Quote Originally Posted by PirateCat View Post
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I hate to say it, but this is very likely SE's intent - make it possible for really dedicated players to advance their gear faster, but gate it behind a mechanic that forces you to be really dedicated to going that route. Then provide the slower option for the people who can't be bothered with the "fast" method.
They're already gating the material purchase along with red crafting tokens as well so the amount of progress you get per week is still blocked by that anyway (unless you pool your crafting tokens or purchase off MB). Crafting already has a natural dependence on gatherers to get their items, but requiring an average of 90 minutes of gathering for one material craft is obnoxious for a self-sufficient crafter when you already have red crafting scrips being a weekly lock.