SwagVault MMO Blog

Vanguard Guide: Stages (Progress and Quality)

Every recipe or work order has a number of Action Points (AP) associated with it. The basic goal of crafting is to increase quality as high as possible while completing progress through all stages before running out of AP.

Each recipe is divided into stages and each stage is further subdivided into one or more steps (Figure 6.2.3). To complete a stage you must gain 100% progress. Each stage must be completed in order. The steps within a stage may be completed in any order. A two-step stage would require 50% progress to complete the first step and 50% progress to complete the second step. A three-step stage is divided into three 33% progress steps.

Each step has a set of actions you may perform. These actions cost varying amounts of AP and provide varying amounts of progress and quality. Mousing over the action will show its AP cost and effect. Once you’ve finished the progress on a step you may not go back to that step to improve quality. It may take a few runs through a recipe to figure out where and when to advance quality without running out of AP’s and total failure.

Higher level recipes have more steps (and thankfully more AP) per stage. Where appropriate the first stage of non-work order recipes will allow you to specify how many or what specific type of an item you’re making.

At early levels your recipes will have one station, utility and tool step, by 20th level recipes will have two tool steps, by 30th they will have two tool and two utility steps. Adjusting your skills and attributes to properly account for the increased number of actions in these recipes is important. There is no single correct build from 1st to 50th level, you must adapt to changes.