craft. As a general rule of thumb, it is most practical to craft your armor at intervals of 5 - level 5, 10, 15, and 20 sets. However, this decision is also affected by your character profession, and your playing style. An Elementalist who consistently hangs back and manages to stay out of harms way might not feel a pressing need to upgrade their armor regularly, while a Warrior who is always at the forefront and taking the blows will most likely want to keep their gear as up to date as possible. There are often more sources of armor available than most characters truly 'need', so keep in mind how your progression feels - by upgrading when necessary or most economical, you can maintain a healthy budget and a happy character.
~ Spooky
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