DoH/L EXP Reduction, Please

I have seen many threads about botting recently. Rightfully, there is always going to be debate about such practices. Some people believe it to be right, some believe it to be wrong, others believe it to be both. Ironically, I believe all sides to have validity.

At the same time, I am under the impression that SE will undoubtedly dedicate more resources to eliminating such a practice as we near 2.0. However, I believe a far simpler method ought to be considered: lower the EXP curve for said jobs.

I do not favor the "easy mode" ideal but I do understand it to be necessary. This is what the modern demographic has shifted towards and a game needs to make money. People can debate sales strategies but SE has chosen a route that favors casting a larger net and fault cannot be placed with such a concept. But why should SE lessen the curve for DoH/L?

Well, for starters, it will reduce the amount of Third-party programs. If a result is more attainable fewer people will feel the need to resort to such a measure. People can argue that people will be lazy regardless of the curve but this simply is not true - many studies have been done on this subject and argument is commonly put aside in the face of empirical evidence.

Another reason is that since DoM/W have been given an "easy mode" then why not that of classes which ultimately follow the same curve yet without the same resource? In a non-PL party, DoM/W can go from 45 to 50 in a matter of hours. 48 and 49 both require 100k EXP each and all you have to do is be present. Now contrast that with DoH/L. Such a hike requires weeks (literally, do the math) of gameplay hours. Compact this with the fact that a DoH must either gather materials on their own or spend gil to do so. The first method increases the timesink while the other also requires a timesink. True, a DoH can sell goods in order to supply their crafts but the combined time it takes to sell an inventory in order to fuel a grind is still high - let alone where those original mats came from (again, the first point.) Add in the fact that oftentimes the final grind synth yields 300 to 500 EXP over a one to two minute time period and you can see the challenge. Compare that to the 2500 EXP earned in the same time period on DoW/M. So why keep the exact same curve for jobs that are inherently slower?

If you really want bots reduced (as yes, some people will bot regardless) then reduce the curve. Moreso, if you really want a stable economy then flooding the market with goods is also a benefit. At the same time, more crafters means a higher influx of income. This would satisfy both Marx and Weber. In the end, it just makes sense.

Finished items do not sell right now because everyone already has all their crafts at level 50 and just make it themselves.. and you want to make it even easier to get to 50? If you want to eliminate botting, simply create a UI that requires you to be present.

Nah, botters will still work around it. They don't fail. The truth is just address the root which is time investment.

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Originally Posted by Vexerus

Finished items do not sell right now because everyone already has all their crafts at level 50 and just make it themselves.. and you want to make it even easier to get to 50? If you want to eliminate botting, simply create a UI that requires you to be present.

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Or just make the experience fun and engaging?

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Originally Posted by Sephrick

Or just make the experience fun and engaging?

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o_o this...its genius

yeah, fun and engaging beats bot-proof UI.

Although, for a quick fix, they could always try Captcha Crafting™ :p

I jest.

XP reduction is not a good idea. What DoL/H need is XP chaining. A reason to make crafting more dynamic and engaging. Lowering the needed XP would do nothing, adding chains would give people something to shoot for.

I agree with the "fun and engaging" solution posted above, but with the repetitive nature of crafting, I don't know how you could achieve this.

So I would go for the middle road and just implement 1-click batch crafting from the game UI, however with 0 chance of HQ, so if you want HQ, you do it manually.

Perhaps could do like in SWTOR, put the mats on your Retainer, and send them to craft 100 things, it would take them several hours perhaps to finish all the crafts, and then they come back with your items and your exp. And you can be playing the real game while this is happening.

It won't reduce bots, it will increase legit crafters but it is not going to reduce bots.