Well, I have recently (as in last night) gotten my internet connection set up to allow me to access DDO from my B-hut in Bagram.  I can not express how thrilled I am about that!  I was even able to run an eVoN 6 last night with no difficulties, a little laggy but playable.  Even had to go afk for a couple due to incoming.  Might have been the first time I have ever seen a message that said "brb, incoming".   But all was well, the thing did not even go boom and it hit on te other side of the base.

Anyway, I now find myself needing some help in understanding the crafting system.  I am still unable to access the forums when I am at work (12 hours a day 7 days a week).  If anyone can give me a quick run down on how it works and what I need to start with I would be very thankful.

Take your loot and put it into a grinder to get essenses.  Crunch essenses to make shards.  Put shards on weapon and you have your effect.

Long version.

You are basically going to "deconstruct" all the random loot you get just to get a high enough level to put something decent on there.  There are three schools to level up in, Arcane, Divine(this has the banes), and elemental.

The best loot to put into a grinder is something like...random effect +10 or greater.  Higher stat items like a STR +6 item will also yield higher amounts of essences.  So, the higher the effect modifier on the item, the better to grind because you get higher amounts of essences.  The highest you can get is a lvl 5 amount...I think it tops out at 50 essences but I can't remember.  The lvl of materials only indicates how much you get.  If you have to choose between lvl 5 arcane and lvl 4 arcane essences, take the lvl 5.

It take a whole lot of loot to get to a decent level.  You will be broke.  Shroud offers good loot runs to put into a grinder if you just want to loot run.

When you have your bag of loot to put into the grinder, go to house K near the entrance and you'll see the crafting hall.

There are two stations to grind up your weapons.  You'll get some XP for it.  If you grind up something that gives you a lvl 5 amount of materials, you'll get 5 XP.  Lvl 2 amount of materials, 2 XP.

Depending upon the effect you deconstructed, you will get the XP for that school.  Fire essence will get you XP into elemental, pure good deconstruct will get you XP into divine, swim enhancement deconstruct will get you arcane XP.

After you've collected a whole bunch of essences, you go to a crafting machine.  There are two types of machines that make the shards, bound and unbound.  Bound shards are BTA but the item you put them on will be BTC so you need to make sure the shards are on a character you want the item for before you put them on a item.  I don't know about unbound if the item will BTC when the item gets made.

At first, you can use just lesser essences to level up but you'll soon need some greaters because you'll run out of shards to make that only take lesser essences.  You'll also need sibieries and khyber dragonshards.  Some recipes take collectables but you just need to avoid those for leveling.

After you've made your shards, take them to the grinding machine and deconstruct them for more XP and essences.  You'll be doing this just to level.

After you've made a shard you want to put on a weapon, pass them to the character you want the item on.  You'll also need to prepare a weapon which just strips off the effects but keeps the weapon...metal properties like silver stay.  Pass that weapon to the character you want to have.  On that character, they take the shards to a third type of machine, that combines the shards and weapon and you have your shiny critter killer.


This link is a good spreadsheet.  Gives the formula for the min level.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0AiJK0_A2G7ZkdFZQYllJa1hNYTA
wRlFSdlJQSjhjNVE&output=html

This link tells you the items you can put effects on.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AhcxqzwVpCAFdDR2QXVkc1ZXcWE
xVWZNZFc0Nnp5b0E&hl=en_US&authkey=COievdoP#gid=1

Neither of the spreadsheet links will work for me, most likely blocked by my company's internet.  Damn

I recently re-found this forum post as well.  It is a current list of what effects can go in which slot.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=318331

There are some nice combinations for weapons (mostly good prefix + bane without a "plus" to keep the ML low) and some handy combinations that can go in empty slots on your characters.

Tickdoff Tank wrote on Jun 7^th, 2011 at 1:14pm:


Some effects have a parenthetical explanation of what they do, others don't. The main idea of these lists is to give you the keywords you need to search the shard machine.

There are a dizzying array of spell effects. To help get a handle on them, here are all the keywords associated with a type of spell. The energy types also include the keywords for that type of magical weapon damage. Note that most spell keywords have several flavors, like Minor, Major, Greater, Superior, etc...

Acid: Acid, Corrosion, Erosion
Cold: Cold, Frost, Ice, Icy, Glaciation, Freeze
Electricity: Shock, Shocking, Magnetism, Spark, Lightning, Electrical
Fire: Flaming, Combustion, Inferno, Fire
Sonic: Screaming, Roaring, Thundering, Resonance, Cacophony, Sonic
Force: Impulse, Impact, Kinetic
Healing: Devotion, Ardor, Healing
Repair: Reconstruction, Mending, Repair
Good: Benevolence, Beatitude
Light: Radiance, Brilliance
Negative Energy: Nullification, Nihil, Void, Negative Energy

For quick reference, here's a list of what items can be crafted with ability bonuses:

Strength: Belt, Gloves, Ring
Dexterity: Boots, Gloves, Ring
Constitution: Belt, Necklace, Ring
Intelligence: Goggles, Headgear, Ring
Wisdom: Headgear, Necklace, Ring
Charisma: Cloak, Headgear, Ring

-----------------------------------------
Main Hand Weapons

Prefix
Any one energy Touch:
.....Acid, Cold, Shocking, Fire
Any one energy damage:
.....Acid, Frost, Shock, Flaming, Screaming
Any one energy Burst:
....Acid, Icy, Shocking, Flaming
Any one divine damage: (Also available in Burst form)
.....Holy, Unholy, Axiomatic, Anarchic
Double critical range:
.....Keen, Impact
Bodyfeeder
Life Shield
Ghost Touch
Metalline
Songblade (+2 to Perform skill)
Cursespewing
Crippling
Maladroit (Bludgeon only, -1 Dexterity on hit)
Roaring
Sacred
Seeker
Stench
Strength Sapping
Telekinetic
Thundering
True Law
True Chaos
Unbalancing
Vengeful
Vicious
Wounding
Weakening
Increase effectiveness of any one spell type (passive):
.....Corrosion, Glaciation, Magnetism, Combustion, Resonance, Impulse,
.....Devotion, Reconstruction, Benevolence, Radiance, Nullification
Increase effectiveness of any one spell type (active):
.....Erosion, Freeze, Spark, Inferno, Cacophony, Impact,
.....Ardor, Mending, Beatitude, Brilliance, Nihil
Any one spell Focus: (Increase DC to resist spells from that school)
.....Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
.....Transmutation
Increase effetciveness of all spells:
.....Potency, Efficacy
Efficient Metamagic: Empower Healing
Spell Penetration

Suffix
Melee Alacrity
Ranged Alacrity
Aligned (Bypasses any alignment-based DR)
Everbright (Immune to ooze and rust monsters)
Parrying (Insight bonus to AC and Saves)
Power
Seeker (Bonus to confirm critical hits)
Vampirism
Bleed
Bone Breaking (Bludgeon only)
Deception
Destruction
Enfeebling
Maiming
Puncturing (Piercing only)
Pure Good
Shatter (Increase DC to resist your Sunder)
Shattermantle (Temporarily reduce target's spell resistance)
Slicing
Slowburst
Sneak Attack Bonus
Staggering Blow
Stunning (Bludgeon only)
Tendon Slice
Vertigo (Increase DC to resist your Trip)
Manage threat level:
.....Incite, Stealth Strike
Any one Bane:
.....Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Gnoll,
.....Reptilian, Goblinoid, Orc, Monstrous Humanoid, Plant, Animal, Vermin, Ooze,
.....Giant, Dragon, Magical Beast, Elemental, Aberration, Construct,
.....Undead, Incorporeal, Evil Outsider, Chaotic Outsider, Lawful Outsider
Any one spell Focus: (Increase DC to resist spells from that school)
.....Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
.....Transmutation
Any one Lore: (Increase spell critical hit and damage multiplier)
.....Healing, Repair, Void, Acid, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Sonic, Kinetic
--------------------------------------------------
Armor

WARNING: You can only craft items that have a "+" rating in the top right of the description. If it doesn't have a +, it can't be crafted, so be wary of Elven Chain; that's an uncraftable "named" item. Elven Chainmail is craftable.

Prefix
Any one Guard: (Damages melee attackers each time you get hit)
.....Acid, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Sonic, Thorn, Undead
Blood Rage
Blueshine (Immune to ooze and rust monsters)
Deathblock
Fearsome
Hallowed
Life Shield
Lionheart
Natural Armor
Sacred
Silver Flame
Twilight
Unbalancing

Suffix
Any one energy Resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Any one damage reduction:
.....Axeblock, Hammerblock, Spearblock, Invulnerability
Command
Dusk
Eternal Faith
False Life
Fortification
Negative Energy Absorption
Nimbleness (Similar effect as mithral, stacks with mithral, but doesn't make it lighter)
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Power
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Stability
----------------------------------------------------
Shields / Off Hand Weapons

Off Hand Weapons seem to be any weapon that can be wielded in one hand, meaning everything except two-handed weapons.

Shields and Off Hand Weapons can take any ability in the Main Hand Weapons lists, plus the following additional abilities:

Prefix
Deathblock
Lionheart
Natural Armor
Shield Spikes
Undead Guard

Suffix
Any one energy resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one damage absorption:
.....Electrical, Fire, Negative Energy
Any one damage reduction:
.....Axeblock, Hammerblock, Spearblock, Invulnerability
Bashing
Command
False Life
Fortification
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Spell Resistance
Stability
------------------------------------------------
Docent

Prefix
Any one Guard: (Damages melee attackers each time you get hit)
.....Acid, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Sonic, Thorn, Undead
Arcane Sigil (Reduce arcane spell failure chance)
Blood (Increase healing from positive energy, reduce fortification)
Blood Rage
Deathblock
Fearsome
Feat: Mobility
Life Shield
Lionheart
Natural Armor Bonus
Unbalancing

Suffix
Any one energy Resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Any one damage reduction:
.....Axeblock, Hammerblock, Spearblock, Invulnerability
Dusk
False Life
Fortification
Negative Energy Absorption
Power
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Reinforced Plating
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Stability
----------------------------------------------

Clothing (Robes, Outfits)

Prefix
Any one Guard: (Damages melee attackers each time you get hit)
.....Acid, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Sonic, Thorn, Undead
Blood Rage
Deathblock
Fearsome
Feat: Mobility
Life Shield
Lionheart
Natural Armor
Unbalancing

Suffix
Any one energy Resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Any one damage reduction:
.....Axeblock, Hammerblock, Spearblock, Invulnerability
Dusk
False life
Fortification
Negative Energy Absorption
Power
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Resistance
Stability
----------------------------------------------
Headgear (Helmet, hat, cap, mask, etc...)

Prefix
Charisma
Hallowed
Intelligence
Sacred
Silver Flame
Underwater Action
Wisdom

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Any one mana boost:
.....Power, Wizardry, Magi
Eternal Faith
Persuasion (+3 to charisma-based skill checks, eg: UMD)
----------------------------------------------------
Goggles

Prefix
Blindness Immunity
Intelligence
Underwater Action

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Attack Bonus
Dodge
Persuasion (+3 to Charisma-based skill checks, eg: UMD)
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Secret Door Detection
True Seeing
--------------------------------------------------------
Necklace

Prefix
Constitution
Disease Immunity
Hallowed
Natural Armor Bonus
Proof Against Poison
Sacred
Silver Flame
Wisdom

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Eternal Faith
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
-------------------------------------------------
Cloaks

Prefix
Charisma
Feather Falling
Unbalancing

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one energy Resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Dusk
Negative Energy Absoption
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Spell Resistance
--------------------------------------------------
Bracers

Prefix
Armor Bonus
Natural Armor Bonus
Any one spell Focus: (Increase DC to resist spells from that school)
.....Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
.....Transmutation

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Dodge
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
------------------------------------------------------
Gloves

Prefix
Arcane Casting Dexterity (Reduce arcane spell failure chance)
Dexterity
Strength

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison or Enchantment
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
--------------------------------------------------
Belts

Prefix
Constitution
Disease Immunity
Proof Against Poison
Strength

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
False Life
Fortification
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Spell Resistance
-----------------------------------------------
Boots

Prefix
Dexterity
Feat: Mobility
Feather Falling
Striding

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison, Enchantment
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
------------------------------------------------------
Rings

Prefix
Increase effectiveness of any one spell type:
.....Corrosion, Glaciation, Magnetism, Combustion, Resonance, Impulse,
.....Devotion, Reconstruction, Benevolence, Radiance, Nullification
Any one spell Focus: (Increase DC to resist spells from that school)
.....Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
.....Transmutation
Any one stat bonus:
.....Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma
Blindness Immunity
Casting Dexterity (Reduce arcane spell failure chance)
Disease Immunity
Feat: Mobility
Feather Falling
Hallowed
Natural Armor
Potency (Increase spell damage)
Proof Against Poison
Sacred
Silver Flame
Spell Penetration
Striding
Unbalancing
Underwater Action

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one energy Resistance:
.....Acid, Cold, Lightning, Fire, Sonic
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison or Enchantment
Any one mana boost:
.....Power, Wizardry, Magi
Eternal Faith
False Life
Fortification
Persuasion (+3 to charisma-based skill checks, eg: UMD)
Protection (Deflection bonus to AC)
Regeneration
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Spell Resistance
----------------------------------------------------------
Trinkets

Note that craftable trinkets are tougher to find than other items. They can be bought in the DDO store, "deconstructed" from a shard of power from The Shroud, or found in quest drops. (I found mine in Red Fens as an end reward for Into the Deep.)

DDO Store trinkets must be disjuncted before you can craft with them.

Prefix
Increase effectiveness of any one spell type:
.....Corrosion, Glaciation, Magnetism, Combustion, Resonance, Impulse,
.....Devotion, Reconstruction, Benevolence, Radiance, Nullification
Any one spell Focus: (Increase DC to resist spells from that school)
.....Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy,
.....Transmutation
Any one Efficient Metamagic:
.....Empower, Enlarge, Extend, Maximize)
Blindness Immunity
Casting Dexterity (Reduce arcane spell failure chance)
Feat: Mobility
Hallowed
Natural Armor
Potency (Increase spell damage)
Sacred
Silver Flame
Spell Penetration

Suffix
Any one skill except UMD:
.....Balance, Bluff, Concentration, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Haggle, Heal, Hide,
.....Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Repair, Search,
.....Spot, Swim, Tumble
Any one Save:
.....Reflex, Fortitude, Will, Poison or Enchantment
Any one mana boost:
.....Power, Wizardry, Magi
Melee Alacrity
Ranged Alacrity
Attack Bonus
Dodge
Eternal Faith
False Life
Good Luck (Bonus to all saves and skill checks)
Good Luck - Will Save +1
Good Luck - Reflex Save +1
Persuasion (+3 to charisma-based skill checks, eg: UMD)
Resistance (Bonus to all saves)
Secret Door Detection
Spell Resistance
True Seeing
Any one Lore: (Increase spell critical hit and damage multiplier)
.....Healing, Repair, Void, Acid, Ice, Lightning, Fire, Sonic, Kinetic
One of two energy Absorption: (Absorb 33% of incoming spell damage)
.....Electrical, Fire

It ain't pretty, but that's a copypasta of the thread he linked. Enjoy!