question about materials

[sonmica]

what is the difference between the descriptive quality and the number quality?

descriptive quality ie basic/fine/choice/excellent/supreme
and number quality ie the number in the bottom right hand corner of the material icon.

i had thought they correlated with each other in terms of a certain number value has a certain descriptive value but i guess not?

[xenofur]

the number is the QL, quality level, which is simply the level of the item ^^
the descriptive quality makes it possible to differentiate items of varying quality of the same level

[sonmica]

so they are related to each other then?

is it safe to say i can ignore the descriptive quality and just go by the numbers?

thanks

[sidusar]

No, they're not related. Both are a different measure of the quality.

Let's say for example, you have fine Q20 materials. You could use that to make a fine Q20 sword. If you had fine Q30 materials, you could use those to make a fine Q30 sword, which will generally better than a fine Q20 sword. With choice Q20 materials, you can make a choice Q20 sword, which will also be better than a fine Q20 sword, and might even be better than the fine Q30 sword.

I say generally, because even a fine sword (made of fine materials) can be better than a choice sword (made of choice materials) of the same quality level, depending on what materials were used.

I think I may be only confusing you more now... okay, let's try it this way. Choice buo fiber will have better statistics than fine buo fiber, no matter what the quality level. Q100 choice buo fiber however will have the same statistics as Q20 choice buo fiber. But the Q100 can be used to make a Q100 sword, which will have better damage than a Q20 sword made with the exact same materials (though other stats like the speed of the sword are independant of quality level).

Make any sense?

[sidusar]

I just thought maybe ampifiers will make it easier to explain. With basic Q20 materials, you can make a basic Q20 amplifier, that will boost spells by about 30%. But it will only work for spells up to level 20. With supreme Q20 materials, you can make a supreme Q20 amplifier that will boost spells by about 90%, but it will still only work for spells up to level 20. You cannot make an amplifier that boosts level 30 spells with Q20 materials, for that you need Q30 materials, whether they be basic or supreme.

[sonmica]

lol, i think you added an extra dimension to the knowledge i have of material qualities. so you're saying that the number quality will only relate to the word quality? hard to find the words to express my understanding but ... you're saying that each "word" quality has a spectrum as described by the "number" quality, say 1 - 200+ ... then the different spectrums overlap slightly so it's still possible for an item of "fine" quality to be better than an item of "choice" quality, but only within a certain range ...?

i'd like to draw a diagram hheh but i'm being sneaky coz i'm at work at the moment.

o.O

[sonmica]

I just thought maybe ampifiers will make it easier to explain. With basic Q20 materials, you can make a basic Q20 amplifier, that will boost spells by about 30%. But it will only work for spells up to level 20. With supreme Q20 materials, you can make a supreme Q20 amplifier that will boost spells by about 90%, but it will still only work for spells up to level 20. You cannot make an amplifier that boosts level 30 spells with Q20 materials, for that you need Q30 materials, whether they be basic or supreme.

>.>

you added a further dimension xD i understand very little of that bit

[magick1]

basic/fine/choice/excellent/supreme

If I am not mistaken, that is the class of the material/item (check the filter settings in the vendor window).
There are two other qualities, which can make it slightly confusing. Namely quality of the object; basic, medium, high. And quality of the object in terms of level (1-250, for some materials 250+).
To make matters worse, there is no common ground when refereing to these, but it is often obvious from context what quality means (usually the level of the item).
I think the most prevailing way looks somewhat like this: supreme HQ q200 heal amp, which means a magic healing amplifier made from supreme materials using "level" 200+ materials in a high quality crafting plan.

[sonmica]

There are two other qualities, which can make it slightly confusing...

hheh, i feel like i'm in newbie school or something ... but i like complex systems in games, gives me a sense of accomplishment when i master it.

is all that you said above in addition to what sidusar said or contrary to it? also, i know where to find the basic/fine/choice/excellent/supreme tags (the class?), and i think i know where the "level" tags are (bottom right of the icon?) but how do i know if an item is basic/medium/high?

[sidusar]

Heh, making me realize just how complicated our craft system is. You don't stop to think about it anymore once it comes natural

Okay, I'll try again:
Ampifier made of basic, quality 20 materials: Makes spells 30% more powerfull, only works for spells up to level 20.
Amplifier made of supreme, quality 20 materials: Makes spells 90% more powerfull, only works for spells up to level 20.
Ampifier made of basic, quality 50 materials: Makes spells 30% more powerfull, only works for spells up to level 50.
Amplifier made of supreme, quality 50 materials: Makes spells 90% more powerfull, only works for spells up to level 50.
That better?