Greetings everyone!
Allow me to begin by saying that I think it's great Intrepid is trying to give players a sense of uniqueness through cosmetics. I want funding to shower them like Niagara because I love the idea of AoC. I love nearly every single thing they're trying to accomplish. That's why you'll see me in A2-B2. The only thing I don't totally love is the foretold system for cosmetics.
Woah! It's a touchy topic, I know. I've put some thought into this so please allow me a chance to make my case.
Firstly, in this thread, I want to shelve reservations about the visuals that a proliferation of cosmetics may cause. I think everyone has heard both sides of that debate already. We know what some cosmetic-heavy Eastern MMORPGs end up looking like. Some like it and some don't. Regardless, there's going to be a lot of cosmetics in AoC. I don't think anyone can change Intrepid's mind on the matter and I'm not here to try and accomplish that either. I do, however, believe it's possible to have a constructive conversation on the
implementation of this feature.
That's what we're talking about here: the implementation of cosmetics.
I want to focus my discussion on how cosmetics might affect those who choose the artisan class of crafting. Let me clarify, during this post
I am only speaking about cosmetics for items that can be crafted. I have no qualms with cosmetics like emotes or hairstyles. Go wild.
Based on some conflicting quotes from Steven on the cosmetics and crafting wiki pages, I sense there may be room for this feature to evolve. So let's look at the issue.
The Problems
1. Crafting loses some appeal because it's only useful for stats and not appearance. It may be disheartening to learn a high tier recipe and craft it for someone only to watch them apply a cosmetic skin to it.
2. There is no cost to applying cosmetics. Players lose uniqueness because they often and freely change skins. The sense of pride in one's appearance is diminished. Isn't the whole point of cosmetics so that you recognize a player for their individuality?
The Solutions
Have crafters complete a questline that allows them to apply skins for other players based on what type of crafting they are choosing to master. Allow a crafter to perform a limited number of transmutes per day increasing in number based on skill. Assign a resource cost. Assign tiers to cosmetics.
Clarification: the one seeking to have a cosmetic applied must have that cosmetic. The crafter does not apply their own cosmetics to another player's gear. No P2W. No RWT.
Process of becoming a cosmetic-enabled crafter:
1. For each type of item, based on your chosen mastery (mount, armoring, etc), complete a questline resulting in the creation of a transmuted item for an NPC. Lower tier cosmetics have easier quests, can be accessed by lower level crafters and the crafter can generally apply more of them per day than master-tier cosmetics.
Process of having your item transmuted into a cosmetic item:
1. Obtain the cosmetic via achievements in-game or the shop.
2. Obtain the processed resource used in transmutation. The rarity of the gatherable is debatable but I would prefer it to be difficult to obtain.
3. Connect with a crafter (or be a crafter) who has met the pre-requisites to transmute your specific items into cosmetic items.
The Benefits
* Creates player interactions
* Adds a new commercial resource which will never lose demand
* Gives crafters a sense of pride that they took an action to help another player look the way they wanted
* A limited number of transmutes per day gives relevance to a greater number of crafters
* Adds a sense of achievement through completing artisan quests
* Prevents most instances of noob gear being transmuted (everyone looking epic all the time)
* Creates greater overall intrigue for cosmetics
"LF master crafter to transmute turtle mount into Kraken, have mats, will tip"
