Reworking Items

Discussion in 'Archived Topics' started by Browncoat Jayson, Feb 13, 2018.

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  1. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    I'd like to suggest a new skill under each of the Salvage skills in the Crafting tree. Maybe @DarkStarr and @Bzus can consider this as an extension of the crafting system.

    Rework Item
    Requires 40 Salvage Item

    Learning this skill adds a new recipe to your Crafting Book. Using this recipe, you can place a crafted item, a component, and some fuel on a crafting station and attempt to replace the component in the crafted item with the new component. At high skill levels, there is a small chance you will recover the existing component, just as though you salvaged the item.

    For example, using the Smithing Rework Item skill, you can place an Iron Longsword that has a standard Iron Hilt on a Smithing Station, along with an Elven Hilt and a Chunk of Coal. If it fails, it consumes the fuel and you get back your sword and the new hilt. At a skill of 80, you do have about a 2% chance to lose the new Elven Hilt upon failure, but this decreases with higher skill. If it succeeds, the Iron Hilt on the sword is replaced with the Elven Hilt, improving your weapon! At a skill of 80, you have about a 2% chance to get back the original Iron Hilt as well, and this increases with higher skill.

    Note that this isn't really any better than salvaging to try to get components out of a dropped item, except that you have a chance to do so per component. So if Torc'Dawl's hammer has both a hammer head and a mossy handle, you can attempt to replace those components individually in order to try to recover them. This should have very little, if any, effect on the economy for those items.

    What this will do is provide an upgrade path for players with their "favorite" items. For example, you commission an Obsidian Longsword with great enchantments and masterworks, and in a few months, you get a new hilt from a rare drop. Instead of having to completely recreate your sword, likely with different enchantments and masterworks, you simply have a skilled craftsman rework the sword to incorporate your new hilt.
     
  2. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    that would have huge benefits for crafters. rather than making a bunch of swords with good materials and then busting most of them getting the masterworks and enchantments they want, they'd make a bunch of plain iron and copper weapons and then replace the components with good ones on the few that survive the mw/enchant process.
     
  3. Cora Cuz'avich

    Cora Cuz'avich Avatar

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    Hm. I like it, but I suspect it will get shot down. For example, if I wanted a bow with elven strings, and I wanted to MW/enchant it, I'd go through a lot more elven strings if I had to us ethem to make the bow in the first place than if I were to make the bows with cotton strings until I got one I liked and then restrung it with elven strings.
     
  4. zerothis

    zerothis Avatar

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    Devs have said repeatedly they *want* enhanced weapons/items to remain rare. I expect, if they were to add this, they'd 'sabotage' some other aspect of crafting (or all other aspects) to maintain balance. Crafting is sabotaged enough already thank you.
     
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  5. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    They can balance it however they want, even with a large chance to blow up the new material. I'm sure it would still be fine.

    I'd rather believe they want the game to be fun. Crafting right now is not; its a laborious activity at best. I'd rather be excited about getting a rare component, not see it as failure because the chances of ever being able to use it are next to nothing.
     
  6. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    Thinking about this, it would be easy enough to limit what can be swapped. Replacing a tier 3 component with another tier 3 component might have a very small chance of critical failure, but replacing a tier 1 component with a tier 3 (like you are suggesting) could have a much larger chance of critical failure that loses the new component. So to minimize the chances of losing future replacement pieces, you would want to craft with the best you have.
     
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  7. Browncoat Jayson

    Browncoat Jayson Legend of the Hearth

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    Maybe if crafting skills get their own version of Specialization, this can be a special ability of that level of mastery.
     
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