It can be time saving, and less irritating, to gather all materials for a set of gear before beginning to craft any of it.

- No going back and forth per piece, repeatedly re-checking to see if sufficient material is now present for the next piece, and so on. Let alone switching in and out of profiles to check / for completeness and to allocate gear. [It is handy to assign gear to a profile as you make it - you can then simply check the profile, or Inquisitor, to view items still outstanding.]

- Instead, acquire all the materials below, then craft it all in one go. Save your gold, there are no points for crafting gear, and the only RSS needed to craft gear is silver. Gather sufficient silver, wait for a day of +10% time boosts, then complete your Castle set in one go.

- Eventually, you will want Castle gear - not only does it give you a way to make use of the Alpha kills you're going to do anyways, the gear applies to the Rampart and Eternal Stronghold, and even if you're not interested in Dominion or the ES, you will be interested in holding the Rebel Towers and/or your Arena - to which this gear also applies.

- You will have crafted the best gear for your favourite troop type before you have begun considering Castle gear. Common consensus seems to be to stick with that maximum gear until you can apply maximum Castle gear in its place.

- Remember, you need 1,545 candles to reach Absolute Dignity (to then realize that maximum Castle gear). The best / sale packs contain 250 x 2 sets of candles, and are few and far between. Nab such packs when you can, so you won't need to wait once you have acquired all the materials.

By only hitting Alphas, you not only get the materials you need, but you also get the unique Alpha jewels, acquire crystals (in minuscule amounts), accumulate the battle jewels you will want to duplicate to also apply to your just crafted Castle gear, and gain the most points for your current event.

<# still required> (Total#=<# for Ann>+<# for Hero>)  material - source/Alpha

# (#=#+#) material - varmint/AL

e.g. 1 (1=0+1) salt - camp

• 3 (3=0+3) Birch Bark - Outcast/BC
• 3 (3=3+0) Black Thread - Disciple/BC
• 3 (3=3+0) Cloth - Disciple/BC
• 5 (5=2+3) Coal - Outcast/BC
• 4 (4=3+1) Copper Clasp - Smuggler/BC
• 2 (2=0+2) Crude Leather - Nord/BC
• 3 (3=0+3) Deerskin - Outcast/BC
• 3 (3=1+2) Felt - Smuggler/BC
• 4 (4=4+0) Flint Piece - Smuggler/BC
• 4 (4=2+2) Gold Dust - Outcast/BC
• 1 (1=0+1) Northern Steel - Nord/BC
• 2 (2=1+1) Poison Bottle - Disciple/BC
• 2 (2=0+2) Precious Ore - Nord/BC
• 4 (4=3+1) Quill - Disciple/BC
• 6 (6=2+4) Scrap of Silk - Smuggler/BC
• 3 (3=2+1) Steel Cake - Disciple/BC
• 5 (5=2+3) Waxed Thread - Smuggler/BC
• 8 (8=2+6) Welding Steel - Outcast/BC
• 1 (1=0+1) Woven Cable - Nord/BC
• 4 (4=3+1) Arrow Shafts - Saracen/BD
• 2 (2=2+0) Bird Feathers - Saracen/BD
• 2 (2=1+1) Bone - Vandal/BD
• 5 (5=4+1) Broken Shield - Executioner/BD
• 6 (6=2+4) Charcoal - Executioner/BD
• 5 (5=2+3) Clew - Renegade/BD
• 5 (5=4+1) Coarse Cloth - Executioner/BD
• 7 (7=4+3) Durable Cloth - Saracen/BD
• 4 (4=2+2) Hone Stone - Executioner/BD
• 6 (6=3+3) Old Links - Renegade/BD
• 5 (5=2+3) Predator Hide - Vandal/BD
• 6 (6=3+3) Rusty Stirrup - Saracen/BD
• 8 (8=3+5) Sackcloth - Renegade/BD
• 4 (4=2+2) Sharp Spike - Vandal/BD
• 6 (6=4+2) Strong Thread - Executioner/BD
• 1 (1=1+0) Sturdy Pole - Vandal/BD
• 8 (8=4+4) Tanned Hide - Saracen/BD
• 5 (5=2+3) Torn Leather - Renegade/BD
• 2 (2=0+2) Twine - Vandal/BD
• 5 (5=2+3) Wax - Renegade/BD
• 2 (2=1+1) Brocade - Heretic/BI
• 2 (2=2+0) Bulat Ingot - Heretic/BI
• 1 (1=0+1) Fine Steel - Paladin/BI
• 4 (4=2+2) Goatskin - Heretic/BI
• 2 (2=0+2) Gold Rods - Virago/BI
• 1 (1=1+0) Hawk Feather - Heretic/BI
• 4 (4=4+0) Pine Planks - Savage/BI
• 6 (6=5+1) Predator Fangs - Savage/BI
• 3 (3=3+0) Prill - Savage/BI
• 1 (1=1+0) Shredded Fur - Savage/BI
• 1 (1=0+1) Strong Planks - Paladin/BI
• 4 (4=0+4) Sulfur - Virago/BI
• 5 (5=2+3) Sword Hilt - Heretic/BI
• 1 (1=0+1) Thick Cotton - Paladin/BI
• 4 (4=3+1) Whetstone - Savage/BI
• 3 (3=0+3) White Stones - Paladin/BI
• 5 (5=3+2) Beast Hide - Fugitive/Po
• 7 (7=4+3) Black Oil - Rebel/Po
• 1 (1=1+0) Broadcloth - Nomad/Po
• 2 (2=2+0) Bull Horn - Nomad/Po
• 6 (6=4+2) Chain Links - Fugitive/Po
• 1 (1=0+1) Cord - Fugitive/Po
• 2 (2=0+2) Iron Cake - Pillager/Po
• 5 (5=3+2) Lambskin - Pillager/Po
• 8 (8=6+2) Leather Roll - Rebel/Po
• 4 (4=2+2) Oak Bark - Rebel/Po
• 1 (1=0+1) Old Blade - Pillager/Po
• 5 (5=3+2) Old Rags - Fugitive/Po
• 6 (6=3+3) Parchment - Rebel/Po
• 1 (1=1+0) Reed - Nomad/Po
• 4 (4=2+2) Rusted Metal - Fugitive/Po
• 8 (8=5+3) Steel Spikes - Rebel/Po
• 2 (2=0+2) Strap - Pillager/Po
• 7 (7=6+1) String - Pillager/Po
• 2 (2=2+0) Viper Venom - Nomad/Po
• 16 (16=9+7) Bronze - Camp
• 7 (7=3+4) Dye - Camp
• 12 (12=5+7) Flint - Camp
• 8 (8=4+4) Granite - Camp
• 13 (13=9+4) Hemp - Camp
• 22 (22=9+13) Lazurite - Camp
• 17 (17=7+10) Leather - Camp
• 12 (12=8+4) Silk - Camp
• 18 (18=10+8) Steel - Camp
• 14 (14=5+9) Tar - Camp
• 13 (13=4+9) Wood - Camp
• 10 (10=4+6) Wool - Camp

YMMV.

GL&HF