Single Player Crafting Concern

After spending a few hours crafting last night, I began to grow more and more concerned about crafting in single player mode.

The crafting system is structured in a way that it is very difficult to master multiple skills. Crafting is divided into 3 categories (gathering, refining, production) with 5 skills groups in each category. If I were only to focus playing online with others, this isn't so bad. In that situation, you can rely on others to craft things for you that you cannot produce. However, when looking at this from a single player point of view, it is much more disheartening.

I realize that crafting has not been completely fleshed out yet however, I hope that the single player experience will be taken into consideration when crafting gets a makeover.

 

Single player definitely needs a lot of love in future releases.

I think I can already hear the lamentations of the MMO fans when it is announced that releases will focus in story and single player features...

 

I suppose NPC vendors may always have some refined parts to sell in single player offline, but since we're gonna have Companions as part of a party maybe some of this companions can have crafting skills, and being part of the group makes them not to charge you if you give them the raw materials, same way some companions in Ultima VII gave you their services for free if you had them in the party.

 

What is your proposed solution?

 

I'm not sure that will happen.

 

You mean releases specifically for story and single player features?

 

bingo.

 

I don't feel you have anything to worry about, in offline mode most likely the items (parts needed for crafting) will be available on NPC vendors, and online, well if players don't fill that void by selling the parts other crafters need, then they will be missing a great opportunity to make money...

At the moment, I have put all my crafting points into the gathering skills, but when refining and production skills come online, then I will have to specialize in one tree, such as field dresssing, tanning and tailoring. Of course I won't be able to harvest cotton or make thread, but I think thats the point of specializing, I can supply the other tailors with leather and let the ones who did specialize in harvesting cotton (and the other resources that come with it), they can either sell me what I need, or I can sell them what they need... Either way the job gets done...

This is why I would like to see a glodel or regional search feature for player vendors... They have already announced plans for a "work order" system to allow players to "buy" from other players (using their vendors), but how will it be found? Going door to door, vendor to vendor is very time consuming (and boring)...

In that respect, single players are doomed to either using 2nd or 3rd player slots or doing without...

 

Being able to buy finished goods may be a dream or not. Presently, having to spend so much on training and purchasing crafting materials, there is not much cash left over. Someone who is mainly interested in crafting, decorating, dressing and such will be sadly wanting if the game stays pretty much the way it is. A crafter will have to master combat skills for ages in order to gather supplies and earn enough money to advance their crafting skills. It is interesting (and for me, unexpected) that people look to be encouraged to play a gamestyle they do not prefer. I am at adventure level 50 and crafting level 30. It took me a week to gather enough cotton, leather and spider carapaces to make one set of leather armor. This is a week after gaining the aforementioned skills. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy both combat and crafting, I am just observing that these skill trees are both necessary at present. If someone wants to craft, decorate, and dress, then there needs to be an alternate source of cash. You cannot earn money selling stuff unless the stuff you sell is wanted by the masses. You cannot get the desired stuff without spending a great amount of time training in something you do not want to do to get the items to sell. Additionally, if it takes a week to gather enough to make one suit and you have to be leveled up in combat to gather the materials in the first place, then the value of that week's work and leveling time must be reflected in the price for the suit.

With regards to the two additional crafting skill trees....I hope that we will earn crafting skill points in all three categories at the same time. Instead of earning crafting skill points to be used across all three categories, we could earn points in each category simultaneously. For example, when we gain a crafting level (perhaps 8 skill points), our skill list should show 8 points in gathering, 8 in processing and 8 in production. These points could only be spent in their respective category.