Crafting Viability

[simsiim]

I’ll need to do this in a story, not sure I could break it down for some of you to relate what I was trying to say, So advance Apologies for the long post

I have went into the crafting differently then what I am reading what most of you are doing. But I had only 3000pp to play with, so I have been using the LamaDDOstore for my Mats.
I have been saving what I get from chest , since those are unbound mats, I actually been keeping those in my other bag (that I had before the gargantuan Bag). So just been using the Store bought Mats. Glad some and most are doing the decon way of evaluating (I just couldn’t afford it) So in a sense my perspective is a low-level poor new player, or someone that can spend the $ on TP.

At first I just charged right in, not really taking too much time understanding and looking ahead. I glanced what levels I would need to craft what, and just went to leveling up. After about 4500 lama TP was spent, I noticed this was way to expensive, even for Store bought. And my levels of Crafting was still too low to craft what I wanted to do, so then I went to focusing on remaking some good low level so now I glanced at some of my better weapons, and then looked at the crafting to see what levels of Arcane, Divine, and Element needed to be at. I was shocked. I did a couple test craft to see what level the weapons would come out as, again I was shocked. The Random really cool drop I got or bought from the AH was much lower level required. There was no way I could see I could replicate that same weapon, for the same level and build it as being that level.

After the April 8th (4/8) update, there was actually one craft I had not leveled up yet, so it was a clean craft to test the cost of leveling up. The 4/8 update lowered the cost, what cost me 4500 Lama TP now only cost me 800 lama TP, but then again I was going risky this time. My first runs at being risky leveling up did not pay off, and leveling up safe is way more expensive. So in a way I’m not sure if it was me just being risky or if it was the 4/8 update, or a combination of the 2.

Crafting will not be for the New character/player, the cost is too high I would say time consuming too, but some players that is not an issue, and may actually be their thing. Mew Characters/Players will be best saving up crafting materials or selling them on the AH.
Not every thing will be Bound, since there will be unbound devices too, so a new character/player could just save up the materials, and find them a craftsman. So crafting in the game will be there, just some will choose not to go that route and just pay others to craft for them.
For me, I want to be a craftsman, but don’t see I’ll be able to afford to be such, not right away that is, So guess I’ll be looking for a craftsman if I really feel I need a + such-n-such made.

Do I think crafting is Viable ?, it will be, and very expensive to getting it there fast

Not sure about some of it tho, like I mentioned, the cost to level up craft just to make the same level 4 Pure good weapon is way too high
for a capped Craftsman for hire, the cost is no longer theirs

( I wanted to write more but need to leave to take care of somethings, in other words, RL calls)

[MadFloyd]

Could you clarify that the 'it' you are referring to is the general 'blank' for crafting trinkets and NOT the shard of power? There seems to be some general confusion on this subject.

I assume the above means that the general blank trinket from the store is being added to the general loot tables in ADDITION to the shard of power being made craftable, and continuing to be only available where it currently is available.

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

[Trillea]

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

I think this is a fair statement.

[Lyetisha]

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

Awesome to hear that it's going to be part of the general loot table! =D

[Ziindarax]

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

Nice to know.

On an unrelated note, any chance you could buff up the return from deconstructing items even further? The ratios are still rather atrocious. :/

[Letrii]

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

Will it have a chance for dropping in lvl 1 content like normal weapons do?

[sirgog]

The general blank trinket is what I was referring to. We realized that this item was not easily available so we added it to both the store and general treasure. Your choices are you can hope you get one through natural gameplay, but if you're impatient you can use the store.

Now that the trinket issue is fixed, any chance of doing something about the mess that is attaining disjunctable silver handwraps (and to a lesser extent Cold Iron)?

They drop from one quest in the game (normal or hard Devil Assault), and a little birdie tells me the drop rate is 0.2%. The quest is little-run on those difficulties, and so they will likely be trading for 20+ flawless reds once people reach the crafting levels needed to put them to use.

OTOH, silver khopeshes, while somewhat rare (~1 in 10000 chests or end reward options) can drop from the regularly run endgame content, as well as from all the content a TR might run in their relevelling.

[MadFloyd]

Nice to know.

On an unrelated note, any chance you could buff up the return from deconstructing items even further? The ratios are still rather atrocious. :/

There's always a chance. We did double the drop rate of essences (in treasure) in the latest update. We thought this would be better as you're more likely to know where you stand in advance of deconstruction.

[MadFloyd]

Will it have a chance for dropping in lvl 1 content like normal weapons do?

I think so, but I'm not positive.

[pjw]

while there may be a few who go the TP route. it's not like thousands of people aren't asking for plat sinks in the game.

Thousands might be a bit of an overstatement. I'm always short of dragon scales and can never afford enough.

But there are certainly some people with very deep pockets.

I am not sure I like the idea of those people being the same people who can make even more money because they are the only ones who can afford to get high crafting levels.

The crafting system offers an opportunity to substantially reduce (not remove) the gear-gap that old and new players so that content balancing become a great deal easier.

no you dont have to purchase TP, yes you can buy junk loot on the AH. this probably wont be a big deal for the bigger servers, but im thinking the AH on the smaller servers will be semi-bare for a while.

In honesty I don't really care if people pay TP to become master crafters;what bothers me is that in the current system it is about 3 times more resource intense going from 50 to 60 as it is going from 40 to 50. Ditto 20 to 30. And the resource amounts are staggering (without paying TP, about 80,000 Lesser to get to level 66 in one school, after the most recent update); I can only imagine what 70-80 will be like when they fill out the recipes a little more.

As I have said elsewhere, exponential growth in resource requirements is not a good approach.

The other unbalancing thing about TP is that if you buy XP and skill enhancers you almost halve your resource requirements; the system of XP degradation combined with exponential cost increases and reduced recipes at higher levels has not been well balanced, IMO.

[Alabore]

im thinking the AH on the smaller servers will be semi-bare for a while.

Maybe we'll see a spike in prices for "semi-trash".
I suspect some players will expect to be able to selectively graft "extensions" from items - and find out how crafting really works the hard, expensive way.

Caveat emptor...

[pjw]

On an unrelated note, any chance you could buff up the return from deconstructing items even further? The ratios are still rather atrocious. :/

There's always a chance...

That would be fantastic!

Especially if the quantities were related to the quantities used in construction (say 10%).

[kcru]

There's always a chance. We did double the drop rate of essences (in treasure) in the latest update. We thought this would be better as you're more likely to know where you stand in advance of deconstruction.

From what I'm reading it's not really the essences aquired that's the problem, it's the essences required scaling very very fast as you hit the mid-crafting.

I don't know how many people are actively questing on Lama, but somehow it doesn't seem likely that the drop rate + rate from decon can keep up with the exponential requirements, given that decons cap out on what they return.



From what I'm reading, the current system tries to lure you in with fairly easy advancement, gets harder, then becomes a huge slog. By that point the player is forced to choose whether to abandon all of his previous efforts and cash, or keep going even though he's now quite unhappy. Not a good combo.

[Pfold]

From what I have read and done on Lam it seems like it would be easier to tr multiple times on multiple characters and pull the rng item you want instead of crafting it.

Is this how the crafting was intended?

[ProdigalGuru]

I played Star Wars Galaxies for many years, and was an avid crafter there.
IMO it was the single-best feature of the game.

Crafting in DDO is going to be peanuts compared to that, grind and all.
It could be a lot worse.

[simsiim]

Nice to know.

On an unrelated note, any chance you could buff up the return from deconstructing items even further? The ratios are still rather atrocious. :/

There's always a chance. We did double the drop rate of essences (in treasure) in the latest update. We thought this would be better as you're more likely to know where you stand in advance of deconstruction.

Just been doing some low level stuff to take care of some Favor needed. I did see I was now getting the essence in the low level unlike before I did not get any. Not sure if that was due to the double where before was none and now I get some. I will need to find some places I can handle closer to my level and see if this drop rate actually did double, or now it's just a better chance of getting it

[vVAnjilaVv]

Well, let me know how many items you intend to deconstruct and at what level (very roughly) each week (casually) and I'll give you an estimate of how many weeks it will take to construct something wicked...

Sorry, but clearly you did not comprehend what I wrote in my reply.....I DON'T CARE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE BECAUSE I AM NOT THAT OBSeSSed with it!

If I nitpicked and broke down every little thing in this game I wouldn't even play it anymore because it would be no fun to me.

[pjw]

Sorry, but clearly you did not comprehend what I wrote in my reply.....I DON'T CARE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE BECAUSE I AM NOT THAT OBSeSSed with it!

You are quire right, I misunderstood. I thought you actually meant that you cared "if I can make some wicked item a year from now just by casually doing crafting" or not. Obviously you don't really have an interest.

If you do care, let me know what you think 'casually doing crafting' for a year means (in terms of items ground down) and I will try to tell you what you will be able to make.

[vVAnjilaVv]

You are quire right, I misunderstood. I thought you actually meant that you cared "if I can make some wicked item a year from now just by casually doing crafting" or not. Obviously you don't really have an interest.

If you do care, let me know what you think 'casually doing crafting' for a year means (in terms of items ground down) and I will try to tell you what you will be able to make.

While I DO indeed appreciate all the work you are putting into crafting analysis....no sarcasm at all......it's just not a big concern.

Like I say......what I get I get.....I don't control fate.....so I have no idea what I will end up with and it's not a concern as it really drains the joy out of the game for me when I do. The more I mull over somebodies number crunching the more it will seem overwhelming.....funny thing is when you just go about doing things....time goes by really fast.

Maybe in a year DDO will go under...we will be attacked by aliens, nature will wipe the earth clean.......is it gonna matter if I crafted a +4 holy burst silver khopesh of life-stealing before that happened....not to me.

[gamj]

While I hate comparing with other MMO (which I don't play a lot anyway) but I'll throw my 2-cents because I tried the LOTRO crafting.

Crafting in LOTRO allows you with medium-low farming to create items actually usefull for your character at-level. Meaning my char there with Tailoring can actually use and benefit from crafting medium armor by himself.

From what I saw and read here in DDO, by the time you're able to craft something, you've leveled far to high for it to be usefull.

Let me take an example: My monk has banked a No-ML Outfit of Light Fortification. Which I had found fairly early and actually used at-level, until I found a Outfit of Moderate Fortification, which I also used almost at-minimum level.

I don't know what crafting levels are Light and Medium Fort, but I doupt I could craft them at level 1 and 8 respectively.


The other thing I'd like to see, and this might be more wishfull thinking, but I would like to be able to deconstruct a suffix on an item while keeping the prefix (or vise versa). You often loot interesting items from a quest, but with a crappy prefix or suffix, increasing the minimum level. This would increase the usefullness of deconstruction, at the very worst, make this not generate essenses if you're too conscerned.