Optimistic Speculation on Specialization + Links

[StouterTaru]

It wouldn't be bis every time, if you removed the materia slots. Or by leaving the materia slots in, it'd give players the chance to make different gear sets, rather than forcing everyone to wear the same, or be gimped.

If no materia slots, then it would be BiS in many cases, and with the materia slots players would be forced to wear it, or be gimped.

[Sibyll]

If no materia slots, then it would be BiS in many cases, and with the materia slots players would be forced to wear it, or be gimped.

Why would it be best in slot without materia slots? Wouldn't that depend on what the stat choices were for the token and raid drop gear? It'd essentially be another alternative for stat combinations.

[StouterTaru]

Why would it be best in slot without materia slots? Wouldn't that depend on what the stat choices were for the token and raid drop gear? It'd essentially be another alternative for stat combinations.

Yes, that's why it would be BiS in many cases. SE has made it clear that the top gear for the game isn't going to be available at the MB. If everyone was expected to buy 3-4 pieces of gear at 5-10M each every time they raise the ilvl, RMT would be much worse than it currently is.

[Darra]

Yes, that's why it would be BiS in many cases. SE has made it clear that the top gear for the game isn't going to be available at the MB. If everyone was expected to buy 3-4 pieces of gear at 5-10M each every time they raise the ilvl, RMT would be much worse than it currently is.

Actually, I was initially quoting someone saying they didn't want weekly lockout on crafting materials. I was saying it wouldn't be bad if it was an alternative to the weekly tomestone gear, so you'd only be able to make the item for yourself, so having items crafters make for themselves & untradable, would be a viable alternative. If you aren't already a crafter, you would get less options yes, but I'm fine with that, seeing as those who do not raid now can not get full bis anyway, you'd not be creating a new situation.

As for bis, in general I think it's a silly concept. If all secondary stats were equal, then you could for example, play a spell speed scholar, instead of being crit spec like 100% of the other scholars. It would create some diversity, and make it so that no-one, crafter, raider, tomestone farmer, would have anything better than anyone else.

[Zfz]

Personally a weekly lockout in crafting in any form, even through things like "you get to craft this at 300% efficiency/production rate once per day" is disappointing. World of Warcraft did that ages ago and it was just bland.

Crafting for me (and a few people I know) is content that gives a lot of "freedom". It's something that people can just bury themselves in for days and weeks on like how real professional craftsman do. Now come and put a cap on it and tell a professional craftsman, okay, you may only work on this thing for 20 hours a week, and the only reaction would be "WTF?"

[Sibyll]

Yes, that's why it would be BiS in many cases. SE has made it clear that the top gear for the game isn't going to be available at the MB. If everyone was expected to buy 3-4 pieces of gear at 5-10M each every time they raise the ilvl, RMT would be much worse than it currently is.

Whoever said that a crafted piece of gear had to be sellable? Couldn't it simply require a mat that was BoP from the raid and required a "Request Crafter" option to be able to get the item without doing it yourself? Now you have a 3rd stat option for end game gear that is relevant, crafters feel useful, and high end raid gear isn't bought on the market board.

[Squand]

More links and happy speculation!

http://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/commen...ast_interview/
At the bottom he talks about being able to do everything and HAVING to do everything to be able to do anything. I think, that's a good note, and am glad they are looking at ways to tweak it. Though I think a part of the problem is with the mindset more than the system. People have trouble understanding that they don't have to have BiS to enjoy this game.

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/13...planned-au-ra/
Very last paragraph!

I want to glamour/design MB craftables! *fingers crossed*

[uberrod9]

I would want to know what each of these level 100 top tier cross-class skills were ahead of time. That way I would have a better idea of what class I would want to level to 100.

[Squand]

I would want to know ahead of time.

Until then imagination station! (All ideas below, good bad or otherwise are published in the public domain. I release all rights to them.)

GSM:
50cp turns any 40 durability synth into an 80 durability synth.
CRP:
0cp, use only once per day, converts stacks of IC, into a 30 minute control buff, 3 control for ever stack converted
ARM
0cp, use only once per day, converts stacks of IC, into a 30 minute Craftsmanship buff, 3 craftsmanship for every stack converted
BSM
180cp, swap progress in HQ with progress in synth completion
CUL
0cp, when you create 10HQ items in a row, a +10 control buff is bestowed upon your FC mates for 24 Eorzean hours.
LTW
0cp, when you create 10HQ items in an eorzean day reduce sales tax by 1% for 24 Eorzean hours.
ALC
180cp 10% chance a successfully completed HQ synth will turn into X rare item.

[giantslayer]

Thank you for making this thread, Squand. The links have been very helpful for me and your willingness to give the designers the benefit of the doubt is a refreshing change of pace from the black hole of negativity and assumptions that is the other thread.

At this point, there is enough information out there to start making some halfway-educated guesses at what they may be doing. Here is what we know so far:

1. Current crafting system is too hardcore. Original intent/concept of armoury system was "can be anything," but with crafting is has turned into "must do everything." New systems are intended to return to original concept.
2. At level 60, you can become an apprentice under your guildmaster, which will grant new skills and recipes.
3. There will be a new token-based system for crafters, in some ways similar to tomestones. These will be earned through a crafting activity.
4. Crafted gear will not always be inferior to dungeon drops.

It is very important to try to understand the intent of the designers. At my workplace, we have a saying: "Assume positive intent." If you start with negative assumptions of intent (e.g. to limit/punish hardcore crafters), then all your subsequent assumptions will be negative (e.g. OMG! They will ruin everything!). When I read the interviews, I am more interested in the why than the what, because in the absence of details, you will make better assumptions if you understand the why.

Based on these interviews (mostly the Famitsu), I have identified 3 goals the designers had:
1. To make crafting less hardcore and no longer require a player to level all crafting classes just to be able to do one of them.
2. FC crafting, which will require more than one person to work together.
3. To end the era of crafted item inferiority to dungeon drops.

I don't know about you, but I think all three of those sound like great things. I didn't find any language supporting the idea that there was any intent to nerf omni-crafting or punish dedicated players.


First, the skills granted by the Specialist system: I believe the point of the skills is to enable single-class crafters to have the capability to make top level recipes HQ. If they wanted a single-class crafter to be able to make a high level recipe under a Specialist system, they could have done it two ways: 1) Make the recipe easy enough that cross class skills are not needed and gate the recipes behind the Specialist system. 2) Use Specialization to increase crafting ability for the single-class crafter to the point where it is attainable without cross class. It seems they have opted for option #2. By that, we can reasonably infer that there will be plenty of new recipes that will NOT be gated behind the Specialist system. As usual, these recipes will be too difficult for a single class crafter to HQ without the new skills, but still doable by us hardcore omni-crafters.

In that case, the new skills will not be cross-class because the point is to increase capability for the one class. The skills will likely not be anything exotic like the level 50 skills, but more likely something more straight forward (like Inner Quiet 2 or Super Advanced Touch) and likely the same across all the different classes.


As for the new recipes, I believe this has to be taken together with the concepts of FC crafting and the new token system.

Within the context of FC crafting, it is pretty safe to assume that some or all of the new FC house and airship recipes will be gated behind the specialist system to prevent one person from being capable of doing everything by himself.

Within the context of the new token system, stop and think a minute about all the token systems we have had so far, be it tomestones, Silver Brocades, stuff for Lucis tools, etc. These have always been untradeable items earned by doing an activity, which can be exchanged for an untradeable reward. Since they have indicated that crafted equipment should not always be inferior to drops, I am putting two and two together and predicting that the new tokens you earn from crafting will be redeemable for untradeable materials that can be used to craft untradeable BiS or near-BiS equipment. There is a good chance that those recipes will be gated behind the Specialist system, although it is possible the recipe gating may only be for FC crafting.

I don't expect sell-able items to be gated behind the Specialist system as there is no reason to do that based on their stated intentions. Sell-able equipment will likely be the same 10-25 ilvls inferior that we are used to.

So in summary:
1. Omni-crafters will still have the same level of capability to produce sellable goods they do currently.
2. New token-based system for crafting will be a gateway to good equipment that you can make for yourself only.
3. Skills granted by Specialist system will allow non-omni-crafters to be capable of making top level recipes HQ.
4. Recipes granted by the Specialist system will be primarily for FC crafting and may encompass the untradeable top level equipment as well.