Craft Skill Limitations

[Khiinroye]

I wouldn't mind the change, and I like how it would make finding people with crafts levelled for synergy easier. I don't see it affecting the current crafting recipes all that much--those recipes that could get easier HQ results are mostly outdated by recent gear anyways.

The change could give rise to crafting-only recipes that require double-specialization (lv 100 of two skills) that should surpass the synergy recipes (which only require that someone with the craft skills are in the party. If each double-specialization type has worthwhile recipes, then it could actually serve to decrease the number of crafters competing over these recipes, since they would have to choose which specializations to do.

Currently there are 8 craft skills (not counting fishing and synergy), but with the possibility of 2 lv 100 crafts, this would result in 28 types of double-specification (8 * 7 / 2 choices).

I do see it difficult to come up with recipes that combine certain crafts, such as cooking and anything that isn't alchemy (in before bacon mage to fix that).

An alternative to this could be to only allow one crafting skill past 80, so it would make it so that people have a 100 crafting skill and two 80 crafting skills. This could still create recipes that require a certain specialization, like 100 cloth, 80 leather, and 80 smithing vs 100 cloth, 80 smithing, and 80 goldsmithing. Actually, that type of recipe could still exist even without this alternative's limit, which could decrease competition over those recipes between crafters even further.

A second alternative would be to raise the base level to 70, and keep the 40 points--this would let you have one lv 100, one lv 80, and the rest lv 70, which wouldn't change too much about crafting.

Anyways, crafting would be pretty hectic until the sub-levels are found for the various recipes, especially since the crafting guilds don't give any hint to the level required for additional skills. That is something I would like to see--when asking for recipes at the guild, that the NPC will tell you the craft rank of the subcrafts, as the Synergy Enthusiasts do. Something like Additional skills required: Smithing (Artisan), Leathercraft (Craftsman).

[Fetus]

Go for it. It's not like crafting is good for anything, anyway. FFXI sports the most unfriendly, inconvenient and unwanted crafting system of any MMO out there. Other games let skilled crafters practically design their own equipment or, at the very least, make batches of stuff in one swoop rather than spamming synthesis one item at a time.

Crafting was important years ago- not any more- and nothing short of omgwtfbbq craft-only equipment is going to change that.

[Dathus]

Two non-fishing crafts at 100 would be enough. There are enough crafts that work well together at both over 60 that you shouldn't go much/any further than that. If you plan on doing all crafts able to be 100 in the future, you're just going insane. With the atrocious skill-up rate, most players might barely get the second to 100 when you announce a third.

Two 100 crafts is enough.

[Kailea_Nagisa]

please do, now I wont need to lvl my mules crafting up, I can do it on my main account.

I meant that I would like them to not rush into anything, and think before they change things -.-

[Sparthos]

Can some people give some legitimate reasons why Synergy is terrible? "Waa, its not synthesis" doesn't qualify as a real reason. Being able to simply craft a full stack of 99 bolts with one synergy synth is simpler, rewards more on HQs and cannot break. It's superior.

Since SE brought up Crafting, here are some things that should be changed:

-Convert the entire synth lists over to Synergy.

Everything progresses, including technology in the world of Vanadiel. As it stands right now, Synergy is nothing more than a haphazardly put together list of various synths from various crafts from 0-80. Convert all current synths in every craft over to Synergy such that you can level a synth and Synergy at the same time - skillups included.

-The toolbag system should be taken out back and put down.

It's a chore to trade some random flower + your item to an NPC who exists solely to drive you mad. Oh and why does this NPC vanish during Conquest ties? Is that simply to just to inconvenience people for a week? Get rid of it all and simply have things like Shihei synth out in a bag if you use Synergy. If you want a lore-based explanation, the furnace made the bags/pouches/quivers for you. Wonders of Bastokan technology the furnaces are, aren't they?

-33/66/99 Synths should be all converted to 99/198/297 synths.

This already exists with newer ammo, just make it a standard.

Even with all these changes, Crafting is already DOA. Unless all future gear is created via crafting, the games economy might well be in need of a funeral. I fully expect post-Abyssea gear to create a spike in consumables being used again (like food) but as it stands, gil is worthless and so the driving factor to synth is gone.

[Glamdring]

People still craft? based on the availability of crafted items you would never know. The only thing with even a limited supply seems to be food. Make whatever changes you want, I expect the shelves of the AH will remain just as barren as they currently are.

[Milotheshort]

This is a terrible idea. Once again this feels like a slap and slight against players whom have dedicated themselves to accomplishing specific feats of true merit w/ no true benefit to them. As has been stated all "True" crafters have mules w/ other crafts capped and subs capped. This feels like a feeble attempt to appease the non-crafting portion of FFXI. The inherent problem with this mode of thought, is they still won't level the crafts or corresponding subs. You guys really dropped the ball w/ CoP, and this seems like a repeat. All your managing to do is further alienate your hardcore player base, in order to make a game more appealing to casuals (See WoW Ready MMOs). Its not like rare materials are not already overly abundant. If your looking for some real fixes to the crafting system.
1. Make current non-hq'able items HQ'able. Juice, leather, ingots etc. reward those making the effort already >.>
2. Make certain things stackable that currently aren't. To me it makes absolutely zero sense why juice is not stackable when other food and bottled medicines are.
3.Make players over cap have less fail rate determined by skill above synth, i'm talking no more crit fails on stupid synths like ash lumber.
4. Introduce HQ mats and give a bonus to HQing the result. such as it is in life, this should be in game, a player willing to use HQ goods in there product should have a better chance in making a satisfactory result. making this proportional will help. So in the case of a Dark Staff, using a HQ piece of ebony lumber, and an HQ dark bead would give a 30% boost to HQing the result, conversely using only one of the materials in HQ form would give a 15 or 10% boost (depending on scaling). This would introduce new life into the materials market. (yes i realize this would effect the overall price of current HQ's, but any of my suggestions could be a sole implementation.)
5. Offer new key items that help crafters this could be tied to the lowering fail rate further etc make it only available to veterans.
6. make old gear and other non-consumables, upgradable. So taking that old elemental staff and synthing it with a gold ingot and a new gem, would produce a +2 elem staff (HQ +3)
7. If you want more ppl to craft offer more pathing options to greater open up current bottle necks.
8. Offer better Evoliths, to make augmenting gear via etching more worth while, I have yet to see someone shout for me to etch something. I feal mainly this is because the evoliths are harder to obtain and very limited in there scope.
9. Allow me to buy more than 1 etching item at a time, i always have capped cinder, there is no other use for it so either let me npc out it and recover gil, or allow me to trade it for fewell or some other items.
10. give a boost to having others synergize in a synth. Right now if i go w/ capped synergy and quick spam to completion it is cheaper and safer than picking up lvl 0's or others not capped, ass when they perform actions it hurts my gains and pressure value. (not saying make them skill faster, or make the values be adjusted to my lvl i can see the game breaking possibilities of that, but i'm saying give the main crafter an added bonus to actions they perform whilst others are "helping")
11. Provide more uses for garbage WIP materials ergo (Hunters cotton), its a bottleneck/gap synth and has no real value. sure its used in rng upgrades but that's it, items such as that should have more application. even if the application is purely decorative.
Pick one anyone, would honestly be better than leveling another craft to 100, just so my AH score can go up and show everyone how awesome i am at crafting, they already know since there are only a handful of hardcore crafters left on each server, hence why the number of goods is so significantly lowered.
12. FIX BOLTMAKER IT IDIOTIC in its current form.

[Selzak]

Crafting has been overlooked in this game from the beginning. I say keep trying to breathe life into it until you break it- then you can adjust it for balance. Seriously, nothing done so far has made it a significant part of the game for most people so just go for it.

[Lump]

what developers need to work on is common sense...there should be a 0% chance a Veteran! craftier should Ever! fail at any low level craft, let alone lose any items. Why waste your Time and gil, to level and finish a craft that when you go to make a level 20 recipe or whatever it may be, you might still fail and lose all ingredients. Other stuff to focus on developers!

[Crocker]

Guild Points - Should make it so you don't lose them for switching guilds.