Workshops - getting 4 people in there to progress a tier is getting tedious

[Solarra]

Thanks for keeping this thread going, Kvietok. After getting such a positive official response, it's strange we've heard nothing since.

With Stormblood on the way and submarines being added, we are going to have even more things to craft in the workshop. Since there isn't very much content for FCs apart from the crafting (no new ranks or perks to work for), new workshop recipes should be very welcome.
However, my excitement is definitely tempered by the realisation that needing four people to advance every stage is going to mean lots of potential play-time wasted (at the start of an expansion, too!), just hanging around the FC house until another three crafters are available.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

That should probably tell you something. And no, its not the answer we all wanted to hear, unfortunately.

[Marcellus_Cassius]

They mentioned change to how FC crafting is going to be done in 4.x during the question/answer thing that was posted not that long ago. However no details were given so it could actually be making things worse >.<?

[Alistaire]

They mentioned change to how FC crafting is going to be done in 4.x during the question/answer thing that was posted not that long ago. However no details were given so it could actually be making things worse >.<?

That last part's being a bit pessimistic. I've never seen them actually go out of their way to make things worse on purpose.

[Roth_Trailfinder]

That last part's being a bit pessimistic. I've never seen them actually go out of their way to make things worse on purpose.

One could argue that the entire Favor System was intended to make collecting crafting materials and making gear "worse" ...

[HakuroDK]

One could argue that the entire Favor System was intended to make collecting crafting materials and making gear "worse" ...

I could go into a whole thing about how Favors are fine in theory but were executed poorly due to the devs being WAY too cautious about combat balancing to make crafted gear back then even remotely fair.

On the current subject, however, I still believe that for some things, like Aetherial Wheels, workshop crafts should be soloable for sure.

[Galborion]

Workshop craft should be soloable for everything (at least in its current itteration where everyone else but ONE person just stands there and do nothing).

[Roth_Trailfinder]

For all intents and purposes, Workshop crafting IS a solo affair. One person (who is admittedly able to get help from others, or the Board in some cases) crafts everything necessary for all steps of the Workshop Project, then calls for a few people to join him in the Workshop so he can hand it all in.

Wheels, airship parts, housing facades, you name it, all done solo with just a little party at the end.

[Alistaire]

For all intents and purposes, Workshop crafting IS a solo affair. One person (who is admittedly able to get help from others, or the Board in some cases) crafts everything necessary for all steps of the Workshop Project, then calls for a few people to join him in the Workshop so he can hand it all in.

Wheels, airship parts, housing facades, you name it, all done solo with just a little party at the end.

Careful, wording it like that may make SE think we want them to make it so all 4 people actually have to participate; that would definitely make the situation worse.

[Niwashi]

For all intents and purposes, Workshop crafting IS a solo affair. One person (who is admittedly able to get help from others, or the Board in some cases) crafts everything necessary for all steps of the Workshop Project, then calls for a few people to join him in the Workshop so he can hand it all in.

It's actually (and rather ironically) because of the party requirement that it becomes a solo affair. If people could submit their materials whenever they made them (within the current phase), then all of an FC's crafters could get involved (assuming it's an FC that has multiple crafters of course). But since you have to have a party to advance between phases, all materials are collected ahead of time so that you can set up the party and advance all the way through at once. That separates out the making of the materials from the submitting of them. So sure, other crafters can make stuff that will eventually end up at the workshop, but all they can do with it is put it in the Company Chest for someone else to use later, once all the materials for all remaining phases are collected.

If SE would eliminate the party requirement, then people could make whichever items are currently needed and be able to actually submit them. We wouldn't need this "hoard everything until we can do the whole project in one shot" pattern. Just make any item that the current phase needs and submit it. Eventually, all of the current phase's requirements will have been met, and at that point it could be advanced to the next phase, where people would have another set of items to make and submit.