A Crafting System with Freedom

[Kingshield]

A Crafting System with Freedom

I have not seen much mention of a crafting system in GW2, but I for one found the system in GW1 quite appalling. It had no creativity, no imagination, and above no way for the individual to express any creativity he or she may have had. Therefore, I submit an idea, of which I think has significant merit.

DISCLAIMER: I have borrowed some of these ideas from the original version of Star Wars Galaxies, (Please keep the flamage to a minimum) not its current form, but the original version had a crafting system of which I have not seen an equal.

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Comments are welcome, and appreciated, but please state your ideas, disagreements, and comments with thought, thanks.

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Introduction

I believe that for a crafting system to be the best in an MMO, it must allow the player to experiment and create their own unique items, being unique in attributes and even what materials they wish to use to create it. Bland crafting systems that simply require 23 units of Material A, 12 units of Material B, and produce the exact same item every time just do not hold the interest of the player base I’ve found. GW1 gets away with this because of their mission system and PVP gameplay, but for those who enjoy crafting, it leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

GW is a great game, but after awhile of running endless missions, and killing the nth member of your rival guild, what is left to do I ask?

Experimentation and Uniqueness are simply essential for a standout crafting system.


Experimentation and Uniqueness

Experimentation allows the player to essentially use a slider to play around with a particular item’s attributes during the item’s creation. For example melee weapons and armor might have a durability/damage slider, and ranged weapons might have a damage/range slider. Allowing the player to pick to which side of the slider he wishes to go with his or her creation allows for flexibility within his or her creation, giving them the ability to create “unique” items.

With enough practice and high skill levels, a craftsman could produce items of extreme quality encompassing the best of both ends of the slider. Essentially, the higher the skill level, the more the craftsman can “push” the attribute. Of course the more you push the envelope, the greater the risk the attempt will result in failure, but this lessens as the skill increases.


Materials

This is one area where a crafting system can shine, as I mentioned previously, just giving a list of materials that is the same every time, and produces the same item every time is just boring. Instead, give the player flexibility. For example, instead of the plan reading like this,


12 Deldrimor Steel Ingots
42 Units of Steel Ingots
15 Bolts of Cloth


It could read like this,


12 Ingots of an Exceptional Metal
42 Ingots of a Fine Metal
15 Bolts of a Common Cloth


The naming convention might be something such as,


Exceptional – The very best of the best, being extremely rare and expensive, but allowing for the crafting of items with unsurpassed quality.


Rare – Not the rarest of materials, but by far among the nicest you can find among the choicest vendors, allowing for the crafting of items of excellent quality.


Fine – It is not the rarest of materials, but beyond what most can afford, allowing for the crafting of items with above average quality.


Common – Average in quality, available in most areas, and it will allow the crafting of items most would find to be satisfying.


Poor – The most common of the common, this material is always available in any market and on the cheap, it will allow the crafting of items that some might consider lowly. This materials is usually the choice for experiments, and for practice.


The point is to give the player “options”. Granted, more crating materials would have to be created to make this system work. However, allowing for varied types of Metals, Cloths, etc., allows the player to feel more immersed into his creation, rather than, “Great, I have produce another ”, (In GW, this equates to everyone running around in the exact same armor).

There could exist several types of Exceptional Metals as well as the other material types, some having higher durability, and others having greater damage potential, or perhaps some that have inherent magical properties that could be infused into the item itself.

[B]
Mining & Harvesting

The same type of material might not always have the exact same attributes, being that some Deldrimor Steel might be produced from Iron Ore being mined in one region, which is higher in a certain attribute than that being mined in another region.

This does allow, or force the player, depending upon your perspective to survey, mine and harvest these materials. Of course if you have the funds, you could just buy these materials from a local vender as well. Or harvest the materials and sell them yourself! Chaa Ching.


Conclusion

Of course this type of system is not intended for GW1, but could be used in GW2. I doubt the developers will use something of this type in GW2, it is more of an attempt to show the merits of a system using variety and complexity(freedom).

One day I hope to see another game using a crafting system with this type of choice and uniqueness.

[Shallowrain]

Materials

This is one area where a crafting system can shine, as I mentioned previously, just giving a list of materials that is the same every time, and produces the same item every time is just boring. Instead, give the player flexibility. For example, instead of the plan reading like this,


12 Deldrimor Steel Ingots
42 Units of Steel Ingots
15 Bolts of Cloth


It could read like this,


12 Ingots of an Exceptional Metal
42 Ingots of a Fine Metal
15 Bolts of a Common Cloth


The naming convention might be something such as,


Exceptional – The very best of the best, being extremely rare and expensive, but allowing for the crafting of items with unsurpassed quality.


Rare – Not the rarest of materials, but by far among the nicest you can find among the choicest vendors, allowing for the crafting of items of excellent quality.


Fine – It is not the rarest of materials, but beyond what most can afford, allowing for the crafting of items with above average quality.


Common – Average in quality, available in most areas, and it will allow the crafting of items most would find to be satisfying.


Poor – The most common of the common, this material is always available in any market and on the cheap, it will allow the crafting of items that some might consider lowly. This materials is usually the choice for experiments, and for practice.


The point is to give the player “options”. Granted, more crating materials would have to be created to make this system work. However, allowing for varied types of Metals, Cloths, etc., allows the player to feel more immersed into his creation, rather than, “Great, I have produce another ”, (In GW, this equates to everyone running around in the exact same armor).


Except for the fact that the only reason super rare materials exists in most MMORPGS is to hook the players into seeking them out, causing them to play longer. If anything, they should be equally common with different attributes. You may be confusing uniqueness with rarity.

Also, it pretty much exponentially increases the amount of stuff they'd have to cram into the game. I'd be more content with them spending time elsewhere, with set values of upgrades and the like. not to mention the massive number crunching pvp'ers would do to determine the optimal weapon.


[B]
Mining & Harvesting

The same type of material might not always have the exact same attributes, being that some Deldrimor Steel might be produced from Iron Ore being mined in one region, which is higher in a certain attribute than that being mined in another region.

This does allow, or force the player, depending upon your perspective to survey, mine and harvest these materials. Of course if you have the funds, you could just buy these materials from a local vender as well. Or harvest the materials and sell them yourself! Chaa Ching.

Mining and harvesting is functionally equivalent to killing things and having them drop. I'm find with materials being dropped and salvaged the way things are. Forcing me to poke around at a mine is another standard MMORPG hook to keep you paying and playing.

[Kingshield]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that is fine.

Guild Wars to me is a type of game that exists with a unique model, being that is doesn't exist within a normal model of crafting, exploring, and the like.

In my opinion it is for the type of player, who immediately wants to get involved in killing things, and the PVP aspect, while not wanting to be bothered with crafting and other traditional modes of MMORPG's.

This is one reason why I stopped playing, being that I became bored with the game. I explored most of the game, I've leveled several characters, experienced the mission system and the PVP. After all of that, what is left? More of the same.

GW2 should have a more involved crafting system, allowing for that freedom and uniqueness I mentioned above, and giving the players that wish it, something creative to do.

I disagree with you assessment of rare materials, in that I don't see them as "hooks", but rather they are something to strive for, to find, and to use. That search is what makes it fun.

Those things which you call "hooks" I find interesting in games. Remember, complexity can provide freedom in what you can do, rather than giving you a very linear type of gameplay that GW does.

[Kinlin]

Something other than constant killing would be nice as an optional extra, I just do not wish things to rely on such systems.

[raspberry jam]

I agree with Shallowrain. I'm a warrior/mage/whatever, not a miner, tailor or maker of bead necklaces.

Also, I don't see what is so new and innovative about OP's suggestion, other than being able to learn new tyes of item by doing those you already know (which makes no sense, by the way).

[Kingshield]

I guess this is pointless.

Enjoy it as it is.

[Lamuness]

It sounds like a good idea on paper, but the only thing I'm worried about if they were to implement this kind of system is that GW will become the Gear War that WoW and SW:G turned out to be. Unless we make it so that there is a specific max for each weapon and the cap cannot go over that. Only then would it be a good idea, and the loot that you find off mobs are close, but not near enough the "perfect" weapon. I like how GW1 has a max damage, and max modifiers for each inscription, and handle. Making such an in-depth crafting system would potentially mean that there would be no cap on these things, and would then, in turn, make the GW in Guild Wars stand for Gear War.

[Derrick the Nomad]

The point of Guild Wars is to NOT spend a lot of time on armor and weapons.

I would be okay with this ONLY if the results were aesthetic. You could add gems to an armor to make it more sparkly or whatever: but it would only affect how it looked -not the actual stats.

[Akirai Annuvil]

I guess this is pointless.

Enjoy it as it is.
...you gave up on the idea only 2 hours after typing it out? That's pretty weak.

I've been mostly impartial to the crafting in most MMOs. The original suggestion doesn't get me particularly interested in crafting either.
If crafting were implemented though, I'd like to see recipes done away with entirely. Just allow players to experiment, scattering clues and hints about various combinations throughout the world.

[drox]

I agree with Shallowrain. I'm a warrior/mage/whatever, not a miner, tailor or maker of bead necklaces.


does it really matter to you if you "buy" your armor at a npc merchant or at a real players store? i mean whats wrong with having a crafting system wich could be good for the game's econemy and beeing fun for people that like to craft. if you dont want to craft, fine. if you want to be the big hero of the story line, fine. but dont dismiss all ideas of people that like to do things that you dont in a game.

i used to play lineage2 a lot and thats one big material grind from lvl 1 to lvl 75. yet ive never crafted anything in that game.

gw2 will from what i understand be more like a regular mmo with a large persistent world. most likely the missions you do to progress in the story will be instanced but normal quests will be done in the persistent world. how do you expect to still be the hero ofthe world that saves the day in that?

and as a final i would like to sugest that if you just want a redo of GW1 you might just aswell flip your monitor upside down, im sure that will give a whole new perspective to the game.

[raspberry jam]

gw2 will from what i understand be more like a regular mmo with a large persistent world. most likely the missions you do to progress in the story will be instanced but normal quests will be done in the persistent world. how do you expect to still be the hero ofthe world that saves the day in that?Even if I'm not the hero (and I probably won't be. persistent world games generally suck, and never attain that truly epic feeling, except when playing in instances - that's part of why GW PvE is so good; it's all instanced), I still don't want to be some miner/fisherman. And I certainly don't want the economy to be based on it.

and as a final i would like to sugest that if you just want a redo of GW1 you might just aswell flip your monitor upside down, im sure that will give a whole new perspective to the game.You must be joking. Well, at least that game would not have player crafting. I might try it.

[Kingshield]

Thanks for the positive feedback Drox.

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No, I did not give up on this idea.

It just seems from the majority of the posters in this topic that most people who play GW aren't interested in crafting, and it's adjacent professions (Mining/Harvesting, etc.), and that bothers me in that it could be a better game.

However, the reason these people come to this game is because it is what it is. I started to say this earlier, but I refrained, however now I will make that point clear.

GW in my perspective exists in some kind of an MMO/Linear Single Player with Multiplayer Capability hybrid. This is because their is no "true" crafting system, no persistent world, the majority of the content is instanced, and only a few scant areas of social interactivity within cities/outposts, and pvp arenas.

The majority of the game play is dependent upon you doing missions and playing through the game's storyline. Now from my memory that sounds a hell of alot like a single player game.

The main draw of GW is its pvp aspect, and I never liked it much. I'm a creative person, and I enjoy making things; I like being the person everyone comes to when they need gear and equipment.

Sure there are plenty of games that are true MMO's and that do have a crafting system, but agreeably they suck. It's not because the crafting system and other aspects, which some think are laborious cause this, but that the whole game from its initial design sucked. They are the result of just plain poor design, rushed deadlines, etc.

GW was designed for the PVPer, and because of that all the crafting and exploring, and other aspects of a true MMO were seriously minimized, allowing for overwhelmingly pvp-oriented experience.

Furthermore, to restate a previous point, after you've completed all the missions, experienced PVP, and seen everything, what's left? Just more of the same.

It's sad that some can't see how creative professions add to a game, and play a game that limits you in so many ways. Lack of imagination is a sad thing.

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[raspberry jam]

It just seems from the majority of the posters in this topic that most people who play GW aren't interested in crafting, and it's adjacent professions (Mining/Harvesting, etc.), and that bothers me in that it could be a better game.Because people who play GW are generally interested in playing a game, not a work simulator. You are right, though, that's why they are playing a game instead of a more standard MMO.

GW in my perspective exists in some kind of an MMO/Linear Single Player with Multiplayer Capability hybrid. This is because their is no "true" crafting system, no persistent world, the majority of the content is instanced, and only a few scant areas of social interactivity within cities/outposts, and pvp arenas.

The majority of the game play is dependent upon you doing missions and playing through the game's storyline. Now from my memory that sounds a hell of alot like a single player game.This is incorrect; crafting has nothing to do with being an MMO, it's just that crafting is a very common thing to have in MMOs. But you are right again, in that GW is closer to a single player game like Final Fantasy or Grand Theft Auto than it is to, say, World of Warcraft, even though the setting is more like WoW that it is to GTA.
Let's not forget, however: it is an RPG. Have you played an RPG? I mean a pen & paper RPG like D&D.
Such games are played in relatively small groups, of say 4 people, or 9, or something like that. And in those games, the players are usually the heros that (eventually) save the world or at least do mighty deeds etc.
When seen like that, Guild Wars is much closer to the old-fashioned RPGs than it is to standard MMOs. When you visit cities/outposts, you can interact with people, but when you actually play it's just you and your small band of friends against the world. (And that small band is made up of people who actually play the role of warriors, wizards, healers, archers etc., not miners, farmers...) To me at least, this is much more ideal than a standard, persistent-world, crafting-based-economy MMO.

Sure there are plenty of games that are true MMO's and that do have a crafting system, but agreeably they suck. It's not because the crafting system and other aspects, which some think are laborious cause this, but that the whole game from its initial design sucked. They are the result of just plain poor design, rushed deadlines, etc.They suck because the devs designed crafting systems etc. instead of putting more effort into designing the actual game. This is, as you say, because of deadlines, design schedules, feature count limits, etc.
They simply had to choose: crafting system or non-sucky gameplay.
Guess what? GW2 will have development deadlines too.

GW was designed for the PVPer, and because of that all the crafting and exploring, and other aspects of a true MMO were seriously minimized, allowing for overwhelmingly pvp-oriented experience.Oddly enough, GW has way better PvE than any "true MMO" such as WoW etc.

Furthermore, to restate a previous point, after you've completed all the missions, experienced PVP, and seen everything, what's left? Just more of the same.Yes, but at least you had the missions. You didn't start with "more of the same".

[Kingshield]

Raspberry, I can cut through the rhetoric with just a few words.

"A game should be more involved that just simply running around and killing things, in a mission or not."

GW is not an immersive game, because all you do is run around and kill things, and the missions (granted they have some story, and I will admit that those stories are the best I have ever seen in an MMO) are for the most part, a series of nothing more than errands.

Don't get me wrong, I like missions, and I do enjoy PVE, and being the hero, but couldn't there be something else that I could enjoy too.

Yes, I've played P&PRPG's like D&D (D20), but if you recall, D&D did have a crafting system built into it, granted it was a simplified system, but the "player" crafted the items.

Also, crafting systems and player driven economies, do not ruin games (Look at Eve-Online, where the virtual economy is being studied the world over by real economists, and is very successful). On the contrary, if done right, they add to the immersion of the game, and allows players to create "their own" universe.

To draw an analogy, I find GW similar to Tic-Tac-Toe, and other "more involved" MMO's, similar to chess. Play what you will, but I prefer more of a challenge to my entertainment.

And just for the record, you will find no love for WOW here either.

[Lamuness]

I'm all for crafting in GW2. The only thing I DON'T want to run into is the fact that they would make GW2 into a Gear War, as I have stated several times in other threads. Being able to craft a new unique skin with unique attributes to a weapon is great. Just don't make it so unbalanced that a person who is incapable of crafting that item to be so far down the ladder they are noticably inferior to the person who can craft this uber item.

And yes, GW in my mind is a Multiplayer Online RPG. Not necessarily a traditional one where you grind levels, find loot, and have interactions with people all the time. I'm totally fine with that. Most of the time PuGs are hell anyway and you wouldn't want to run with them. Sometimes you get lucky though. For example, as much as a group game WoW is, I never partied with people I didn't know. Same in GW, I never partied with unknown people except for AB and RA, for reasons I should not disclose about the general intelligence level of most online people in-game.

All in all I think GW was created from the PvP aspect of the game first, trying to get everything as balanced as they could. They probably didn't have enough time to invest in creating a deep crafting system. As a developer, sometimes you have to cut your losses and go with what you have, and in their case, they decided everything else other than crafting. However, that's not to say they can't have it in GW2, since they have had all this time to think about what they want to put into it. I know how designers think, especially gameplay designers. They're always looking for cool stuff to put in to the next title. So I wouldn't be discouraged yet.

[Terenas]

Raspberry, I can cut through the rhetoric with just a few words.
GW is not an immersive game, because all you do is run around and kill things, and the missions (granted they have some story, and I will admit that those stories are the best I have ever seen in an MMO) are for the most part, a series of nothing more than errands.Pretty much whatever you could do in a p&p RPG, in an MMORPG, or whatever RPG/Adventure game resembles an 'errand' if you stress the word enough.
I can't vouch for WOW, because I don't play it, but I tried at least two f2p MMO plus other RPGs and I would say that pretty much all the quests and the story itself qualify as errands with sub-errands to match them depending on some specific traits of your character etc...
The errand structure makes the difference though. Just as you say, some games happen to be bland, unnecessary, and other games are brilliant even if the basic ingredients are there (crafting, mounts, teleport, to name a few).
Design is key, as is implementation.

Don't get me wrong, I like missions, and I do enjoy PVE, and being the hero, but couldn't there be something else that I could enjoy too.
Yes, I've played P&PRPG's like D&D (D20), but if you recall, D&D did have a crafting system built into it, granted it was a simplified system, but the "player" crafted the items.
D&D has a crafting system or, better, a skill based system since AD&D 2° - Skills and Powers, and 3E+ in particular. You can craft because crafting is an action, therefore disciplined by the system.
The example of D&D 3E is actually good because it shows how your character profession is actually a skill .
It works because in pnp rpgs you have downtimes, you often craft in the downtimes, and act, fight, influence the campaign in the active play time (not only but mostly).
If we have a crafting system or a profession system which simulate the character's job through time invested, we devote part of our active play time to the job itself (fisherman, miner, you name it).
And speaking for myself, this is something I do not like too much.

Also, crafting systems and player driven economies, do not ruin games (Look at Eve-Online, where the virtual economy is being studied the world over by real economists, and is very successful). On the contrary, if done right, they add to the immersion of the game, and allows players to create "their own" universe.I think that GW economy is not necessary strictu sensu because it mostly disciplines vanity items and materials, exceptions being mods/runes/insignias what have you. If it gets better in gw2, fine, but in my opinion a major improvement would be a system allowing items to be sold/traded ingame without needing to spend active play time trading/selling.

To draw an analogy, I find GW similar to Tic-Tac-Toe, and other [I]"more involved" MMO's, similar to chess. Play what you will, but I prefer more of a challenge to my entertainment.
And just for the record, you will find no love for WOW here either.
Tic-Tac-Toe, a game in which if you are not completely dumb you always score a tie ? I fear the analogy does not hold very much.
The fact that gw has a relatively simple skill structure does not mean it is a simple game.
The simple concept of builds is innovative, challenging, and ultimately dynamic as you move through the game to face different challenges.

[raspberry jam]

Kingshield, old chap, I can cut through your rhetoric with just a few words too, and in fact, those words are your own."A game should be more involved that just simply running around and killing things, in a mission or not."In other words, you think that Doom was a bad game. You think that Diablo was a bad game. You think that Super Mario Bros. was a bad game. All you do is run around and jump on things.

Personally I think you just have bad taste in games.

To draw an analogy, I find GW similar to Tic-Tac-Toe, and other "more involved" MMO's, similar to chess. Play what you will, but I prefer more of a challenge to my entertainment.Then you should ask for more depth in the actual game. Personally I think that GW is more like real-time chess (if that makes any sense) and standard MMOs is like that little wheel that you have in hamster cages so that they can run in it.
(An astute observation would be that a hamster wheel is not a game. This is exactly why I think it resembles most MMOs.)

[Gmr Leon]

If anything, there are several things to keep in mind when talking about crafting. To me, they are:


Not essential to the game.
Fun to do.
Easy to do.
Something to occupy spare time when friends aren't on.
Not interwoven into the economy. (This would fall under not essential to the game.)
You're free to do with it however you wish, experimentation is fun, a path being drawn out for you is tedious!


Edit: Just skimmed over a bit of the OP, and I like the idea, but if anything mining and harvesting never fall under fun to do. Trust me, I've played RuneScape and Mabinogi, materials are easy to get, but not fun to get.

[Arkhan The Black]

As far as I am concerned the crafting system can work however it wants as long as there is more options to customize appearance of armor.

[BrotherGrimm]

In my honest opinoin, crafting is something I am rather indifferent about. I also consider myself a creative person, but I seriously don't want a "job" in the virtual world too... My main hesitation in wanting a huge involved crafting system in GW2 is that the time to develop, test and maintain it takes away from the the other aspects of the game that I frankly consider more important.

If it can generate some new looking armor or weapons without causing other game play aspects of the game to suffer, then ok. If it becomes something I HAVE to do in order to be competitive (i.e. earn money, get better / best equipment), then I'd rather not. If it forces players to be crafters then the system is just bad. This includes miners, woodsman, hunters and fisherman....not my idea of fun in a game.

[casserole]

I might enjoy a crafting system with more options too. I would agree with others here in that I hope Anet keeps a hard cap on item statistics. I have never played a game where I have to spend large amounts of time doing a menial task such as mining, weaving, etc....and I don't think I would enjoy that much.

I'm probably different than most gamers in that I'm not too interested in my characters' appearances drawing the envy of other players, but I can't imagine anyone being against more options in how their toon looks. I'd be happy with a deeper crafting system allowed me more visual options. I would think that a greater variety of gear would make GW2 a deeper, richer online world.

[mysticmage]

I would love to see a better crafting system in GW. But GW is not a ITEM or weapon game. IT's a use your SKills. thats why if you go into hard mode with the best green weapon you'll do 7 damage to a enemy. there's no way your going to kill anything with a weapon without using any skills.

[sorudo]

there is one wrong thing here that should be removed, the first thought of WoW.

IMO it's good to have something els then fight monster after monster after monster without anything els to do.
if anything, they should atleast do something more creative then buy armor this or collect useless junk to get armor peace that.
i like to have some armors drop, maybe have more peaces then the basic 5.
i like to craft materials, and later be able to make armor for my own.
or make some good quality armor, and sell them later on for more materials.
it's a side of a game that should not be a req, but a fun part.

[Wethospu]

There are bad games and there are good games.

If there is bad crafting, couldn't there be good crafting?

Like crafting furniture for your HoM!

[raspberry jam]

If there is bad crafting, couldn't there be good crafting?There are several ways to make good crafting systems. The problem is that they all assume either that the entire game is about crafting, or that crafted items do not enter the economy, and/or, in case they can be used in the actual game, are inferior to items obtained through playing that game (in which case crafted items simply become vanity trophies).

[Wethospu]

Well, I would see good crafting system like this:
There are base weapons, pretty normal stuff.

Then you could edit them with many many ways to create unique skins. With enough ways to modify weapons you could create masterpieces and probably sell them with nice prize.

However I don't see this very important. :P

[raspberry jam]

Well, I would see good crafting system like this:
There are base weapons, pretty normal stuff.

Then you could edit them with many many ways to create unique skins. With enough ways to modify weapons you could create masterpieces and probably sell them with nice prize.

However I don't see this very important. :PYes but then you get questions such as can everyone else create masterpieces too (without putting in the grind hours before)?

If "yes", then it's the same as what we have now, just with more ways to mod a weapon. And I'd support such an idea.

But if "no", then you have to watch out very carefully or you'll get an economy based on such things. And then suddenly crafting isn't optional anymore.

[Sudhendra Vahl]

I don't think the GW1 crafting system needs to be changed in an overly dramatic way. All it really needs is a bit of an overhaul:
• perhaps weapons/armor gets a player-chosen skin (or a random one). Armor is still the same level from a specific armorer, but that stops everyone running around in the same armor in the same area. Obviously, you'd have to have some unique armors for the high-prestige stuff...
• perhaps more options to modify armor and weapons? And I'd like to see a +/- option on this too: perhaps you could add a [something] to armor that increases its protectiveness against fire-based damage, whilst weakening it against cold-based damage. or, instead, you'd add a [something else] that only marginally increases the protectiveness against fire-based damage, but does nothing "bad" to your armor...
• the ability to craft "high-end" weapons, perhaps with a merchant selling dagger-tangs, bowstrings, etc at suitably marked-up prices?
• the ability to "swap out" upgrades on weapons so that you can upgrade that neat staff you found (again at a suitable cost in gold/crafting material).

The change doesn't have to be overly dramatic to give the player a whole slew of options as to what weapon he carries and what his armor looks like. I'd really not spend precious gaming-time "mining" for raw materials, the current drop/salvage method is fine but I'd support anything that prevents a whole line of cookie-cutter warriors in the same outpost :)

[sorudo]

they do have to watch the way the armor/weapon looks, from the beginning of the game i always wondered why i don't see the lightning string.....

[raspberry jam]

they do have to watch the way the armor/weapon looks, from the beginning of the game i always wondered why i don't see the lightning string.....Because if you can see it, so can anyone else. That means that in PvP you can easily equip a +10 al shield vs whatever element your opponent is using.

[Ryuujinx]

So first off, I've played some of the worst grindfests out. I currently Play FFXI (have for 4 years or so) Played WoW, Played RO (Both on official and "free" servers), EQ, EQ2...

And of course, GW.

Crafting is one of the reasons I actually couldn't get my friend into GW when I was playing it a lot, I have to agee that crafting in gw sucks.

By sucks I mean it doesn't exist, you don't craft you farm materials for an NPC.

The OPs suggestion is a good one IMO. I haven't been keeping much up with GW2, but I think the ability to have you current method (NPCs) and allow players to craft the same items but different skins would be a great idea. Think of the possibilities of skins if you allowed player crafted weapons?

I don't agree with the differing stats idea, I want it aesthetic only.

It would give me something to do at the least.

[sorudo]

Because if you can see it, so can anyone else. That means that in PvP you can easily equip a +10 al shield vs whatever element your opponent is using.
uhmm...huh?
you can't see who your opponent is, what are you blabbering about?
i did just 2x RA and i already know that it's impossible to prepare for every situation, so what about the enemy knowing you have lightning dmg?......it's not like you can just switch builds mid-way.
also, i don't think anyone has all the shields for every element+all the weapons with all elements, would be crazy anyway.
and uhh, i dunno if you have played a ranger lately but, a ranger can change the dmg from what ever element to fire, so your teory fails a bit...

[Wethospu]

Because if you can see it, so can anyone else. That means that in PvP you can easily equip a +10 al shield vs whatever element your opponent is using.

True, but you could also go with the one without any cool effects (similar to hiding your headpiece).

[Akirai Annuvil]

also, i don't think anyone has all the shields for every element+all the weapons with all elements
This is standard issue gear for all PvP characters.

[Bravo]

D&D has a crafting system or, better, a skill based system since AD&D 2° - Skills and Powers, and 3E+ in particular. You can craft because crafting is an action, therefore disciplined by the system.
The example of D&D 3E is actually good because it shows how your character profession is actually a skill [i.e. your dwarf character, let's say a Warrior 2/Paladin 1/Cleric 17 is also an accomplished Weapon smith, and among the other skills he has Profession (Blacksmith) and Craft (Weapons) at high ranks)].
It works because in pnp rpgs you have downtimes, you often craft in the downtimes, and act, fight, influence the campaign in the active play time (not only but mostly).
If we have a crafting system or a profession system which simulate the character's job through time invested, we devote part of our active play time to the job itself (fisherman, miner, you name it).
And speaking for myself, this is something I do not like too much.

I think this is the most 'important' part of the thread.

If you do decide to introduce a 'crafting' system (with ancillary mining/harvesting systems), how about assuming that a character left in a 'mine' over night is going to spend that time mining so when we log back in (after a real night has past) we find that our inventory has already filled with ore. Then the people that really enjoy mining can do the little mini game themselves whereas those that don't can have it assumed by the engine (you last logged in 6 hours ago so in the mean time you have mined xx ore), and those that do enjoy it can actually do it.

The next night you might decide to leave your character at a forge, and find that all your ores are turned into usable ingots on log in. The next night you leave your character at a smithery and find that all your items have been repaired (if GW decided to introduce durability which I doubt they will), and items that you have queued up have been made (starting with highest material cost according to what you have currently equipped - if you only had the one item equipped it would use all materials on making multiple copies of that one, if you had many items on it would cycle through them all and start again if any surplus materials exist).

These automatic actions shouldn't give experience whereas perhaps performing the action whilst logged in should.