Concept Idea - bringing out the best in Items via Profession

novercalis

First let me preface with

Blacksmith, Armorsmith makes the best shit in the game. AGREED
Materials should be a combination of gathered, proceess and drops from Mobs - AGREED

Items drop shouldnt be better than Crafted Items - AGREED

NOW - what I am about to state adds to it.
I do Believe, Bosses should drop good items. BUT these items aren't 100% unlocked and they only way these items unlock their true potential is via armorsmith/blacksmith as well.

I don't want to solely lock all items/armor with a crafting system - I believe they can also improved on all dropped gear to an extent and some bigger items (WHILE STILL WEAKER IN ITS CURRENT FORM) can also achieve A tier level of awesome, but it will require questing, components and the right smith who can truly unlock the item.

EXAMPLE:
World of Warcraft:


Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker
8-13dmg, speed 2.6
+1 agi
+ 2 sta
+ 2 fr
+2 nr
Passive Ability - Chance on Hit: Proc

Now, how to translate this to AoC:

Say this item drops and is considered OP. It's an Epic Item as well, BUT the stats will only look like this:
8-13 dmg, Speed 5
4 orbs <---- This will indicate that a smith can only unlock this.
Unlock 4 orbs = Passive


orb #1 = +1 agi
orb #2 = +2 sta
Orb #3 = +2 fr
Orb #4 = +2 nr

So yes, an epic item dropped but now it needs to be unlocked further by smiths who have enough proficinecy to handle the weapon and getting the mats to make it.

So Crafters are now only able to craft the best shit, there are some items in the world, that crafters can also unlock further potential BiS.

NOT ALL DROPPED ITEMS are BiS but they are pretty damn good too.

As a crafter - I dont always want to craft from scratch, I would love to have a client bring me a sword from X mob and wants me to make it stronger. Will it be the best, prolly not but it will be damn good.

George_Black

It will still make players run the instanced content to get the weapon, avoiding open world pvp. It offers safety and guarantee without open world conflicts.
Half the job is done in a sterilized environment.

CROW3

Players are going to be raiding whether this concept exists or not. Those players will still need to coordinate getting to and back from the raid safely in an open pvp environment. Those raids may also be open, and can be attacked by other players amid raid. So, it's not exactly sterile.

I think being able to have a master crafter augment a dropped weapon in one way or another to make it better than it's vanilla state, beyond the paltry wow enhancement concept, is a good idea.