Do something about the AH and lower level gear????

[Flunklesnarkin]

you can also search for crafters by server on ffxiah...

just point in click to w/e parameters you want.. ie. lvl 100 bonecraft / bismarck server and click.. you get all the results.. a lot of people use that website.

[Olor]

you can also search for crafters by server on ffxiah...

just point in click to w/e parameters you want.. ie. lvl 100 bonecraft / bismarck server and click.. you get all the results.. a lot of people use that website.

Oh, see I didn't know this... and I do use xiah and wiki a lot. Thanks for the info. That said - do people really expect new players to know where to look for all of this stuff? I mean seriously?

[katz]

you can also search for crafters by server on ffxiah...

just point in click to w/e parameters you want.. ie. lvl 100 bonecraft / bismarck server and click.. you get all the results.. a lot of people use that website.

Why do people need to go out of FFXI to get the information. SE should have a porter moggle information desk, find me a level x crafter who is on line.

[cidbahamut]

Why do people need to go out of FFXI to get the information. SE should have a porter moggle information desk, find me a level x crafter who is on line.

Because you'd need to refer to information online to be aware of and find the moogle in the first place, so why not take that extra step and stop being a lazy waste of resources?

[Flunklesnarkin]

Why do people need to go out of FFXI to get the information. SE should have a porter moggle information desk, find me a level x crafter who is on line.

They don't need too.. but it is an option that a lot of people use to find a crafter..

and I fail to see how telling a noob about community sites is a bad thing..


Could there be some super high speed crafting system.. sure..

other games i've played you could search for crafters like you searched for exp pt's.... ie.. lvl 100 goldsmithing.. looking for work.

something like that would be super awesome.

[Greatguardian]

If someone walks up to me with materials and is actually polite and willing to accept a "No" if I'm busy, I generally wouldn't mind crafting something for them.

The issue is people tend to feel a strong sense of entitlement around crafters. It's plenty easy to find one if you're polite, non-intrusive, take no for an answer when it's given, and you actually thank/tip the crafter afterwards for their time. Crafters aren't obligated to do anything for anyone. More often than not, even if someone is polite in requesting the use of a craft, they get really annoying and self-righteous if the crafter they ask turns them down. "Why can't you just take 5 minutes to do it?" "Pleeeeeeeeaaaase?" "You're such a jackass for not helping me."

It's simply a matter of people asking other people for a favor. You have to show them respect if you want any in turn. If I'm busy and turn down a request to make something, and the person is actually not a total twat about it (This has happened maybe once in my entire playtime =/), I'll contact them when I'm no longer busy and see if they still need anything. On the other hand, when people go twat-mode, I'll just proceed to ignore them in the future.

Proper etiquette regarding tips and thank yous is still important as well. Crafters put a lot of time and gil into their trade. Many people confuse the fact that most crafters don't specifically charge when you bring your own materials with not having to give them any gil. Sure, I won't force you to pay me to craft this for you, but it's common courtesy to tip those who are doing you a service. It is the playerbase's utter lack of etiquette in this area that has also discouraged the crafting base, and has forced many crafters to require a tip-like surcharge for their work in order to get anyone to tip them. This is especially true when someone brings in a large quantity of materials, taking a decent amount of time to make. The crafter is giving up their free time for the patron's benefit, it's only polite to remain considerate of that fact.

That said, I think the OP is being dense. Yes, the original point of the thread was to discuss measures to increase the armor supply that circumvent crafting. However, the Devs have always tried to be very careful when dealing with crafters and player-supplied goods. That's the entire point behind a player-driven economy. We may not be addressing your proposed solution, but we are directly addressing the cause. If there is a lack of armor on the AH, it is because the consumer is not willing to give the product a viable market. Make the market viable, then people will be willing to work in it.

[Olor]

That said, I think the OP is being dense. Yes, the original point of the thread was to discuss measures to increase the armor supply that circumvent crafting. However, the Devs have always tried to be very careful when dealing with crafters and player-supplied goods. That's the entire point behind a player-driven economy. We may not be addressing your proposed solution, but we are directly addressing the cause. If there is a lack of armor on the AH, it is because the consumer is not willing to give the product a viable market. Make the market viable, then people will be willing to work in it.

I do think that people are confusing "doesn't want to pay" with "not enough low-level players to support crafting low level items."

That's the issue here. There is no way to tell if newbies are willing to pay or not because the armor isn't on the AH. Again, my LS mate, I am pretty sure would have been overjoyed to pay any reasonable price for seer gear - but there was none up for Auction.

When a crafter puts something up for auction and gets sent back maybe they interpret that as "no one wants to pay X price" when the real answer is "no one wanted that piece of gear for the last three days."

[Flunklesnarkin]

Well its common sense too... don't harass somebody while they are fighting a NM or w/e..

if they are doing a boring ass magian trial.. or standing around town though.. they might be more receptive.

[Fiarlia]

Also don't get pissed if they don't answer immediately, could be afk.

[RAIST]

Did you ever stop to think that perhaps a lot of the lower to mid level gears were also plentiful because people were leveling their crafts. 7+ years into the game, those players have leveled their crafts and the only incentive to make the lower level gears and sell it is if it can be done for a profit. If the mats aren't readily available and the resulting item can't be turned in a reasonable time frame for a reasonable profit--there is no incentive to make it.

There is a simple solution that has already been mentioned here--take advantage of the tools already present to combat the issue. Gather the mats your self and either ask your ls/friends or /shout for crafting assistance, or--heaven forbid--take some initiative and take up crafting like all those other people did years ago.

The responsibility to resolve your issue lies not with the developers--it lies with the player. The tools and opportunities exist to support yourself just fine. The way you guys with the complaints are talking, this game would have never gotten off the ground in the first place. You do realize that the PLAYERS THEMSELVES had to figure ALL this crap out through their OWN research and experimentation. Stop expecting everyone else to bear the burden of making the game easy for you and take some initiative. That's how it was in the beginning, that is how it shall be for days to come.