whats the point of crafting...

[SchalaZeal]

However, we stand by our decision not to have the highest-level gear available for purchase. One of our primary reasons is that such a change would encourage RMT. Our team is working tirelessly to stamp out RMT entirely, closing thousands of accounts and seizing massive amounts of gil every week—this even in the game’s current state, where many believe that crafted items are in low demand.

Solution: Make the gear untradable-on-craft. Thus only players who happen to craft the item itself can keep it. Similar to Rare/EX items in FF11 obtainable from NMs that was to fix sellable random NMs by RMT.

While the materials would be tradable, its result would not.

Another solution would be crafter dungeons to obtain the mats. Whichever way is chosen, the end result should be bound to the crafter when crafted, such that it cannot be traded (it can just be made Untradable instead of Bound - like many items are).

[Knives]

What I would like to see is gear that has a unique quality to them that goes beyond simple stats, these would be obtained by running content like dungeons. This gear might be job-specific and grant certain passive traits active at all times or latent traits granted when utilizing certain abilities to give an edge to the player who went out of their way to obtain these prestigious items.

Crafted gear could have similar item-Levels (with HQ's having almost similar stats), but lack any special passive or latent traits. The gap could then be bridged slightly through the use of materia to fill different roles while not being totally offensively and/or defensively inferior. This would make crafted gear an option without eliminating dungeons from the equation.

I think that coupling this with a certain degree of horizontal advancement would give content more meaning and grant players a way to diversify their gear sets. Certain materials could be obtainable through some new currency obtained through gathering and crafting content, just to get the ball rolling and deter RMT.

[Kaizlu]

3. Have recipes that require multiple classes to craft.

I think we had that at the beginning of 1.0? I'm pretty sure we had it and it was scrapped. Too much work for people.

[Akubikumo]

I think we had that at the beginning of 1.0? I'm pretty sure we had it and it was scrapped. Too much work for people.

We did! Didn't come up all the time but I do remember a particular Culinarian dish that required you also be a lvl15-ish Carpenter. Good times.

[Kikosho]

I find it strange that crafters are hobbled in terms of gameplay progression because of the inability to control economic dishonesty, and the "need to keep demand on the AH low", while there are group selling dungeon and primal clears with impunity! Or is that the true economy of this game?

I do find this situation quite hilarious. Players are gonna make their money exploiting other players somehow so in the end, the issue isn't circumvented at all, just shifted.

[Altanas]

Some thoughts:

1. Allow crafters to further refine finished items similar to how ARPGs work. E.g. You have a base sword, but through further synthesis you refine it to focus on various stats (attack/doubleattack/haste/regens/ability boosting/etc). This could even apply to PvE drops to give crafters some added value, and help players individualise play styles to a degree. Refining synths would be done through a quasi trade/crafting window.

2. Housing WILL stagnate after a time. Think back to housing orientated games like SWG, where you will literally see thousands of furnishings being sold at minimal price. I suggest adding FC forts/keeps in addition to houses, also some form of PvP or PvE castle sieges where resources/crafted items are continually destroyed.

3. Add jobs to DOH, but restrict us to just 1 or 2 professions after level 50.

4. Make raid drops "bind to FC"

[Teykos]

RMT Concerns

What could be great here is if, instead, a more thorough commission system could be implemented in game.

The idea is, one player provides the components and a possible fee or item trade, allowing the crafter to craft the item and receive the fee/item(s) upon success, while allowing the result to go to the component provider. (Failure should be tied to the normal result.) Given how people are, you would probably need to put in separate fee/reward slots for normal and High Quality results. I don't know how complicated that would be to implement, but you've already got something VERY similar with the "Request Meld" option people have. This completely skirts around the problem of RMT farming for components if both key components and the end result are untradeable. Of course, it does absolutely nothing for people selling runs, but that seems to be something that's considered an unavoidable evil so far.

[Valeven]

SE is doing a great job I'm happy I bought into FFXIV

[kasei]

Heard it from the man himself. If you're looking to craft your own high level gear, go play somewhere else. Well that's a nice kick in the crotch. Maybe I'll be able to craft ilvl 90 gear in 2.4 when it's useless.

[Xenobius]

It's actually funny how crafters are considered "classes" and require gear, materia and/or buff food, but produce only mediocre gear and consumables and have no place in endgame, just like in every other plain cloned MMO out there. Why bother then, just make crafting (and gathering, while you're at it) a skill you learn as a DoW/DoM and be done with it. No point in calling something a class if it doesn't serve any purpose.