Experimentation

Introduction

Experimentation is an ability gained through Alternate Advancements in the Tradeskill Prestige tab. It's an endline ability, so you will need 15 points in the Experimentation tree to activate Experimentation. Once you've reached tradeskill level 90, you start acquiring a Tradeskill AA point every 20% of a level, thus you must be at least tradeskill level 93 to use experimentation.

Once you have the Experimentation ability, you will be offered an Experimentation tab in your crafting window when using any type of crafting station. The Available Items list will show equipment in your bags or bank (including the shared bank).

Experimentation may be used on most crafted armor, weapons, and jewelry to:

• Improve the item's existing stats
  • Usually by 10% the first combine, 5% the second and so on with diminishing returns
  • Some stats only allow a 5% boost on the first combine, then 2.5%, etc.
• Add a proc to an item
  • Augmented Smite
  • Augmented Blessing
• Add a decoration to a weapon
  • Minor Essence of Ice
  • Minor Essence of Illusion
  • Minor Essence of Nature
  • Minor Essence of Pestilence
  • Minor Essence of Radiance
  • Minor Essence of Runes
  • Minor Essence of Acid
  • Minor Essence of Shadow
  • Minor Essence of Electricity

You can experiment on an item up to five times, depending on how many points you have in the Experimentation AA ability. If you have one point in Experimentation, then you can only experiment on an item once. If you have five points in Experimentation, you can experiment on an item up to five times. Additional points in Experimentation also will improve your experimentation reaction arts.

Each time you experiment on an item, there is a risk of completely destroying the item if you fail to complete the progress bar. The more times you experiment on an item, the more challenging each combine becomes.

The name of the item that has been experimented upon will gain a prefix according to the number of times it's been experimented on:

1. Experimented needs roughly 1 minute
2. Prototypical needs roughly 2 minutes
3. Innovative needs roughly 3 minutes
4. Ingenious needs roughly 4 minutes
5. Visionary needs roughly 5 minutes

Notes

• You can't experiment on a reforged item. You can go to the reforger and have them undo the reforging, experiment on the item, then go back to the reforger to have the item reforged again.

• If you intend to imbue an item, do it before you experiment on it, as imbuing will blow away all the experimentation changes.

• You can experiment on your Earring of the Solstice and Blessed Coldain Prayer Shawl. If you somehow fail, the Shady Swashbuckler can restore the earring or shawl.

• Experimentation requires no fuel.

• The more you experiment on an item the longer it takes, the times above are roughly the time that is needed to complete the experimentation on a "perfect" run

Experimentation Reaction Abilities

Unlike regular crafting, the reaction abilities for Experimentation are each different, and all six are on their own individual timers. You need to read and understand what each button does, exactly. Two cost power. Two decrease experimental success chance by 5%, two others increase it by 10%. Two boost durability, another two boost progress.

It is possible to use drag-and-drop to rearrange the button order, and some people do this.

Learning How To Experiment

Experimentation feels a little counterintuitive to a skilled crafter. First of all, you just have to resign yourself to the idea that you cannot keep durability at 100%, and if you try, you will fail and lose the item. You get -10 durability on each unmodified crafting round, and you can only hope to finish crafting before all durability is gone.

Secondly, you can't just spam 1-2-3, 4-5-6, 4-5-6. You need to push progress as much as possible while avoiding the reactions that cause loss of experimental success chance when you can. Different people have different approaches to how they do experimentation.

The most important two things about experimenting:

1. You must counter every adverse event. Failing a counter will cause you to take a huge durability hit. If you run out of durability before you have 100% progress, you fail the combine and the item you're experimenting on is destroyed.
2. You must pay attention. Each crafting round is 4.0 seconds. Each counter refresh is 4.1 seconds. That means you have a very tight window for using your experimentation reaction abilities. You won't always be able to spam three buttons on a given round, and sometimes you'll only be able to use just the one to counter an adverse event. And this also means you have to keep your eyes on your crafting window, you don't have time to chat, or even read chat channels.

It's a good idea to make or obtain a few level 1 handcrafted items (tin weapons, for example) and practice experimenting on them. It takes a few tries before you really get the rhythm of the process. Once you have a little practice, you should almost never lose an item during experimentation: lag spikes, power outages and the like can result in failure, but your own crafting won't unless you fail to counter or don't pay attention.

• Note: Listen to the crafting sound, each round ~2secs has specific end sounds like "wooosh". When you manage to listen to that and get the rythem you know a bit better when to look for the reaction instead of staring at the crafting window kinda. Once you get into the rythem you can use 2 abilites each round, either 1 to conter and 1 extra or just 2 extra. It is a bit tricky after all and you need to pay attention.

Enhancing Experimentation Abilities

Your experimentation reaction abilities are unaffected by your regular abilities, potions, or crafting gear. There are, however, a few ways to get boosts to experimentation:

Beta Bonuses

• Carpet of Assured Quality (mount) -- Decreases experimental critical failure chance by 5%
• Autonomous Assembler (familiar) -- Increases experimental success chance by 2.5%
• Kristoph, the Purple Dread (mount) -- Decreases experimental critical failure chance by 5.0%

Pre-Order Bonuses

• Blessing of the Ancients -- Click on Altar of the Ancients to increase experimental success chance by 1.1%
• Blessing of Arcanna'se -- Click on Arcanna'se Effigy of Rebirth to increase experimental success chance by 3.5%
• Illusion: Clockwork Calamity -- Increases experimental success chance by 3.5%
• There is an additional +0.1% experimental success chance when these are added together.
• Illusion: Jann Magi -- Increases experimental success chance by 4.1%

Quest Rewards

• The Hand of the Maker -- Increases experimental progress by 1.0
• Cloak of the Grandmaster or Experimented Mantle of the Grandmaster -- Decreases experimental critical failure chance by 5% (when activated)
• Brightfire, Essence of Arcanna'se (mount) -- Decreases experimental critical failure chance by 5%
• Gaggelu Pearwood (familiar) -- Increases experimental progress by 1.0 at level 1, 2.5% at level 2, etc.

White Adorns

• Nail of Experimental Progress -- Increases the amount of experimental progress gained by 5.0%.
• Celestial Nail of Experimental Progress -- Increases the amount of experimental progress gained by 5.5%

Mount Gear

Hackamores

• Mischievous Hackamore of Evolution -- +4.0% experimental progress
• Mischievous Hackamore of Proficiency -- increases experimental progress by 4.0
• Elysian Hackamore of Evolution -- +3.2% experimental progress
• Elysian Hackamore of Proficiency -- increases experimental progress by 3.2
• Chronicler's Hackamore of Evolution -- +3.1% experimental progress
• Chronicler's Hackamore of Proficiency -- increases experimental progress by 3.1
• Academic's Hackamore of Evolution -- +2.6% experimental progress
• Academic's Hackamore of Proficiency -- increases experimental progress by 2.6
• Student's Hackamore of Evolution -- +2.0% experimental progress
• Student's Hackamore of Proficiency -- increases experimental progress by 2.0

Reins

• Mischievous Reins of Expertise -- reduces experimental critical failure chance by 20.2%
• Mischievous Reins of Mastery -- +20.2% experimental critical success chance
• Elysian Reins of Expertise -- reduces experimental critical failure chance by 16%
• Elysian Reins of Mastery -- +16% experimental critical success chance
• Chronicler's Reins of Expertise -- reduces experimental critical failure chance by 15.4%
• Chronicler's Reins of Mastery -- +15.4% experimental critical success chance
• Academic's Reins of Expertise -- reduces experimental critical failure chance by 13%
• Academic's Reins of Mastery -- +13% experimental critical success chance
• Student's Reins of Expertise -- reduces experimental critical failure chance by 10%
• Student's Reins of Mastery -- +10% experimental critical success chance

Saddles

• Mischievous Saddle of the Innovator -- +4.0% experimental durability
• Mischievous Saddle of the Pioneer -- +4.0 experimental durability
• Elysian Saddle of the Innovator -- +3.2% experimental durability
• Elysian Saddle of the Pioneer -- +3.2 experimental durability
• Chronicler's Saddle of the Innovator -- +3.1% experimental durability
• Chronicler's Saddle of the Pioneer -- +3.1 experimental durability
• Academic's Saddle of the Innovator -- +2.6% experimental durability
• Academic's Saddle of the Pioneer -- +2.6 experimental durability
• Student's Saddle of the Innovator -- +2.0% experimental durability
• Student's Saddle of the Pioneer -- +2.0 experimental durability

Tradeskill Far Seas AA

• Seasoned Experimentation AA ability, from the Tradeskill Far Seas tab.

Credits

EQ2i credits posts in this thread written by Sambril, The_Real_Wurm at the SOE/DBG Forums for some of the information in this article.

EQ2i credits this page at EQ2 Traders for some of the information in this article.