Have you ever been stuck trying to figure out how you're going to format your item application?
Has someone ever sent you on a journey into my DMs in search of artificing help?
Have you harassed me relentlessy on discord to make this?
If so, this may be the guide for you.
What is the point of this guide?:
Well, quite simply, the intention of this guide is to give a more in depth look at the general format for the creation of item applications, whether it be for artificing or alchemy, or anything inbetween.
If it's an item app, this guide should help. I won't be going over some of the more nuanced aspects, such as telling stories through item applications and some of the more unique traits/abilities you can request on items, as they're something generally learned over time.
Why am I the one writing this?:
While I'm far from the most veteran player of Eternia (as of writing this, I started playing only a little over a year ago), as of late I've become relatively infamous for what some have called 'absurd quality' item apps to the point of it basically being a meme.
The item app admins both love and hate my work, and while that shouldn't be used as a standard, I'm trying to use the information I've gleamed from my time writing item apps to make things a bit easier for others through this guide.
Part I - The Basic Outline/Formatting:
For reference, I will be using the basic outline provided here by Chance himself, and expanding upon it. If things come easily to you, then you could honestly just use what's written on that page and not have to read the rest of this.
Quote:Item Name:
Description:
Scene (with the artificer):
Materials:
Stats (suggestion):
Sprite (link):
i) Item Name:
This is easy, and very self explanatory, HOWEVER picking a name that is thematically appropriate to the item in some way will always earn some bonus points.
ii) Description:
This part is one that people often find themselves intimidated with, and it's usually the most sluggish step to get through without proper motivation (except maybe the creation of the app as a whole itself).
My personal recommendation is that writing the item description should be saved as the absolute last step if you're having trouble with this part, and use all of the accumulated information and fluff you've developed yourself over the course of creating the item to flesh out the details. While my item descriptions can be pretty excessive at times, here's an example of one of my own works if you'd like a reference (tldr, a wind-themed magatama pendant).
Quote:Skycaller's Magatama [PENDANT]
1885AC - Forged by Majin Okabe
"Across the oceans in the distant land of Sheng, there are many different regions which comprise the foreign island nation as a whole... And across it, countless cultural symbols which stand to represent various concepts.
To the uncultured eye, this lime-green bauble in particular has little more appearance than the shape of a number six or comma with a hole in its center, with an uncanny shift in the air about it.
However, to those with the necessary knowledge, one may correctly identify this extremely well-crafted pendant as taking the form of a Magatama. In Sheng, these small curved stones are renowned for their status as symbols of good luck or protection... However by the creator of this one in particular, these aspects seemed to have been cranked up to a proverbial eleven.
About its very presence, the air finds itself contorting and bending to the bearers will, with the very glass-like substance which composes the Magatama itself being pure air magic itself which in turn originated from none other than an elemental's core. Hanging in tandem from a chain about the cap of the Magatama is a feather which seems to further accentuate the aeromantic properties, making this charm an ideal possession of one whose magic calls upon those of the skies themselves.
On the top of the Magatama, the cap which secures it to the shimmering arcanium chain seems to be made out of a strange bone plated in an immensely durable material which serves as the home to this pendant's many glimmering golden runes, the characters holding a striking beauty against the cap's otherwise onyx surface. Care seems to have been taken to ensure that each of the runes make the most from the latent magic reservoir within the Magatama itself, further bolstering the wearer's defensive capabilities and allowing it to truly excel where other such accessories fail.
Found upon the front of the cap's surface is the bold makers mark of a grinning oni's visage, its head wreathed in a crown of thorns, denoting its creation by the artificer Majin Okabe."
[UNIQUE]
[SHENG]
iii) Scenes:
This part is another one that people get stuck up on very easily. While you can have as many as one, to dozens of logs for a single item, here's my general tips.
- Include relevant event logs and precursors to the actual forging, or any logs of obtaining dev items that you can.
- Split things up. Doing everything in one log will generally lower the quality of the app overall. For example, beginning the crafting with an appraisal and explanation of your intention for each of the item will help you plan things ahead and give you ideas for how to do things one step at a time.
- Include short summaries of each crafting log, and PLEASE put them in chronological order if possible.
- Take your time. Item apps don't need to be churned out in a day, and the creation of a unique item should be special! While I have done such myself, I generally recommend against it as it is extremely easily to get burnt out by doing such without taking breaks.
- Don't do solo crafting rp! As with the above, this is an easy way to get burned out, and solo logs are generally scrutinized harder than logs which include other people. Coming up with creative ways to include other people, or even just having another person present for back and forth will make things much smoother.
iv) Materials:
Whether or not you plan to include anything from a fire crystal to a Chiron, my recommendations for this part are the same. Copy and pasting the full description and tags of any dev items you're using into the app will help the journal admins reviewing get a better idea of how the effects tie into the item you're creating.
As an addendum, you should do your best to make sure the items you're putting into an application actually make sense for what you're creating. For example, one should not shove several occult themed items into a holy based item and expect to get fantastic stats on it. Try to keep things thematic, and incorporate each item into the app in a creative way! If you're just kinda tossing items in there because you can, without really fleshing out what they're doing in there, maybe reconsider adding the item and save it for a future project.
v) Stats:
This is a spot where people generally get confused, but there are outlines for weapon stats (except for unarmed, lol owned) which can be found in the discord (provided by Chance), but for the sake of levity I'll put them here, along with the table outlining what each tier of weapon represents + examples (provided by Yinadale)
Tier Explanations Wrote:TIER SSS: Legendary -
A lore artifact of tremendous power. Either the weapon of a major lore figure uncovered for an equally dire reason, or built out of a SS weapon.
EX: Caliburn, Yahoel, Balmung
TIER SS: Wonder -
A player uncovered or forged artifact that has survived several generations and notable events and fights that have changed the course of gameplay, devved out of a Tier S blade, and perhaps restored or recovered through event. Must have been passed down between players and involved exceptional strife.
EX: Crossroads, Insatiable, Tome of Maltziel
TIER S: Venerated -
A weapon that should be an artifact passed down between generations or recovered, or used in a major plot event and key to a major turning point in history. This weapon should be already signature to a character, and ideally made out of a lower level of weapon.
EX: Eternity’s Edge, Helheim Warden, Aeternuslyn
TIER A: Remarkable -
A weapon with exceptional thematic relevance to a character, developed through high risk and direct influence in events. Ideally, made out of upgrading a Tier B weapon after putting it through fire and flame of active use.
TIER B: Exceptional -
A weapon that has gone above and beyond in terms of reward, ideally made out of effort that would have created at least a Tier D weapon for a base, and then applied for. Requires development materials and gathering of value.
TIER C: Ultra Arcanium -
Obtainable through exceptionally difficult ordinary gameplay, or solid dev and a Tier D blade.
TIER D: Arcanium -
Obtainable through difficult ordinary gameplay.
Mage Weapon Outline Wrote:TIER SSS: Legendary - 90 pow, 7 ele pow
TIER SS: Wonder - 85 pow, 6 ele pow
TIER S: Venerated - 75 pow, 5 ele pow
TIER A: Remarkable - 70 pow, 3 ele pow
TIER B: Exceptional - 65 pow, 2 ele pow
TIER C: Ultra Arcanium Staff - 63 pow
TIER D: Arcanium Staff - 58 pow
Armed Weapon Outline Wrote:TIER SSS: Legendary - 70, 30 phys, 6 ele pow
TIER SS: Wonder - 65 pow, 30 phys, 5 ele pow
TIER S: Venerated - 63 pow, 30 phys, 4 ele pow
TIER A: Remarkable - 60 pow, 30 phys, 3 ele pow
TIER B: Exceptional - 55 pow, 25 phys, 2 ele pow
TIER C: Ultra Arcanium Sword - 53 pow, 25 phys
TIER D: Arcanium Sword - 48 pow, 25 phys
In the case of non-weapon items with stats, such as armor or accessories, my advice is to provide a general idea of what stats you'd like to see on an item. For example, requesting additional vitality, mana, agility, etc. and potential downsides to balance things which seem thematically appropriate, such as +weight, -mana, -ele def, etc. can all be given to form a general outline that can be used by the admins reviewing the application to come up with something fair for the perceived effort put into it.
vi) Sprite:
This part isn't actually that important, but including a screenshot of the sprite you plan to use can help add some flare to the application. Sprites can generally just be provided upon the creation of the item after its approval, rather than it being something that needs to be included within the application itself.
Part II - Formatting Your Application:
The fantastic thing about this is that as long as you include all of the above, generally you can do this however you want. It can be as over the top, or simplistic as your heart desires, but for the sake of actually justifying this part existing, let me include what format I use for my own item applications. If you'd like ideas of how other predominant artificers do their applications, I recommend looking through the archive section of the forums, in particular Amelia pyr Aertas' by Ludi.
1) Thread Title:
This part doesn't actually matter too much, but the format I use is "Artificer Name - Item Slot - Item Name"
2) Application Format:
This'll have little explanation besides just the outline itself, so don't expect any commentary besides some filler for the spaces to give a general barebones idea of how a completed app would look like. Feel free to use or edit this template as you see fit.
Quote:Name: (Item Name)
Creator: (Artificer, aka you)
Year Created: XXXX AC
Slot: [WEAPON], [TORSO], etc.
Additional Craftsman: (Anybody else included in the process of making this item.)
Description:
(Description goes here)
Materials:
MATERIAL EXAMPLE [SHIELD]
"A material example lmao, this text is just here to fill things out a bit."
Boost: None
[Shiny Rock]
15x fire crystals
1x Soulsteel
Logs:
#1 - Event (CoD Event)
ARTIFICER went out on a magical and extravagant journey, and got promptly owned (-40 vit permanent injury), however managed to receive a MATERIAL EXAMPLE and 1x soulsteel from the endeavor.
#2 - Materials
ARTIFICER talked over his plans for the creation of the item.
#3 - Artificing
ARTIFICER did some artificing by slamming several fire crystals together and shoving them into the Shiny Rock material, and then merging it with the soulsteel through his magic to bind it to himself.
#4 - Rune Work
ARTIFICER put on the runes to finish everything up.
Suggested Stats:
+1 fire pow, +1 earth defense
Additional Notes:
I'd like the resulting rock to be soulbound. Thanks.
3) Flare
Adding artwork and anything to spice up the presentation of the application isn't necessary, but definitely helps make the end product more likely to be something you'll be proud of. This is all up to you to figure out for yourself so I won't bother saying much here other than that.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, item apps are a lot of work. You may suffer, you may cry, but in the end hopefully you'll get something equal to the blood, sweat, and tears you put into your project.
I hope this helps you on your journey.
CREDITS:
- Ludi "Wanted dead in several countries around the world for countless war crimes" Ludster, for suffering through reading my item applications and helping me out when I was newer to it.
- Avajain, for the above too but she had to review my item apps first.
- Shadovarn, for showing me his E1 logs of Ulfdyr forging stuff and inspiring me to git gud at artificing.
- Amelia pyr Aertas, Johannes Alabast, and Alistair ven Pelleaux's journals.
![[Image: corpoggo.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/872677653772136530/1013958085448044584/corpoggo.png)