Credits go out to multiple people for inspiring this thread with very good points and ideas. @Jiivita @Stormsoul @ElfMarine @Illuminoorti
So basically this thread is going to cover a fair bit regarding the current skill system, crafting mechanics, recipe unlocks, economy as it stands and how it could be reworked from 1 or more angles. If you have a short attention span, this thread is going to be long so be warned.
THE PROBLEM AT HAND
Currently as of this thread, much of crafting is skill gated. Many people view this as good incentive to group with other specialized players but some others feel that it creates an artificial grind. The current 3 arguments surrounding this are as follows:
- Allow everyone to craft everything from the get-go but more skills that improve the ability to craft various items.
- Allow the basic recipes to be crafted by everyone but skillgate more advanced recipes.
- Keep the system as it is.
Various parts of our current community are a bit torn on this topic as we consist of many different backgrounds in gaming. Some of us older and some of us younger with some having been gaming with many different genres and others with only few. I bring this point up because a lot of us in the older crowd grew up with games that encouraged trial and error, effort and hard work to achieve a goal. Many games from today have been streamlined in order to make them highly accessible to anyone who has the ability to use a Mouse/Keyboard and/or controller.
So at this point I think it’s safe to say that the argument partially shifts from how to change these systems listed above to appease our community to, “How do we change these systems to appease both complex gamers and streamlined gamers.”
WHAT CAN WE DO WITH THE SKILLS? This also covers crafting to an extent I have another post on crafting HERE
There are a few things that could be done. Here are 3 possible solutions with some being controversial and others possibly being either effective or null:
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Add a class system
This one I’m not so fond of but it would inevitably force a full overhaul of the skill system. Builders would need some basic food crafting and various misc skills for survival. Hunters would need some basic building skills, etc. Though this option may be highly controversial, it can’t be denied that it has some decent pros but also some big cons. A con worth noting would be that this further restricts players. A pro worth mentioning is that it would provide essential skills that may have been skillgated otherwise. -
Level up specific skills to earn specialized skill points
In this case various actions would level up a series of specific skills that give you related skill points for use in (again) related skill trees. Building, Provisions, Hunting, Gathering. This would again lead to a complete overhaul in the skill trees while providing a series of decent pros and some cons. A con worth noting being the grind would increase by a marginal amount. A notable pro would be that unlocking would be more equally attainable all around as long as you worked for it. -
Add researching and/or research table(s)
This can get interesting. So there are many different ways to go about this, here is my idea. Remove all crafting recipe skill gates and lock recipes behind research gates. Start with a research table, you get all basic recipes unlocked through this table along with some basic crafting skill buffs and recipes for the next tier of tables. Novice Blueprint Table (Builder recipes and minor buffs), Novice Skinning Table (Hunter recipes and minor buffs), Novice Alchemists Table (Brews, Food and other crafting recipes and minor buffs), Novice Gathering Table (Gathering recipes and minor buffs). Each of these tables would lead to their next upgrade, the path being something like Novice, Adept, Master and Grandmaster. A notable con is that this time locks everything and comes with a material cost. A notable pro is that everything is equally attainable by everyone.
HOW WOULD THIS EFFECT THE ECONOMY AND HOW TO BOLSTER IT? This also covers crafting.
Now the above would certainly kill the economy in one way or another, this where it can get interesting and here is my proposal.
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Add crafting/harvestable item qualities and skills to help more specialized players make more desirable items.
This I think would heavily bolster the economy in a positive way. As you hunt, mine, farm, etc. you get items. These items would individually carry their own quality modifier. This quality modifier would provide additional chance to craft a higher quality item that would have several buffs (More damage, more durability, etc.) There would also be skills that can be obtained through the traditional skill point system that allow additional chance to craft higher quality items. Essentially this means a new market opens for high quality items, mid quality items, low quality items and basic quality items. This would be skill gated to keep specializations in place.
With something like this youd have players searching for high quality drops by both hunting/gathering and going to markets to find the rare items that are otherwise quite difficult to obtain.
With this said, these are my own personal views mixed with suggestions from the community. Take them as you will. this thread is for suggestions and provides a basis for discussion. Thanks for reading.