Selling LEGENDARY Tuning Fork: +15 to ALL Sonic Armaments

[ChromaticDragon]

WHAT IS IT:

I'm selling a blue vaalorn tuning fork that grants +15 to all Sonic armaments (bard songs 1012, 1009, 1014, and 1025).

This impressive item was announced as an addition to the LEGENDARY FEEDER treasure system last December by GM Estild, and was generously dropped by a lithe veiled sentinel that I killed during a hunt in the Sanctum of Scales in March. It has not been used.

Below is a look at the fork, and the container in which it was found.

>open my reliquary
You open a filigreed rolaren reliquary with a colorful cloisonne lid.

>look in reliquary
In the rolaren reliquary you see a blue vaalorn tuning fork.

>get fork
You remove a blue vaalorn tuning fork from in your rolaren reliquary.

>analyze my fork
You analyze your vaalorn tuning fork and sense that the item is largely free from merchant alteration restrictions.

The creator has also provided the following information:

A blue vaalorn tuning fork can be used to enhance sonic armaments.
It will boost the enchantment of Sonic Weapon Song (1012) by 15.
It will boost the enchantment of Sonic Shield Song (1009) by 15.
It will boost the enchantment of Sonic Armor (1014) by 15.
It will boost the enchantment of Singing Sword Song (1025) by 15.
It is not currently attuned to anyone.

You get no sense of whether or not the fork may be further lightened.


WHAT DOES THE FORK ACTUALLY DO:

The maximum bonuses attainable on a bard's sonic armaments (1009, 1012, and 1014) are capped at +35. This fork basically enables a bard to push the maximum bonus of his/her sonic armaments from +35 to +50 (similar to increasing enchantments on weapons or armor from 7x to 10x).

For the purpose of determining the fork's value, I've evaluated two alternative methods for attaining the same benefits provided by the fork.


VALUATION METHOD 1: Using HESS items at Duskruin to add +15 to all four sonic armaments = 1.8M bloodscrip

At the last two Duskruin events (August 2020 and February 2021) the HESS has offered a "fork-shaped papyrus" for 150k bloodscrip:
"The bearer of this papyrus will receive a Tuning Fork to add +5 to sonic gear"

The HESS also offered during those same two sessions a "silver forked note" for 150k bloodscrip:
"The bearer of this note can increase the potency of a Tuning Fork by +5 (up to +15). (Note: The Tuning Fork begins at +5.)"

So, by using those certificates, raising a single sonic armament to +15 would cost 450k bloodscrip. Raising four sonic armaments to +15 would result in four separate forks at a cost of 1.8M bloodscrip.


VALUATION METHOD 2: Enchanting regular gear to 10x (+50) instead of using sonic gear = a minimum of 225k bloodscrip and 160M silvers

Let's assume that you already have a vanilla 7x-enchanted (+35) weapon, armor and shield, and you want to enchant each to 10x (+50).

First let's prepare the items for enchantment to 10x (+50). The potions required to achieve this for a single 7x (+35) item have been available at the last two Duskruin events at a total cost of 75k bloodscrip. You'll need three sets of these potions (one for the weapon, one for the armor, and one for the shield), so 225k bloodscrip.

Next, we need to find a wizard to perform the enchantments. To increase the enchantment of one item from +35 to +50 requires 2,137,500 essence (and 42.75 weeks to gather that essence, but for the purpose of this exercise we'll make the unrealistic assumption that we are able to find multiple wizards to perform the job all at the same time). So 6,412,500 essence is required for all three items.

Since we're assuming plain vanilla gear, these are relatively low-difficulty projects. So for the sake of finding the most buyer-friendly appraisal of the fork, let's say we're able to find enough apprentice wizards willing to do the work at 25 silvers per essence. That's 25 x 6,412,500 = 160M silvers and some change (if you can actually find that deal out there, take it!!)

So that's 225k bloodscrip and 160M silvers, plus whatever it cost to get the gear to 7x in the first place, to get into 10x BASIC normal-weighted gear with no flares. Note that we haven't taken into account the fact that the fork also adds +15 to the enchantment of a fourth sonic armament (1025 Singing Sword Song), or the actual time that it would take to accumulate essence and complete the enchantments on the regular gear, and we have completely ignored any benefits provided by sonic gear such as their nominal weight and high-frequency flares.


WHAT I SEEK IN RETURN:

I deem the fork to be worth at the very least what it would cost a bard to get into 10x plain gear as described above in "Valuation Method 2": 225k bloodscrip plus 160M silvers.

I will consider all in-game offers that meet or exceed that amount in value. I will consider trade offers, but my preference would be silvers and/or bloodscrip.

I reserve the right to sell to the highest bidder if I feel the offer is acceptable.

You can contact me here, or in Discord (Brandilor #2959), or in the game (Brandilor) with questions.

[blanks]

Nice find!

It’s an use one and done type of deal item?

[ktig]

What is the minimum bid, reserve, or expectation of minimum compensation on this auction?

[ChromaticDragon]

What is the minimum bid, reserve, or expectation of minimum compensation on this auction?

Excellent question.

At the last two Duskruin events (August 2020 and February 2021) the HESS has offered a "fork-shaped papyrus" for 150k bloodscrip:

"The bearer of this papyrus will receive a Tuning Fork to add +5 to sonic gear"


The HESS also offered during those same two sessions a "silver forked note" for 150k bloodscrip:

"The bearer of this note can increase the potency of a Tuning Fork by +5 (up to +15). (Note: The Tuning Fork begins at +5.)"


So, by using those certificates, raising a single sonic armament to +15 would cost 450k bloodscrip. Raising four sonic armaments would cost 1.8M bloodscrip.

That should give a rough idea of the value of this fork. I'm not expecting to receive that amount. I'm just going to let the bidding dictate the actual value, and reserve the right to sell to the highest bidder if I feel the offer is acceptable. I DO want to sell the item.

I've edited the original post to reflect this information.

[mgoddess]

>open my reliquary
You open a filigreed rolaren reliquary with a colorful cloisonne lid.

And here I am, just wanting that reliquary... heh.

Nice find on the fork, and good luck selling it!

[Rjex]

HESS pricing for sonic +5 is really odd IMO since you're better off just enchanting regular gear to 10x for the same cost.

[lexbubba]

HESS pricing for sonic +5 is really odd IMO since you're better off just enchanting regular gear to 10x for the same cost.

Agreed. Plus you can enhance regular gear (WPS, flares, scripts, etc) unlike sonic gear

[gs4Pawn]

Yep, sometimes the Simu cost doesn't really reflect the value.

[zhagen]

I just want to know if there is a bard that uses sonic armor, weapon, shield, and singing sword all at the same time

[ChromaticDragon]

HESS pricing for sonic +5 is really odd IMO since you're better off just enchanting regular gear to 10x for the same cost.


Agreed. Plus you can enhance regular gear (WPS, flares, scripts, etc) unlike sonic gear

That's true, and those are great points. So perhaps a different way to estimate the value of the fork might be to determine the cost of creating 10x-enchanted regular gear (weapon, armor, and shield).

Let's assume that you already have 7x-enchanted (+35) of each, and you want to enchant each to 10x (+50).

First let's prepare the weapon for enchantment to 10x (+50):

Each enchant of the weapon from +36 to +40 will require one pour from a dilute copper ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 20k bloodscrip per bottle).

Then, each enchant of the weapon from +41 to +45 will require one pour from a dilute silver ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 25k bloodscrip per bottle).

And finally, each enchant of the weapon from +46 to +50 will require one pour from a dilute golden ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 30k bloodscrip per bottle).

So the potions required for enchantments +36 through +50 on one item cost 75k bloodscrip.

Next, we need to find a wizard to actually perform the enchantment. To increase the enchantment of the weapon from +35 to +50 requires 2,137,500 essence (and 42.75 weeks to gather that essence, but for the purpose of this exercise we'll assume that we are able to find multiple wizards to perform the job all at the same time).

Since we're assuming plain vanilla gear, these are relatively low-difficulty projects. So for the sake of finding the most buyer-friendly appraisal of the fork, let's say we're able to find apprentice wizards willing to do the work at 25 silvers per essence. That's 53M silvers (and some change).

So that's 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers to raise the enchant of the weapon from 7x to 10x.

Do that again for the armor, and again for the shield...and now we're up to 225k bloodscrip and 160M silvers (plus whatever it cost to get the gear to 7x in the first place) to get into 10x basic gear.

Keep in mind, none of the above takes into account the fact that the fork also adds +15 to the enchantment of a fourth sonic spell (1025 Singing Sword Song), or the actual time that it would take to complete the enchantments on the regular gear.

[SonoftheNorth]

That's true, and those are great points. So perhaps a different way to estimate the value of the fork might be to determine the cost of creating 10x-enchanted regular gear (weapon, armor, and shield).

Let's assume that you already have 7x-enchanted (+35) of each, and you want to enchant each to 10x (+50).

First let's prepare the weapon for enchantment to 10x (+50):

Each enchant of the weapon from +36 to +40 will require one pour from a dilute copper ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 20k bloodscrip per bottle).

Then, each enchant of the weapon from +41 to +45 will require one pour from a dilute silver ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 25k bloodscrip per bottle).

And finally, each enchant of the weapon from +46 to +50 will require one pour from a dilute golden ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 30k bloodscrip per bottle).

So the potions required for enchantments +36 through +50 on one item cost 75k bloodscrip.

Next, we need to find a wizard to actually perform the enchantment. To increase the enchantment of the weapon from +35 to +50 requires 2,137,500 essence (and 42.75 weeks to gather that essence, but for the purpose of this exercise we'll assume that we are able to find multiple wizards to perform the job all at the same time).

Since we're assuming plain vanilla gear, these are relatively low-difficulty projects. So for the sake of finding the most buyer-friendly appraisal of the fork, let's say we're able to find apprentice wizards willing to do the work at 25 silvers per essence. That's 53M silvers (and some change).

So that's 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers to raise the enchant of the weapon from 7x to 10x.

Do that again for the armor, and again for the shield...and now we're up to 225k bloodscrip and 160M silvers (plus whatever it cost to get the gear to 7x in the first place) to get into 10x basic gear.

Keep in mind, none of the above takes into account the fact that the fork also adds +15 to the enchantment of a fourth sonic spell (1025 Singing Sword Song), or the actual time that it would take to complete the enchantments on the regular gear.


When you use the tuning fork is it locked into your character and non-resellable though?

[Derex]

That's true, and those are great points. So perhaps a different way to estimate the value of the fork might be to determine the cost of creating 10x-enchanted regular gear (weapon, armor, and shield).

Let's assume that you already have 7x-enchanted (+35) of each, and you want to enchant each to 10x (+50).

First let's prepare the weapon for enchantment to 10x (+50):

Each enchant of the weapon from +36 to +40 will require one pour from a dilute copper ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 20k bloodscrip per bottle).

Then, each enchant of the weapon from +41 to +45 will require one pour from a dilute silver ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 25k bloodscrip per bottle).

And finally, each enchant of the weapon from +46 to +50 will require one pour from a dilute golden ayan'eth potion (5-dose bottles of these were available at Spellbound during the past two Duskruins for 30k bloodscrip per bottle).

So the potions required for enchantments +36 through +50 on one item cost 75k bloodscrip.

Next, we need to find a wizard to actually perform the enchantment. To increase the enchantment of the weapon from +35 to +50 requires 2,137,500 essence (and 42.75 weeks to gather that essence, but for the purpose of this exercise we'll assume that we are able to find multiple wizards to perform the job all at the same time).

Since we're assuming plain vanilla gear, these are relatively low-difficulty projects. So for the sake of finding the most buyer-friendly appraisal of the fork, let's say we're able to find apprentice wizards willing to do the work at 25 silvers per essence. That's 53M silvers (and some change).

So that's 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers to raise the enchant of the weapon from 7x to 10x.

Do that again for the armor, and again for the shield...and now we're up to 225k bloodscrip and 160M silvers (plus whatever it cost to get the gear to 7x in the first place) to get into 10x basic gear.

Keep in mind, none of the above takes into account the fact that the fork also adds +15 to the enchantment of a fourth sonic spell (1025 Singing Sword Song), or the actual time that it would take to complete the enchantments on the regular gear.

at least double the enchant cost. 50 per is more realistic for 7-10x difficulty

[ChromaticDragon]

at least double the enchant cost. 50 per is more realistic for 7-10x difficulty

Right. The figures I provided were intended to establish a floor for the fork's value.

[ChromaticDragon]

When you use the tuning fork is it locked into your character and non-resellable though?

While discussing that very thing in Discord today, Estild had this to say about fork attunement:

"The normal (meaning purchased without attunement discount) tuning forks only temporarily attune for 1 week after last used. So you can use it, then if you don't use it again for a week, it'll stop being attuned, then any other bard could use it."

It wasn't clear to me whether or not his statement applies to this particular fork, and he did not respond to offer any clarification, but in the context of our discussion I assume that this fork would not permanently attune to the bard.

[SonoftheNorth]

While discussing that very thing in Discord today, Estild had this to say about fork attunement:

"The normal (meaning purchased without attunement discount) tuning forks only temporarily attune for 1 week after last used. So you can use it, then if you don't use it again for a week, it'll stop being attuned, then any other bard could use it."

It wasn't clear to me whether or not his statement applies to this particular fork, and he did not respond to offer any clarification, but in the context of our discussion I assume that this fork would not permanently attune to the bard.



Ohhh cool I didn't know that I thought they were single use items

[zennsunni]

Agreed. Plus you can enhance regular gear (WPS, flares, scripts, etc) unlike sonic gear

I challenged someone about this on Discord once and Naijin simmed it versus someone's super duper flaring weapon. The sonic weapon won handily in overall damage (though the super duper flaring weapon won handily in knockdowns, probly cause grapple flares).

My point is - don't underestimate sonic weapons. Those flares ain't normal. If you want to consider the 'value' of a sonic weapon relative to what you could HESS your way to, you have to value the flares. Achieving the same flare potential as a sonic weapon would probably require several hundred million silver. Perhaps some people won't look at it this way, but as a bard, I sure would since it's not like you are going to get paid 200 million silver for switching from a sonic weapon to a plain 7x - that value is baked into the class, and to exceed it, you'll have to pay for it.

[Red]

The value to recreate an item is important. The resale value is however only that which someone would pay.

[ktig]

I just want to know if there is a bard that uses sonic armor, weapon, shield, and singing sword all at the same time

That's very mana-intensive to maintain so you won't find many-- if any. I probably use sonics more than anyone, if I had to guess.
: Sonic armor 100% of the time; I don't own any armor.
: Weapon has been near 90% in the last year (usually coupled with another flaring weapon)
: Singing sword when I am doing melee in OTF and not feeling lazy enough to just blindly 1030, but I haven't been in OTF regularly in the past year.
: Shield is the one I use the absolute least and I can count on one hand the number of times I've bothered using it.

[lexbubba]

I just want to know if there is a bard that uses sonic armor, weapon, shield, and singing sword all at the same time

I use only sonic shield on my bard. Tower shield with the penalty of a small shield. But that is it. None of the others as I get scared about sonic armor falling off and I am a pure spellcaster so the others aren't helpful.

[zhagen]

Well maybe if no one steps up to the plate and buys this then he can start a temporary bard booster service. If we estimate this item is worth 500m depreciated over 10 years (This is GemstoneIV we talking about....) then he can offer a weekly boost for the low low price of 961K! or 137K per day. What a deal!

[hamsquatch]

I have a hilarious-to-me image of a bard running around fighting and singing about their sword, shield, armor and floating sword all at once, falsetto of course.

[blanks]

So... can I start off the bid with 100mil or three fiddy?

[Red]

I think that based on the cost estimates in previous posts min on this is 1 billion silvers

[Tgo01]

I think that based on the cost estimates in previous posts min on this is 1 billion silvers

I have 1 billion Dreaven gold, that’s just as good as silvers.

[Bryce]

I have 1 billion Dreaven gold, that’s just as good as silvers.

Current rate is 1 Dreaven gold = 2.355 gemstone silvers.

[Helsfeld]

Hello I’d like to start this off with a bid if 25 million silvers

[beldannon5]

Hello I’d like to start this off with a bid if 25 million silvers

cheap ass. didn't you quit? i know hoy did oh wait.

[Helsfeld]

Wtf are you talking about I never once said I quit? And what does hoy quitting have to do with me is that some kind of fascination you have?

[HebrewToYou]

I challenged someone about this on Discord once and Naijin simmed it versus someone's super duper flaring weapon. The sonic weapon won handily in overall damage (though the super duper flaring weapon won handily in knockdowns, probly cause grapple flares).


To be clear, this was a very, very limited scope test that was run against a plate-wearing NPC. Naijin tested a sonic pilum versus my pilum, which has lightning flares and poleaxe flares.

Sonic pilum:
Target: Ithzir champion
Weapon Table: Pilum (one-handed)
Kills: 100
Knockdowns: 40
Stuns: 0
Attacks: 10.8 per kill
Hard RT: 10.8 sec. per kill

My pilum:
Target: Ithzir champion
Weapon Table: Pilum (one-handed)
Kills: 100
Knockdowns: 54
Stuns: 0
Attacks: 10.9 per kill
Hard RT: 10.9 sec. per kill

They are effectively identical. Sonic weapons are fine, but they fall flat (even with the tuning fork buffs) compared to non-sonic weaponry.

[Altheren]

Nobody quits. They just take breaks.

[ChromaticDragon]

I've updated the main post to include valuation reasoning, and to state what I consider to be the minimum bid value for the item: 225k bloodscrip plus 160M silvers based on the best-case minimum cost of getting into 10x plain gear for most players (as described in "Valuation Method 2" in the main post).

I will consider all in-game offers that meet or exceed that amount in value. I will consider trade offers, but my preference would be silvers and/or bloodscrip. I reserve the right to sell to the highest bidder if I feel the offer is acceptable.

[gs4Pawn]

Seems kinda High.

I mean I rarely get into something what I paid for it. Usually its around 1/2.

[zhagen]

I think he should roll up a newbie bard and become the best sonic bard to ever play Gemstone IV

[Alashir]

I think he should roll up a newbie bard and become the best sonic bard to ever play Gemstone IV

What happens if you roll up a new bard, use tuning fork, sing up a sonic weapon at 12, but with the +15 of the fork and being unable to drop it, does gsiv just implode?

[zennsunni]

I think he should roll up a newbie bard and become the best sonic bard to ever play Gemstone IV

I don't even know what level you can sustainably use all three sonic armament songs along with everything else. I'm not sure you ever could with Tonis and singing sword.

[Red]

it is a neat item, but it is very niche to someone who is willing to spend quite a bit upgrading sonics

[drauz]

I've updated the main post to include valuation reasoning, and to state what I consider to be the minimum bid value for the item: 225k bloodscrip plus 160M silvers based on the best-case minimum cost of getting into 10x plain gear for most players (as described in "Valuation Method 2" in the main post).

I will consider all in-game offers that meet or exceed that amount in value. I will consider trade offers, but my preference would be silvers and/or bloodscrip. I reserve the right to sell to the highest bidder if I feel the offer is acceptable.

That's the cost for multiple items, seems like most bards only use 1 or 2 sonic items max.

I don't think a lot of these forks went out to begin with cause they were overpriced for what they offered and just overall lack of interest.

I think you'll have a better chance of selling if you start the bidding at the price of one item taken to 10x rather than 3. It just doesn't sound like there's much interest in the item to begin with.

[ChromaticDragon]

That's the cost for multiple items, seems like most bards only use 1 or 2 sonic items max.

I don't think a lot of these forks went out to begin with cause they were overpriced for what they offered and just overall lack of interest.

I think you'll have a better chance of selling if you start the bidding at the price of one item taken to 10x rather than 3. It just doesn't sound like there's much interest in the item to begin with.

I used the cost for 10x weapon, shield, AND armor because that's what this fork can do. I also used unrealistic buyer-favorable parameters in determining those costs, so I intend to stand by the stated minimum bid value.

I do appreciate the feedback! I think it's important to hear both sides of the discussion.

[drauz]

I used the cost for 10x weapon, shield, AND armor because that's what this fork can do. I also used unrealistic buyer-favorable parameters in determining those costs, so I intend to stand by the stated minimum bid value.

I do appreciate the feedback! I think it's important to hear both sides of the discussion.

You seem like you're trying to operate in good faith but you just don't understand how the GS economy works.

You will never get the amount back that you put into an item. Even if it costs that much to make 3 10x weapons, no one will pay what you spend to upgrade them because then they could just do that themselves. You typically get 50-75% of what it costs to make when you resell something.

[ChromaticDragon]

You seem like you're trying to operate in good faith but you just don't understand how the GS economy works.

You will never get the amount back that you put into an item. Even if it costs that much to make 3 10x weapons, no one will pay what you spend to upgrade them because then they could just do that themselves. You typically get 50-75% of what it costs to make when you resell something.

So what I'm hearing you say is that I can find a wizard to enchant my plain 7x (+35) full leather to 10x (+50) for less than 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers (or even 25-50% less than that?) Where do I sign up? What am I missing?

[Ufian]

So what I'm hearing you say is that I can find a wizard to enchant my plain 7x (+35) full leather to 10x (+50) for less than 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers (or even 25-50% less than that?) Where do I sign up? What am I missing?

No you can't, making something costs more then buying the same thing already made. Just the way GS is. 50-75% of cost is a pretty typical resale aside from some really sought after things.

[Merzbow]

So what I'm hearing you say is that I can find a wizard to enchant my plain 7x (+35) full leather to 10x (+50) for less than 75k bloodscrip and 53M silvers (or even 25-50% less than that?) Where do I sign up? What am I missing?

What you're missing is anyone willing to offer anything close to what you're asking for this item. If you're so completely convinced it's worth what you say, why not put it up for auction with a low reserve? Let's see.

[ChromaticDragon]

No you can't, making something costs more then buying the same thing already made. Just the way GS is. 50-75% of cost is a pretty typical resale aside from some really sought after things.

Oh, I see what you guys are saying. You're saying one could probably find plain 10x full leather (and a sword, and a shield) on the market for cheaper than what it would cost to upgrade their existing 7x's. That's what I was missing. I get it now.

[Red]

Correct. This coupled with the small market for this item reduces the resale price. Less competition and a lot of other, arguably better options which I think is the biggest issue. A 10x sonic was awesome in the 90s, where now it is more lackluster.

[Fiend394]

So lackluster it warrants 3 pages of discussion. The price he is asking for a unique item is pretty fair

[mgoddess]

So lackluster it warrants 3 pages of discussion. The price he is asking for a unique item is pretty fair

LOL@3 pages... not even halfway through the first page! :P (100 posts per page FTW!)

[Maerit]

The asking price is not crazy. Tuning forks were sold in DR for 150k bloodscrip @ +5, and required another 300k bloodscrip to make that fork +15. Also, that tuning fork required you to pick whether it applied to your weapon, shield or armor. Totally insane pricing from the HESS, but that's how it was released. This item appears to add +15 to all sonic gear without having to specify the type of sonic equipment.

It'll require a lot of time and energy to get the asking price, but there are some bards super in love with their sonic equipment, and this item is truly unique. Pretty nice find, IMO.

Sure, armor and weapon, even shields, when created with all their special scripts, padding, resistances, and blah blah can add up to a much more mechanically powerful item overall, but the convenience and advantages of sonic armaments do make them very useful in general and excellent for RP-centric bards.

[ktig]

Also, that tuning fork required you to pick whether it applied to your weapon, shield or armor.

Point of clarification - the only *or* on this one was user buy-in on pricing, there was nothing prohibiting a bard on combining the builds. Creating a fork with +5 Weapon and +5 Shield is and has been the same price as +10 only on Weapon and both scenarios were possible for the same price out of the gate regardless of what you were trying to build. If someone wanted to spread their bonuses (in +5 increments) out to armor, weapon, shield, AND singing sword they could and it would be combined on the same physical item; but there was no discount for doing so.


Aside of Maerit's comment above, here's some considerations on whether Sonics Are Right For You:

1009 - Sonic Shield:
* Size reduction bonus is decent but dependent on EL:Air training.
* 1009 cannot be ensorcelled, blessed (re: undead proposal), flared, etc.
* No reactive flares
* Bards do not get SHIELD abilities (except shield bash, under cmans)
* 1009 cannot be disarmed in the traditional fashion so risk of item loss irrelevant
* 1009 is susceptible to Shield Sunder and some critter bites (e.g. waerns)
* Sonics can be dispelled and will drop if you are stunned at renewal time (or do not have item in hand) with no chance to "manually renew" like other songspells.
* Fork bonus must be reapplied every time song is initiated.

1012 - Sonic Weapon:
* The fork bonus does not apply to undead and is not slated to do so with Undead/Bless Proposal
* Flare does not apply to undead and is not slated to do so with Undead/Bless Proposal
* Sonic flare can do up to 70 damage against living
* Double flare for living is dependent on EL:Air.
* 1012 cannot be weighted, ensorcelled, blessed (re: undead proposal), etc.
* 1012 cannot be disarmed in the traditional fashion so risk of item loss irrelevant
* Sonics can be dispelled and will drop if you are stunned at renewal time (or do not have item in hand) with no chance to "manually renew" like other songspells.
* Fork bonus must be reapplied every time song is initiated.

1014 - Sonic Armor:
* 1014 is extremely impact susceptible. This can only be trained off with Ascension ImpactResist skill.
* 1014 cannot be padded or have outside resists added
* 1014 cannot be ensorcelled, blessed, flared, etc.
* No reactive flares
* Elemental resists are dependent on Bard Ranks and EL: Air.
* Weight reduction is significantly better than standard armor.
* Sonics can be dispelled and will drop if you are stunned at renewal time with no chance to "manually renew" like other songspells.
* Fork bonus must be reapplied every time song is initiated.

1025 - Singing Sword:
* AS will always be at least 15 lower against undead.
* Unconfirmed whether Fork bonus will apply against undead; I assume it simply follows the aforementioned
* 1025 cannot be sped up with Tonis's Song.
* 1025 will strike every 5-10 seconds depending on item base weight plus some unknown delay. I've tried with smaller weapons and it does not speed up.
* The existing 1025 base AS is calculated as: Weapon skill + (Bard Spell ranks - 25)/2 + (INF bonus + AURA bonus)/2 + (CMAN ranks/2) + (Mental Lore, Manipulation ranks/2) + MB, where MB = 25 if fighting a living creature, or 10 if fighting undead.
* Example: My 1025 AS is 545 against living and 530 on undead (25 AU, 30 INF, 127 bard, 202 CMAN, 75 ML:Manip).
* Sonics can be dispelled and will drop if you are stunned at renewal time with no chance to "manually renew" like other songspells.
* Fork bonus must be reapplied every time song is initiated.

Multi-song Penalty:
* Multi-song penalty is 12 mana per song beyond the cost of the song itself.
* Penalty can be lowered with bard ranks, DIS and LOG bonuses.
* Example: 4x capped bard with 127 Bard Ranks and 23 DI/ 24 LOG bonuses has a mult-song penalty for 1003, 1006, 1007, 1009, 1010, 1012, 1014, 1019, and 1025 of 91 mana per renew.
* A renew for a capped bard will be "around" 9 minutes depending on
* Renewal time is lengthened with ML: Telepathy

Mental Lore considerations (not an exhaustive list):
* Bards can only 1x in Mental lores, pre-ascension.
* ML:Telepathy lengthens the songspell renew and Tonis Song duration, also improves 1007 AS bonus
* ML:Manipulation improves 1002, 1004, and 1030, and 1025 Singing Sword Song weapon's Attack Strength

Tonis Song considerations
* if kept up, Tonis Song adds a drain of 35 mana every ~90 seconds
* Does not speed up 1025
* Maximizing this songspell's duration directly reduces 1025's AS bonus due ML:Manip and ML: Telepathy conflict at 1x lores

In summary: Most commonly you will see a bard use 1-2 sonics, such as sonic weapon paired with a shield or singing sword. The volume of bards that CAN use of all four sonics is already low given the steep training costs. The volume of bards that WOULD use more than 2 is even lower. As a result, the volume of bards that CAN AND WILL use all four (regardless of the sonic tuning fork or even WITH it) is very slim as a result of measuring the aforementioned PROs and CONs against physical gear offerings that are widely available. Further, given the price of sonic tuning forks off the shelf, the volume of bards that CAN AND WILL use an item like this is even lower still.

[zhagen]

God dam that man knows bards.... I guess Brandilor might as well throw that fork down the Landing well cause its useless! (Or maybe he can use it as a salad fork for special occasions)

[ktig]

God dam that man knows bards.... I guess Brandilor might as well throw that fork down the Landing well cause its useless! (Or maybe he can use it as a salad fork for special occasions)

It's far from useless. I shared the sonics considerations list because a) most folks don't know bards, and b) most haven't looked very close at what it takes to run a bard on sonic items outside of one or maybe two at a time.

[malmuddy]

I don't think anyone is saying this isn't a really nice item. It absolutely is. It is definitely unique, and as a unique item it doesn't really have anything I would consider a true comp. IMO, the two pricing methods used (HESS pricing for forks, and cost for 7x - 10x enchant) are both flawed, but I won't go into why here as it has been mostly covered in OPPs. Sometimes things don't have a real comp, and that's OK.

The long post by ktig is very comprehensive, and spells out the key factor that I don't think has been mentioned by anyone else yet. And that factor is demand. The subsection of people that can take full advantage of this item is very small to begin with. So you have to find someone in that group that is all about maxing out their gear and is willing to shell out more than $1,000 in silvers and alt currencies to do so. This person could exist, as there are definitely people out there willing to drop thousands of dollars on this game. Or the people in this group could be very happy with their essentially free 7x gear and give a polite no thank you at that price point.

I have no idea if the OP's asking price is fair or crazy. The market will ultimately provide that answer. Until then, I appreciate the discussion and points of view.

[drauz]

I would ask about 200-300k bloodscrip if I had found it. I think that range is a fair price and you can get some very nice gear from yourself very quickly with Duskruin coming this Friday.

[zhagen]

I would keep it for the supposed bard review when they make sonics OP to compensate for nerfing 1030/1035... you might be waiting awhile though

[Altheren]

Yeah, I would have taken 250k+ BS for this in a heart beat if I had found it.