Levelling HandyCraft

Mediterranean Chapter

Required Recipe Books
Book of Pharmaceutical preparation [optional] (Nantes, Malaga, Syracuse) 5000D
Book of Seasoning (Palma) 5000D
Brewing Secrets (Cagliari, reward after 320,000D in investment; Hamburg) 10000D
Brewing Secrets Volume 2 (Montpellier, Havana, reward after 800,000D in investment)

Required Skills
Food trading (animal trader, food merchant)
Alcohol trading (accountant)
Luxury item trading (accountant, medicine trader)
Handicraft (medicine trader)
Either one of Procurement or Collection [optional] (fisherman)
Industrial goods trade [optional] (mineral trader)

Level 1
(3 x Grass >>> Basic Medicine)
One of the biggest problems with Handicraft is that most recipes start at level 2, so at level 1 your options are very limited. You can of course try and purchase a +1 Handicraft Shipwright’s Saw from players, but that equipment would cost about 3 million ducats. The next best thing is try to get your Handicraft to level 2 by crafting level 1 items.
Sail to Nantes, purchase the Book of Pharmaceutical preparation. Go outside the town through the gatekeeper and use either Procurement or Collection skill (on a grassy patch) to gather Grass and turn them into Basic Medicine.

This method can be time consuming if you can’t find the Logs.

Level 2 
(Olive >>> Olive Oil; Cane >>> Cane Sugar; Wheat >>> Beer)
If you are Spanish you can sail between either Seville and Faro, and use the Brewing Secrets to turn Wheat into Beer or between Palma and Valencia and make Olive Oil from Olives using the Seasoning Book. Both products can be sold back to the market.
If you are Portuguese, you can sail to the Madeira and produce Cane Sugarfrom Cane with the Seasoning Book, or travel between Porto and Lisbon to brew Beer from Wheat found at Porto

Level 3 
(Almond >>> Almond Oil; Wheat >>> Aquavit; Barley >>> Vodka)
Spanish players use the Seville to Ceuta route, making Aquavit from Wheat and Vodka from Barley using the Brewing Secrets book. Portuguese players use the Porto to Lisbon route, making Almond Oil from Almond from the Book of Seasoning, and Aquavit from Wheat using Brewing Secrets.

Level 4 
(Almond >>> Almond Oil; Wheat >>> Aquavit; Barley >>> Vodka; 2 x Wine >>> Brandy)
Spanish players use the same route between Seville and Ceuta, this time with the addition of making Brandy from Wine.
Similarly Portuguese players use the route from Porto to Lisbon, making Brandy from Wine on top of the Almond Oil and Aquavit.

Level 5 - 7
(Wheat >>> Whiskey; Barley >>> Vodka or Vinegar, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy)
Sail between Seville and Ceuta and brew Whiskey from Wheat, Vodka from Barley and Brandy from Wine. Now you’ll see why Handicraft is so profitable. Both Whiskey and Vodka are speciality products from the North and can see for quite a lot of money and fame.
If you want less profit and fame, you can turn the Barley into Vinegar with the Book of Seasoning

Level 7
(Wheat >>> Whiskey; Barley >>> Vodka or Vinegar, Wine >>> Wine Vinegar)
Using the same trade routes above, except turning Wine into Wine Vinegar with the Book of Seasoning rather than Brandy.

Level 8 - 10
(Wheat >>> Whiskey; Barley >>> Vodka or Vinegar, Wine >>> Wine Vinegar or 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)

Path A 
(Wheat >>> Whiskey; Barley >>> Vodka or Vinegar, Wine >>> Wine Vinegar)
If you are unlucky and do not have friends from France that can help you invest in a Brewing Secret Volume 2, then you are stuck in the Lisbon and Seville area, making Wine Vinegar from Wine. That would be the only recipe available to you until level 10.

Path B

(Raisin >>> Wine, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)
If you are lucky enough to grab hold of a Secret Brewing Volume 2, then its time to make some serious profit.

Path B1 

(Raisin >>> Wine, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)
-Suitable for all players, French players will have greater advantage.
Travel to the Bordeaux, Nantes area in the Bay of Biscay. Once you get here you’ll understand just how just how much of an advantage French players have in terms of Handicraft. Nantes sells Brandy, Bordeaux sells Wine and Raisins. Simply travel between the two ports, loading up on Brandy, Raisins, and Wine. Use Wine to make Brandy, combine Brandy with Raisin to make Shelly. Any leftover Raisins can be made into Wine, and then into Brandy and combined with another Raisin to make Shelly. Everything related to alcohol here can be crafted and therefore making these Nantes and Bordeaux area ideal for Handicraft crafters.

Trade Route (Nantes/Bordeaux >>> Plymouth)
Once your ship has full cargo of Shelly, you can unload them at Plymouth, where Shelly is considered a speciality product, and earning you some handsome exp, fame and profit.

Path B2 

(4 x Cane >>> Rum, Raisin >>> Wine, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)

Suitable only for Portuguese players
With a small investment in Madeira, you will be able to purchase Wine and Raisin. The disadvantage of Madeira is that unlike Bordeaux/Nantes, there are no nearby ports. If you want maximum efficiency its best to bring category 2 purchase orders.
The process is the same as in B2. Buy out Wine and Raisin. Turn the Wine into Brandy, and combine Brandy with Raisin to make Shelly. Buy Cane and brew Rum from the Cane.
Because your are Portuguese, you will be able to invest in Madeira and purchase extra trade goods.

Trade Route
This trade route is highly profitable and fast. Before you set out from Lisbon, make sure you have in your ship cargo 50 of Feathers (crafted from by plucking chicken with level 1 Sewing), 50 of Whiskey, brewed from Wheat, 50 of Aquavit, made also from Wheat, 50 of Vodka, made from Barley in Ceuta, travel to Madeira, craft at least 50 of Shelly, and some Rum if you have cargo space.
Once your ship is loaded with alcohol, sail down to Arguin, south west of Madeira on the African Coast. All the items in your ship apart from Rum are speciality items, and by selling them together you will receive Specialty Combo, earning you lots of experience and Ducat.
This Portuguese special trade route can make you a multi millionaire in a matter of days.

Level 10

See late game





North Sea Chapter

Required Skill Books
Art Handbook (Cairo, reward after 400,000D in Investment)
Book of Additional Wood Armour (all six capital cities) 15000D
Book of Alloy Smelting [optional] (Dublin, reward after 300,000 in investment)
Brewing Secrets [optional] (Cagliari, reward after 320,000D in investment; Hamburg) 10000D
Brewing Secrets Volume 2 [optional] (Havana, Montpellier, reward after 800,000 in investment)

Required Skills
Industrial good trading (mineral trader)
Handicraft (medicine trader)
Ore trading [optional] (mineral trader)
Casting [Level 7+] [optional] (mineral trader, firearms trader)
Alcohol trading [optional] (accountant)
Luxury items trading [optional] (accountant, medicine trader)

Level 1 – 3  
(Lumber + Iron >>> Cedar Boards)
Although, casting is not essential, having casting at level 7 and being able to make Bronze would make the levelling up of Handicraft 10 or more times faster. For details on how to level up Casting, see my guide on Casting. The reason is that you can turn Bronze into Bronze statue and the materials to make Bronze can all be found in Hamburg.
If you wish to master Handicraft and you are from either England or Netherlands, it is highly recommended that you start off with Casting and use Handicraft as a complement rather than head straight into Handicraft.
Purchase as many Iron from Amsterdam as you can and then sail to Oslo. In Oslo combine Lumber with Iron to make Cedar Boards from the Book of Additional Wood Armour.

Level 3 - 5 
(Lumber >>> Wooden statue)
The recipe book required for making Wooden Statue is obtained from Cairo. It is best to ask a friend from a Mediterranean nation to bring the book for you. It is a very long travel from Cairo back to the North.
Wooden Statues will sell for quite a lot in Oslo, and this recipe can make you rich very quickly. The disadvantage is that Oslo has no close by ports, so you will have to buy Lumber from other players.

Level 5 – 8
(Copper Ore + Tin Ore >>> Bronze: Bronze >>> Bronze statue)
Bronze can be purchased from ports, but it is much quicker if you use level 7 casting skill and the Book of Alloy Smelting, obtained from 300,000D in investments in Dublin to produce Bronze from Copper Ore and Tin Ore, which are both available in Hamburg.
In this method you can level up your Casting as well as your Handicraft, and you don’t have to leave port.

Level 8 – 10 
(Copper Ore + Tin Ore >>> Bronze: Bronze >>> Bronze Statue or Raisin >>> Wine, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)

Path A 
(Copper Ore + Tin Ore >>> Bronze: Bronze >>> Bronze Statue)
You can craft Bronze Statues until you reach level 10. You will make a lot of Ducats, but the monotony might kill you.

Path B
(Raisin >>> Wine, 2 x Wine >>> Brandy, Brandy + Raisin >>> Shelly)
You can also use the method discussed earlier in the Mediterranean Chapter to make Shelly in Bordeaux/Nantes areas.

Level 10
See late game