Smithing Guide 1-300 — EverQuest Legends

Smithing — Forging Norrath's Finest Armor and Weapons

Smithing is one of the most important and prestigious tradeskills in EverQuest Legends. It produces the armor and weapons that define melee combat — from the banded armor that protects new adventurers to the cultural plate that adorns endgame raiders. A master Smith at 300 skill can craft cultural armor that rivals or exceeds raid drops, making Smithing both a powerful self-sufficiency tool and a significant source of platinum income.

This guide covers the complete Smithing journey from skill 1 to 300, with detailed recipes, material requirements, cost estimates, and profit strategies for each stage. Whether you are Smithing for your own gear upgrades or to sell cultural armor in the bazaar, this guide provides the roadmap.

Why Smithing?

Smithing is the S-Tier tradeskill for melee-focused characters and anyone who wants to produce the most valuable crafted items in the game. The cultural armor available at 300 skill provides best-in-slot options for many race-class combinations, and the demand for cultural pieces keeps prices high. Smithing also produces weapons, metal components for other tradeskills, and utility items that maintain steady demand.

The downside of Smithing is cost — it is the most expensive tradeskill to level from 1 to 300, requiring thousands of platinum in raw materials. However, the investment pays for itself many times over once you reach 300 and begin crafting cultural armor for sale.

Smithing Basics

Every Smithing combine takes place at a forge — stationary crafting stations found in every major city. You place your components in the forge container and click "Combine." If the combine succeeds, you receive the finished product and may gain a skill-up point. If the combine fails, the components are consumed and you receive nothing.

Key Mechanics:

• Combines have a chance to fail based on your skill relative to the recipe difficulty
• Skill-ups only occur on successful combines
• Each recipe becomes "trivial" at a specific skill value, after which you can no longer gain skill-ups from it
• WIS or INT (whichever is higher) affects your chance of gaining a skill-up per combine
• Smithing AAs reduce failure rates and improve your effective skill

For the fundamental mechanics shared across all tradeskills, see our tradeskill leveling guide.

Stage 1: Foundations (1-115)

Recipes: Metal Bits, Sharpening Stones

Materials: Small bricks of ore, water flasks, files

Cost Estimate: 50-100 platinum

Strategy: Start with the absolute cheapest combines available. Metal bits use small bricks of ore and water flasks — both available from any general vendor. Sharpening stones use even fewer components and produce items you can vendor back for a partial refund. This stage is very cheap and very fast.

Focus on efficiency rather than profit at this stage. You are building your foundation, and the items produced have minimal value to other players. Vendor everything you make and keep moving.

Stage 2: Banded Armor (115-188)

Recipes: Full Banded Armor Set (Chainmail Pattern + Sheet of Metal)

Materials: Sheets of metal, chainmail patterns, water flasks

Cost Estimate: 200-400 platinum

Strategy: Banded armor is the classic mid-level Smithing product. The components are all vendor-purchasable, and the finished products sell well to new players who need affordable armor upgrades. Banded is the bread and butter of the mid-Skill range and the first time your Smithing produces items other players genuinely want.

Profit Tip: Banded armor pieces sell for 5-20 platinum each in the bazaar, depending on the slot. A full banded set can sell for 100-200 platinum to a new player. If you sell your practice combines, you can recover a significant portion of your skilling costs.

Stage 3: Fine Plate (188-220)

Recipes: Fine Plate Armor Set (Plate Mold + Sheet of Metal)

Materials: Sheets of metal, plate molds, water flasks

Cost Estimate: 300-600 platinum

Strategy: Fine plate produces heavier armor with higher AC than banded. The components are more expensive but the products sell for more. Fine plate is the transition between "cheap vendor materials" Smithing and the more expensive stages that follow.

This is the last stage where all components are easily purchased from vendors. Starting at 220, you will need farmed or bazaar-purchased materials for cultural combines.

Stage 4: Cultural Armor (220-268)

Recipes: Race-specific Cultural Armor

Materials: Cultural tempers, enchanted metals, race-specific patterns

Cost Estimate: 1,000-2,000 platinum

Strategy: Cultural armor is where Smithing becomes both expensive and rewarding. Each race has its own cultural armor line with unique stats and appearances. These recipes require cultural components that must be farmed from specific zones or purchased from the bazaar.

Race-Specific Notes:

• Dwarf Cultural (Breastplate of the Reliant): Excellent for Dwarf Paladins and Clerics. Requires Brellium temper from Kaladim.
• Ogre Cultural (Rokgus Armor): Outstanding for Ogre Warriors and Shadow Knights. Requires Rokgus blood from the Feerrott.
• Troll Cultural (Gukgus Armor): Strong for Troll Shadow Knights and Shamans. Requires Gukgus moss from Innothule.
• Human Cultural (Tradition Armor): Versatile with moderate stats. Requires human cultural temper from Freeport or Qeynos.

Cultural armor components are the bottleneck. Farm them yourself when possible, or monitor bazaar prices and buy when they are low. For which cultural armor best serves your class needs, see our class-specific tradeskill guide.

Stage 5: Enchanted Cultural (268-300)

Recipes: Enchanted Cultural Armor

Materials: Enchanted cultural metals, rare cultural temper, enchanted components

Cost Estimate: 2,000-5,000 platinum

Strategy: The final push to 300 requires enchanted cultural combines. These demand metals enchanted by Enchanters — you will need either an Enchanter friend or your own Enchanter class in your 3-class combo. The enchanted metals provide substantially better stats than unenchanted versions, making the finished products extremely valuable.

This is the most expensive stage of Smithing by far. Each combine can cost 50-200 platinum in materials, and failed combines are devastating. Smithing AAs that reduce failure rates are strongly recommended before attempting this stage. The AA system guide covers the relevant tradeskill AAs.

Profit Potential: Enchanted cultural armor pieces sell for 500-5,000 platinum each, depending on the piece and the race. The breastplate and leg pieces command the highest prices. A 300-skill Smith who regularly produces enchanted cultural armor can generate thousands of platinum per week.

Smithing and the 3-Class System

If your character includes an Enchanter as one of your three classes, you can enchant your own metals for Smithing. This eliminates the need to purchase enchanted metals from other players, dramatically reducing your costs and increasing your profit margins. The synergy between Enchanter and Smith is one of the most powerful cross-class combinations in the game.

Even without an Enchanter, having a caster class in your 3-class combo provides access to the shared AA pool, which can accelerate earning the Smithing tradeskill AAs that reduce failure rates.

Profit Strategies

Cultural Armor Sales: The primary income source for a 300 Smith. Produce enchanted cultural armor for your race and sell in the bazaar. Focus on the highest-demand pieces (breastplate, legs, arms) first.

Commission Crafting: Many players need cultural armor but do not have the Smithing skill to make it. Offer commission crafting services where the customer provides materials and you provide the combine. This eliminates your material costs while earning a crafting fee.

Component Sales: While leveling, you produce intermediate products like metal bits and sheets. Sell these in the bazaar to other crafters who need them.

Banded Armor Sets: Even at 300 skill, banded armor remains in demand from new players. Stock a few sets in the bazaar for consistent, low-maintenance income.

Materials Sourcing Guide

Tips and Strategies

• Budget before you start: Smithing 1-300 costs an estimated 3,500-8,000 platinum total depending on server economy and failure rates. Ensure you have the funds before beginning.

• Sell everything you make: Banded, fine plate, and even metal bits have value. Do not destroy practice combines — sell them in the bazaar or to vendors.

• Get Smithing AAs before the final push: The tradeskill AAs that reduce failure rates are essential for the 268-300 stage. Invest in these AAs before attempting enchanted cultural combines.

• Partner with an Enchanter: If you do not have an Enchanter in your 3-class combo, find a regular Enchanter partner. Paying an Enchanter for enchanted metals is cheaper than buying from the bazaar.

• Farm cultural components during downtime: When you are not actively skilling, farm the cultural components you will need for the next stage. This spreads the cost over time.

• Use the bazaar strategically: Buy cultural components when prices are low (off-peak hours) and sell finished products when demand is high (peak hours).

Common Mistakes

• Starting without a budget: Running out of platinum at skill 250 is devastating because you cannot easily earn back the investment without completing the grind. Budget the full amount before starting.

• Skipping banded armor sales: Banded is your first profitable product. Selling banded sets while skilling recovers a meaningful portion of your costs. Do not vendor these items.

• Attempting enchanted cultural without AAs: The failure rate on enchanted cultural combines is punishing without tradeskill AAs. The 268-300 stage is expensive enough — do not make it worse by skipping AAs.

• Not farming cultural components: Buying all cultural components from the bazaar is expensive. Farming them yourself during leveling downtime significantly reduces costs.

• Ignoring the cross-tradeskill value of metal bits: Metal bits are used in many other tradeskills. Excess metal bits from the early stages can be sold in the bazaar to other crafters.

• Forgetting about weapon smithing: While armor gets the most attention, Smithing also produces weapons. Some Smithed weapons fill niche roles and sell well to specific classes.

Conclusion

Smithing is the most expensive but also the most rewarding tradeskill in EverQuest Legends. The journey from 1 to 300 requires significant platinum investment and patience, but the payoff is extraordinary: a 300-skill Smith can produce cultural armor that rivals raid drops, generating thousands of platinum in income and providing the best crafted gear in the game. Whether you are Smithing for profit, self-sufficiency, or the satisfaction of mastering Norrath's most prestigious craft, the investment is worth it.

For the broader tradeskill leveling path, see our tradeskill leveling guide. For class-specific recommendations, visit our best tradeskill for each class guide. For economic analysis, check our tradeskill profit guide.