Introduce a Cauldron-like combining system to random items

[Wren666]

In short, let us craft a new item which will combine the prefix and suffix from 2 randomly-generated items.

Details:

Altar of Combining

• Placed in an area accessible by F2P players, like the Cauldron of Sora Katra currently is.
  
  
• It'd use a new crafting UI that'll have 3 slots, for:
  A Primary Item,
  a Secondary Item and
  a rare Catalyst (like the Marks from Droaam.)
  
  
• Both of the items will need to be randomly-generated (non-"named") treasure that's been Bound & Attuned at the Altar of Change first.
  
  
• After a successful combination, a new item will be generated that will have the +Bonus, Prefix (like Thundering/Holy etc.) and Material type (Adamantine/Cold Iron/Glass/Silver etc.) from the Primary item along with the Suffix (Pure Good/Everbright/Stunning etc.) from the Secondary item.
  
  
• The result will become Bound-to-Character. So you won't be able to just go around selling perfect combinations like Metalline of Pure Good by the wagonload.
  
  
• The Catalyst could either be Astral Diamonds or something obtainable only from P2P quests, or it could simply be rare Dragonshards, depending on the level of the primary item (i.e. ML 8-10 Items would require a Flawed Siberys Dragonshard, 11-13 will need an Imperfect and so on.)
  
  
• Any previously-added Eldritch Rituals or other upgrades like the Risia Icy kits would be retained from the Primary item, but lost from the Secondary.
  
  
• Not sure on how the Minimum Level should change. Maybe it should behave just like it would as if the resulting item was generated from a random chest, or maybe it should just increase the ML by 1 or more depending on the quality of the Catalyst used.
  
  
• If in case it turns out to be too powerful, maybe they could limit this kind of system by not allowing combinations to be used in other combinations. i.e. you wouldn't be able to use an item created by the Altar of Combining in that same Altar again

Examples:

• +2 Icy Burst Great Sword of Pure Good & +4 Weakening Maul of Stunning +2 = +2 Icy Burst Great Sword of Stunning +2 (but if the items were swapped it'd make a +4 Weakening Maul of Pure Good instead)
  
  
• Striding+10% Boots & Charismatic Ring of Balance+5 = Striding+10% Boots of Balance+5
  
  
• +3 True Law Flametouched Iron Maul of Pure Good & +1 Metalline Falchion of Maiming = +3 True Law Flametouched Iron Maul of Maiming and so on.

[voodoogroves]

Each prefix and suffix is not equal.

An item has a "level". Some of that is the +, some is the prefix and some is the suffix.

While it would be cool to swap stuff, it would most certainly need to swap equal or down-level.

[DragonRage40X]

Three day necro, but I was thinking about this while playing around with a pair of Flametouched Iron Scimitars I bought in a Chronoscope run.

As it stands, they're fairly weak weapons, only slightly better than the junk you pull from level 1-6 quests more often than not.

But they're also ML:1, which makes sense, since [metal] enhancements don't alter the ML for items. For the record:

http://ddowiki.com/page/Weapon_enhancement_summary

Minimum Level is calculated as (Base Price * 2) - 2, which is how I come to all the level conclusions with the suggestions below.

So here's what I was thinking: What if you could take, for example, a Flametouched Iron Scimitar (ML:1), a (for example) +5 Metalline Greataxe of Lesser Vermin Bane (ML:14), and some extra crud, throw that in the Stone of Change in that order, and come out with a Flametouched Iron Metalline Scimitar (ML:2)?

And then you take that, a +5 Longsword (ML:8), some other extra crud, Stone of Change, and you get a +5 Flametouched Iron Metalline Scimitar (ML:12)?

Or let's say you've got a +5 True Law Greataxe of Pure Good (ML:12) and a +1 Vorpal Longsword (ML:10). You put them into the Stone of Change with the crud from the first ritual and the result is a +5 Vorpal Greataxe of Pure Good, which is less useful than it sounds (ML:20).

Certain combinations wouldn't be possible (+5, Vorpal, Greater X Bane, for example - that would end up being a ML:24 weapon, ouch), of course.

[BoolZ]

I know I'd have my pair of +5 Metalline Khopesh of Pure Goods by now, and at like 1/5 the cost on the AH.

I'm torn on the idea. On one hand I could see it getting out of hand pretty fast. My current character would be able to gear himself all the way to the end. Sounds great but literally every character would have the best random gear. No more settleing for vorpal of lesser elf bane or having to buy battle axes because they're cheaper. Of course the dev's would have to know there'd never be another light mace taken into the Shroud. And I think it's a bit of an easy button, so I'm kinda against it.

On the other hand. Much, MUCH, less vendor trash. Which means less plat being pumped into the game. You could even skip the crafting and rare catalyst in favor of a vendor and a steep cost in pp to remove some of the platinum. So I'm kinda for it as a sink.

I guess it all comes down to how it would be introduced, and should be a bit of a pain to begin with.

I think it:

Should be the same min level as if it were randomly generated
Bound to Character
The two weapons should be the same type. Both Khopeshes or both Great Axes.
Both bases should be the same value. If you want to add a prefix off a +12 weapon then the sufix has to come from a +12 weapon.

Yeah, I think I could be for it.

[sephiroth1084]

I know that, among other things, I"d end up with some nice +5 Holy Silver Greater Evil Outsider Banes...

I'm torn on this, since on the one hand it would produce some weapons of greater than Shroud quality with potentially much less effort, but on the other hand, it would really improve the value of randomly generated loot.

[Wren666]

...

Bound to Character
The two weapons should be the same type. Both Khopeshes or both Great Axes.

...

That would make the perfect sense and work really well. Still not sure on the resulting ML however, because as you say that could exceed 20 for some combinations, or the requirement of both components to be of the same value, which would limit the application of a system like this more than it's needed.