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Gathering and profession systems

ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
in Ashes of Creation Systems and Mechanics
[style size="20px"] [color=#FF0000]Hello Everyone![/color] [/style]
I just recently joined the community after watching a couple of AoC videos on Youtube, so this will be my first post.
Anyways, from the information I've been able to gather, I must say I'm both thrilled and excited about this project as they (imo) aim at implementing some unique ideas and mechanics ( i.e. node system) that sets them apart from the rest of the bunch.

With that said, I wanted to hear your opinions / have a discussion about the gathering and profession system in AoC.
Personally I really enjoy the "non-combat" aspects of a game as long as they feel rewarding and worthwhile, but would it be best with a "Runescape-approach" or more like "WoW-kind-of-approach" to the profession and gathering system? Or maybe an entirely new approach? I can certainly think of positive and negative sides to both of the aspects, but then again, how many professions would be reasonable to implement in the game all the while they need to be both rewarding and worthwhile?
I would say the mining/crafting/smithing is almost a given, but would it be best to sub-categorize, say, smithing to heavy and light armor/weapon? Do we separate them into individual professions? Or maybe we could have a "standalone" skill-tree for all the different professions, which lets you specialize in some professions of your choosing?

Anyways, I would just like to hear your opinions and thoughts on this subject :)

Comments

  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    I am a crafter to my core. I'm very interested to learn more of their plans for the "softer" game systems. Crafting has to be vital to game play if they want things like caravans to work well. (IMO)

    Self sufficient crafting is the bane of all thriving MMO markets. (not that there are any) If you can make everything you need just by adding only time (no matter how large that time is), then no one will need to buy anything anyone makes. Good crafting systems require uncommonness in its practitioners.

    Also of concern is npc drops. If I get a rare vorpal sword off that dire wolf I just killed, why would I ever need to buy one from Blacksmith McSwordFace.

    Of course these are just concerns I have about a system I haven't yet seen. I am very much looking forward to seeing it in action!
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    Also interested about the crafting system. I want a crafting system where it feels like it matters, can drive the economy and produces items that people actually want (weapons and items wise). Hyped about the game from what i have seen and can't wait to hear more details.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    From what I've seen you pick one artisan class (which would be like gatherer, armor smith, cook, etc.) and you would specialize in just that one thing. I like this because no one person can do everything, but it would incentivize cooperation and the economy. For instance, I plan to play with my friends and have already recommended this to them. I usually focus on exploring heavily in MMORPGs / RPGs so I would probably end up with a gathering role, where I could return to my guild and give these items to a friend who is a craftsman of some kind. If I can harvest high quality wood out in the world then maybe my friend could craft me a nice bow. That is what it sounds like they are going for (and I hope so) but I'm not certain at this point.

    I think another thing that would be good to consider would be to do something along the lines of what Mass Effect: Andromeda is doing with their crafting system. A drop from a mob may provide you with a Vorpal Sword, but a master craftsman could make a Vorpal Sword with a higher damage or crit stat, and extra modifiers - maybe it does fire damage on a hit? The variance of weapons would be limitless and I think that would really make for a good market. Different enemies could have different vulnerabilities, so taking a sword that does radiant damage to fight some undead is great, but not when you want to go clear out the celestial beings attacking the mountains. I've seen MMORPGs / RPGs in the past that give you bonuses for what materials or quality of materials you use when crafting, so this is just a deeper expansion of that. Dire Bear hide is thicker and stronger than rabbit hide. Your AC would be higher with armor crafted from the former. That kind of thing. I think these are all ideal for a crafting system, but I can't wait to see what they come up with!!
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    This link is to a post I made that goes in depth on what I think would be a great crafting system. Check it out if you're curious about my idea on the matter.

    https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/crafting-system-my-thoughts-and-ideas-v-2-2/
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    For me personally, it's about finding a good balance between gear acquired from questing/dungeons vs crafted gear. I've played far too many mmorpgs where there is literally no benefit to doing any crafting at all until max level, because the crafted stuff is garbage compared to what you can get in dungeons for the same amount of time and effort. WoW is a typical example of this, where there is literally no point in leveling a crafting profession while you are leveling your character, and instead you are far better off just leveling your character to max level and then taking up a crafting profession after that. That to me completely wastes the potential of the crafting and makes it just a means to an end.

    Then at max level you need to find a balance between the crafted gear and the end-game boss drops. Again I've seen a lot of games where the crafted gear is a lot better than the boss drops, meaning that if you have enough money you can get the best in slot items without doing anything at all.

    In my opinion, at max level what should happen is that the raid bosses drop rare materials and components for high level weapons and armour, which you would then need to take to a craftsman to actually make into the item. This will give the high level crafters a purpose while stopping people with no skill and lots of money getting all the good items.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    [quote quote=9703]

    In my opinion, at max level what should happen is that the raid bosses drop rare materials and components for high level weapons and armour, which you would then need to take to a craftsman to actually make into the item. This will give the high level crafters a purpose while stopping people with no skill and lots of money getting all the good items.

    [/quote]

    I love this idea! I absolutely think bosses should give you epic loot drops (because otherwise why would you expend the effort?) and this makes a cool way to tie into the crafting system. The other way it could be done is if you can break down the mob drops for their materials so you could craft (essentially the same idea you had except if they don't want to craft an item they don't have to).
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    I'm hoping the gathering/processing/crafting systems have a very large weight into changing the world. One of my biggest concerns would being able to be self sufficient, IMO this can completely destroy the entire crafting trinity of the game. There should be a definite limit as to what one person can learn to craft/process/gather. I'd actually prefer that you wouldn't be able to do any two of these pieces of the trinity. A gatherer is a gatherer, a processor is a processor, and a smithy is a smithy. Could even take this further and have it to were one person can only learn to gather or craft a specific type of material/gear. If it's split up this far and doesn't allow for one person to do more than that it can make for an extremely great and immersive community.

    This may be the first KickStarter I put money into, but only if the packages don't give any advantage other than just being able to play alpha/beta for experience into the game before others, prefer that any progress is deleted for actual release as well.
  • ArchivedUserArchivedUser Guest
    Going to throw my 2 cents out here.

    /Insert angry deer noises

    Okay, so I agree with Midnight-Shadow. However I feel like the game should go one step further, call me masochistic if you will, but 'end-game' bosses shouldn't be able to drop weapons or armors at all, only materials and the scrolls/books needed to learn the recipes so that shiny-mc-glowy armor? Can't buy it, can only get a blacksmith to craft it. That +10 glowing bow of doom? Nope, a high level Weapon-smith had to make that. The potions that heal you for instantly for 25% of your hp with 75% of your hp over time or 75% of your hp all at once with slightly improved regen over time? Made by a highly skilled Alchemist you had to buy them from.

    It would REQUIRE Artesian skills to be an integral part of the game, granted sure the Economic node would make it easier as you could have markets set up for ease of access and less walking around to get them, trade off of course would be whatever the other nodes offer. I(personally) feel that this is one way to do it, I'm aware that not everyone would like this, hell I'm pretty sure alot of people would hate this, but in my head it seems like this would be the best way to make it viable for the the non-fighting classes. Like, someone could be a miner and carry a pickaxe around while they explore dungeons or the wilds, but that's one slot less for other supplies, I'm pretty sure it will need a trade off of some sort to prevent someone from bringing a goddamned cart with them.

    /End angry deer noises
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