Haha, yeah, fair enough!
For all my moaning, I do want to make this clear: if they just did
something about non-crafters being able to contribute meaningfully or work towards to the cost of PEBS for crafters to then make them things, then I would be more or less happy with the new CC. Yeah, I think perhaps putting the collectible cost on the ML shards might have been better. Yeah, I think the lower power cap compared to lootgen is unnecessary. but I don't think any of those things cause an inherent problem with the system.
I have in the past pretty much always used my
own ingredients, freely, and would intend to continue doing so - but when I don't have them I ask for people to supply their own. The new system seems to be surgically designed to prevent this, and I don't understand why it needs to be that way given the lower power cap, the higher crafting levels required to make the unbound stuff, and the other balancing factors in play.
Heck, we're really just talking about being clear about where small/medium/large fragments might drop, and adding an equivalent FR rare unbound collectible to the list of things that can be exchanged for PEBS.
EDIT EDIT: snipped a huge chunk of stuff that was detracting from the point
EDIT: why not something simple like being able to trade X number of Cannith Essences for a PEBS? Its just a question of balancing around what X should be at that point.