Don't bother with recipes for 0-3* items unless you want to craft them for other people. Just gather the mats and find someone to craft the items for you. It's much easier and cheaper that way.

Always tip your crafter.

"Furthermore, even a crafter who gives you the promised item may first screen it for a unique variant, keeping anything special that he likes and making another, plain one for you."

I honestly find this to be somewhat of a grey area-- why should the crafter be obligated to give the purchaser something that may fetch several tens of thousand of dollars when the customer (essentially) only paid the basic fee + crafting tip? I don't think there's anything wrong with a crafter "screening" for good UV's (unless, of course, it *was* agreed upon prior).

That said, Icee makes a lot of really valid points. It really is better to just buy the stuff sequentially and craft it for yourself. Really.

Icee: I'm sorry you've been scammed, but spreading FUD helps no one. It's never happened to me and I doubt it ever will. To say that honest crafters are in the minority is completely ridiculous. In any case, none of this applies to items above 3* so you aren't risking much.

There's nothing remotely wrong with crafters keeping UVs for themselves, as long as they do give you the item you paid for. You can always offer to pay fair market price for a good UV if it pops up, assuming you have a couple thousand CE to spend. Crafters will usually just give you the item if the UV isn't great.

New players should not buy recipes. Early on, 1k crowns is significant and UVs are not.

You think that 1K crowns for a recipe is significant for an item that costs 400 crowns, 50 energy, plus materials to craft and recommend against buying recipes in the same post in which you admit that the crafter won't turn over a valuable UV and that a UV may be worth thousands of CE. You're lying through your teeth and showing it clearly in your own cost analysis. If a UV may add thousands of CE (nearly 100K crowns) in value, and the chance at the UV only costs an extra 1K crowns, of course it makes sense to buy the recipe! You just want free shots at UVs from unsuspecting "customers" who pay you ("tip") for the "service" of giving you a free chance at a very valuable item in exchange for an item they could buy premade for half what it costs to get from you.

I've never been scammed because I'm not an idiot and I've never had anyone craft for me. I've watched people get scammed, though, and I've seen people attempt scams (like the guy wearing a wolver coat who was offering to craft an Ash tail coat for 100 energy when the recipe itself requires 200 energy). Not all attempted scams are obvious and lots of people have ended up out a lot of materials and energy because they trusted a stranger. Even the "honest" crafters, by your own admission, will keep good UVs for themselves despite the fact that they were crafted for another person with that person's resources. So even the "honest" price is exorbitant compared to buying your own recipe and making the item yourself.

In summary: The best thing, long-term, is to own your own recipe so you can get a UV. If you can't afford your own recipe or don't want to lay out the 1K crowns right now, it's far more economical to buy premade items than to pay someone to craft the item. You can get a premade demo helm or suit for 3K crowns (heck, I'll sell you one for that) and risk nothing. Crafting the item costs 400 crowns plus 50 energy, or about 2400 crowns, plus materials. Add in "tip" and it never makes sense to pay someone to craft for you. Buy a recipe or buy premade.

There's a 10% chance of UV, and any UV is worth something, even if it doesn't boost resale value much. If you get a good one, it boosts the value a lot, so there is a compelling reason to craft for yourself. Also, unless you get a good UV, there is a good reason to craft more down the road, so that 1K recipe can be put to a lot of use. I've personally made 6 demo helms looking for a UV so far. I got luckier on the armor with the second one having a UV of fire resist.

Also, since paying someone to craft for you nets you the exact same thing as buying the item premade, the only thing you gain by paying someone to craft is the risk of getting scammed. Buying premade is safer and even cheaper than pay-for-crafting. Some 2* items can be had for as little as 2K crowns premade now, which is less than the energy+crown cost of crafting even without a tip and you can get almost any premade 2* item for 3500 crowns or less with absolutely no risk of getting scammed.

Icee: "There's a 10% chance of UV"

Where did you get this number?

"If you get a good one, it boosts the value a lot"

That's true, but you probably won't get a good one. You're likely to get the wrong damage vs. enemy UV for the weapon's damage type, or something disastrous like attack speed on a bomb. You're very likely to get a Low ability rating, which is completely insignificant. So that's a low chance to get a good UV, multiplied by the chance of getting a UV in the first place, giving you a very low probability of any of this mattering.

"paying someone to craft for you nets you the exact same thing as buying the item premade"

Not if the player is providing most or all of the mats for the item. Having a 2* item crafted should cost around 2500 crowns with tip. That's 1000 crowns less than you mentioned for 2* premades, which is the same amount you say that players should spend on a recipe.

Trouserman: "If you are hired to perform a service, and part of that service is that it has a chance of creating a UV item, part of the value of that service is that chance of UV."

That's true, if the UV is part of the service, but it isn't. The implicit agreement is that you're paying for an item without a UV. If you care so much about this, mention to your crafter that you'd like any UV that's generated. They may charge a fee.

"It's not explicit, because you don't say outright that you will turn over a UV, but it is implicit. If you say "I will craft this item for you and give it to you," you imply that you will make an item and turn that item that you just made over to the buyer. This implies that any UVs would be given to the buyer."

I think you're projecting your personal desires at this point.
If someone gives me materials to craft an item, the basic understanding is "Here is the equation-- please complete the formula." I.E: If someone gives me 3 light shards and 2 gel drops, along with the requisite energy and crowns, I will be giving them a Haze Bomb.
If, on the extremely small chance I manage to produce a Charge Time reduction UV, I will, no question, craft another Bomb and give it to them.
This is the benefit of being the crafter in the exchange. Tips are often a pittance for the service provided.

If you want a UV, buy the recipe and craft it yourself.
If you *insist* on not buying the recipe and STILL want someone to turn lead to gold for you, you had better make sure you have an exacting agreement with your crafter that they relinquish any UV they obtain, and the tip should be reflectively higher prior to the crafting, if so.

While I can see your logic, I think we will have to agree to disagree.
Just some simple food for thought/argumentation:

There's nothing inherently wrong with being greedy-- economy is driven by it. Your charity is commendable, and perhaps you're a greater man than I (in this pixelated world), but I would say that your way breeds entitlement.

"If you do not deliver the chance of UV, you are not delivering on the formula."
That's right, I'm not. Because *I'm* the one with the working formula, as *I* am the one who made the financial investment; that is, as I explained earlier, my reward for both the undertaking of the craft and the investment of the recipe.

However.

You are very correct in that reasonable (as well as unreasonable) people may have differing viewpoints. I would say say that the in-between in when, if someone wants to claim a UV regardless of the proc/type, they should compensate you for that possibility accordingly, prior to the actual crafting. Not unlike playing the lottery.
That said and done, if the crafter were to *then* keep a really nice UV, there's really no justification of the pocketing of the UV.

I suppose we just have a difference of opinion on the "default service" in crafting.

It's always been my policy to surrender UV's, craft entirely at cost, and hope for tips.

Most people do not tip. The few that do, do not tip generously- sometimes just a 100 credits or something. One time I crafted a bomb for someone. It got High charge time reduction. I duly handed it over to him, and the guy tipped me 10ce (which back then was a little less then 400cr), and said "that was worth a tip", like HE was some kind of generous bigshot.

So yeah, although I currently still craft on a "you gets what I makes, UV or not" basis, I no longer judge people who keep UV's. Just so long as you are totally clear with the customer what you are doing, it's all good.