I apologize for nothing Reddyne!
I just beat up this stupid golem thing that I could only damage with magic or counter splash damage and I still don't really know what to do in the workshop effectively :V
I've been reminded of the following things that shouldn't spoil very much of anything but will hopefully dispell some
's about weapons and armor smithing since it's such a big thing:
1. There's an axe, sword, crossbow, spear, knife, 2 handed sword, and club all before the first workshop. NONE of them combine into anything useful. x.x
2. Shields are not nearly as complex as weapons. If what you get is better than the last one, do it. Early on I think it goes (lvl 1 shield) + (lvl 2 shield) = (lvl 3 shield). Later that changes to (lvl 8 shield) x 2 = (lvl 9 shield). You will eventually be able to put stat boost gems in them too.
3. Braveheart gems are fantastic almost to a fault.
4. At the start, the hilt barely matters. As you progress, the hilt becomes almost as important as the weapon itself.
5. Armor's a lot of whatever when smithing. If what you get is better than what you had, go for it. There's more cross-breeding than with shields in that you can go across armor types, but just keep plugging away to make stuff better. I wound up with a glove about 4 levels higher than the starting bandage.
6. Silver and damascus are super rare and tough to make from raw materials. Try to keep them as they are. This goes threefold for damascus.
7. WEAPON STRENGTHS AND TYPES MATTER. It's good to keep a couple weapons as back-ups because they're strong against a particular type. There's slash/blunt/pierce weapons, elemental affinities, and affinities for specific types of monsters. It also means that piece of junk hanging out in your inventory might be a mighty dragonslayer, too.
8. Your damage is the estimated damage plus 1-5. If you get an estimated NOTHING out of the first strike, keep chain attacks going and not only will you do damage but the damage will climb for each successful hit in a chain.
9. Both damage points and phantom points matter for maxing out effectiveness, but always repair your stuff when at the workshop!
EDIT: Oh and as a general tip, you can check the equipment setups of your enemies in the same room. I forgot exactly how to do so, but once you figure it out you'll know what enemies have equipped for armor/weapons and therefore who it might be worth picking fights with since they'll drop that same equipment. Some unique enemies also have uniquely named weapons, too.
