The Workshop: The Crafters Dungeon

I was talking to my cousin today about the game and the lack of dungeon crawling for the crafting classes when we came up with a collaborative idea to fix this dilemma! We call it "The Workshop"

Premise:
With the threat of the Garlean Army on the horizon the three Grand Companies need to supply adventurers with goods and arms to secure the realm of Eorzea to the people that inhabit it. [This could even tie into the Company seals, and viola Crafters can get their own Chocobos through this method!]

How it works:
The idea would follow the same rules as being able to get into the other various dungeons, and could also have the same levels as the two battle dungeons [r25 and r45]. With a "Waiting" or "Cool down" period of 60 real-time minutes. You will be required to have a party of at least 4 crafting only classes, upon entry each person must declare a specific craft (carpentry, blacksmith, weaver, etc) that they are bound to for the duration of the dungeon (you will still be able to change classes inside the "dungeon" but your objectives will be based around the craft you've picked).

Once all is decided you will enter as a group into a lobby with a multitude of NPCs standing around (There should be at least 4-5 NPCs per person in the dungeon) with a list of items, each is dressed differently from the other NPCs and their names are not shown above their heads. Upon talking to them you will receive a personal message from the NPC about what item they need for their units/adventurers/company/party. Once after each NPC has been talked to (they will begin to leave after confirming the item(s) to be procured). Once they are all gone the doors to the workshop will open up providing all the various crafting tables for each of the crafts.

Party members will be required to communicate to tell everyone what items need to be procured by which craft. Players will "communicate" with the tables to bring up a list of items that can be created at the table with a counter on how many times the item can be made next to the name (harder the difficulty the lower amount of chances). Once all the items have been created and all the lists completed (this is based on your memorization skills on what you need to make) and each of the players are standing in the lobby, the doors to the workshop will close and the NPCs will walk back into the building (not necessarily in the same place either!), it will be the job of the group to remember what items what NPC asked for. Once all items have been exhausted the dungeon timer will end and the group will be evaluated on the following:

1) Time to gather item lists
2) Time to create items in workshop
3) Amount of failed synths versus successful synths
4) Amount of remaining materials (this takes into account if the materials left should've been used or not)
5) Correct distribution of items
6) Over all rank (based on the average of the above)

It would use a grading scale of S, A, B, C, D, E, F so you know where you and your friends can make improvements on. Each of the letters will have a hidden numerical value of 20, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. Depending on your total score depending on how many seals/exp/gil you can earn. (The highest possible earnings should be equal to a quest completion of similar level). Also, there should be hidden rewards for a perfect workshop run, upon a perfect run a special chest will appear that will contain one random crafting tool that has special properties (and can look cooler than the rest of the tools like it as well).


So that's just about it; this way the crafting jobs will also be able to get a personal Chocobo should they not want to ever level up a combat class. What do you think? I believe it adds a neat little mini-game to the job and keeps synthesis fresh and fun (who doesn't like memorization games anway!) Oh, the materials needed to craft an item are not your own, they are special items from the tables, kind of how the leve materials work. Okay I'm done speaking now, so its your turn to talk, what do you think? Devs does this sound like something that could be implemented? Discuss and thanks for reading!

Sounds cool, in addition... even world crafting projects would be cool.

Albeit buggy, Horizons had world projects at release and it was pretty fun when it was playable. Basically there were large projects such as building a mine or bridge etc that anyone could contribute to and adventurer's could help protect crafters, etc. Had an affect on gameworld to boot. I would love to see more in which the actions of the players in the world had actual effects on the gameowrld rather than just in their instance.

I like the sound of this, could be good fun ^.^

Could need some spicing up *personal opinion alert*, but I like the general idea.

Maybe have a mob coming the NPC's way and another NPC shouting what item they currently need to ward off an incoming attack. EXP etc. is calculated by how many people survived! ;)

Any and all suggestions are welcome, personally on my most recent rolled character (now on Besaid) I don't even have a crafting classes leveled! But I feel that Square-Enix should stick with their ORIGINAL PLAN and make crafters, gatherings, and combat classes all equal and important to both content and lore (we need those weapons and they won't make themselves!)

So it would be cool to have a different kind of story for the crafting classes within the walls of the grand companies (major cutscenes can still be the same as you could "invent" ways to show cutscenes that would happen outside the company)

For example: Combat class has to go to Mor Dhona to fight some Imperial scouts (or something) upon completion of the instanced area you get a cutscene with some major NPCs fighting (just using simple examples) after the cutscene you have to return to the company to complete the quest.

On a similar note:
Crafting class has to craft and deliver special supplies to the said NPCs (from the above example) to aid in the battle with the Imperials, after successfully delivering the items you get the same cutscene (because you are there) from above, return to the company to complete the quest.

Alternately:

Instead of going to the NPCs to give them the items crafters could just turn in the items to the company NPCs wherein another NPC could run into the building out of breath saying a battle just too place (Now the crafter could use his power of the echo to view the cutscene) etc etc.

Long post short, come on SE would love to see equal love to all the classes, content is content and you specifically said that you wanted Crafters to be considered more than like a side hobby, just alter the way they get things done to progress (they shouldn't have to physically fight its not what they do). but none the less they are entitled to all the game was well.

As far as replies to the thread go, thanks for the input more suggestions means more ideas for the devs to pull and create from, so don't be shy; I promise I won't criticize! :D