[Dev] Repair system problems

[Aeyis]

There are too many loop holes with the repair system to begin with.The reason is that the materials are logically too expensive, thus the dark matter saved the day from expensive of items.

A huge voting poll was made and several others want it gone too.

That shows your inexperience as a crafter i guess. For most crafting classes a single repair item would cost below 1k, in fact for most you could make a stack of repair items for less then 1k.
Dark matter made repairs cost money for me as a crafter, whereas previous i always had the supplies needed to simply craft the repair item in question.

I also find it quite interesting how you manage to list so many points, all of which are false. xd

[Colt47]

Most likely none, it's working as intended. The most they would do is reduce NPC repair price a bit further.

Though if they are clever, they would scrap the repair system. Instead, reduce all effectiveness of equipments to that of red gear damaged, add an "enchantment" from crafters that last for about as long as 100% durability to 33% durability which make gear back to current normal status. And then people would praise this game like it's some kinda innovations.

It's all about psychology aspect, people don't like to be "penalised", they like to think of being "rewarded".

Removing the repair system is a rather idiotic notion considering that they need it to remove currency from the game. What they have to do still is make repairing gear less of a player event mini-game and more of a quick action, whether they keep the current status of NPC repair costs and percentile or not.

[Bayohne]

Yoshida made a lengthy post regarding repair (amongst other topics) that I think would fit well into this thread.

Hi, this is Yoshida, the Producer/Director.

I’m sorry that the posts from development have seriously lagged.
Every thread regarding fixes is being looked into.

Gear degradation as a penalty for dying
First of all, I plan on continuing the degradation of gear as a penalty for dying, though the specs will be adjusted. Although the relationship between risk and reward is not as harsh as losing EXP, which was common in first generation MMOs, I think that some kind of penalty is necessary.

I would absolutely like to avoid players thinking that “I can take as many risks as I want, because nothing is lost when I die.” Therefore, I would like to maintain the incentive to stay alive, because “My precious gear will degrade if I die!”

In a world where crafting and gathering exist, I think that the relationship between item degradation and repairing makes a lot of sense.
(Gear degradation due to use will be adjusted during the battle reforms.)

Repair
However, I have received many suggestions and a lot of feedback about the current state of repairs, and I agree that changes must be made. I also understand that the difficulty of performing repairs turns away new players and causes players waiting for repairs to logout. As such, I would like to take the reform of repairs very seriously.

Direction of adjustments to repair

• Rejuvenation of repair NPCs (Placement in more locations/price adjustments/performance adjustments/balance adjustment with player repairs)
• Price adjustment of dark matter (Adjustment to the proper price using dark matter and thanks to the crafter)
• Simplification of repair procedures (Less steps in the repair sequence)
• Easing of repair requirements (Easing of optimal repair rank and necessary skills)

In addition, visibility of repair requests will also be improved based on player feedback.

Crafter motivation and repairs
Crafters should place creating items as their highest priorities. Crafters should earn their respect through developing their skills to a high level. This is why we are spending a lot of time to implement the materia craft system.

I think that repairs should be easily accomplished through using a small part of the skills that crafters have spent so long to develop. Crafters should receive the most satisfaction out of creating challenging weapons and armor and exploring the materia craft system.

Therefore, I would like to simplify the repair process. I believe that it would be sufficient to simply maintain repairs as an occasion for players from the battle classes and gatherer classes to interact.

It will take some time, but I will reveal more specific details before implementation.
Thank you for your patience.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. (The following will be removed eventually.)

I have a request for a certain group of players.

There were some players who criticized the priorities for crafter/gatherer fixes. I assure you that the priorities were decided based on my time restraints and there are no other intentions. I apologize that there has been a delay in the fixes.

I believe that the critical stance from the players comes as a result of my posting being delayed as well.

However, I ask that you please do not make posts that can be seen as personal attacks. I understand the frustration that players may feel, but please understand that we developers are humans too. There is a limit to how much we can do and how much criticism we can take.
(I would have no problem if I was the only one being criticized. )

We will continue to work on updates as best as we can, so I please ask that you understand where we are coming from and use the forums appropriately
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Zanfire]

can you please for the good lord sake take off needing to repair accessorys? its such a hassle with so many pieces that already need repairing (my highest craft is goldsmith and even i want it gone). Also i hope by simplifiying repairs you mean i dont need to constantly take pieces off and bazar the things...holy crap is that annoying.

[Vesper]

Yoshi,

Before I drop my suggestions overall I will say this, money sinks are needed in this game. As such I suggest your do the following with repairs via NPC...

• Add Accessories to the repair list of NPCs
• Add Repair NPCs to ALL major camps (Baldknoll, Iron Lake, Bloodshore etc). Charge an extra 10% fee for repairs at these camps, its worth it for the convenience.
• Add Repair NPCs to all non camp Aetherytes (Cedarwood, Oakswood etc). Charge an extra 20% fee for repairs at these locations.
• Retainer Bells in ALL major camps (Baldknoll, Iron Lake, Bloodshore etc). Charge a service fee to summon these retainers to camps. Maybe 1k per 10 ranks, so a R50 would pay 5k to summoner a retainer.
• Finally add NPCs to ALL major camps (Baldknoll, Iron Lake, Bloodshore etc). Lately you and the dev team are all about us 'playing how we like'. Well I don't like to have to run to the city states everytime I need to sell something.

[naaros]

I do not mind having a repair system in the game - it's better than losing XP when you die. However... I have a slight problem with the repair system as it is now. It would be fine if your gear only degraded when you died, but right now, it degrades by just taking action and fighting. Maybe it should only degrade when: 1) you die and 2) when you are using equipment that isn't Optimal to your class. This way, when I am out and about grinding on monsters, I won't constantly be worrying about my gear degrading too fast and having to go back to town. This is further exacerbated by the fact that traveling in this game takes forever without chocobos (I know, it's coming 1.19), and when you are trying to save anima, it can take a long time to run back to your camp after repairing.

Also, I would like for the repair NPCs to be able to repair your gear to 100% durability at extra cost. Make it slightly more expensive than what a crafter could do, but not so expensive there would be no point. For example, repairing an Elm Cane by a crafter could cost around 1500 gil, and the NPC should charge 2000-2500. That way, if I'm in a hurry to get to a dungeon run or experience point party, but I notice my gear is already low, I don't have to make my group wait while I get a repair from a crafter or pay absurd prices for only 75%.

This is all just my opinion, and I'm still fairly new to the game. Thanks for reading! =)

[KiniRyris]

i feel that if npc's could take repairs to 100% then crafting repairs would be pretty much useless unless you're out on the field. If they do add repair npc's to camps then it really kills it for crafters.

[Moiren]

I think repair should stay too, but:

1. Degradation of equip should be slower, especially weapons
2. Jewelry should not degrade, just like underwear. After all their degraded stats are just def/m.def/eva and we all know that wouldnt make such a difference since rings&co all have very low ones

[Kraggy]

If they do add repair npc's to camps then it really kills it for crafters.

Which IMO would be a GOOD THING!

Yoshi's desire for gear damage to be a 'death penalty' is fine, however this works in other games perfectly well without the need for players to sit and wait for a crafter to be bothered to come around and repair their gear .. as Yoshi points out, at times this never happens and people log because they can no longer use broken gear.

There isn't and never was a need for crafters to be repairers, NPCs are fine and all that's needed, just make them repair to 100% so gear can then be sold, crafters aren't needed and are an unnecessary hindrance here.

[Eruantien]

Price adjustment of dark matter (Adjustment to the proper price using dark matter and thanks to the crafter)

What does this mean, I hope it doesnt mean lowering the price, makes it even more useless adding it to gathering, if they are worth a tuppence