EYE OF NEWT & CO.

It was a great relief to read in the patch notes for Book 13 that monster trophies are finally going to be rationalised. The current situation verged on the ridiculous, with a huge proliferation of nearly identical items, some of which were valuable in themselves, others were of use to craftsmen, while the majority were simply junk. We are blessed, for example, with no fewer than ten varieties of spider eye, all with identical icons: Small Spider Eye, Scarred Spider Eye, Huge Spider Eye, Blackened Spider Eye, Flawed Spider Eye, Dusky Spider Eye, Great Spider Eye, Monstrous Spider Eye, Grey Spider Eye, Dirty Spider Eye... Can you remember which of the ten is critical for the production of Fire Oil?

According to the notes, the change will definitely be for the better as far as crafting is concerned: "All of the recipes that utilize optional ingredients have been updated to use a new generic trophy item. If your recipe calls for the new “Tough Leg” trophy item you will be able to find that from 7 species located in all parts of Middle-earth". So that's all right then, particularly since the different kinds of Tough Legs will be stackable, irrespective of provenance, thus saving valuable pack space.

As ever, the Bard got it right the first time with his recipe:
"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."
You will note that nothing is said about the eye of newt having to be Dusky, Black or Scarred...