The original text for this post was written by Mewkus, with updates from various members of the message board community.

Q: What are geerlok tools?

A: Geerlok tools are items that can be equipped in your primary slot that increase one of your tradeskills by 5%. There is a different tool for each tradeskill and a Geerlok Hypermodulating Tool which can be turned into a 5% geerlok for the basic tradeskills.

Q: What are Trade Skill Items?

A: There are certain items that can be obtained as drops from mobs in different zones that will also increase tradeskills by other percentages.

Q: What are trophies?

A: With the Prophecy of Ro expansion, new tradeskill "trophies" were introduced. These trophies have different levels depending on which "test" you take. From the point of taking the test and acquiring the trophy, trophy will evolve to the next level, providing a higher modification to your tradeskill level.

Q: What does 5 percent (or 10 or 15) mean?

A: That means your current skill is increased by 5% with regards to success rates. For instance, if your tailoring skill is 60 and you equip a geerlok sewing contraption in your primary slot, any combines you attempt will have the success rate as if your tailoring skill were 63 (60 + 60* 5%). Do not confuse this with increasing your success rate by 5%. If your unmodified skill level is 250 and you have a 10% modification item, then your modified skill level is 275, 15% modification item and a skill of 300 would be 345, etc.

Note that the use of tradeskill enhancing items does NOT change the trivial information for an item. If you are making something at skill 100, the item trivials at 102, and you are using a geerlok to modify your skill to 105, the skill check will go against the modified 105 skill (meaning the item is trivial), BUT you will not receive a trivial message. This confuses a lot of people who mistakenly ADD 5% to the trivial number when they're reporting it. Trivial listings for this site are reported off your RAW skill, not any modified skill.

Q: Does the final number get rounded up or down?

A: Any remaining fraction gets truncated. If your skill is 79, 5% would be 3.95. The .95 gets truncated off and your skill bonus is 3, giving you a modified skill of 82. This modified skill level will show up in the tradeskill UI and in your skills window.

Q: If my skill is 300, would one of these geerlok tools make my skill 315?

A: Yes. Skill-modifying items can take your effective skill beyond the 300 cap on actual skill.

Q: If I get one of these geerlok tools, what do I do with it?

A: You would need to equip it in your primary, secondary, range or ammo slot. It only needs to be equiped while you are doing your combines.

Q: Will my skills listing show my actual skill or my modified skill (actual skill plus geerloks or other modifying items)?

A: The skill listing shows your modified skill, including the effects of any skill modifying items you may have equipped.

Q: Is it better to use a geerlok tool or an Int/Wis buffing item in my primary slot?

A: That depends on which is more important to you, successful combines or getting skill ups. If you�re more interested in successful combines, use the geerlok tool, if you�re trying to get skill ups, use the Int/Wis item. If you�re attempting something that is already trivial (ie you wont get a skill up), you should equip your geerlok tool. If you�re attempting something that is trivial way over your current skill (ie trying velious tailoring at 158 skill), your success rate is already pegged at the minimum chance with or without the geerlok tool, that you should have your Int/Wis item equipped.

Q: Where can I get one of these geerlok tools?

A: Geerlok tools are made by tinkerers. They are trivial at 215, so you�d need to have a good tinkering skill to have a reasonable success rate at them. Each combine requires a dropped item off a luclin mob and some parts that are only sold by one of the gnome vendors in Katta Castellum and Shadow Haven. The newer tools (alchemy, spell research, make poison, tinkering), require drops from Gunthak as well as a no-drop component sold only in the lighthouse in Gunthak. The Trade skill items are dropped from mobs. The trophies are obtained by completing a "test".

Q: Where do I find a tinkerer on my server who can make/sell me one?

A: Check the message boards for your particular server or Gnome Positioning System (GPS)

Q: What are the recipes for the geerlok tools?

A: The Geerlok Recipes are available.

Q: If one of my skills is already over 200, will one of these devices allow a second skill to effectively be over 200 also?

A: Yes. According to Sony these were added to allow characters who had already specialized in one tradeskill to get a higher effective skill level in other tradeskills.

Q: Will using the skill modifying items reduce my chance for getting skill ups?

A: No, your chances of getting a skill up are not affected by your modified skill level.

Q: If I have multiple enhancing items, does their effect stack or does it use the highest percentage one only?

A: According to the most recent communication with Sony, the effects do NOT stack. Only the highest-bonus item of those you are wearing/wielding will apply.

Q: What other skill enhancing items are there?

A: There are player-made tradeskill trophies, with recipes located at the primary recipe level for each tradeskill.

Additionally, there are many vendor-sold and mob-dropped +tradeskill items in the game. Known items with a +tradeskill modifier are listed below.

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Alchemy:

Baking:

Brewing:

Fishing:

(equip bait/flies in ammo slot for bonus, bait/fly lost when item caught; equip poles in primary slot -- note: ALL fishing poles have a chance of breaking when used)

Fletching:

Jewelcraft:

Make Poison:

Pottery:

Spell Research:

Smithing:

Tailoring:

Tinkering: