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An introduction to Mythos crafting
The old adage -- if you want something done right, do it yourself -- has never been more true than in Flagship Studios' Mythos. You can find excellent weapons and gear from monsters or treasure chests, but if you want something uniquely yours, crafting is your best bet. By focusing on certain crafting trees, master crafters can make gear with stats that dwarf that of dropped gear. Further, crafted items may be adorned with temporary buffs called heraldries. The monsters won't know what hit them. In the Shadowlands, nobody will be able to touch you. That's the power of crafted items and the heraldries that mark them. Crafting itself is simple to pick up -- just hit R and spend points in the crafting tree. You'll see that it is impossible for a single crafter to become an expert in more than one or two skills. The skill trees themselves are oddly split -- training in Swords and Axes gives you no abilities to create Spears and Polearms. Master the crafting of chest armors, but that will do you no good when it comes to making shoulders and helms. Focus on becoming the best cobbler in Uld, but don't expect that skill to carry over into the scribing of Heraldries. Here is a brief overview of the crafting quests and the process of crafting itself. You can read a more detailed list of the benefits of crafted items over on the official Mythos forums. %Gallery-10781%
Stargate Worlds developer chat on May 9th
Do you have any burning questions about Stargate Worlds? Something on your mind? The admins of SGWirc have announced a Stargate Worlds special event for May 9th, a developer chat with Aruspex of Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment. The dev chat kicks off at 4pm EST, or 9pm for those of you on UK time, and is slated to last for one hour. Here's where to find him:Address: irc.sgwirc.comChannel: #stargate-worldsJava: http://www.sgwirc.com/chatWho, or what, is Aruspex? Well the May 9th dev chat announcement is a bit clearer than Aruspex's hidden message from back in January, which was written in Ancient -- or really some variant of a Caesar cipher. His game ultimately revealed that he's in charge of Stargate Worlds' crafting system. While it hasn't been announced exactly what sort of questions Aruspex will field, a moderator at the Stargate Worlds forums hinted that Aruspex may also discuss minigames in addition to crafting. So get your questions into the IRC bot early to grill Aruspex about anything and everything your heart desires -- and if it's about crafting in SGW, so much the better. [Via Curse]
Player vs. Everything: Gaming with a disability
Stephanie Walker was a gamer who had never expected to have to deal with a disability. She was 23 at the onset of her condition, a college student who also worked a full-time job. She liked to spend the little free time she had unwinding online. Initially resistant to the idea of playing EverQuest, Stephanie quickly discovered that slaying virtual orcs and bandits while joking around in party chat was surprisingly fun. It was a great way to keep in touch with long-distance friends and burn some stress after a long day. She didn't have a lot of time to play, but she was good at it when she did. While working at her job one day, Stephanie noticed that her right hand and leg had fallen asleep. When she tried to get up to walk the sensation off, she realized that something was seriously wrong -- the entire right side of her body had just stopped working. Stephanie was rushed to the hospital, and the diagnosis was confirmed the following morning: she had multiple sclerosis, and she would have to deal with it for the rest of her life. Overnight, everything changed. She went from being someone who spent 20 hours per day away from home to someone who really never left. Moving around within her house required an enormous effort on her part. Even feeding herself had become a challenge. The little things, like not being able to get online and chat with her friends (something she really enjoyed) just made her situation that much more painful.
Making/Money: My value chains are broken
There's a person out there who claims that all they need to know about business can be learned from World of Warcraft. A fine sentiment, to be sure, but I take issue with its accuracy. Today we are discussing the first of their eleven business topics: value chains – and why they don't work. In brief, value chain analysis states that for any good requiring multiple stages of production (meaning you don't just rip it out of your backyard and eat it), value is added at each level of refinement. Therefore the price should increase along its path to becoming a finalized product.
WoW, Casually: Gearing up before level 60 (Reader Mail)
Each week, Robin Torres writes WoW, Casually for the player who has 2 hours or less to play at a time.This week, I answer some Reader Mail that is only a month old. Woot!Hi Robin,I am what I consider to be a casual player on WoW. A good session for me will last about an hour or two... Usually just long enough to gain a level before I run out of time. The current character I am working on is my "main", a level 50 Orc Hunter. One thing I was hoping to find in your articles was a way for a casual to obtain equipment when they haven't yet reached the 60s and 70s. The last time I updated my gear was in the low 30s, so it is really starting to show its date. I was having trouble finding a way to equip my character for the rest of the game until I can start on some epics. It seems the only way is to dump a ton of money in mediocre items (which is basically what I did in the low 30s), or spend hours doing instances... Hours being something most of us casuals don't have.Is there something I'm missing here?Thanks,PaulMy answer and more are after the jump.
Mythos crew addresses the issue of bird-men
At this stage of the game, it really feels like we've culled absolutely every bit of information that Flagship Studios has to give about their upcoming dungeon crawler Mythos. We've already found out about the in-game mall, email system, group content, mini-games, the class differentiation, and what color sherbet Max Schaefer prefers on a particularly hot day.As it turns out however, there's always more minutiae to mull over! In the latest interview, the Flagship boys are asked about a bunch of things that you likely didn't even think to ask in the first place. What's going to be done about farmers, griefers, and spawn campers? (Something) How awesome will crafting be? (So awesome!) Will there be a bird race? (Like Big Bird? Maybe...) And as to the elusive question of whether and when the open beta is going to start, they still wouldn't give a solid answer. While that disappoints a little bit, at least their release date isn't set in mud, because we all know what that meant.
What tradeskill should I pick in EverQuest 2?
There are a bewildering array of options in MMOs. Which race? Which class? Factions, specs, spells ... and, of course, crafting professions. EverQuest 2's fantastic crafting developer Domino attempts to answer the question of "what profession should I pick" with a wealth of experience and firsthand knowledge. The essence of her advice can be boiled down to "do what seems like fun". Crafting is already a specialized experience; you don't want to be stuck making something boring. She offers up a number of assets on top of that, suggesting that every tradeskiller complete the artisan level tutorial quests. Domino links into the EQ2 Traders Corner guides, the Tradeskill discussion boards, and even a guide for what kind of house to buy (got to put all that stuff somewhere).In a related thread, Domino touches on the future of EQ2 crafting. A plea from a weaponsmith has touched off an epic discussion of crafting itemization, and the tradeskill maven has commented on her future plans throughout. If you're a crafter of any kind in EQ2, make sure and page through some of these comments; they're a glimpse of what we might see in GU 45 and beyond.
Struggling MMO Horizons renamed "Istaria"
Virtrium LLC, the new stewards of the MMO Horizons: Empire of Istaria, announced that Horizons will now be known by the name Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted. Virtrium President Rick Simmons explained in a press release blurb and also in an interview with RPG Vault's Jonric that the name was changed because the game is about the world of Istaria and its people, and because it has lived at the domain istaria.com since the beginning. "You have no idea how stupid I've felt explaining that the game was called Horizons, but you had to go to www.istaria.com," he told RPG Vault.Horizons -- err, Istaria -- has had a rough time of it. After some truly savage corporate politics in the original development studio, the game launched incomplete, buggy, and honestly ... well, lame. It does, however, feature a great crafting system, and it lets you play as a dragon. Simmons was eager to point out both of those things in the RPG Vault interview. It looks like Virtrium is doing as much as a small team can to make the game attractive. Simmons explained: "our niche is very much the crafter, non-competitive gamer, and we're very happy being in it." He also said that the game has seen a lot of fine tuning in recent months, and that its due for a big content expansion called "the Blighted Labyrinth."
Making/Money: Newbs at Auction
... And we're not talking about selling accounts on eBay. One of the most frustrating aspects of being a new player in an established game, to my mind, is the cost of start-up crafting materials. Hit up any public market area, auction house, trade square or similar as a newbie and you will see what I mean. Even low-level items of any use (i.e. not vendor trash) are sold for seemingly absurd amounts given the time that would be required at early levels in order to generate the money. It can make the start of a new character infuriating and the game too taxing (pun fully intended) to continue. Why does this happen? What makes these things so costly? Why can't we all just get along...? (Oh wait, that's another column entirely)
Insider Trader: Jewelcrafting, the final stretch part 1
Despite the overwhelming support from our readers during our brief but flower-tastic adventures as HKO-Insider, I will be unable to delve any further into the professions of the Flower Kingdom. That's okay; they were prejudiced against jewelcrafters anyway.Two weeks ago, I posted Insider Trader's guide to the final stretch of Alchemy, and Runstadrey posted the following comment in response: Excellent article, very in depth and thorough. I'm eagerly awaiting the same treatment for my stalled JC.How could I resist a request preceded by flattery? I might have even produced this last week, had patch 2.4 not have dropped; after all, we can't have all of our jewelcrafters stalled mid-level. I am looking forward to reading the comment section for this guide, as the cheapest way on paper always varies because of unique server economies.For the first part of the guide, which will show you how to reach 355 jewelcrafting in the cheapest manner possible, pass on through the break. Each week, Insider Trader takes you behind the scenes of the bustling sub-culture of professional craftsmen, examining the profitable, the tragically lacking, and the methods behind the madness. For more guides to maximizing your chosen profession, check out the final stretches for Leatherworkers and Alchemists alike. For a complete list of profession guides, feel free to peruse our directory.
Professions in Patch 2.4
The long-awaited patch 2.4 is finally here, and if you're a crafting nut, you'll find yourself asking, "what do I do first?". Luckily, WoW Insider has you covered. If you are a leatherworker, Insider Trader has not only put together a guide to maximizing your skill, but has ensured that it is up-to-date with the changes coming in patch 2.4. We have also compiled all of the upcoming changes for each profession into two round-up posts, including linkage and summaries of materials and costs.For miners, blacksmiths, engineers, and fishermen, check out your complete guide to crafting 2.4. If you are a jewelcrafter, enchanter, tailor, alchemist, herbalist, leatherworker, or cook, we have compiled all things 2.4 for you. Both post have news and information about crafting reagents.Because the new daily limit for dailies is now 25, you might want to check out the new fishing daily quests available!
Jumpgate to offer more than just combat
Say your cruising around an asteroid belt in the upcoming sci-fi MMO, Jumpgate Evolution. Since you buddy is due to hop online any minute so the two of you can shoot the light fantastic, you'd rather not engage in any heavy combat until your wing man pops on. What to do?Well, according to Hermann Peterscheck, JGE's producer, there's a lot more to do then just shooting womprats (or whatever the equivalent will be in the JGE universe). The big three activities for the game are combat, resource gathering and crafting, but there will be many other things to do. Players can speculate in the market, get paid to help cargo haulers on dangerous runs, engage in PvP to earn top spot on the various ladders and rankings, or collect the many different medals, titles, ships and powerful equipment. NetDevil is also looking to include mini-games that break up the core game.
Interesting idea: Your very own crafting supplies NPC
There's a compelling idea over on Adele Caelia's EQ2 blog concerning crafting in the comfort of your character's home as opposed to the -- assumed -- cold crafting halls. The concept would be that for the fee of some status points, a player could hire a butler (NPC) who lives in your home and sells you crafting supplies for a slightly higher fee than out at the less convenient crafting halls. Status points are a bit harder to come by in EQ2, so buying a 'butler' would be a decision that carries a bit more weight with it.
World of Warcrafting shows off some... interesting crafts
We love covering cool fanmade crafts here on WoW Insider, but now there's a blog that covers the dark side of "Warcrafts." World of Warcrafting is a new blog that... well, at first, I thought it was a joke, but now I can't tell. Something like this Green Dragon looks like a pretty good attempt at crafting (an attempt, anyway), but the stapleserpent seems just too funny to be real.If it is a joke, whoever's behind it isn't showing their hand at all -- the about and submission pages talk pretty seriously about their conviction for crafting. Although they don't win any points from me for saying "Dungeons and Dragons is kinda played and we don't condone or support dorkyness in hi-school." The tone is almost too perfect to be real, though, and it seems like commenters are in on the joke.If it is a JeffK-like parody, it is brilliant. And even if not, it'll definitely be a site to watch -- there are some hilarious submissions on the site already.
March 12th PTR changes
A new PTR build hit the test realms today, and just in time for the second stress test that'll be getting underway later tonight. A few of the big highlights: The Druid Cyclone spell has had the range reduced to 20 yards, from 30 yards. The newly purchasable epic gem crafting patterns have had their prices dramatically increased. For example, the epic gem patterns used to cost 1.5g each to buy, now they're 50g each. This will make them harder for casual players to acquire. A few BoP crafted items have had a profession requirement of 350 placed on them. All in all, it looks like Blizzard is winding down the changes. They seem to be targeting some very specific areas right now, and the list of changes each week is getting shorter and shorter. This might mean the patch will be going live soon. And remember, as soon as it goes live, we'll select a winner from the Patch 2.4 release date contest we held.Any thoughts on the cyclone change? I for one am happy, considering how I hate being cycloned in arena battles.
Questions about Conan's crafting system answered
Age of Conan site AoCMMO recently published an interview with Funcom's Community Manager, Shannon Drake. The questions were all about the game's crafting system. Yes, Age of Conan has a crafting system! It just hasn't been as touted as other features like mounted combat and bare breasts. We were happy to read that crafting items will get their own special tab in your inventory, so that being bogged down by gathered resources will never stop you from going out and lopping some heads off. That's nice!Little perks like that aside, though, some hardcore MMO crafting enthusiasts are worried that AoC's crafting will be little more than average. A couple of AoCMMO's questions gave Funcom a chance to alleviate those fears. It didn't really take it; the system sounds just like those in games like World of Warcraft and The Lord of the Rings Online. So there won't be any reinventing of the wheel (or rather, how you make a wheel from mob drops), but at least the application of crafting will be fresh, what with the city building and all. Ah, well; not every one wants a "hammering the bubbles out of your molten iron" mechanic, as Drake so excellently put it.
The Daily Grind: Swords, spells, arrows, maps, potions or pickaxes?
What do you focus on most in your MMOG? Are raids your especial thing, mixing it up with the team for epic/legendary drops and glory? Are you an explorer, who is out to see the sights and visit the corners that not every player gets to? Are you a quester, trying to get complete all the quests that the givers have to give? Maybe crafting is your primary focus, and you spend the bulk of your ingame time on crafting and the materials for crafting. Heck, maybe it's the ding of a new level that gets you hot. Regardless of why you joined your MMOG, what aspect do you really get the most pleasure from, and is that what you spend most of your time actually doing or do other activities or circumstances in the MMO keep you away from that?
An interview with Masthead Studios' CEO
Mark Arsenault of MPOGD.com sat down with Atanas Atanasov, CEO of Masthead Studios, and grilled him about their upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO, Earthrise. It's a very lengthy and intriguing interview chock-full of good stuff.Earthrise will offer a "true sandbox experience" and give plays unparalleled freedom, including the ability to customize almost every aspect of the character. PvP will be a very important part of the game and is tided into the lore, which has players fighting for control over pieces of a ravaged pacific island called Enterra. As such, players will be able to attack any other player (at any time) if they are in a non-secure area.As we mentioned in an article a few days ago, every item will be crafted by the players. Atanasov gives even more details about this game mechanic. Apparently players will be able to "overclock" certain items. Instead of providing static effects, players will be able to actually define the effect value of an item. Forcing that value to high ("overclocking" it) is a risk/reward scenario. Push it too high and it might fry the component completely; push it just right, and ya got yourself something truly unique.While I'm not a big crafter, this feature sounds fantastic and may lend itself to some very sweet loot that I'm sure the game's economic system will benefit from. Closed beta begins this summer with open beta occurring just prior to release.
Speculating in the gem market
What do you get when you mix up a whole bunch of useless green gems? On the Public Test Realm you get Brilliant Glass. The most recent patch 2.4 notes state "A new jewelcrafting recipe has been added to transform many green quality gems into a single random blue quality gem. This recipe is available from grandmaster jewelcrafting trainers." Good news for those of us with stacks of semi-useless uncut green gems. MMO champion posted more information. Brilliant Glass is created using three Azure Moonstones, three Blood Garnets, three Deep Peridots, three Flame Spessarite, three Golden Draenite, and three Shadow Draenite. The product, Brilliant Glass, can then be opened for the promised superior-quality gem. Bratac of Antonidas stated in the official forum that he created brilliant glass nine times and was rewarded with four Nightseyes, two Stars of Elune, two Dawnstones, and one Noble Topaz.
Earthrise, crafting, and you
"Every item in Earthrise will be crafted by its players."Wow, that's a bold statement from the devs. Apparently the game's crafting system will go far beyond tinkering with your standard weapons, armor and equipment. Players will actually be able to mix their own drugs and medicine, erect buildings, fix vehicles and even build mechanized exoskeletons. Exoskeletons + post-apocalyptic setting = winnah! Crafting can help to make or break a game (for some). I'm not one of those people. So when they say "crafting in Earthrise is a complex process that is easy to understand but ultimately difficult to master." It really better be easy or I'm just gonna forget about it, hop into my exoskeleton and go Ripley on some mutants. The Q&A really is a good read, and gives some very detailed specifics on how the whole system will pan out (theoretically). Check it out!
