How many threads do I need to earn or upgrade a trade?

So the trades go like I. 5 basic threads for trade -> II. 10 specialty threads for trade -> III. 20 specialty threads for mastery of trade. The last 20 have to be specialty threads too, right, not just 'threads for trade'? How does it work when you have 2 specialties? You'd need only 10 threads for mastering your trade in step III then, right (as you already had 25 from step I + 2x step II)? But do you choose 1 specialty to master if you have 2, or do you master the trade in general..?

The threads aren't technically cumulative. You need 5 threads to achieve a trade, 10 additional threads to achieve a specialty and then 15 20 more threads to achieve a mastery of your chosen specialty (yes, you master your specialty, not your general trade). It's 35 threads total to achieve a mastery. And, yes, that means 35 x 3 for a total of 105 threads to achieve three masteries. #longtermgoals

Does this make sense and answer your question...?

Oh! I thought that it went per trade, not per specialty.

It's 20 in the last step though isn't it, not 15 (as then it'd be 30 total)?

But if you have 2 specialties in 1 trade you don't have to re-do the first 5 threads right so then it's 30 instead of 35 total for a trade that you already had?

Sorry, I misspoke! It is 20 to master. I'll edit my reply above so as to avoid confusion. But the 35 total is correct:

PHASE I: ACQUIRE A TRADE
The character demonstrates the trade generally, including dabbling in one or more of the possible specialties.
Requirement: 5 threads.

PHASE II: SELECT A SPECIALTY
The character focuses on and demonstrates a special vocation within the trade, then spends time further developing that specific skill set.
Requirement: 10 threads (total: 15).

PHASE III: ACHIEVE A MASTERY
The character continues developing their specialty until they are a master of their craft.
Requirement: 20 threads (total: 35).

And I get'cha now! That seems correct (lol, the math has scrambled my brains). You can definitely double-dip Phase I and cut down on your thread load slightly that way. In fact, If you decide to master three specialties for one trade, that means you only have to do 5 + 30 + 60 = 95 threads instead. And since we only allow up to two trades, I suppose the total would max out at 100, not 105.*

* DID I MENTION I AM BAD AT MATH? PLEASE TAKE MY ATTEMPTS TO CRUNCH NUMBERS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT. THANK YOU.

Piggy-backing off this question, if you have a thread that encompasses the use of more than 1 trade (i.e. Barky and Woofy patrol the borders, chase away Trespassy, and then the thread turns into Barky giving Woofy relationship advice), could you apply it to both trades?

Piggy-backing off this question, if you have a thread that encompasses the use of more than 1 trade (i.e. Barky and Woofy patrol the borders, chase away Trespassy, and then the thread turns into Barky giving Woofy relationship advice), could you apply it to both trades?

I think it's one trade/specialty per thread, otherwise people could use one thread for three different trades/specialties and really cut corners. Another admin can correct me if I'm wrong but I think this way keeps it both 'simpler' and more challenging.

Piggy-backing off this question, if you have a thread that encompasses the use of more than 1 trade (i.e. Barky and Woofy patrol the borders, chase away Trespassy, and then the thread turns into Barky giving Woofy relationship advice), could you apply it to both trades?

I think it's one trade/specialty per thread, otherwise people could use one thread for three different trades/specialties and really cut corners. Another admin can correct me if I'm wrong but I think this way keeps it both 'simpler' and more challenging.

Just popping in to confirm this :)

Thanks for the explanation, all clear now. :)

@Wildfire @Ferret

Shamelessly throwing my own tradey question in here also! ^___^ Please could you tell me if a thread has to have a certain number of posts in it to count as a trade thread?

@Wildfire @Ferret

Shamelessly throwing my own tradey question in here also! ^___^ Please could you tell me if a thread has to have a certain number of posts in it to count as a trade thread?

I'm not sure we have a hard-and-fast policy. My personal rule of thumb is that 3+ (preferably more) of your posts in a given thread should directly pertain to the trade or specialty.

Yeah, iirc there's no hard limit.  But there have to be enough posts in the thread to adequately display that the trade is being practiced :) it's likely mostly going to fall to pm's best judgement!

Thanks both! ^______^