Crafting = Impossible to Guage

[Menowapii]

This is just my opinion, i just hope people see things clearly as i state them.

Ok so I'm back for the 3rd time playing FFXI.

My 1st character back in 2001-2004

My 2nd character back in 2006-2008

and Finally my 3rd time around 2011.

Ok so big changes throughout the time span from when i first started playing til now.

My biggest problem coming back to the game is that, they are no crafters. While some might disagree crafters are near extinction and I see it clearly through the AH.

Ok so back in the days AH was full of items because crafters were busy making stuff, but now it seems like nobody makes anything. I cant even buy a bed for my moggle. Last time a bed sold on my server was serveral months ago.

Alright, so I have no bed, fine no problem I'll craft and maybe within a month in real life i'll be able to get my crafting up for a decent level so that I may make a bed.

Here's where my problem kicks in. Back in the days I had no wife, no kids, no bills, no responsiblities so yes I can afford to invest time to craft, level, NM hunting, socalizing, but now it seems that my time is limited and crafting takes way to long to level.

I would Like to see Square Enix try to fix the crafting level up system. I'm not asking for them to make it 100% easier either, but something where it takes less materials to level up or less failed attempts when crafting with more skill ups atleast till level 60 in crafts, and then from 61-100 let it be tough or as it is now.

I enjoy this game and I love it but somethings in this game take to long for people with little time. Please take time to review this post and feel free to leave your comments but no trolling.

Thank you everyone =D

[Atima]

An interesting way to fix this IMO would be to put more emphasis on vendors. Not saying have every vendor sell every material for cheap, but to have guild vendors carry a larger stock of items for a cheaper price, and perhaps even more standard vendors just around for easier acquisition of the more simple stuff. Like I know basic ingredients are available for some crafts (cooking most notably), but some of the other crafts will have a harder time being picked up by new crafters such as Goldsmithing or even Bonecrafting.

On a side note: I think this would also be a decent way to help new players get into the game easier. Due to the lack of crafters selling low level items and armor, having a few more amor/weapon vendors around might be useful. Could make the crazier armor (scorpion harness, Luisiant stuff, etc) being sold by Tenshodo or Tavnazian vendors at a reasonable price (44k-50k doesn't seem so reasonable nowadays for a lvl 40 breastplate, especially for someone up and coming)

[Wodggeeee]

I agree, the crafting does blow in this game, it took me about a month to get Leathercraft to 61 and Bonecraft and Clothcraft to just over 30. Atima I like where you're going with the regional vendors carrying more relevant materials, but if the guilds wouldn't run out or charge 900% of what things would cost on AH, then yes I believe that people would be crafting like the old days.

[Nephilipitou]

Just do shouts in jueno. Quite a bit of my money has been made via crafting. I take materials that people sell for 300-500 I craft them into 6k-7k AH items or 40k per stack if you are impatient.

You can still get gear from killling goblins, you can still get items for your gobbybag quests, etcetera... If all else fails use these forums, or use other forums, or go to jueno and shout for crafters. Sorry man those are your options. This happens in most MMOs eventually. I mean in WoW I spent a ton of time effort and Gold on leveling blacksmithing and at the end of the day, it has been far less fruitful than my crafting on FFXI. Crafting can still be very useful though, you just have to put in effort. Oh God forbid people put the effort into finding crafters.

I myself can't find any clothcrafters high enough to make the items I want. But eventually I probably will. It just takes time and patience though. Just like leveling a craft.

[Atima]

I agree, the crafting does blow in this game, it took me about a month to get Leathercraft to 61 and Bonecraft and Clothcraft to just over 30. Atima I like where you're going with the regional vendors carrying more relevant materials, but if the guilds wouldn't run out or charge 900% of what things would cost on AH, then yes I believe that people would be crafting like the old days.

While regional vendors are a decent way to circumvent excess farming, they usually only carry mats for cooking (for the majority anyway, as far as I know), and you gotta worry about regions that are Beastmen controlled. What I meant was more along the lines of adding some additional vendors either in the guilds or around the major crafting areas that carry more of the basic materials, or have the guild vendors have a much higher stock of items (200+ items from a guild merchant. After 200 the item is out of stock for a day/week/whatever). Could even adjust the prices based on how much is sold or if it sells out, capping out at a server designated price.

For example, I want to buy a bunch of Thundermelons, so I go into the Cooking guild and buy 50(out of 200, just for example) for 40gil a pop. No one else buys any for the rest of that day. The next day they restock the 50 that was bought and the price goes up ever so slightly (say to 44gil per melon). Then lets say no one buys any that day, the following day, the price would revert down slowly back to it's native price. This would reflect the concept of supply and demand.

In the situation that someone comes around and buys out the stock of items and throws them on the AH (Which still occurs anyway), you could then go to the regional vendors or the extra NPCs placed around or even just farm your own materials.

The idea is just to give crafters more options than what is currently available.

This would also let people examine prices of the guild vendors and see if they could turn a profit from the people that like the convenience of the AH, and the people that buy from the AH would have more stock as well. If the guild vendor prices are too high, then they can just go to the normal vendors and try that.

More items flowing through the AH would boost crafting and maybe let low level crafters start crafting and then they would have more items to work with and maybe turn a profit themselves while leveling.

[Godofgods]

What would help from SE in leveling crafts with minamil effort on their part, would to take some feedback from current crafters, and find the areas in each craft that are simpley beyond a gill loss to level and make them much less painfull, by adding a desent synth. Any high level crafter will tell you, their are jsut some areas where you can lose hundreds of thousands if not millions of gill trying to skill at certin points. Granted some crafts are much worse then others in that regaurds. - And since next to noone farms meterials for profite these days its not like your dealing a blow to them

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Unless you're a hard core farmer, leveling a craft in this day and ages is nigh impossible due to the complete lack of any mid game structure.
Thanks abyssea...

[Bahamut_Norm]

The difficulty of crafting leveling is what makes it worthwhile to do in the end. If it was easy, everyone would have level 99 crafts and there would be no profit in it. Also, those delays are what keeps gilsellers from really fouling up the markets. Square already made crafting to 60 easier some time ago. (If you've ever leveled a craft to 70, and then went and leveled a different craft, you'd feel the difference.)

The real problem right now is the seriously pooched crystal and supply lines, as Tsukino said. We'll just have to wait and see if merging the 'houses makes some of the materials more accessible. That, and the fact that absolutely NOBODY does H/E/L/M anymore. Time for me to break out the old pick axe, I suppose! I hear Mount Zhayolm is nice this time of year!

[Tsukino_Kaji]

Crystals-a-plenty on Siren.
It's not a matter of dificulty anymore, it's a matter of imposibility now. For example, instead of being able to buy a stack of cloth on AH, now you have to farm the base to make the thread to make the cloth. All because no one else is doing so, again, because of a complete lack of mid game. Since now levels go from 1-30-90.

[katz]

I am a crafter. I rarely put anything up on the ah that is a "specialist" item like the beds. Most players have them or got rid of them by now. I will make anything anyone asks me for if I can. The reason why I dont put them on the ah is simple. Time is money, if the bed is going to take forever to sell, Ill make shihei instead cos they sell quick. Your best bet is to shout or to look up something that is selling and ask the person who sold it, can they make it for you. Ive done this when Ive needed say a goldsmith item. System seems to work. Just tip the crafter and get the mats probably save you a bundle.