General information | Woodworking ESO guide, tips
Last update: 11 May 2016
Woodworking allows you to create items from various types of wood - the end products are Staffs, Shields and Bows.
Woodworking, in contrast to the previously described branches of crafting, comes in handy for almost any class in the game, independently of their tactic or their character build. Every class fighting in close range, who rely on a one-handed weapon, will need Woodworking in order to craft an appropriate shield, a great deal of characters relying on magic will use different types of Staffs, and no rogue fighting from afar can do anything without a good bow.
Below you will find a table describing all the abilities available to you in the Woodworking branch.
Icon | Name and Rank | Description of the ability | Requirements |
Woodworking I | Allows you to make and use Sanded Maple. | Woodworking 1 | |
Woodworking II | Allows you to make and use Sanded Oak. | Woodworking 5 | |
Woodworking III | Allows you to make and use Sanded Beech. | Woodworking 10 | |
Woodworking IV | Allows you to make and use Sanded Hickory. | Woodworking 15 | |
Woodworking V | Allows you to make and use Sanded Yew. | Woodworking 20 | |
Woodworking VI | Allows you to make and use Sanded Birch. | Woodworking 25 | |
Woodworking VII | Allows you to make and use Sanded Ash. | Woodworking VI | |
Woodworking VIII | Allows you to make and use Sanded Mahogany | Woodworking VII | |
Woodworking IX | Allows you to make and use Sanded Nightwood. | Woodworking VIII | |
Keen Eye: Wood I | Wood in the world will be easier to spot if you come within 20 meters of it. | Woodworking 2 | |
Keen Eye: Wood II | Wood in the world will be easier to spot if you come within 30 meters of it. | Woodworking 9 | |
Keen Eye: Wood III | Wood in the world will be easier to spot if you come within 40 meters of it. | Woodworking 30 | |
Lumberjack Hireling I | A Lumberjack Hireling will send you various types of woods and/or other items connected with Woodworking once a day. The items are delivered when you are logged out. | Woodworking 3 | |
Lumberjack Hireling II | A Lumberjack Hireling will send you various types of woods and/or other items connected with Woodworking once a day. Possibility of getting more wood and better items. The items are delivered when you are logged out. | Woodworking 12 | |
Lumberjack Hireling III | A Lumberjack Hireling will send you various types of woods and/or other items connected with Woodworking once a day. Higher possibility of getting more wood and better items. The items are delivered when you are logged out. | Woodworking 32 | |
Wood Extraction I | Increases the chances of extracting Woodworking ingredients while deconstructing an item. | Woodworking 4 | |
Wood Extraction II | Greatly increases the chances of extracting Woodworking ingredients while deconstructing an item. | Woodworking 22 | |
Wood Extraction III | Maximizes the chances of extracting Woodworking ingredients while deconstructing an item. | Woodworking 32 | |
Carpentry I | Reduces research times by 5% and allows the research of two items at once. | Woodworking 8 | |
Carpentry II | Reduces research times by 10% and allows the research of two items at once. | Woodworking 18 | |
Carpentry III | Reduces research times by 20% and allows the research of three items at once. | Woodworking 28 | |
Resin Expertise I | Increases the chances of improving an item with Resins. | Woodworking 10 | |
Resin Expertise II | Greatly increases the chances of improving an item with Resins. | Woodworking 25 | |
Resin Expertise III | Doubles the chances of improving an item with Resins. | Woodworking 40 |
Explanation
As you can see, there's a plethora of abilities to choose from (and it's only a single branch of crafting!), which is why you should be extra careful on which of them you should spend your skill points, in order to spare some on other skill lines.
The absolutely mandatory are three of them:
1. Woodworking (obviously all the way to the 9th level, to gain access to all the wood types available in the game)
2. Carpentry - the research times in game mount up to ridiculous levels (if you want to be able to use all the traits for a single item, you will need to spend real-time DAYS to do so!), and that is precisely why you much spend all 3 points in this ability, to greatly reduce the research time itself, as well as be able to research 3 items at once. Without this one you can simple forget about becoming a successful crafter.
3. Resin Expertise - upgrading the items is, besides the sole process of creating them, an extremely important aspect, as it allows you to drastically enhance a given item - be it the values of the item itself (the damage of the weapon), a trait or even an enhancement put on an item through the Enchanting process. By increasing the chance of a successful improvement, you basically reduce the number of Resin (will be explained later on) required in the process. That is precisely why this ability is so important. The whole process of upgrading an item will be explained later.
An ability worth noting is the Keen Eye: Wood, which, after investing a point in it, will make the nearby (the distance is dependent on the level of the ability) wood more visible (they have a slight glow), allowing you to notice them a lot easier. A single point in this ability is more than enough, if you have at least basic ability of perception and are aware of your surroundings.
If you want to make Woodworking your bread and butter, you should invest in the Wood Extraction as well - the ability increases the chances of getting various Woodworking components, as well as Resins (which are quite hard to find through other means) through the process of deconstructing items, and the more "free" components (and Resins) you are able to get for your crafting branch, the better.
The last ability, Lumberjack Hireling, can be completely omitted - getting a few units of wood (or a Resin, though it is quite rare) may be tempting, but, most of the time, it is simply reduced to a situation, when you get a small number of useless wood, which you can find on your own in a matter of a few minutes. If you don't have anything better to invest points into, you can think about this ability - otherwise, forget about it.