Correction. This appears to be a zonewide drop in Lavastorm. I discovered this while hunting Imp blood, and got a lot of saltpeter while killing the low level Fire Drakes to spawn Fire Imps. Far more than I got by the much slower process of hunting the Cinder and Solusek goblins.
These are now dropping off the A Defective Cleaner in Ak'anon ( a level 1 monster). Does not drop every time nor is it common but its not a rare drop (maybe 1 in 10 have it). Hope Daybreak doesn't realize this. LOL.
Drops randomly off of almost every mob in zone....not sure about rock dervishes. I have noticed a wierd pattern though. Seems like for a while you will see it drop more often and then for a while instead of that tons of Bloodstones drop and there will be no saltpeter for like 50 mobs. It could be a coincidence but I farmed it for reseach for about a week and noticed this happen often.
Saltpeters are now used extensively in the new Research tradeskill. You need 3 saltpeters to make 1 aqua regia which is used in solutions that you need to clean the parchments, vellums, papers, spell scrolls and so forth that are used to make the spell. You can buy these solutions at vendors but at a very large markup. Example: the solution you need to prepare a level 63 spell will either cost you 591 pp at the vendor, or around 180 pp if you make it yourself with the saltpeters. The saltpeters and Crystallized Sulfurs are the only dropped items that you need to make the solution and sulfurs are pretty darn common. So it comes down to the saltpeters, which are therefore in pretty high demand in the bazaar.
Having said all this I would still not pay more then around 25-35 pp for them. :) any more expensive and I will go out and farm them myself. :D
Prior to DoDH, is there any way of raising spell research from strictly store bought items? I have been searching for a way and I cannot seem to find it. Any help would be appreciated.
The new spell research in DoD Expansion requires use of this and crystallized sulfur. Both appear to be drop only items. These items are used to create the very rudimentary supplies to start spell research with the new system. Did SoE really make the new research system this cumbersome, labor intensive, and difficult to use???
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Raidjin Soulripper 70 Necromancer Immortal Brethren Guild Drinal Server
Prior to DoDh, is there any way to raise research skill past 100 using strictly store bought items? Ive been searching for a way and there doesnt seem to be one. Any help would be appreciated
Really dont see why this is such a bad thing...for old style research all the important stuff was dropped. Only thing you could buy was the parchments and the quills. Saltpeter and Sulfur you can find on merchants when peeps sell it to them. Or you can buy it in the bazaar. They made the new system a little more cumbersome since we are now able to make spells that used to be only gotten from no drop items, or even spells that you had to buy from LDoN ect....and it looks like you can cross research into other casters spells, unlike the old research which you were limited to your class and the Wisdom caster spells.
May be because there is no way for us to raise Research to 240-250ish with vendor sold items unlike most if not all other tradeskills ? May be because 65 PoP/ GoD spell combines are 351 trivial ?
Actually I am pleased to see the new gnome tinkering innovations. Sadly tinkering has been percieved as "broken" through the last several upgrades, with little more than the Rebreather being of functional use. Happily, however, with the new upgrades for fletching (the 30 36 bow with stats for example) make the idea of creating a gnome tinkerer much more appealing. With the cost of fletching so prohibative in the post 202 skill level, having a gnome around sure reduces the cost of things.
On a side note, I am curious as to what the gnomes will invent with this stuff ... Most presumeably, in my humble opinion, that they could/should be able to craft an explosive device (much like the purple potions of the old Ultima Online game) or perhaps a 1 shot cannnon (DD for 1,000 or so ... mitigated by high AC perhaps.
Envision for yourselves, a small army of 32 gnomes, armed with a cannon, facing your favorite Kunark dragon ....
Just a happy passing thought on some of the new innovations .... Happy exploring
I really really hope they haven't put this in to combine with Charcoal and Crystallised Sulphur - that would be a BAD road to go down. EQ is a swords and sorcery genre, not gunpowder era.