How big is crafting in an MMO for you?

homeskillet

There are a lot of factors that make up a great MMO but adventuring, storyline, questing, lore, combat, content, etc. aside, how big is crafting in an MMO for you?



It seems whenever an MMO game is released, the crafting system always seems to be talked about quite a bit. So just how important is crafting for you in an MMO? To be honest, it really isn't all that important to me, at least not more than the stuff I mentioned earlier. Granted, I know all great MMO's need a good crafting system to be truly successful and to work the economy and there are even people out there who prefer to craft rather then level.



As of this point, it is not a huge factor for me probably because of the fact that I never truly got into the world of crafting in the many MMO's I have played. Right now I am looking for a game with a truly innovative and fun (most seem to be the same dull and repetitive system) crafting system.

lilreap2k3

For me crafting makes or breaks a game. I love Vanguard's crafting system, but armor/weapon crafting on that game is pointless at max levels. The adventuring loot is better than anything craftable atm. As far as I am concerned if you add crafting to your game, then crafted items should always be better than dropped items. Even if those items are extremely difficult to make, I don't mind. It makes being a crafter actually worthwhile, and not just a side job.

xAlrythx

Definately not a game-breaking factor for me but I would like to play a decent fantasy mmo with crafting that involves more than clicking buttons, I might actually enjoy it then. After getting all excited for VG and all the promises, I got into the game expecting a breakthrough. Instead I got a crafting system that simply required more inventory items, more time and more clicking. It was more complicated, that's about all it brought to the table of crafting in mmos, complications.

All in all, I never craft much in games, the main reason being I have failed to find a system that hasn't made go insane with boredom.

Kenze

crafting isnt that big a deal for me. I usually go the gatherer route and leave the crafting to others.

NEWMAN28

Without starting yet another bring back the old SWG thread, I loved the crafting system in it.  I loved the "gold rush" that was surveying and plunking down your harvesters when good resources spawned.  I also agree that crafted items should be better than any loot in the game even if they are extremely difficult to make.  Very boring the way you grind through crafting but big payoff when you master it and make high end items.

JAttractive

I personally am not a big fan of crafting having a huge importance to the game. I think it should be useful and rewarding but I would hate to see the best items in the game be craftable only. It forces players to craft or find a crafter to make them which is a shame since I think most players are not "crafters" by nature and play these games for the combat. To tie the greatest rewards to gameplay they do not enjoy as much is foolish. Additionally it pushes players to join large guilds (with lots of crafters) instead of smaller, more close-knit ones.

I'd much rather see (using the typical fantasy based model) non-armor/weapon crafting skills have uses through all levels for players that enjoy the crafting side of the game. This should satisfy their need to play an important role but not seriously hinder the fun of "combat-oriented" players who don't want to be bothered with this.

For armorcraft/weaponcraft  the best items should be made through crafting for low and mid level players. This gives crafters a role as they advance and a great way to turn a profit. At highest levels however the items would be slightly weaker than items found through questing/combat but still able to hold their own. At these levels the crafters could find other uses perhaps through modifying items (ie. increasing stats, dyeing armor different colours, allowing them to plate the armor/weapon or emblazon them with designs to appear more impressive, etc.).

 

Omega3

I don't like the way crafting has been implemented in every MMO i've played. It's just boring to spend all this time alone collecting goods and modifying/assembling them in a certain device.

Crafting should:

1) blend with adventuring (exemple: capture a gold mine, defend it and harvest it - mobs come back when you leave)

2) offer items equal to those in the adventuring part

3) the whole "the more i craft the more i gain skillpoints" model should go.

Forcan

Although I may not play and/or do any crafting in a MMO, I say it is very important for a MMO.

 

Personally I dislike the loot-based system, where the loots from mobs will almost always be better than what you can craft... that in my opinion is just a wrong way of setting up the system.  The best way to make a system that works will most likely contain a very nice crafting system + crafted items > looted items.

 

That's just my thought.

 

P.S.: just thought of this after posting this.  They should make crafting a minigame on its own, and not "have the right resources in bag and press the button - and I got an item..."   I know that in SWG, the crafting system is a bit better since it involve the idea of quality of the resources.  Choose the better resources will yield better result and stats on item...   But even that isn't really enough for those who might do crafting only.

Kenichi

Crafting is very important for me and if a game doesn't have the option of crafting, its really hard to get into the game. I like being able to create items instead of just killing things for them. It gives me some weird warm weird fuzzy feeling inside when I am able to create an awesome sword that kicks ass.

Of course, there are two problems in most craft systems today. First being that crafting is fairly easy and that anyone can craft and the second would be that most items created through crafting are usually far weaker then those found while grinding and such.

Synhell

crafting is bad for any mmorpg. Thats the thing I think prices should be set. And have drops and hard mobs hat drop them.

Or some stuff like that. I rather grind for an item then craft.

The need to make a crafter class really blows. And if you don't you'll be subject to high moronic prices.

 

Obraik

Crafting is important to me, infact I don't want any NPC vendors available at all.  To me, crafting is another form of PvP.  I'm constantly trying to outdo my competitors both in the quality of my goods and the pricing.  To achieve that, there's a whole bunch of other things I need to do, such as monitoring resource spawns (and finding high deposits of it for my harvestors) or if I can't find any current resources then I need to try source a cheap supplier.  Basically, it has alot of simillarities to running a RL business, at least in SWG.

Kez95

Good crafting I think is important for a successful MMORPG, because it keeps people paying the monthly fees.  The perfect system for me would be one where the items decay and/or are soulbound, and that the best items require master craftsmen.

For example, I was a 300 tailor in wow, and 16 slot bags took a ton of materials to make, but you could buy 16 slot bags 10 times easier because they dropped off of monsters.  The system should be: take the 16 slot bag that dropped, give it to a master tailor, and he can improve it to 18 slots.  The 18 slot bag would then be the very best bag in the game, and no 18 slot bags drop, ever.  WoW has since made changes, but not enough.

Kyleran

Totally unimportant to me..... I'd rather have npc vendors that I turned in materials to that I gathered from the world who would make me stuff at a fixed rate... dealing with human crafters is far more trouble that its worth.  And I hate games where crafting is the most profitable way to make money....  looting and pilliaging should always bring in the big buck...  hey, it works for corporate America.....

My motto is, if you're not out exploring or killing something, you're just not gaming....