The Smithing skill gets a revamp as some renowned dwarven smiths move to south-east Falador to open the Artisans Workshop. Their workshop offers a wide variety of training activities, which should prove attractive to smiths of ALL levels. Head there with a stack of ore and your trusty hammer, and get stuck in. The workshop houses four different training methods to make Smithing more varied and enjoyable to train.
Track Room
The artisans are keen to link their workshop to the major dwarven cities, so they can ship in ores and transport their cargo securely. Apart from long-suffering Sten, few artisans are willing to get their hands dirty and actually build the mine cart tracks that will link their workshop to the rest of dwarven civilisation.
As such, any budding smith can lend a hand, making it a perfect place for low-level smiths to start out. While the experience rates aren’t high, the artisans will provide all necessary materials – just bring your hammer. Free-players will be able to make bronze and iron tracks; members will also be able to make steel tracks.
Burial Amour
The life of a dwarf is perilous: miners die in cave-ins all the time, warriors are statistically more likely to be smooshed by a troll than to make it to the end of their shift, and a smith’s lungs are blacker than the coal they work with. It’s not all doom and gloom, though, as when they die they will at least be buried in some spectacular artisan burial armour – that’s where you come in.
Level 30+ smiths are deemed worthy to make this most holy of armours. With the choice of different types of armour (miner, warrior and smith) and different grades (iron and steel for F2P, plus mithril, adamant and rune for members), there are a variety of experience rates and costs for a smith to choose from. If you make armour in line with Suak’s (the teacher) orders, you’ll earn that little bit of extra experience.
Cannon Repair
Where do dwarf multicannons go when they decay? They don’t add to your carbon footprint, that’s for sure. In a move that’s motivated by thrift rather than ecological concerns, the artisan dwarves have taken to repairing discarded cannons in the caves below their workshop.
This method offers great experience rates for members at level 62+ (comparable to gold smelting with Family Crest gold-smithing gauntlets) for a reasonable cost, but the higher your Smithing level, the cheaper it becomes.
Ceremonial Swords
The jewel in the artisan dwarves’ crown is the knowledge of how to make ceremonial swords. These swords are coveted across the breadth of RuneScape due to their individuality and beauty.
If you’re level 70+ member you’ll be able to precisely smith these swords via an interface. It can be tricky to master, but once you know what you’re doing the ceremonial swords offer some of the highest experience rates Smithing has to offer. Don’t worry if you’re not quite level 70, as you might occasionally be called upon to help out while working on other things in the workshop, and have a taste for free (even free-players).
Rewards
While this update is intended to introduce new training methods, working in the workshop will earn the artisans’ begrudging respect, which can be traded in with Elof for rewards. These include better experience while following Suak’s orders when smithing burial armour; ceremonial swords you can keep once you’ve forged them; and cosmetic upgrades for your own dwarf multicannon.
Mod Edam
RuneScape Content Developer
In other news...
Even the normal dwarf multicannon has had a graphical redesign, so you don't need to visit the Artisans Workshop to nab yourself a new-look cannon.