Manual Synthesis + Auto Synthesis = Love.

[NoctisUmbra]

There have been many discussions regarding the crafting system in FFXIV - there are people who are fond of the current on-hands system and also people that would much prefer a more automated system.

Why can't we have both?

The idea I would like to propose would be very simple and easy to incorporate into the current system, but would make a sufficient change to satisfy both parties in my opinion. So here goes:

There should be 2 choices on the synthesis menu: manual and auto. These can replace the main hand and off hand choices on the synthesis menu UI, effectively moving that decision to a following sub-menu.

Manual synthesis would be exactly how the current synthesis system is with no changes proposed in this regard.

Auto synthesis would have your character automatically craft the proposed recipe to completion. However, this option would only be available if the proposed recipe is at or below your rank and you satisfy the support & training conditions. Provided that all conditions are met, auto-synthesis would slowly complete the synthesis still on a step-by-step basis, unlike a Hasty Hand, but would also have a 100% success rate. As a counter measure though, using auto-synthesis will never produce HQ results.

The idea is, why should one have to worry about the intricate details of the synthesis process for a recipe they have the skills to complete (rank, training, support) unless they are concerned with its quality (HQ)?

Therefore when attempting a recipe above one's rank, or when trying to HQ something one would still resort to manual synthesis, thus employing player skill in obtaining such achievements. However for repetitive synthesis of easy recipes for which one doesn't care for having a high quality result I feel this option would remove a lot of the dull nature of crafting. Not to mention such a controlled automated system could very well prevent crafters from feeling compelled to make use of a bot.

I look forward to any opinions and constructive criticisms the community has to offer, and hope a community rep will see this.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my random idea!

P.S. - Apparently everyone only frequents the General Discussion forums...

[Jynx]

I can't imagine having a auto synth function even the most punishing requirements to use would help game balance much. Hell even if it refused to give ANY sp and even give lower yeilds than manual synths.

I can just imagine the amazing ammount of materials that would be churned out in one day utterly destroying certain markets in a matter of minutes.

[Colino]

Actually I think Yoshi-P had mentioned at some point that they did plan to add some sort of auto-synth that gave no sp but was solely for lower rank items or something along those lines...

Of course I remember he being awfully vague about it but I bet something like that is coming along eventually.

[NoctisUmbra]

I can't imagine having a auto synth function even the most punishing requirements to use would help game balance much. Hell even if it refused to give ANY sp and even give lower yeilds than manual synths.

I can just imagine the amazing ammount of materials that would be churned out in one day utterly destroying certain markets in a matter of minutes.

Ah, you see I thought about that to myself. To clarify, I imagine the auto option working in a way so as to see the crafter performing various actions/animations - without player input - as the progress bar slowly fills from 0-100%. Balancing can be as simple as making the synthesis last quite a bit longer than the manual counterpart.

The idea is to embrace how mindless synthesizing a recipe below your rank for which you have the proper training and support, and removing the cumbersome, unexciting Enter-mashing. Control over your synthesis - the true fun in crafting is when your goal is something other than to 'just get it done.' When you wish to achieve a certain Quality, or wish to complete a high rank recipe that yields great amounts of sp, you literally have a battle with the progress-durability numbers as you utilize various hard-earned skills and strategies to come out of the process triumphant.

[Ferth]

Personally I'd like to see the crafted materials be an automated synth but when it came time to craft a finished item then you'd have the manual inputs to try and get the most out of a craft. Though an "auto-standard" option where it just assumes every action you'd take is standard and cranks out the craft would do it too.

[Alcide]

ehm... Hasty Hand? o.O

[Ashthra]

Isn't that what Hasty Hand is for?

[Leenk]

I guess they beat me to it. Yeah, Hasty hand IS your auto synth.

[Totobi]

I think the OP is asking for a 'legit' version of a crafting bot, instead of having to manually sit there and spam standard synthesis on about 700 items you're just gonna vendor anyway just to get one rank.

[DoubleEcho]

This could cause balance problems for one reason I can think of - fish to shards synths. The 4 Lightning to 12 (earth, wind, fire, etc) recipes are only Alchemist R1. Right now I buy lit shards and then buy a few stacks of fish from the NPC In Limsa to make Wind and Earth shards (because it's cheaper than buying wind/earth shards by far). However players (and RMT) could use this to flood the market with shards. Right now I have to Hasty Hand hundreds of fish and pay attention if Hasty fails (and then spam standard/rapid and pray).