Fletching Guide

Fletching Guide is an Official GemStone IV Document, and it is protected from editing. As it is a guide originally published on the official play.net website, it may be out of date and can only be updated by a member of staff.

All you need to know about fletching!

Needed Materials

Shafts

• Shafts can be obtained by cutting up certain woods, polearms, or bones from creatures. They are the essential for fletching.
• Known items: Halberds, lances, logs from kobold mines and Uxbri's tents, quarter staves, bone golem, etc.
• Estimated cost: 0 - 200 silvers (dependent on item)

Handaxe based OHE

• Majority of the handaxe based OHE's can be used to cut up wood for shafts.
• Known items: Handaxe, waraxe, balta, broad axe, crescent axe, francisca, hatchet, meat cleaver, miner's axe, moon axe, sparte, taper, toporok
• Estimated cost: 135 silvers for a handaxe located at Tykel's Arms in the Landing

Fletching glue

• Glue is used to hold the fletchings onto the shaft.
• Platinum - Glue can be obtained in the marquee located at front of Ta'Illistim's gate. Also at Ta'Vaalor's fletching shop.
• Prime - Glue can be obtained at the wagon located east of the dinghy outside North Gate at the Landing. Also at Ta'Vaalor's fletching shop.
• Estimated cost: 50 silvers

Dagger based OHE

• Daggers based OHE's are used to whittle the shafts into shape.
• Known items: bodkin, dagger, butcher knife, cinquedea, dirk, misericord, parazonium, pavade, poignard, pavade, pugio, scramasax, stiletto
• Estimated cost: 6 silvers for a dagger located at Tykel's Arms in the Landing

A crossbow or bow

• Depending on whether you're making arrows or bolts, you need one the weapon for it to measure the shafts against.
• Check your local archery shop.
• Estimated cost: 60 - 1250 silvers

Fletching

• Fletchings can be purchased in the same locations mentioned in the "Fletching glue" section.
• Fletchings can also be obtained from the wilds! This will be explained further into the guide at the FLETCHING FAQ section.
• Estimated cost: 0 - 25 silvers

Optional

Nature not good enough for ya? Well, there's a bunch of ways to spice up your arrows. You do not need these items, but they're nice.

• Paintsticks - They can be used to make crests or bands on your arrows and are obtained in same place the other stuff are.
• Paint - You can dye your arrow into one color with this stuff. Same location as the glue, and others too.
• Razor - These are used to cut feathers you find in the wilds into fletchings. Located same as the other stuff. Check the Fletching FAQ section for more info.
• Estimated cost: 200 silvers for each

So you've got all your stuff? Great! Onward we go...

Basic Fletching Commands

WARNING: Start over at step #1 again if you should fail at any of the steps and discard your shaft.

You can make arrows, heavy bolts, or light bolts. SKIP step #4 if you're making bolts.

1. Cutting shafts.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to use log here as an example. Have some wood and your handaxe based OHE out.

For arrows
CUT ARROWS FROM MY LOG

For heavy bolts
CUT HEAVY BOLTS FROM MY LOG

For light bolts
CUT LIGHT BOLTS FROM MY LOG

2. Paring your shaft.

Put away your handaxe and shafts in your container.
GET 1 SHAFT FROM MY <CONTAINER>
GET MY DAGGER

Your shaft should be in your right hand and dagger in your left.
CUT SHAFT WITH MY DAGGER

3. Painting and cresting your shaft.

This step is OPTIONAL. You can skip this step and go straight to #4. You can also use the combination of 2 paintsticks on one shaft.

Put your dagger away.
For painting - this dyes your whole arrow
GET MY PAINT FROM MY <CONTAINER>
PAINT MY SHAFT

For cresting - this adds bands or crests to your arrow
GET MY PAINTSTICK FROM MY <CONTAINER>
PAINT MY SHAFT

You must wait until the paint dries before proceeding to the next step.

4. Nocking shafts.

This step is ONLY for arrows. Bolts go straight to step #5.

Get out your dagger again.
CUT NOCKS IN MY SHAFT WITH MY DAGGER

5. Measuring shafts.

Put away your dagger.
Get out your crossbow or bow depending on what you're making.

Crossbows only
COCK MY CROSSBOW
MEASURE MY SHAFT WITH MY <CROSSBOW/BOW>

6. Marking your shaft.

Put away your crossbow or bow.
Get out your dagger again.
CUT SHAFT WITH MY DAGGER

7. Glue!

Put away your dagger.
Get out your fletching glue.
PUT MY GLUE ON MY SHAFT

You MUST complete this step and the next within 25 seconds or else the glue will dry.

8. Fletchings.

Put away your glue.
Get out your fletchings. You must have at least 3 fletchings in your bundle.
PUT MY FLETCHING ON MY SHAFT

You MUST wait until the glue dries before proceeding to step #9.

9. Whittling a point.

Put away your fletchings.
Get out your trusty dagger again.
CUT SHAFT WITH MY DAGGER

CONGRATS! If you've just finished the last step, you should now hold an arrow or a bolt in your hand.

What? You need more information on fletching? Move onto the next section then...

Fletching FAQ

1. I see people with nifty fletchings I can't find or purchase at the shops. Where can I get me some of 'em?
You can get your very own fletchings from the wilds. All you need is a fletching razor and the ability to kill everything in sight. After you kill the creature, you skin it. If the creature's skin can be fletched, you CUT WITH MY RAZOR.

2. Neat. So what are the creatures available for me to fletch from?
Currently, cockatrice, snowy cockatrice, plumed cockatrice, blood eagles, black-winged daggerbeaks, colossus vultures, dreadnought raptors, storm griffins, and the raven feather from the Ravenswood neighborhood.

3. Um, why aren't my arrows bundling?
You can only bundle identical items and since there's a lot of variables in fletching, that's the reason. It could be one of the many factors such as using different material, breakage, description, or quality.

4. How come I can fail on some steps and some not?
There are 4 "checkpoints" for arrows (3 for bolts) where there's a chance of you either gaining a rank, failing, or progressing onto the next step. Only the latter two are mutually exclusive, BTW.

5. Rank? What's a rank?
You gain a rank everytime you see the "That was a little easier. Perhaps you are growing more skillful?" messaging.

6. How many ranks are there in total?
500 ranks to master fletching. However, it is possible to gain ranks a little bit faster or slower depending on your intelligence stat.

7. Is there anyway I can find out how many ranks I have?
Yes, the in-game command ARTISAN SKILLS now gives you the exact number of ranks you have achieved with that character.

8. I noticed there's different messaging on the last step. What's up with that?
This is one of the methods to help you keep track of how many ranks you have if you didn't count at the beginning or have no idea of how many you have. It shows you the quality of what your arrows are.

9. Do you have the list of the qualities?
Why, yes! I do, heh. Not necessarily in this order since it's a guess so far... barely serviceable, crude, rough, average, decent, very serviceable, relatively sharp, extremely sharp and perfect.

10. So what's the benefit of fletching your own arrows?
Self gratification? Heh, just kidding. At nearing master, your arrows should gain a natural bonus of +5. Also the breakage on it should be better than store sold arrows.

11. I SUCK! Help Me Please!
You'll get decent at about 250 ranks, don't worry about it. Everyone stinks at the beginning.

12. Why don't my fletchings and crests/painting both show up?
The cresting overwrites the fletching or else you'd have an arrow two lines long. What an eyesore.

13. Are cutting the shaft and whittling the point considered two different skills like forging with crafting and forging?
No, you master at the total of 500... regardless of which step you got a rank on.

14. I heard of another type of material I can for shafts. Is that correct?
Yes, you can get bone shafts from certain creatures in the game. Bone golems and skeletal giants are among few.

15. Can the +5 bonus from the arrows I made from fletching add up to be more than the +50 limit when I shoot it with an enchanted bow?
Nope. The limit is still set at +50 when you shoot it.

16. How do we know if we mastered?
To quote Taelrand, "You'll know when ya do."

17. Is it possible to make average arrows at a higher skill level?
Yep. There's a chance to make an average one, no matter your skill level, until you pass a certain number of ranks. You'll either make an average one, or one that represents your skill level. And that stops after you reach a certain point too.

Acknowledgement and Thanks

Nephrenia, for creating the guide.

GM Taelrand, for creating Fletching.

Posters on the boards, for sharing their information.

Pudgee, for supplying a log with more detailed information.

Cattriona, for proofreading and formatting the guide for mentors.play.net.