The Current State of Specialist Actions

[FoxyAreku]

The *perk* to leveling up any other crafting class would be the ability to, y'know, actually make that class' stuff.

Obviously, but it speaks of unfairness for all the other crafts to have cross classes and have alchemist have nothing :P

Also being a specialist WITH cross class skills is still > having only one or the other.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

Obviously, but it speaks of unfairness for all the other crafts to have cross classes and have alchemist have nothing :P

Also being a specialist WITH cross class skills is still > having only one or the other.

I know that your comment had been a response to a comment narrowing my suggestion down, but that inherent unfairness is why I say give all 21 of the other class' 15, 37, and 50 cross class skills. No class is left out, it enhances the power of being a Specialist over being an omnicrafter (and let's face it, someone who specializes in one thing *should* be better at it than someone who does everything), but still requires leveling those other classes if self-sufficiency, the ability to produce the refined materials, is desired.

A Specialist should not have Specialist-only recipes. A Specialist should have an easier time at producing the same goods as the generalist. Specialists were made to allow those with only one crafting class to compete with the omnicrafter. Having no means, or limited means, of producing the refined materials for a recipe would be balanced by having access to all of the cross class skills as though they were regular skills. That, combined with the elimination of Specailist-only recipes (which prevent the very competition with the Omnicrafter that Specialization was intended to bring about), would put the Specialist and the Omnicrafter on even footing.

[Silverbane]

Specialists were made to allow those with only one crafting class to compete with the omnicrafter.

From Letter from the Producer Live XX:

(translation of Yoshi-P's answer) There will be certain actions that you can only use while you are a specialist, but even if you do not become a specialist, you’ll still be able to take all of the Disciples of the Hand classes to level 60.

While I said that the concept for crafting up until now was such that it’d be fine to just level up any one class, the development team is aware that actions like Byregot's Blessing are a necessity, and that leveling all classes is required to use higher difficulty recipes, making crafting quite difficult. The specialist system is something that balances this out, and allows players to enjoy crafting with more choices.

So it's not clear to me that the motive for the Specialist system is what you say it is. To solve the problem Yoshid-san mentions (i.e. allowing people to do higher difficulty recipes without being an omnicrafter) just giving Specilists the essential cross-class skills (such as the ones I listed in a previous post on this thread) would be enough.

The Specialist-only recipes came later, maybe as a reaction to people saying (with cause) that Specialization was not very useful.

[FoxyAreku]

A Specialist should not have Specialist-only recipes.

I disagree with this very strongly. It's good for the economy for everyone to have specific things only they can make, as it gives everyone something special they can sell. It may hurt people who want to be self-sufficient and make everything but as long as it's not something that's required (which, it never will be), you can just sell your specialist crafts to buy someone else's. It works out beautifully, I think.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

I disagree with this very strongly. It's good for the economy for everyone to have specific things only they can make, as it gives everyone something special they can sell. It may hurt people who want to be self-sufficient and make everything but as long as it's not something that's required (which, it never will be), you can just sell your specialist crafts to buy someone else's. It works out beautifully, I think.

Less competition means higher prices. Higher prices means goods don't move as fast, which means less profit over time. That in turn means the Specialist can buy fewer things.

Reducing the number of people who can make and then sell things hurts the economy, rather than helping it.

[Alistaire]

Less competition means higher prices. Higher prices means goods don't move as fast, which means less profit over time. That in turn means the Specialist can buy fewer things.

Reducing the number of people who can make and then sell things hurts the economy, rather than helping it.

This is only true to an extent, and one of the biggest problems in 14's market is undercutting more than necessary. Stopping the rampant and excessive undercutting may not have been a design goal of specialists, but it's certainly accomplished it.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

This is only true to an extent, and one of the biggest problems in 14's market is undercutting more than necessary. Stopping the rampant and excessive undercutting may not have been a design goal of specialists, but it's certainly accomplished it.

Not really. If you aim to sell an item on the market, you have little choice but to undercut, unless you're content waiting for however many items ahead of yours to move first. While specialists may shrink the overall market on specific items, it does next to nothing for undercutting. Not to mention, many omni-crafters have at least one alt, rendering the specialist limitation completely pointless.

At least Roth's idea would directly benefit people who don't want to level everything. Another possible solution would be to give percent bonuses to specialised classes. Like Soul of the Weaver allows you to HQ all weaver crafts significantly more easily. As it stands now though, the devs are competing in a hopeless battle with hardcore players. They should know by now you won't ever stop them for being exactly what they are: hardcore.