Can we just remove shards from the game?

[seorin]

Shards don't really add anything besides a super boring time sink (time sinks are good, boring is not). They're not even interesting to gatherers because they're permanently level 1, so you can't level off of them in any meaningful way. It's a meaningless roadblock to crafters that ends up supporting RMT. Shards in their current implementation are a straight up detriment to the game, and the game would be better if they were simply removed.

I welcome any fixes to the shard system, but seriously just remove them wholesale and it would be a better game.

[dspguy]

Remove shards, and RMT will just farm base components harder. Then we'll just have the same discussion about base components. So next step is just remove base components. Might as well get rid of crafting entirely next.

When I do sell shards, I don't sell 2000 at a time for 30 each. I see about 50-100 for about double that. People snatch that up. Many crafters don't want to buy 1000+ at a time.

[gornotck]

...I can't imagine buying shards at less than 1000 in a stack. Though I tend to gather them myself, anyway, and only buy when the thought of running in a circle for two hours for 500 or so shards is too much.
Still, I think removing shards wouldn't help anyway. I think changing crafting leves to being like they were, requiring no materials, would. DoH jobs are the only ones who have to pay out the nose to complete. DoL and both DoW and DoM jobs just show up and get paid.

[NintenPyjak64]

Would be nice reintroducing the recipes for crystals shards and clusters for ALC. Even fish to shards would be nice to have back

[gornotck]

Sadly, very little will be done about that, either. I think I recall seeing that very idea flat out denied, but I do recall seeing a few things that show that there is a massive antipathy toward items and crafter/gatherers in general by certain parts of the development team.

I think they said that they wouldn't make it easier to get shards because... then RMT would sell more shards, or go after some other 'big ticket' item? More or less also why they don't let crafters make equipment equal to the highest item level available.

[seorin]

RMT would move to a different item if shards were removed, but nothing else will ever be as effective for them. A level 50 crafter does not suddenly use more iron than a level 30 crafter, however they do use significantly more shards.

Mathematically, shard demand is a function of a static gathering rate with an increasing consumption rate. Shard gathering increases by about 20% with level (from elemental abilities), but shard consumption increases by over 500% - a bronze haubergeon takes 11 shards to make from scratch, but a cobalt haubergeon takes 65 (!). No other item increases in consumption so drastically.

The battle against RMT is one of making their business more costly to operate and less profitable. Shards are an easy target for them to exploit. If removed, the cost of their business would increase significantly, reducing the number of RMT that can continue to compete.

[cearka]

I hate shards so much. -_-

[Odd]

Still, I think removing shards wouldn't help anyway. I think changing crafting leves to being like they were, requiring no materials, would.

Could you elaborate on this? I didn't do much crafting at all in 1.0, and I don't remember doing any crafting leves.

[gornotck]

Could you elaborate on this? I didn't do much crafting at all in 1.0, and I don't remember doing any crafting leves.

Obviously it's been awhile, but as I recall it was along the lines of 'make 5 canvas shirts' or whatever. You hit 'Initiate' and made the shirts, but they weren't 'real' shirts and didn't involve 'real' materials. You then turned them in to the final point.
Now, it's 'make five spun-gold threnody whimsical wallets' and you have to have all the crystals and fourteen different materials, the made items take up your limited inventory, and it's all money out of pocket. Up to three times.

That, at least, is how I recall it being and how it has become.

[Kimura410]

Shards seem too expensive. A level 1 item should not be 40-50 per shard. Im glad I leveled all my crafts when they were 9 gil a piece. They are 5 times the price now. Crafters should really be able to craft these themselves. Keep the clusters on gathering nodes, maybe even the crystals.