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How to Maintain the value of gathering materials (Leather)
A question that i have recently started thinking about is how do you maintain the value of leather in this game? If all of the crafting materials can in fact be farmed out in an area what is stopping someone from just killing wolves and and constantly farming the leather?
I have come up with a couple solutions with this and am looking for further input from the community.
1. There is a very heavy emphasis on rare pelts coming from very specific creatures. The reason this would be effective is because it provides a rare resource that could be sold for a hefty profit. With that said, i don't like this route because then it becomes a rush to slaughter only those creatures, and furthermore is doesn't maintain any value for the basic leather. The only way i can see the value for the basic leather remaining stable is if it is used throughout the other crafting professions in ways such as leather straps for bags or for making plate gear.
2. An upgrade system. for instance if all basic Monsters (who can be skinned) drop light leather, then it greatly devalues leather. But if you can turn those light light leather into medium leather ( lets say 10 light makes 1 medium) then it will maintain the price of light leather and medium leather because there will always be a proper supply and demand chain for those items.
I have come up with a couple solutions with this and am looking for further input from the community.
1. There is a very heavy emphasis on rare pelts coming from very specific creatures. The reason this would be effective is because it provides a rare resource that could be sold for a hefty profit. With that said, i don't like this route because then it becomes a rush to slaughter only those creatures, and furthermore is doesn't maintain any value for the basic leather. The only way i can see the value for the basic leather remaining stable is if it is used throughout the other crafting professions in ways such as leather straps for bags or for making plate gear.
2. An upgrade system. for instance if all basic Monsters (who can be skinned) drop light leather, then it greatly devalues leather. But if you can turn those light light leather into medium leather ( lets say 10 light makes 1 medium) then it will maintain the price of light leather and medium leather because there will always be a proper supply and demand chain for those items.
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I Think, if they make the mobs that spawn all the time not drop leather, but actually have have gather able for leather like a critter den. So then its a controllable circulation of pelts, much like a vein ore once gathered it doesn't necessarily replenish this keeping it in line with other gathering. This I can see being a way to keep the supply in demand of leather equal.
Goblins that prefer to ambush lone travellers would gravitate to the least travelled roads. Once they get busy, the Goblins find a different place to ambush. It would require some AI programming, I guess. But it makes the game feel less monotonous and more alive.
I do like a combination of both systems: rare pelts that can be used to make special high quality items, and normal leather that can be used in everything else.
I think the standard system still hold true:
Bonded leather would be an amalgam of other leather pieces. Say one piece of Bonded Leather requires a total of 10 units: Heavy Leather could be 3 units, Medium Leather 2 units and Light Leather 1 unit. So you would make a piece of bonded leather out of the other types.
This Bonded Leather would mainly be used for furniture and things other than gear. I think this would be a good way of being able to utilise your leftovers and make all types of leather useful throughout the entire life of the game.
I don’t like the idea of being able to upgrade leather grades though. I like the idea of the individual grades having specific uses which leads to the creatures they come from being sought after for different uses. Done correctly this can ensure that the light leather isn’t just used on level 5-15 gear and becomes less desirable as the population matures.
I am hoping that the Ashes team will be able to make all crafting materials relevant throughout the entire life cycle of the game. Just because other games have failed to do this, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
I would hope that leather is required for a vast amount of uses outside of just making leather armour: furniture, straps for armour sets, wrapping for weapon pommels, siege weapons, bags, quivers, saddles, book bindingetc. I am really looking for an interconnectedness for all crafts. If you want to make a studded leather jerkin then you will still need a blacksmith to make the studs for your leather. So crafters will still need each other to craft a lot of the gear in the game – helps the economy and the community.
I understand that some people will complain about that: “I am a blacksmith and I can’t even make myself a full set of armour because I need leather or cloth!” I am ok with that, but I don’t know how much resistance there is to that kind of interconnectivity between professions.
@Ariatras has a really good point. I think that the farming of mobs, especially beasts, should most definitely affect the long-term spawning rates and locations of these creatures. Ashes is implementing a dynamic world, so they definitely have the will to do this, and I also believe the capability. The time-frame for farming affecting spawn rate/location is the fiddly bit.
To gather the rarest materials you may need to go down a specific branch of the gathering tree and specialise in it so to speak. Crafting is not being added to AOC as an afterthought it is a pillar of the game the foundation of the economy, you will need to depend on others for materials you need and trade those goods. There will be a continuous need for raw materials as settlements grow, buildings need materials to be built, and I believe it was mentioned in the last twitch that a mayor of a settlement can post up requests for materials needed for constructing building etc and this will be paid for with the taxes collected from the node.
I know this has gone beyond just skinning animals you kill but there will be a need for raw materials of all levels on a continuous basis as settlements grow. Plus if you do not put points into the gathering tree you may not be able to gather anything, there will be no do it all on one or two characters. You may not even have enough alts to become a master gatherer, processor, crafter in all professions, Steve I think said there were 12 or 16 specializations cant quite remember but that may be cut down. If you wanted to become a master in one area you would need to dedicate yourself to it, but you will be able to do things others may not.