Slight shift in crafting

[TheAlicornSage]

One thing I tend to like in games is crafting, but not this one. Mostly this is because I simply can't craft anything I'd use. It is really frustrating to try to improve crafting when I have no hope of using a single thing I make. I rather be able to make a sword with a minimum level of my level even if it only had simple magic effects, because then I'd feel like I could use it while I practice crafting to increase my crafting abilities.

The current crafting system requires several lifetimes to get to craft gear at any decent level and spending 95% of that time making items far too low to even use, and they won't even sell at a price to recoup costs.

I've spent literal years getting my best character to level 20, (partly because I can't play often, but still, after years) I can not craft a single thing for my character, because it is always for really low, like 1/3 of my level.

Now I understand the desire to slow down progress in some way, but I think it can be done differently to get the best of both worlds.

The idea is this,
Part 1: Make crafting a skill. This means that crafting requires character resources, so it won't be just everybody making their own gear. This is in addition to the current crafting exp level.

Part 2: Make it so that crafting comes in tiers, with each tier you can craft stuff up to your own level (or based on the craft skill skill if you go with it).
The first tier is simple and easy, it is just the enhancement bonus and can easily be achieved by any first life crafter, as it needs low crafting levels (or depends solely on the crafting skill).
The second tier is the main spell effect and requires a great amount of dedication to achieve for a first life. This needs the current crafting exp to be high enough.
The third tier is the secondary effect and requires similar investment as the current system. This needs the current crafting exp level to ne high plis rare materials.
The fourth tier is special third effects, adding slots, etc, and requires a lot of investment. This has the highest requirements and requires materials that you have to go seek out, such as raid rewards or something.

Masterful craftsmanship is basically when you go for a lower tier when you have the requisite ability for a higher tier, thus gaining a higher CL for the effect at a lower minimum level required.

Making unbound items should basically just increase the tier.

You can include more tiers interspersed in there for access to various types of effects. For example, early on maube only damage effects and returning can be applied to weapons, but go up in tiers gramts access to new effects.

The effects of any given tier always can reach a character's current level, so even a first life character can make something to use.

For example, a 20th lvl character on their first life can make a weapon with a minimum level of 20 in terms of enhancement bonus and dmg, and if really dedicated might even get a basic elemental dmg type, such as shock. Then on their second ot third life, they can be experimenting with more advanced effects, such as shocking burst, alignment dmg, skill bonuses, etc. Then the next couple of lives are adding secondary effects, and so on.

This can be done primarily through the existing crafting structure.

Thus, with a first life amount of investment, one can always make equipment for their level, even if it isn't the fanciest gear.

Part 3: Also, let us make the base item and choose the specific 3d model to use, and color choice. ( a fancy menu could even let us have item parts that we can mix and match).


Conclusion,
By making it require character investment, you'd get a player economy of players wanting custom-made stuff from crafters, who'd want random loot to break down into materials, plus collectables.

The basics of this idea should not be very hard to implement, basically just changing the requirements of the various enchantment "slots" and the shard requirements. The custom 3d model and color choice might take more, but that only matters to the base item so that can use it;s own crafting method if that easier. Also, monetization chance as well, as you can have only basic models selectable at first, then purchase additional model and color choices.

[Maidenstalker]

Gingerspyce has a tutorial on how to level up your crafting skill very fast:

Cannith Crafting: How to level 300 in less than 30 minutes! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt1UQcIFde8

[TheAlicornSage]

There are a few problems with that vid,

Firstly, it assumes you have all the materials you need for the crafting aside from a few items that are freely given to new characters in a tutorial, which naturally relies on having a shared bank.

But the real big problem, is the guy is basically cheating. Sure it might be the sort of cheating that is allowed and that no one cares about, but it is still using p2w tactics, loopholes, and going outside the boundaries of the crafting system design itself.

There are multiple scopes to consider in an onion, with outer scopes including inner scopes, starting with, a single character's life (class design falls here), a single character over multiple lives (current crafting system design), all characters on a server (shared bank, favor rewards, etc), and all characters across all servers (purchased content).

What that guy does is tricks from outside the scope of the design to get around the limitations of the design. Granted, there is great motivation to do so because the crafting system design sucks horribly on many levels.

A couple specific points, I get a few hours a week to spend on games because I literally work 14-16 hours a day, 7 days a week with rare exception. Thus, when I do play, I'm not going to waste my time grinding. And yes, making new characters to run through a tutorial so O can collect mats that I can't share because I don't have a shared bank is still grinding.

Another issue is that simply having max crafting level doesn't really solve the issue as it still feels out of place to be able to craft epic level 30 gear when you're level 1.

This is why I suggested the change I did, because while they really need to revamp the whole crafting process and item enchantment structure to something better designed, my suggestion was intended to work with the existing structure in place to make something better that doesn't require me to essentially break the system in order to actually use it.