Gath thinks this is a game, it should be fun!

[RathSkybreaker]

I agree with a bit of both sides of the discussion.. At first I found gathering to be really fun -- however after awhile it becomes extremely----- tedious.. I found it relaxing -- yes -- but it did keep me away from things I enjoyed the most aka combat.. now some will say well don't craft.. well I want to craft and gather but it takes up way more time than any DoW class.. which makes a little bit of sense but I mean it's kind of extreme at the moment I think.. It should take longer -- but it shouldn't require me spamming enter a thousand times either..

As far as fixes go, I've always thought that making a funner mini-game would be nice.. I like EQ's crafting .. takes a slightly shorter amount of time to craft the items compared to XIV but the mini-game is fun and the exp TNL isn't ridiculous -- granted there is a grind, and if you want to make anything worthwhile you will find yourself grinding -- however the grinding is MUCH more bearable than the current system and that's saying a lot because I normally detest crafting ..

Gathering in most MMO's that I have played, (EQII, WoW), was very much streamlined. This led to an increase to materials, yes, however it also allowed for newer players to jump on board the crafting train early on and allow them to purchase mats cheaply. If you make it easy it turns out not to be so bad.. Look at WoW economy.. the gathering system is as easy as it gets - same with crafting .. yet the mats sell like hot cakes regardless and it rewards anyone who invests some time into a sense that they are making progress... In XIV I can grind a DoL for an hour or so get a bunch of mats then I have to spend another 3 hours crafting it all.. -considering I can even craft it-- IDK I'm starting to loose my train of though but I think you get the idea..

TlR -- Simple doesn't always mean bad -- tons of MMO's made it simple and it is pretty enjoyable -- be creative not monotonous and boring.


Also -- I think that a ridiculously tedious system promotes bots more than an easy one -- one could feel overwhelmed by the fact that gathering takes up so much time and would rather do something more productive -- however the faster and simpler way -- which may take just as much time yet feels less- wouldn't because it doesn't overwhelm the player.