crafters
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Final Fantasy XIV shows off crafting and gathering improvements for 2.2
Final Fantasy XIV's second major patch is bringing plenty of things for people to fight and kill. But what about players who would rather gather and craft? They haven't been forgotten in the slightest. The latest development blog shows off what the Disciples of the Hand and Disciples of the Land are getting up to, starting with the inclusion of new crafting stations for housing. Crafters below level 40 can earn bonus CP from these stations, making it that much easier to produce high-quality items as you level. A plethora of new crafting recipes have also been added, including new crafting books that the most experienced crafters will be able to decipher and use. New main-hand tools will also be available in exchange for crafted goods and gathered materials, while gatherers will have access to new resources. Fishers aren't left out, either -- there's new sea life to be caught, fish so rare and unexpected that they were thought to be only legend. So if you don't want to start the next patch off with some fighting, you can take the time and just craft your days away.
Camelot Unchained Q&A talks PvP looting, physical growth, and crafting
There's a new community Q&A up on the Camelot Unchained site dealing with a wide range of topics concerning this up-and-coming RvR MMO. The topics in it range from hooded cloaks (yes, they're in) to just what players will be able to loot from enemy corpses and structures. Perhaps one of the most interesting pieces of information is that the team is putting in a physical growth system similar to the one that was promised but never delivered to Warhammer Online. Mark Jacobs confirmed the feature: "I'm happy to say that yes, certain races (I won't commit to all of them yet) will have meaningful changes happen to them, both cosmetic and gameplay. For example, our Dvergr might have more stone covering their body and their beards will grow. Other examples could be with our HelBound's faces, Hamadryad's tails, etc." The Q&A also addressed the role and importance of crafters, emphasizing that those players will be able to generate basic materials from their land and that they'll "contribute majorly" to battles.
The Nexus Telegraph: What WildStar isn't revealing
We now know about the last two races coming to WildStar. We don't yet know about the last two classes, but that's pretty much assured for release in the near future. (I'm betting on PAX Prime, based on nothing more than speculation.) In fact, we're getting plenty of interesting and deep reveals... as well as a few things that the developers aren't talking about, things that are mentioned in passing and then allowed to just go unaddressed. Some of this doesn't really matter one way or the other, but there are some places where these unreveals are pretty worrisome. I'm not sure how much of this comes down to limited time for reveals and how much is actually shady, but in lieu of more information, I think some questions should be asked about why we've heard nothing regarding some stuff that, logically, should have gotten its own day in the revelation sunlight.
Lord of the Rings Online explains crafting changes coming with Riders of Rohan
One of the major issues facing crafters in Lord of the Rings Online is that gathering professions don't line up with crafting professions. Leveling up a non-gathering skill takes more resources than you gather while leveling up the appropriate gathering skill. The newest developer diary explains how Riders of Rohan addresses this problem with new "processing" recipes that allow you to turn a resource into shavings, which can subsequently be turned back into the original item. That's not the only change coming to crafting with the new expansion. Players can expect two full sets of armor for the crafting, one at level 80 and one at level 85. There are also new crafting instances, new crafted relics, and a new rank added on to craft guild reputations. If you like to get your hands dirty with crafting in Lord of the Rings Online, swing on over to the developer diary for the full details.
The Mog Log: What crafters can do in Final Fantasy XIV
A couple of weeks ago, I was chatting with one of our fellow writers about MMO design. This, as you might imagine, is actually a fairly common topic of discussion amongst Massively staff members. (It's beaten out slightly by talk of cats and horrible puns, but still.) Said writer was lamenting the fact that we haven't seen a game in years that allows players to really focus on a non-combat role and level up without having to march out and kill things. "Yes, we have," I countered. "Final Fantasy XIV lets you do that." "Well, yeah, but you have to kill stuff to get materials and get money to start with, right?" "No, you can just craft the whole way through." And as I said it, I realized that one of the real shames of the game's launch was that everything the crafting and gathering systems do correctly wound up being overshadowed by other issues. There's a reason I started calling the game a sandpark when I was writing my first impressions, because the devotion to non-combat gameplay options is almost peerless among more modern games. And it's worth some tribute.
Star Wars: The Old Republic answers a new set of community questions
The Legacy update is live, the Rakghoul Plague is contained for the time being, and Star Wars: The Old Republic fans are eager for more content and more news. The latest set of community questions and answers doesn't really deliver any new content, but it does deliver tantalizing promises, such as the fact that players can expect to roster of playable races to expand this year. There are also promises of an overhaul to the Achievement system and more Legacy-wide rewards, potentially including datacrons. Not all of the news is good, however, with dual spec confirmed to not be included in the the upcoming patch 1.3 (but hopefully in the following patch). There are also a few in-depth answers about crafting and the necessity of finding a crafter for optimal item modifications. Players can also expect to see future spontaneous world events, although the team doesn't want to precisely replicate the Rakghoul Plague with a new skin. Take a look at the full list of questions, and if you want something answered that isn't there, submit it for the next round.
Wings Over Atreia: Ode to 3.0, verse three -- crafting
When, oh when will my expansion get here? Oh when, oh when could it be? With its new recipes and crafting dailies, Oh when, oh when can it be? I just can't get this song out of my head. No matter how hard I try, I can't keep my mind away from Aion's upcoming 3.0 patch/expansion, Ascension. Ignoring it didn't work. Taking one little peek didn't either. Perhaps sharing and getting the tune stuck in someone else's head might do the trick? Nope; I've tried that for the last two weeks to no avail. I have even tried replacing it with other ditties, jingles, and orchestrations, but the melody always morphs back into something about that tempting little patch. My last hope is to play, but since that won't be a viable option for a while (still no definitive date, dagnabbit!), I guess that leaves me with just one choice: If you can't beat it, join it. Yup, I will just have to hum along while busying myself learning more about all the neat little tidbits, like the ones coming the way of the crafters. Ah, you thought that perhaps adventurers were the only ones getting the goods? If so, you thought wrong. Beyond recipes, Ascension actually introduces some intriguing (and useful) new features specifically related to crafting.
Uncharted Waters Online sets sail for Tierra Americana
If you're basing a game in the Age of Exploration, however loose its historical basis may be, you have to eventually wind up dealing with the Americas. That's the case for Uncharted Waters Online, which has just launched the large Tierra Americana expansion to set players into the New World. America is the place to establish Pioneer Cities, special player-created towns that can be built up by player companies and then visited by others. That's only part of the update, however, which also includes the cities of Paris and Firenze. Paris is, of course, the city of culture and fashion; it lets players show off their discoveries and try to set new trends in the fashion world. Firenze, meanwhile, offers crafters special improvements and gives new incentives to player-made goods. The update also features new ships and updates to the ship systems, giving Uncharted Waters Online's players ways to ensure that they traverse the newly expanded ocean in style and safety.
Wings Over Atreia: Too much of a good thing
Seriously NCsoft, enough is enough! Now, I know that in the not-even-too-distant past, I openly admitted how much I liked the shiny surveys that popped up occasionally in Aion. Whether they were during events or just out of the blue, the surveys were like a random present just because. And who doesn't like presents? Sometimes you would know what you were getting; other times it would be a complete surprise. I love clicking that little icon and being rewarded with dyes, pets, emotion cards, and other assorted relatively harmless fluff. Yes, I also hoarded the platinum medals and ancient crowns that sprang up infrequently with a near maniacal glee. But there reaches a point when you really can have too much of a good thing (sadly, much like decadent cheesecake) and actually encounter negative repercussions. Last week I mentioned that the leveling rewards, at least under level 25, got to be a little much. But that doesn't compare to the glut of goods available to every player who logged in during the month of October. I was initially appreciative of getting a few of the "October Special" (stacks of multiple scrolls and power shards). However, the surveys got out of hand before long. Click past the cut for (no, not a free gift!) Wings over Atreia's look at how over-gifting can actually be damaging to Aion.
Fallen Earth's newest patch aimed at improving a life of crafting
Crafting has always been one of the major elements of Fallen Earth, and with good cause, really: you're in a post-apocalyptic wasteland and you can't just buy all your supplies down at the S-Mart. But that doesn't mean crafting is all roses and happy thoughts; some items are far rarer than necessary and others present in useless abundance. It's ripe for some revisions, and that's exactly what the game's newest patch, set for release on October 4th, is meant to address. Several recipes have been streamlined, with unnecessary parts removed from the equation to make a crafter's life easier. At the same time, craftable items are being removed from merchant inventories, encouraging players to seek out other players or assemble the items themselves. If you're feeling a bit leery of the changes, though, fret not -- you still have a couple of days left to stock up on materials.
Wasteland Diaries: So you want to be a crafter?
Fallen Earth has a complex, robust crafting system. The vast majority of the items in the game can be crafted from things you find lying on the ground. I am not exaggerating when I say "vast majority" because it's well over 90%. You can literally level your way to the cap simply by scavenging and crafting. It used to be much easier, but it is still possible. Tradeskills are different from other skills in Fallen Earth in that you raise them through use rather than spending AP on them. The system itself can be quite daunting when you are first starting out, but once you have a basic grasp of how it works, the rest is pretty intuitive. In this post, I'll touch on the basics of crafting. I'm no expert, but I do have a completely maxed-out social/crafter that has most of the game's recipes in his repertoire. You may know what you are doing, but I think even the most learned of crafters might learn something from this piece. The novice crafter will learn a few simple tricks (tricks that I wished I had known when I was just starting out) that will make his life a little easier out there. It's tough when you just want to make something with your hands and there are legions of bloodthirsty miscreants trying to kill you. So grab your toolkits and click past the cut for more.
Lost Pages of Taborea: One crafter's obsession
Let me start this week off by telling you a little story of one crafter's obsession, of how he feels about crafting in MMOs, and what he hopes and dreams for. I love crafting. I want more of it. Whenever I loaded up Runes of Magic, it was the first thing I got my grubby virtual hands on. Now, I know there are a lot of people who will say they like crafting, but I'm here to separate us even further by telling you what I really think about when I want more crafting. I see lots of threads on the forums about how many people want crafting in RoM. There's a lot of conversation over how much work it should require and how much it should pay off. I feel disconnected from a lot of those players. I feel that we aren't truly like-minded. My brain doesn't run in the same direction. What the heck am I babbling about? Read on to find out.
Earthrise crafting process explored further
Earthrise developers Masthead Studios revealed more about the title's in-depth crafting system in the latest Question of the Week on the official game site. One of the game's strengths is its degree of item customization. Earthrise fans have wanted to know how they'll actually be able to customize items or manipulate the crafting process for better results, and Masthead provided some of the answers this week. They've stated that the game will allow crafters to combine resources in various ways, creating new synthetic materials that can positively influence the outcome of the manufacturing process. If you've been following along with the Masthead Studios announcements about crafting in Earthrise, you'll want to see "Crafting: Product Manipulation, Combines" for more on how the system will work.
Earthrise interview explains game's crafting and sandbox elements
We've been noticing that the post-apocalyptic MMO Earthrise is getting a lot of press these days. The latest piece that's caught our eye is an interview with Masthead Studios CEO Atanas Atanasov conducted by ReviewStash's Daniel Levy. The interview ranges across several topics of interest for potential Earthrise players, but perhaps what's of most interest are Atanasov's comments on combat game mechanics and crafting. Aiming in Earthrise's combat will be done as with standard shooters, but the weapons available to characters will allow a player to keep a bead on their target. On Earthrise's crafting system, Atanasov says that players will be "capable of infusing Designs into items -- special bonuses and enhancements, or totally separate effects that allow the crafter to customize an item to the needs of his or her customers." Certain crafters may well become influential figures in Earthrise, Atanasov says, known for coming up with powerful item builds.
As the Worlds Turn: Hey, mom! Look at what I made!
You've toiled. You've trudged great distances. You've sought out the wisdom of the land's greatest craftsmen in pursuit of perfection in your art. Hours of work have culminated into this precise moment. You have finally done it. You have crafted a hat. Not merely any hat: a red hat. You equip it to your character to see how splendid you look in a finely crafted red hat. You quickly put your helmet back on and sell the hat to the nearest vendor for a paltry handful of copper coins. What was the point? The desire to craft is easy to understand. The millions of MMO players out there have many different goals but there is one goal that they often share: the desire to be special and unique. I'm not referring to a warm and fuzzy after-school kind of special, either. I'm talking about the coolest gear, the most impressive weapon and the super rare mount. Crafting systems often lead players to believe that they can make cool gear and look different. Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as it sounds.
Behind the Curtain: A look at skills
In their current state, skills in MMOs could be improved. Tell me exactly what kind of 'skill' is involved in clicking a button a few times until the game decides that you're able to make something better? What if your character's skills were a direct result of how good you were at actually performing the task in question? What if an action's level of success was dependent on how well you actually carried out the action and not on how often you had clicked a button?The effects of a system like this would be most apparent in crafting; imagine a game where, in the crafting interface, you had direct control over the creative process, a system where the quality of the item varied according to the level of skill employed by the player during the creative process, and not on how many times you had clicked a button to make the item in the past. The beauty of a system like this is that players who naturally excel in a certain skill would be rewarded for it, regardless of the amount of time spent grinding their skill level up, but at the same time, players who simply created the same item again and again would get better anyway, because after all, practice makes perfect.
