a couple of crafting questions...

So i have just started crafting...

i made about 1 filter before i decided that making filters was crap, decided not to bother with crafting...

but then, whilst out on a hunt/mine, i got 30 ped deposits of iron and belkar and a little melchi, so i started crafting jester d1's and to my surprise my success rate is around 50%. Is this normal for first time crafting? coud it be because my laser weapons tech is high? and maybe engineering etc from mining? ... just wondered if perhaps the best way to skill crafting is to mine and hunt? and my final question - anyone want to buy a shedload of jester d1's?

well, yea, there are tersiary skills in crafting, and different ways to skill it: Scanning robots, lwt for makin lasers, blpwt for making bpl weapons, even mining increases engeneering. but most importantly, while ur CoS may suck major trox balls at the beginning, it is the cheapest way to skill Engeneering, and thats why most people skill on either filters or dampaners. plus remember, the QR of your bp has a big influence on your CoS and will increase in time, so the more you craft and stick to it, the better your outcome will be. i'd say, yes as you already have some lwt skill, you do have an edge in making jesters.

also, yes components crafting is mostly useless - especially the filters and dampers you skill on to get engeneering skills, but again, its the cheapest way to skill it. and you will lose out at the beginning for a long time. compared to what money you've put in, i'd say no low lvl crafting (especially at zero skill) can be proffitable. also, im no expert at this, but i'd say jesters are tt food lol. not that many people want to buy it, as the opalo is so much more better.

have fun with it and i hope i havent put you off lol

i dont think i explained myself well enough there, i thot that 50% for jesters on first attempts was rather high, but as i say im a total beginner...

anyway, yeah ive put most of them into the tt, sold a few at tt+0.5 and tt+1 but its a slog. i think i'll just keep going, ive been rather lucky when started out on things, (global on first 2 mining runs, esi from first ripper snapper encounter) so maybe ill loot lots of peds of residue or a maddox IV bp we shall see, but to keep my costs down ive been trying to use metals ive mined myself. i know i coud lose with the mining and wpould maybe be better off buying them, but as i say i seem to have been really lucky so far, and usually get some nice finds as a explode the expanses of eudoria...

Your CoS varies alot.
I still have some excel sheets somewhere where i kept track of a lot of data for every run.
CoS varies from 35% to 60%.
Etopia posted nice graph somewhere about this, i did similair tests and came with the exact same numbers.

Edit: here it is https://www.planetcalypsoforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21165&highlight=real+cos
CoS varies from 25% to 60%

oh ok - well yes, all lvl I bps have a good CoS to begin with, even with no skill. as you look at the higher lvls, ull see that the CoS falls dramatically.

oh, and even if you do get urslef a maddox IV bp, the materials are non-existant - they drop very rarely, and are just too expensive. and with your current skill, expect your CoS to be 0%

I have found that most times I try a new activity or hunt in a new area, I have much higher than normal success. First time I crafted Basic Filters, I hit a 135 PED global, for example. Never hit another one with them, though.

It could just be variance, or it could be MA's way of hooking me into branching out.