Fun for Non-Combat Classes - What do you want?

[Ramsey]

At the overwhelming request of fellow ZAM posters, I copied the partial contents of a thread I created over on the ZAM boards titled: Fun for Non-Combat Classes - What do you want? to the Feedback & Suggestions Forum here...

Only to realize that the section is entirely devoted to Forum Feedback... Ah, when will I learn to read... Since the thread hasn't been moved yet after many days, and the section seems to be a black hole of feedback about anything but the forum... I'm moving it here, I'd love to hear everyone else's ideas, and what they want to see! Read on for details of the question, and a wall of text of popular suggestions.

Click here to read the original post on this forum and any of the accompanying suggestions that haven't been moved here.

The topic of what would make non-combat classes, particularly crafting, has been on my mind a lot lately.

This thread is not about what would "fix" crafting (assuming as some people believe, it is broken), or make it "better." Balancing crafting recipes, recipe levels, working more on the player economy, etc. are not really what I want to discuss. But rather gameplay and content that would make non-combat classes, as a whole, more enjoyable to play.

Many games have attempted to create crafting and gathering classes that are not merely "professions" that exist only to compliment the combat classes. It's obvious that the Final Fantasy XIV team had bold ambitions to make their own attempt. With each passing update, it seems that the failures that coincided with the launch have caused the development team to scrap many of their grand ideas that they half committed to. I'm not here to argue whether or not these changes are bad or good. But one thing that seems to be presently on the chopping block is crafting as a mode of play just as valid and supported as combat.

Many of you may be happy to see that potentially change. Many of us would not be happy. Whether or not it happens isn't really what this is about either. So with that introduction out of the way, the question I am raising with this thread is:

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What would make non-combat classes more enjoyable to you?

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My responses:

• Customization - Store Fronts and Workshops

  Give us workshops and store fronts! We're merchants and tradesmen, our progression is our business. Allow us to customize, construct, and purchase additions to our workshops and storefronts.

• We are not Adventurers

  Stop making us deliver things into the middle of nowhere! Let us send our retainers out on chocobo-back to make delivers, and receive the reward when they return. Let us hire NPC adventurers. Anything, really.

• Don't be Afraid of A-Symmetry

  Making each craft more unique won't hurt anyone, add something to spice it up. Make the gameplay for each craft more unique. We won't complain.

• We are Townspeople, and that's OK

  It's okay for a majority of our time to be spent in the city. It makes perfect sense. Just liven up the town, add more NPCs, make us interact with them more. Make them do more than just stand around. Add more things to do, and more details. It will only add to the immersion for combat players as well.

• Notorious... Merchants!?

  Why are NMs only for adventurers, and not for us too? Add Notorious Merchants, traders from far away lands that appear on occasion. By bartering (parley) with them, trading one material for another, we may succeed in striking a deal and receiving some rare and unique materials for special synthesis.

• What's Parley Again?

  First of all - make parley more fun. I don't care if you just make it bejeweled, just imagine you're trying to get people to buy it, and make it fun. Then - add in merchants, all around town, that come and go, and can be traded with. Perhaps I have an abundance of ore, and need leather. Yes, it's great to have a player-driven economy, but a lot of stuff gets thrown away or vendored. Strike a balance, and give crafters things to do other than sit in the market wards all day.

• Item Exodus - The NPC economy?

  There's lots of things to do as an adventurer that don't involve other players. Give crafters a few things to do too. Guild tasks are okay, albeit far too simple to be compelling. Have us repairing things around town, providing materials, make NPC supply chains that have supply and demand, and crafters can anticipate the NPC economy. (Balance! It creates a good item sink while allowing a sense of mastery for more players.)

• Raiding... the Kitchen?

  Give us a reason to play with other crafters beyond the "I need your straps for my armor, you need my buckles for your jackets." Group crafting is on the way? Super! Let's see on top of that, "dungeon" equivalents crop up for crafting. Instanced events, a team of chefs cater a noble's wedding? This should be far better SP than grinding. (Just as with combatants)

• Money, Money... Money!

  It's okay for us to have more of it than the average adventurer. Making money is our job. As long as the average adventurer can get by, and the treasure hunters are on par with us. It's difficult and unwieldy to make gil sinks for merchants. Instead, give us reasons to spend money on adventurers, and give them ways to sink that gil. To that end...

• Gambling

  This is self explanatory. Open the platinum mirage, the Colosseum, let us bet on matches, let us bet on chocobo races. What have you. Gambling isn't specific to us merchants, but if we have more money, we're more likely to gamble with it. On that note...

• Sponsored Adventurers!?

  As I said, give us reasons to give money to adventurers. Whether we're sponsoring a Colosseum team to take on some monsters or other adventurers (creating opportunities for others to bet!) or we're funding an expedition of adventurers into a raid or dungeon, giving them a chance to obtain gear, and us a chance to obtain rare materials. Gil sunk, but we're still making money if the expedition is successful.

• Notorious...Minerals?

  Okay, now I'm just being a bit silly. But the same idea applies to DoL as it does to DoH. Rare spawns shouldn't be limited to Adventurers. Exotic bushes, endangered trees, rare mineral nodes and legendary fish. The excitement of spotting one (visual distinction please!) and obtaining the rare resource, and the reward. No reason not to add this!

• Can't We All Just Get Along?

  Levequests, missions and public events that involve all two or more different disciplines. This is self explanatory, but special leves where gatherers are escorted by adventurers, when they gather enemies attack, adventurers must defend. Faster gatherers gather, faster they can move on? This is just one simple example, there are lots of opportunities here.