Ishgard Restoration phase 3 feedback thread

[Jojoya]

Gathering's a bit of a mess.

There's no skill component in MIN/BOT - it comes down to having the stats to get all the node bonuses plus time to keep gathering without distractions.

FSH does have a bit of a skill component in knowing tug times and when to risk GP but it's still RNG-centric. It's hard to display a skill component when it really comes down to "did I get lucky?".

I don't have any effective suggestions for fixing either. It would be nice if something was down so gathering contributed directly to Restoration progress instead of just being a way to feed the crafters who are powering that progress.

For crafting, it's pretty sad to see someone miss out on a Saint title in one class with a score of 400,000 when someone in another class manages to get it with only 150,000.

It's likewise sad to see players able to get into the top 12 making nothing but normal level 80 recipes and never touching Expert just because they've got other players feeding them materials so they can sit and pump out the normal recipes 10-12 hours a day using a 12 step macro. There's no skill in doing that.

If this is supposed to be a competition for showing off one's skill, turn it into a skill based competition instead of a "who's got the most free time" competition.

1 - Eliminate the class categories. There are no longer actions unique to any crafting classes so keeping them separate makes no sense. Change rewards to top 100 for Saint and top 1000 for Beatus among all crafters.

2 - Create a single recipe (available in all classes) separate from the other Expert recipes with a very high maximum Collectable rating that should be unattainable (my suggestion would be 50,000 compared to the current 8,240) and using a single unique material similar to the materials we purchase to make collectables for Custom Deliveries.

Have players talk to Potkin or another NPC to sign up to compete. They receive 100 of the unique material when they sign up.

Players have until the end of the 10 day period to turn in their 100 attempts. They can use as much of the 10 day period as they want to practice using Trial Synthesis before starting their genuine attempts. This removes pressure for players to be constantly crafting and those who only have a few hours a day aren't placed at a severe disadvantage compared to those who can spend all their waking hours crafting (though there's still some with less time available to practice).

Score is the sum of the Collectability rating on the items turned in instead of some random score assignment based on that rating. That encourages crafters to push their CP usage and Durability to maximum effect instead of finishing the craft with CP and Durability to spare. It also discourages abandoning attempts where RNG was bad at the start because even a low rating will add to total score. The number of attempts should offset any very high RNG outliers.

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Outside of the competition, increase scrip rewards and Ishgard Restoration contribution points for Expert so the amount earned per hour is at least comparable to if not better than what you'd get from turning in level 70 or 80 recipe collectables. The difference is so noticeable right now that if you're trying to earn scrip or help your world's progress, Expert is the worst option to pick.

Expert - can reliably craft 25-30 an hour dependent on RNG. At max rating, that's 2,400 scrip and 10,860 Restoration points.

Level 80 - can macro craft 100 an hour. At max rating, that's 6300 scrip and 12,400 Restoration points.

Level 70 - can 2 step (Trained Eye-Groundwork) 360 an hour. At max rating, that's 7920 scrip and 30,960 Restoration points.

That's a good example of why many crafters consider Expert dead. Unless the player wants the Pteranodon mount, the reward for the time investment is less than lower level crafting.

Also, promote the Phase achievements for Expert. It's bizarre seeing so many players coming into the forums saying the titles for the leaderboard rankings should be based on a reaching a threshold instead of ranking when we've already got separate achievements and titles available for passing thresholds.