Impossible to independantly craft

Moonwraith - Harshlands

At the moment I'm enjoying the game immensely, with one exception - the totally impossible crafting system with regards to new players.

For example. Level 3 Craftsman (Jewelcrafting) requires Purified Oil, so too does other level 3 crafting speicalisations. Now I checked pwdatabase.com for mobs that drop Purified Oil and noticed that, not only are the drop rates horrendous, but the placement of Purified Oil on the mob drop tables is terrible too.

I'm level 20 (or I was when I started this farming) and want to do the level 3 Craftsman, which requires quite a few Purified Oils, notwithstanding also wanting to level up the other crafting professions. I noted several mobs in my level range 20 to 24, and tootled off to go farm the Purified Oils.

I killed over 208 mobs over the course of a few hours, and got a measly 11 Purified Oils. In the interim, I gained 2 levels, and as an Assassin with tissue paper armor and defence, I spent over 16K on HP and Manna pots, for a lousy 11 Purified Oils in return. After paying Repair bills and the money on the pots, I made 14K from drops.

I tried the Auction House, but Purified Oil is a minimum 4K per oil, and after sorting through the millions of lag inducing Cat Shops in Archo, the lowest price I could get Purified Oil is 2.5K each. New players just cannot afford those prices, and cannot afford to spend hours on end farming mobs with disgusting drop rates.

I was told the drop rate on Purified Oil is much better from the level 33 Tiger Striped Araenids, but what chance does a paper armored Assassin level 22 have of farming those? How can I possibly progress through level 3 crafting with such an abominable drop rate of Purified Oil, and that's just one resource.

I'm on a PvP server, I need to update my armor regularly in anticipation of the gank squads from level 30. I need to keep my weapons updated (Bow and Daggers) and I need the ability to do this via crafting my own gear as other player made gear is either too expensive or non existant on either the Auction House or the Cat Shops.

It is counter productive to have to wait until level 33 to make the level 20 onwards armor and weapons, what's the point ?

Drop rates on crafting items need to be increased, to aid crafters to progress, and to stop the ungodly stupid prices being asked on the AH and in Cat Shops, as a low drop rate increases the prices people ask for such items, and ruins the economy.

This is a new player's perspective. I have little money to spend on crafting as it is , due to my large repair bills and HP/Manna pots use. I'm not like other established players on the server, who think nothing of paying half a million coin to level up their crafting profession, money is tight enough for new players as it is.

Devs, please increase the drop tables for crafting resource items, otherwise I was advised to start a Venomancer purely for farming mats, and what a waste of time and energy that would be.

Anyone else think along the same lines as myself ?

MistaBwanden - Sanctuary

QQ more.
b:laugh

Krue/ - Lost City24

QQmoar
1111111111111111

KoSPro - Lost City

Pointless thread is pointless. You just have bad luck. You can always just buy them from catshops.Or just not focuse on that right now? if you really are new thats the least of your problems. Go have fun and lvl up. b:victory

MistaBwanden - Sanctuary

<----
Level 1 Crafting
Level 3 Blacksmith
Levvel 5 Apoth
Level 1 Whatever else.

I can really care less about my skills, but when I decide to bother with it, I'll have the coins to get them up. :P

Astrohawke - Lost City

Join a guild. Get others to craft stuff for you. You don't need to craft anything yourself and certainly not at level 20. At that level, you wear what armor is dropped from mobs. You will outgrow them fast and it doesn't matter how good you make your gear because if someone decides to PK you, you will be 1 shot regardless.

Moonwraith - Harshlands

I'm the OP, and think that, with the exception of Astrohawke, what a bunch of sorry ****'d losers you lot really are.

Here I am, posting a reasonable argument for an increase in drop table crafting items, and all you can think of is boo hoo, cry cry.

The point is, lack of funds for a new player and the inability of that new player to craft up to date armor and weapons due to the low drops of crafting items.

It's not a whine about PK'ing, it's not a whine about gameplay, it's merely an argument to improve an an aspect of the game that gives new players a chance.

The argument involves:

1. The small percentage drops of crafting items in the appropriate level ranges for crafting.
2. PvP players need to improve their armor and weapons on a very frequent basis.
3. In order to carry out 2 above, either:
a. Craft it yourself from farming mats
b. Get others to craft it, although usually this means supply the mats anyway, making
it overall a moot point.
c. Buy from Auction House / Cat Shops
d. Buy the mats from AH / Cat Shops to enable you to craft it yourself / others to craft
for you.
e. Rely purely on dropped armor / weapons
4. The relative rarity of dropped crafting items to enable a player to keep up to date with his armor and weapons is making prices of armor/weapons/basic mats sky rocket on the AH and in Cat Shops.

With regard to 3a, the original post shows the main point. The crafting items are on a significanlty infrequent drop percentage to allow a new, PvP player to keep up to date with his own crafting.

Regarding 3b, it says it all. You still have to find the mats to give to players to make the gear for you, threfore the above point stands.

Regarding 3c, either the gear on the AH/Cat shops is not available, expecially lower level items, or it's just too expensive for a new player to buy on an established server.

Regarding 3d, same as the above paragraph regarding 3c

Regarding 3e, oh please, leave it out. That may be ok for a PvE server, but on a PvP server, the general state of dropped armor and weapons just doesn't cut it.

Regard 4 above. Established players know the crafting drops are relatively uncommon, so they raise the prices of them on the AH and in Cat Shops because they know people are too lazy to go farm themselves, especially if they are taking up crafting at a late stage, and so will buy at the ridiculous prices asked for. Unfortunately, new players can't afford those prices.

To all the established players who flame me for wanting an increase in dropped mats, get off your high horses and think about it for a minute. New players can't update their gear, therefore get creamed in PvP whether or not they have a fair chance to defend / escape, and they get pss'd off with the inability to progress. End result is they abandon the PvP servers and go to the PvE servers where they have a more fair chance to progress. The PvP servers, therefore, don't see new players expanding the server, and rely on established players with alts who are probably bored of the same old people in the PvP market, and produce an alt to liven themselves up a bit.

It's easy, increase the dropped mats, let new players get a chance to progress and everyone will enjoy a better PvP experience. And I know something about the differences on a PvE and PvP server, as I have a mid 40's character on a PvE server, and this level 22 on a PvP server, and by FAR the easiest route is the PvE server where I don't have to update gear/weapons with anything like the regularity that is needed on a PvP one.

So less of the flaming and more of the constructive critisism, please.

BeingHope - Raging Tide

Its hard but not impossible trust me on that one.

I currently have:

-3 Apothecary
-3 Blacksmithing
-3 Craftsmanship
-4 Tailoring

Yeah since you're lower level its definitely going to be harder since you won't have the money to get a ton of the materials you'll need to craft which is why I put off manufacturing until now.

b:surrender And yeah, I know its a pain to level them up. But doesn't it make you smile each time you do level it up like an accomplishment? Its a small one sure but still, its a good thing!

Keep it up and don't give up! Its totally worth it b:victory

Edit: For me to get to level 4 tailoring, I spent about 1.2mil on the mats you need... Just to let you know I didn't farm anything... So yeah.

MageMERC - Harshlands

I have 4 tailor/craft/blacksmith and 6 apoth.

Here's a couple things:

1. Do other stuff until 2 x drops, thats the time to craft and you want to be a higher level when the next 2 x promo comes:

2. Roll a better grinder (psychic/veno) purely for grinding and keep it at the level you want to get mats for your main. They 2/3 shot anything same level. I have a weak butted sin and cant grind with it at all. Everyone I ask says they aint worth anything until 60+. My psychic is 59 which is best level for getting compound oil and thread which is what I need for level 5 crafting, then I will level my psychic when I need the level 6 stuff. This is likely very debabteable but I wouldnt be surprised if sins are the worst grinders at low levels.... not sure on that... my 30 wiz was hopeless too....

3. You aint go any problems now at all, compared to later on. When you hit the 30's, purified oil falls out of the spiders like sweat, I have stockpiled 350 oils ready to sell when I get around to it. The next main mat after that level is rough fur. Took me 200+ I think to get my levels from 3 to 4 and they drop really slow at correct level so you absolutely have to be ready at 2 x promo to go get em. After that it gets worse and worse which is why to need to grind for money/merchant etc to get money to buy what you need.

4. At low levels good armour etc goes cheap at auction because theres plenty of it floating around.

5. The main reason I levelled crafts is to decompose drops for my genie - a high level then told me its not necessary at OHT mobs at 80+ drop stuff that can be decomposed with only level 1 crafts. Something to keep in mind.

Enjoy the game man, plenty to do without worrying about crafting.....

Gwendolynne - Heavens Tear

All I gotta say is; you can't have it all. o.o;;;

Why does everyone complain about EVERYTHING. The game isn't SUPPOSED to be easy. Ya'll got enough handed to you now. =D Just keep farmin. at lelve 20ish you don't need levle 3 crafting anyway.

fudgesicles

The game is equal I suppose because you were able to successfully obtain oil, and you even said that your armor is made of tissue

Just keep trying and maybe its best to just level up your character and once you have enough oil just level up your crafting that way you get the best of both worlds hums hannah montana

Lesthar - Heavens Tear

You should build your money first and keep on grinding.
Things come with patience, unless you charge real money.

As for crafting stuff, I ask my friend whom I trust fully and who is really honest.

I don't think I would be able to bully mobs, to get materials for crafting purposes... Or I would go for a class that can chain monsters rather easily... namely veno or psychic.

Good luck!

Zoe - Heavens Tear

You hit on one of the main issues I have with mmos. The high levels completely ignore low levels and instead focus on making prices as high as they possibly can in the name of greed.

When low levels can't afford things they need, there is a major problem.

As you craft though, you may possibly find your crafting level exceeds your character level and you can't even level the crafting more until your character reaches a certain level. You must be level 50 to reach level 4 in crafting, level 80 to reach level 6 and level 100 to reach 8.

Elviron - Dreamweaver

@Moonwraith
It is true that the drop rates for purified oils at your level is rather low. However, in order to advance from level 2 to level 3 in crafting, you do not require them to begin with. The highest level/grade armours/weapons/accessories in the beginner cities (Raging Tide, Etherblade, Plume City/ City of Lost) would require level 2 crafting skills and this would help you get onto level 3.

You can worry about purified oils when youre going from level 3 to level 4.

As for farming mats, trust me it doesnt get any easier later on. I would know considering I sat and farmed and farmed and famed....endlessly to get my tailor, blacksmith and craftsman skills to level 7. The amount of mats required just become ridiculous at higher levels but it was a nice challenge.

drakuns

Gwendolynne - Heavens Tear wrote: »

All I gotta say is; you can't have it all. o.o;;;

Why does everyone complain about EVERYTHING. The game isn't SUPPOSED to be easy. Ya'll got enough handed to you now. =D Just keep farmin. at lelve 20ish you don't need levle 3 crafting anyway.

OFC you can't have it all...

Of course, the game isn't supposed to be easy...

But these are BASIC crafting mats, and the best drop rate is at 30+ for basic materials from % of drop rate which is only a reasonable drop rate. Every 20 levels after level 10 have the highest drop rate for that particular basic material, but after 30 gets worse. Majority of people are using either TT, molds or nirvana equips... if not, they are using white equipment. Why? Because its rare to see people walking around with normally crafted gears that are decent, meaning still inferior to the special equipment by far + its cheaper and much money time / money consuming than crafting special equips. The only way you get as much as needed is only by marketing (if your lucky enough to sell something) , charging your credit card and / or spending 24/7 on a computer when you should be doing something else irl.

Redmenace - Heavens Tear

Moonwraith - Harshlands wrote: »

I'm the OP, and think that, with the exception of Astrohawke, what a bunch of sorry ****'d losers you lot really are.

Here I am, posting a reasonable argument for an increase in drop table crafting items, and all you can think of is boo hoo, cry cry.

The point is, lack of funds for a new player and the inability of that new player to craft up to date armor and weapons due to the low drops of crafting items.

It's not a whine about PK'ing, it's not a whine about gameplay, it's merely an argument to improve an an aspect of the game that gives new players a chance.

..<mass of screaming and bytching>..

So less of the flaming and more of the constructive critisism, please.

It takes a serious, massive Ego to stomp in here and tell people who have been playing this game for a year or more how stupid they are, and how their game is broken, and how *you* have all the answers *right now*, at level 2x.

Well Done!

*My* char on Lost City is a 58 barb, and is still in NPC/Quest armor (with some good drops mixed in). The rest of us idiots have managed to level pretty easily with NPC gear and quest armor until we get to TT/Mold gear. Doesn't seem that hard to me.

Worried about survival @ lvl 30? You're gonna die. On a PvP server, you're gonna die. There are large groups of players who do nothing else but sit outside the west gate, looking for fresh meat to harvest after they lvl past 30. Perhaps I should repeat myself.

Despite what you may think, despite whatever armor you might be able to craft for yourself, You're Gonna Die. You rolled PvP, thats what you signed up for.

You also picked a reasonably squishy char for your level. Again, you will get thru it.

<sigh>

RedMenace

\really want to survive? drop your exp into genies, stay @ lvl 22, farm rep @ west gate
\\till you get to 300 rep, get rank gear
\\\bytching @ the rest of us is easier, apparently

Rillien - Heavens Tear

A note:

As people have advised those level 30 mobs will give you more oil. Particularly insect looking things, like centipedes, scorpions, spiders. And for the most part, it is scaled appropriately by level--you shouldn't need to worry about oil right now and focus on the lowest tier mats like grease, cotton thread, etc etc. Level 3+4 require oil.

Also, you said that you got 11 oils and spent over 16k on repairs. According to the cheapest market value [2.5k], your 11 oils are worth 27,500. This seems to be more than you were spending, so overall to you it would still be worthwhile to grind for them rather than buy, unless you'd spend your time grinding doing something differently and feel it was a waste of time.

A solution for you is to find the most profitable mobs, grind for coin, and then buy the mats. Or farm other mats you don't need, such as herbs, and sell those and use the money to buy your mats. Or just grind them out on better mobs when you level up a little more.

Drop rates have always been tough, and that's part of the struggle of crafting. I like it that way, and many older players do as well, because most other aspects of the game have been nerfed and it's highly frustrating to see that. Don't give up though--most of the issue for you right now is needing to reach levels with better drop rates. 2x drops will probably come at some point as well, and help out a lot.

Annalyse - Heavens Tear

For all those who said that crafting is not necessary, or to just have guild members craft for you... this is what I did, and it was a mistake. I was fine until the 80s when I wanted a TT Gold item; hadn't occurred to me until that point that (being untradeable) I would have to craft these on my own. So I forked out a bunch of money to get my tailoring up to level. Now I am realizing that for a Nirvana weapon I will need blacksmithing level 7 to create the base TT Gold weapon... and thus will probably soon be forking over more money to learn that.

If you never plan on crafting any gold items, you could get away with just friends to craft mold items for you and upgrade gear from nice (and often not costly, what with all the BHs) 3* or even less AH stuff. But if you will need those skills in the future as I do, it is definitely better to start at the lower levels when you can get the mats as drops.

I understand your argument. The drop rate is definitely not great (or else I, too, have horrendously bad luck). It is definitely cheaper to have a character like a veno to grind for these things, but you also have the option to pick a mob that drops more DQ type items, then sell those and buy the mats. Things like dull claws and element frags sell for a lot. If you have an extra computer, you can put up a catshop buying the mats for cheaper. Aside from that, all you can do is try to find nice gear in the AH and wait until you can kill the mobs outside south arch.

Good luck! I definitely feel your pain. I gave up after grinding for two hours with not one compacted glaze to show for it... and I find maybe 2 a week in the AH. Tailoring level 8 will take me a long time.

Lylfo - Dreamweaver

Annalyse - Heavens Tear wrote: »

For all those who said that crafting is not necessary, or to just have guild members craft for you... this is what I did, and it was a mistake. I was fine until the 80s when I wanted a TT Gold item; hadn't occurred to me until that point that (being untradeable) I would have to craft these on my own. So I forked out a bunch of money to get my tailoring up to level. Now I am realizing that for a Nirvana weapon I will need blacksmithing level 7 to create the base TT Gold weapon... and thus will probably soon be forking over more money to learn that.

If you never plan on crafting any gold items, you could get away with just friends to craft mold items for you and upgrade gear from nice (and often not costly, what with all the BHs) 3* or even less AH stuff. But if you will need those skills in the future as I do, it is definitely better to start at the lower levels when you can get the mats as drops.

I understand your argument. The drop rate is definitely not great (or else I, too, have horrendously bad luck). It is definitely cheaper to have a character like a veno to grind for these things, but you also have the option to pick a mob that drops more DQ type items, then sell those and buy the mats. Things like dull claws and element frags sell for a lot. If you have an extra computer, you can put up a catshop buying the mats for cheaper. Aside from that, all you can do is try to find nice gear in the AH and wait until you can kill the mobs outside south arch.

Good luck! I definitely feel your pain. I gave up after grinding for two hours with not one compacted glaze to show for it... and I find maybe 2 a week in the AH. Tailoring level 8 will take me a long time.

lol lvl 100...b:surrender
you can let other people craft gold tt, it only binds when you equip it.
however you are right about the nirvana part if you want to nirvana your current bound gears, you'll need lvl 6 (blacksmith or tailor)

drakuns

Lylfo - Dreamweaver wrote: »

lol lvl 100...b:surrender
you can let other people craft gold tt, it only binds when you equip it.
however you are right about the nirvana part if you want to nirvana your current bound gears, you'll need lvl 6 (blacksmith or tailor)

Your proving the drop rate is unfair obviously, all of you are talking about TWILIGHT TOMB, LEGENDARY, GOLD TT and NIRVANA materials. These are easier to make than REGULAR GEARS LIKE PURGATORIAN ENFORCER ARMOR that are decent enough. Try making level 90-99 NORMAL equipment that is DECENT from ONLY BY farming, then talk. Prove with screen shots too.

truekossy

drakuns wrote: »

Prove with screen shots too.

Been there done that but how is someone supposed to prove this? Considering how many ways you can fake it and all....

NightRage - Raging Tide

You don't need crafting for a very long time, focus on skills and leveling.

VlLKASS - Sanctuary

My skills are:
Blacksmith 4
Apo 7
Crafts 5
Tailors 8

I wasn't really trying hard either...


My wife got all skills to 8... That took her a while... But before lvling still look a while... so as she was lvling, she was also upgrading her skills all the time while the drop rates were pretty good for her toon.

If you want your name on your stuff.... You'll have to work for it... Or find others to do it for you.

Your proving the drop rate is unfair obviously, all of you are talking about TWILIGHT TOMB, LEGENDARY, GOLD TT and NIRVANA materials. These are easier to make than REGULAR GEARS LIKE PURGATORIAN ENFORCER ARMOR that are decent enough. Try making level 90-99 NORMAL equipment that is DECENT from ONLY BY farming, then talk. Prove with screen shots too.

Why are you trying to make decent 90-99 crafted gear for yourself... Since you mentioned good stats & not just making an item to lvl your skills... TT you can ask others to do it for you...

Ever heard of OLD HEAVEN TEAR gear? The mats for it are pretty cheap, much cheaper than for normal gear... You can craft multiple times...

I was fine until the 80s when I wanted a TT Gold item; hadn't occurred to me until that point that (being untradeable) I would have to craft these on my own. So

Um... funny how all my gold gear has my wife's name on it... The item will not bind till you equip it...
For TT nirvana, if you planning on wearing it before you forge it... tough luck... yeah, you'll need to lvl your skills.

Drop rates have always been tough, and that's part of the struggle of crafting. I like it that way, and many older players do as well, because most other aspects of the game have been nerfed

Agreed, you can already buy a damn box in the boutique that will save you all the trouble older players went through while collecting all the mats, gambling for 2 stars multiple times & looking for apo books tht used to cost a fortune before (apo8 b:shocked) now cheap as hell.

Borsuc - Raging Tide

drakuns wrote: »

Your proving the drop rate is unfair obviously, all of you are talking about TWILIGHT TOMB, LEGENDARY, GOLD TT and NIRVANA materials. These are easier to make than REGULAR GEARS LIKE PURGATORIAN ENFORCER ARMOR that are decent enough. Try making level 90-99 NORMAL equipment that is DECENT from ONLY BY farming, then talk. Prove with screen shots too.

Amen.

It's kinda funny seeing people suggesting alternatives, and saying the drop rate is ok or "supposed to be hard". If by "ok" you mean "it's so low you shouldn't even bother with normal crafted items, because they suck for the amount of money the crafting mats cost", then I gotta say, please never EVER balance a game.

No one seriously uses normal crafted gear because the drop rates are too low for the gear which isn't very good either. Totally not worth it. So why the **** do people say it's fine?

Things that people don't bother with because they aren't worth it are not fine.

Saying OHT solves this is not a solution. It's like saying that, a class is ****, and the "solution" to solve balance is to roll another class! Seriously?

What do YOU have to lose by making normal crafted gear more attainable and worth doing it? You can stay with your TT, lunar, OHT and whatever!

Lylfo - Dreamweaver

drakuns wrote: »

Your proving the drop rate is unfair obviously, all of you are talking about TWILIGHT TOMB, LEGENDARY, GOLD TT and NIRVANA materials. These are easier to make than REGULAR GEARS LIKE PURGATORIAN ENFORCER ARMOR that are decent enough. Try making level 90-99 NORMAL equipment that is DECENT from ONLY BY farming, then talk. Prove with screen shots too.

Hi there x_Jared_x, AKA drakuns
I wasnt even commenting on what this topic is about. I am merely saying that Annalyse is not aware of the fact that you can let other people craft bound items as long as they do not equip it because the items only binds on equip.

Find a better post to quote next time and its TWILIGHT TEMPLE and not TOMB, learn to use your caps lock key and get yourself to high enough level to start commenting on whether NIRVANA is easier to make than a mere PURGATORIAN ENFORCER ARMOR.

And I don't see the reason or need to prove anything to you.b:bye

Borsuc - Raging Tide

It's not about being easier, it's about being worth it. People find Nirvana gear worth for obvious reasons. Even if it is hard to make, they are the best items in game (well some say rank8, and ofc for weapons warsoul). They don't find normal crafted items worth for the effort. It's not fine.

Nertiti - Sanctuary

They won't increase the drop rate perm because mats are also a boutique item. So you have 3 choices plain and simple: a) farm, farm, farm, b) farm for things to sell and buy from catshops, and c) buy from the boutique. I personally have done a and b quite nicely, even with the 20% decrease in the npc for dq items.

Rillien - Heavens Tear

Uhh...I do believe the increased "worthlessness" of crafted items has more to do with increased mold drops due to more BH runs and the increase in higher leveled players. Not really the original mechanics.

When I began playing it was the norm to see people wearing 2 star gear, crafted or picked up from drops, for at least some of their armour pieces. Some people were lucky to have molds, hardcore players could go nearly full legendary, but usually relied on quest rewards/crafted things . This was up to level 70, where the ones who wanted the "best" gear began farming TT70. USING armour crafted for high levels was always kinda obsolete, as it should be. The game had to encourage you to do instances more at higher levels. People just farmed the mats and leveled up their skills to manufacture instance gear.

This was only ever an issue for level 1-6x players, as far as using the gear. It was worthwhile back then in that level range because you could get some of the best gear available that way. If you got a -chan bonus or something cool, it could sell for tons on the AH, and those sections in the AH were far more active.

The game has changed to introduce far more molds for lower levels, and many more easy options that don't require crafting levels for high levels [i.e. pack gear]. Now, one could say the same thing about quests as well: quest gear rewards aren't "worth it", quests take too long compared to hyper exp, etc etc.

In short, the other implementations in the game have lessened the importance of crafting's "worth" but it has always been accessible, doable, and great for the casual player. I'd rather see a change to packs and have them stop nerfing things than to make crafting "more worthwhile"

MagicHamsta - Lost City

Redmenace - Heavens Tear wrote: »

Worried about survival @ lvl 30? You're gonna die. On a PvP server, you're gonna die. There are large groups of players who do nothing else but sit outside the west gate, looking for fresh meat to harvest after they lvl past 30. Perhaps I should repeat myself.

Me going to die?
nuuu.
b:cry
Also, probably a nice accident but me skipped west gate arch completely while leveling up from 1-30.(Me took the north gate and used the blue name protection.) O_o'
(afterwards me got the basic aero and just flew past the red names lol.)
xD

Also get a friend to craft TT and stuff.
x.x'
all me crafting be level 1 except apot which be like....5? or 6? o.O
It be possible, just get monies and buy the mats off people who farm stuff like purified oils.
x.x'

Healed_Up - Lost City

I made 500k in a few days just starting its not hard all you do is buy stuff on auction sell for more while your out grinding or looking for materials so you can get xp spirit money AND the mats.

moghedian13

Stop grinding for the oil specifically (huge pain) and instead grind for cash. Then set up your own cat shop to buy for a reasonable price. If an item is sold in several catshops for 4K then you can set one up to buy for 2 or 2.5K and buy them easily or for a little cheaper and it will just take a little more patience.

I am now level 7 blacksmith/craftsman, 6 tailor/apoth and I did not have to buy my mats from the boutique. It did, however, take time. Getting level 6 requirements done (5 ** items for each) took about 3 weeks. The other levels took a lot less time but 6 in particular took so long just because of the sheer volume of attempts it took to make the **.

As for increasing the drop rate, while it would be nice, it won't happen. For two reasons, I think. First, the boutique is an option and it makes money. No good business will shoot themselves in the foot. Also, if the drop rate increases then the catshop price will go down (more to go around) and the people who make catshops to build up cash will QQ about it because then they have a cash flow problem (just like everyone did when DQ prices went down). So, either way there will be people upset whether they increase drop rate or not but one of those two ways makes them more money. It's pretty easy to know what they'll pick.

If you *do* decide to boutique the materials (not recommended) then pony up the 30 gold for the book so you get all levels automatically. In the long run it would be cheaper then buying the mats individually. Also, making TT stuff for your factionmates (from their mats, of course) will level up your crafting so take advantage of that.