Like the title says, I tested out increasing Cooking skill all the way to 120 and it has zero effect on the intensity or duration of the buffs associated with crafted food. I am not even sure it had an effect on how many food items were produced when an "exceptional" food item was created. As is, there is NO point in raising the skill above level ONE. None whatsoever. Which brings me to another point. Why is there the Ring of Jones and Bronze Engraving Kits that go on Cooking Pots, Expert Cooking Stations, etc, when they add nothing to the skill? I see there is a quest in Lord British's Castle that rewards the player with a Ring of Jones. Why was all the effort put into making these items and even a quest to get them if there is NO point in actually using the items? So much effort was put into making many recipes to make many previously useless items usable by producing food with desirable buffs, yet the cooking skill itself was entirely neglected. This seems a huge waste of effort. Why not make the most of the effort already expended by tying the skill to modest increases in buff intensity (similar to Elixir Receptive functioning on potions) and modest to high increases to buff duration (similar to Elixir Extension)? Doing so would make leveling Cooking skill actually mean something, as well as making the Cooking skill-increase items (and the quest to get them) worthwhile. While I am thrilled that much effort was put into the creation of many interesting food recipes, why not go the last mile and finish what remains an incomplete skill? While I am on the subject, shortly after I started playing SoTA (a month after it went "live") I asked a question in the Official Discord channel "Is there a way to make a campfire in the game? You know, like taking a dagger to a tree in Ultima Online produced kindling, and using the kindling made a campfire at your feet, one that you could cook meat on?". Richard Garriot replied almost instantly by saying "We're working on it!". Obviously, that hasn't happened, but perhaps it can? Add campfires to the game that can be placed on the ground, allowing us to cook food on it as if it was a cooking station, perhaps adding a flat stone next to it to butcher carcasses? Give it a 5-10 minute duration and perhaps a small, short-lived buff of some sort ( a buff to Bard songs!). Sincerely, Cozy Firesong
Some clarification on my post... "Why not make the most of the effort already expended by tying the skill to modest increases in buff intensity (similar to Elixir Receptive functioning on potions) and modest to high increases to buff duration (similar to Elixir Extension)?" What I meant is the a person with Cooking skill can make food that has these increased properties, NOT a person having the skill gets bonuses to normal food (like the Elixir skills work). The cook makes better food, not the eater! Also, PLEASE don't just gate the recipes behind skill level like some of the recipes for, say, Blacksmithing for example. Having a low cooking level should make food that matches a newer player, and thus have lower intensity. Minimum skills required to make some of the recipes isn't necessary as the required ingredients already do that to some extent. That would also make some foods out of reach for certain play-styles. For example, requiring 80 cooking skill to make a food that buffs water attunement doesn't make sense since a new player could have water skills right from the beginning.
Certain foods require that you have a higher cooking skill level in order to make them. If a skill level of one is sufficient to make what you want then leave it there. There are so many skills to spend your XP on, why are you wishing for more? If they do what you suggest then they'll nerf the hell out of food and require skill level 150 in order to craft what you're getting now.
