Artisan Epic Timeline

Overview
This quest series is long and involved, but it offers a sense of major achievement to most tradeskill-enthusiasts. Completing the series also has some major rewards described in the last section of this timeline.

General Requirements

 * Your adventure level does not matter, aside from the fact that it can make travel challenging in some areas if you are far below the level of the creatures in the zone.
 * You must be a level 80 artisan to begin the core quests in the series, but can begin the (non-core), tradeskill faction writs earlier.
 * You must have at least -20K or better (positive) faction with in  in order to start the core quest series.
 * Though the core quests can not be done before reaching level 80, the tradeskill writs needed to gain faction can be done when you reach tradeskill level 72, so it is not necessary to wait until level 80 to begin increasing faction in Bathezid's!


 * To jump start the shift to the minimum required faction with Bathezid's, the quest New Lands, New Profits is advised for both low and high adventure level characters. This can be done at tradeskill level 70.
 * Low-level adventurers will need to complete New Lands, New Profits so they will not be killed on sight (KoS) to the residents in Bathezid's Watch.

Access Quest
Obtain access to the sokokar posts prior to beginning this timeline.

Doing so helps low-level adventure characters avoid a frustrating series of deaths while traveling and (even if you have a flying mount) using the sokokar to travel is much faster than manual travel in the zone.
 * See the Sokokar Timeline for an explanation of how to gain access as a low-level or high-level adventurer.

Tradeskill Community Help
Talk to your guild mates who have already completed the quest and/or reach out to those in the Crafting chat channel when you are nearing the end of the epic quest series. Asking in advance will speed up the time it takes to complete the last step in the series.
 * The final quest in the series requires items that come from recipes obtained by those who have already completed this series for their trade. If other players aid you in this, you will need the rare materials required and be prepared to meet them in person, as the crafting commission system must be used to transfer the items directly to you.
 * If you have several tradeskill characters on your account that have done this series, the required items are HEIRLOOM. This means you can craft the items on alts who've finished it and place them in a shared bank.

Supplies
The supply list needed for this quest series is enormous if you plan to tackle it from a tradekill-only approach. Supplies are addressed in greater detail in the Tradeskill Supplies section below, but those who have not done so yet may want to do the following to prepare:
 * Go out to gather the rare materials needed for the The Proof of the Pudding quest, as they can be very costly on the broker.
 * Go out to gather common tier 8 materials. While the common materials may not be costly on the broker, the sheer number needed to achieve the faction requirements before you being can add up if you try to rely on the broker.
 * Complete the A Gathering Obsession Timeline. Sending the Artisan's Pack Pony to gather materials reduces the prep time.
 * Talk to the leader of your guild about using some supplies from the harvest depot (if the guild has one), especially if your guild also has the gathering hirelings (NPCs).
 * Ask your friends to lend a hand. Those who've completed this series understand the volume of materials it takes and they might be generous enough to help with supplies.

Iksar-only
The residents of Bathezid's Watch hate the Iksar. If your character is an Iksar, you need to use an illusion form. Though many can be tried, the easiest, sure-to-work option is to use a petrified eye, which is a reward from from completing any of the racial bone collections, like froglok, wood elf, troll and so on.

For example, you can complete the Ratonga bone fragment collection to get the petrified eye or (if they are available) you can buy an eye on the broker. After you have the Petrified Ratonga Eye, bring and use extra collectible ratonga bones to keep the illusion up until while interacting in Bathezid's residents. How many you need will vary, so it's advised to bring several.

Because there are so few sentient options, player-cast and other "fluff" illusions (various Nights of the Dead costumes) do not seem to work for this. No matter which illusion form you try: press C to open the Character window, click the Options tab; under Graphics and make sure the box is unchecked to allow Illusion Forms.

Considerations Before You Begin
Faction in the zones tied to Kunark can be a complicated lot. Like so many other factions in Norrath, as you kill and anger some, you please others.

What makes this zone slightly more complicated for those with a trade, is that all of the factions have recipes you may want. Naturally, you have to please each enough to get them to interact and sell you those recipes. For this reason, a pure-crafting approach to faction may be easier to manage for some players than a battle-driven balancing act.

Because this content was released long ago, many of the adventure-themed faction items and recipes may or may not appeal to some tradeskills.

If you are a Carpenter it's highly likely you will want to maintain a minimum of positive faction with all factions in the Kunark zones, regardless of the time that has passed since the Rise of Kunark was released. This is because all carpenter-made items retain their appeal among decor enthusiasts indefinitely.

Improving Bathezid's Watch Faction
The recommendations below this point all refer to activity within the Fens of Nathsar zone.
 * If your adventure level allows (68+), you can opt for a mix of both adventure and tradeskill writs.

Adventure-focused
For a full list of quests see the Bathezid's Watch Faction Quests to quickly gain faction. Many reward 5K faction.


 * If you opted to skip New Lands, New Profits or prefer battle to gain faction:

Go to Kylong Plains. Enter the Fens of Nathsar. If you intend to kill the Rilisians:
 * Go the shore of the lake near the Fens zone-in point and kill a few Yha-lei fishmen. They improve your faction slowly with Bathezid, but you don't need to slay many to become non-KOS.
 * Kill Rilisian advancers just inside the zone. This also improves faction with the Watch, but will reduce faction with the Rilisians.

If you can safely travel up the mountain to the Watch itself, there are several quest givers outside the fortress whose quests will quickly (+5,000) improve your faction.

At 5K faction per adventure quest, completing four will allow you to start the core quests in the Artisan Epic timeline.

Tradeskill-focused

 * Before you travel to work on the faction needed:


 * Stuff you bags with tier 8 common materials like those found within the zones in the region. See the Tradeskill Supplies section below for more details.
 * Because the crafting writs cover all 3 tradeskills from your subclass (ie. sage has jeweler and alchemist recipes as well) you want to bring materials that would be used by all subclasses.


 * You CANNOT buy fuel from the fuel merchant there until you have -20,000 (Apprehensive) faction, so its a must to bring T8 fuels of your subclass too.
 * For example, a carpenter will want to bring: sandpaper and kindling (fuels used by the craftsman trades: carpenter/provisioner/woodworker).


 * Gaining another 40k and 50k faction (putting you at +20,000 and +30,000 faction respectively) will give you access to special recipes, so those who wish to buy all of the recipes as well will want to bring enough supplies for a marathon crafting session.


 * Once you have all of the above in order:

Go to Kylong Plains. Enter the Fens of Nathsar. Travel up the mountain and enter the Bathezid's Watch fortress (west of the zone-in entrance). Once inside the fortress, turn right and go all the way to the end of the hallway to the crafting room.

Unlimited, Repeatable Writs
These writs are all given by Supply Sergeant Anuhadux and all grant +750 faction with Bathezid's per writ.
 * Once you get the writ, click on the clipboard behind Supply Sergeant Anuhadux. You must open your inventory and scribe the recipe by double clicking on it. These are untimed writs, so no need to rush.
 * Each can be repeated as often as you like all day/night, without pause if you choose to do so.
 * If you plan to do only these writs, it will take 27 of them to reach the requirement to begin the Artisan Epic quests.
 * The quests are all similar but can be chosen based on the following minimum tradeskill levels

See the Tradeskill Supplies section below for tips on materials to bring to work on these writs.
 * Apprentice - level 72 (minimum tradeskill)
 * Journeyman - level 74 (minimum tradeskill)
 * Senior - level 76 (minimum tradeskill)
 * Master - level 78 (minimum tradeskill)

Daily Writs
Technically, these are also unlimited, but can only be completed once per day.
 * See Assistant Volwon Zhi'dok for the daily quest. Each grants +2,000 faction per writ
 * These are more like courier-style errands and the tasks that will vary by the day you get them.
 * For example, you may be tasked with fishing for king prawn, a common tradeskill material used by provisioners.


 * The dailies were added in 2009 to ease the mind-numbingly slow faction grind in the Kunark zones and to ease up on the heavy use of gathered materials from this tier.

Tradeskill Supplies
While many quests have a hard-number list of which materials you can bring, this is not really effective with the epic, because you can bring a mix of supplies based on your trade's subclass and you can mitigate the number of repeatable crafting writs you do by picking up the daily writs that require zero crafting supplies.

Why bring materials for your entire subclass? While it might sound easier for a woodworker to bring 1,000 redwood and similar supplies only, that's an awful lot of one supply. It is likely you would use up the supplies you normally keep on hand for actual crafted items. You don't need to bring materials for every single tradeskill though, only those for the subclass you belong to listed below.

The best general advice a veteran tradeskiller will give: bring gathered materials as you can for your subclass. All subclasses need a enormous supply of roots. Definitely bring as many fuel stacks as you can too, as the merchants in the area will not sell you fuel until you reach the faction your are trying to attain with the writs!
 * Outiftters (Armorer, Weaponsmith, Tailor)
 * Fuel: and
 * Fuel: and


 * Craftsman (Carpenter, Woodworker, Provisioner)
 * Fuel:, , ,
 * Fuel:, , ,


 * Scholar (Alchemist, Jeweler, Sage)
 * Fuel:, ,
 * Fuel:, ,


 * Supplies for the Core Quests

The supplies above are those needed to get the minimum faction to start the core quests in the epic.
 * In order to complete the the final quest you will also need a variety or rare materials, imbuing materials, and fuel.
 * See the The Proof of the Pudding page for a materials list if you plan to gather those in advance of the final step.

The Quests

 * Highly recommended, but not required: Sokokar Timeline
 * Highly recommended for all adventurers and required for tradeskill-focused players with a low-adventure levels: New Lands, New Profits
 * Core quests:

(Only available at -20k faction with Bathezid's Watch)
 * 1) Sarnak Supply Stocking
 * 2) Bixie Distraction
 * 3) Anything for Jumjum
 * 4) One of the following quests based on your tradeskill:
 * 5) *Scholar Errands
 * 6) *Outfitter Errands
 * 7) *Craftsman Errands
 * 8) The Proof of the Pudding

Summary of Rewards
In addition to any coin and XP (experience) you gain, the following rewards are also worth your time:
 * After finishing The Proof of the Pudding, you can go back to Bathezid's Watch to claim your cloak from Danelak Hosfoak.
 * The cloak is themed for for each class with an eye catching style and offers bonuses specific to that trade.


 * Earring of the Solstice - an earring with major tradeskill bonuses that also allows mater crafters to see special red "shinies" for highly prized collections.
 * The red shinies are LORE so you can not have more than one at a time, but they fetch large sums on the broker, so it can be worth your time to shiny hunt these even after you finish the collections on your account.


 * You'll receive a Master's Certification scroll to place in your home by in-game mail.
 * A prefix title for you tradeskill. For example, Master Sage.
 * The recipe used to make the item themed to your trade in the final step of this quest is one you keep forever.
 * Though the item can only be sold by using the commission system and though many tradeskill enthusiasts do not ask for direct compensation, it is customary to tip well for the time involved. This can be a nice way to pick up extra coin as a master crafter later on!


 * It is not technically a reward, but undertaking this quest series makes it easier to finish off the remaining faction needed to buy the tradeskill recipes sold in by Tac Ci'Toruen.
 * The cloaks for each master trade: