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Recent Dev Blog (29?) says crafting ingreds mostly from PVE queues?
realisticalty
Member Posts: 851 Arc User
I sure hope this includes ground battlezones.
So many times I've wanted to run a PVE queue on holodeck only to find there weren't enough players around to PUG it, and I don't have the luxury of a solid static group to run with.
I think requiring such would be a serious design flaw. I'm here in large part because the last MMO required running the highest level multiplayer content to progress any further and there are no public groups (and very few solid static groups) running them.
I'm concerned that the rarer crafting items would only be in the hands of a very few and it would seriously turn away newer, casual, less affiliated or members of smaller or new fleets.
Am I incorrect in my assumption or my conclusion?
So many times I've wanted to run a PVE queue on holodeck only to find there weren't enough players around to PUG it, and I don't have the luxury of a solid static group to run with.
I think requiring such would be a serious design flaw. I'm here in large part because the last MMO required running the highest level multiplayer content to progress any further and there are no public groups (and very few solid static groups) running them.
I'm concerned that the rarer crafting items would only be in the hands of a very few and it would seriously turn away newer, casual, less affiliated or members of smaller or new fleets.
Am I incorrect in my assumption or my conclusion?
Post edited by realisticalty on
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It's not a case of them being mostly from PvE queues - but that their being added to PvE queues is most notably a change.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
Making different queues give different materials just seems like it'll be a win to me, personally. Get more people playing different things. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it works out.
This. There should be some other way of getting these other than just PVE queues. If it is desired that they be part of PVE rewards to boost participation in queues, so be it - but restricting it to just PVE queues limits players who either do not yet participate (fresh 50s), or CANNOT yet participate as they are levelling.
Unless there's a pile of new PVE content coming in S9.5 for lower levels? Haven't heard a peep on that one yet though. Given the speed at which people level up, I doubt low-level missions are on offer anytime soon.
If it is difficult or impossible to craft level appropriate items as new players level, those players will possibly abandon the crafting system.
If Cryptic wants to make it difficult to obtain, perhaps now is the time to actually add a REASON to play with mission difficulty settings? Something like "Play on harder settings, better materials become available." Just my 2 zen...
Is crafting really intended for low level players though?
Personally, I'd have to say no to that. You shouldn't start crafting until you're end game, since it simply takes too much time to get to the rewards you need for your level, especially after tier VI. You can, however, use crafting to gear up alts, but for a main character as you just start out in the game it's probably a bad idea due to the EC sink. It'd be much cheaper to just buy your items of the exchange. Since people only need to get crafting maxed on a single level (and not even with 2 factions anymore to craft everything like how it used to be), they'll likely get it up on their main character and then craft items to help their alts along.
For new main characters the system just isn't worth the investment compared to the rewards.
older accounts just pass on the good stuff to there alts after it is finished with or just pop to the exchange and buy the stuff needed to rush through the new content. Level 50 toons will generally aim for fleet or rep stuff which is predictable so have no need or desire for the crafting system items so they will just do it for the new traits.
The very fact that the crafting system starts off with mk II items suggests it is meant as a way of newer players being able to get hold of specific kit so they are the primary target. In its first incarnation crafting was useful in this role as people would use the crafting system to get the Aegis set which was then used to be able to get you equipped enough to do the STF's to get the Borg kit. Dilithium additions stopped this so now new folks just get the new Jem'hadar set, Solonae set or Breen sets and skip the need for dilithium and crafting entirely.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
It's going to require an insane amount of materials to get there though. If I had a new character then I likely wouldn't even bother with going for those items since there are plenty of other good (although somewhat lesser) items available, that don't even come close to the efforts required for obtaining the R&D items.
I'd say it certainly IS for low level players. In the old crafting system, I crafted plenty of Mk V VR gear to equip my Commander level ship. This gear lasted me until I made level 40. It was FREE, other than time invested. I did it, because I wanted to craft what my ship was using.
The way crafting was working needed lots of work. But it was a free way to get very high end gear at low levels, instead of paying hundreds of thousands (or millions) on the exchange. An argument could be made that players don't need good equipment to level, but I found my ship performed better, and the game more satisfying with better equipment.
The new crafting system still has low level gear. Why would anyone craft this at end game? Just to arbitrarily level the crafting system and dump it as vendor trash or on the exchange? In my opinion, that makes no sense. If nuCrafting is an end-game only solution, it shouldn't allow us to craft ANYTHING below Mk XI.
Often, players who craft, WANT to craft items. The new system seems to have some good and bad. Hopefully in practice it is going to work out better than the old system. Players who WANT to craft aren't going to want to wait to pew pew their way to level 50 to make it worthwhile to craft items. If a crafting economy doesn't come into being, nuCrafting will become just like the old - an oddity that allows you to shoot for an Aegis Set, some new kits (kits were good in old crafting before kit revamp), the Tr-116b, and a few consoles. Otherwise, rep and Fleet gear will probably still trump most of it.
And yes, the new system can work for new players too, but now there isn't a guaranteed blue or purple outcome anymore like you used to have with the old system. In addition, they also start with lower quality doffs (most likely whites, greens, and the occasional blue one), which will make it harder for them to get the good items.
I'm not saying that this will or should stop them from crafting, but I think it'll be more interesting to buy items of the exchange. At least, that's what I'd do if I decided to gear up a new character. With all the new crafters 'level up' gear will be so cheap that items are probably for sale below vendor value on the exchange. This'll change in time of course, but for the first couple of months you can get high quality gear for a low price, which likely takes away the incentive for crafting.
I hope you're right with that. Currently, low-level blue or purple gear is highway robbery on the exchange.
I'm not even talking about new characters for the most part. If you have a maxed out character, throwing around a few million to get the gear you want for your low-level alt may be disagreeable, but it's doable.
When I started crafting, I was a new player. I simply didn't have the EC to buy the stuff on the exchange, nor did I have a reliable way to get it at Level 10.
Perhaps the new system will encourage channels/Fleets to promote "community". Lower level characters provide materials, and "master" crafters craft the items. Time will tell - I'm trying to remain optimistic for the overhaul.
Actually it was because of fleet communities that the cost of crafting is paid in Unreplicatable materials as that was the only way the master crafters could continue to build stuff for others. The time gates applied to the new system will put a small dampener on that happening in future though as many fleets cannot guarantee when both parties will next be in game.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
That said I'm sure that, when you're actually playing, your level will shoot past the mark you can reliably craft pretty quickly. That was an issue with the old system too. The only way I can see to prevent it is to slow down how fast we level...and I'm sure the altaholics a looking to crucify me now, so I'll step out of the thread. :P
A better solution would be if we can level up faster with crafting.
I did a small calculation earlier today, to go from level 14 crafting in shields to level 15 I need 140 hours if I don't want to pay the dil bribe to get the item instantly.
Although I was excited about the new system initially, it also introduces several big disadvantages. With the previous system I stopped crafting altogether when dilithium was introduced and now it seems like you're forced to pay dilithium if you want to get anywhere at a reasonable pace.
I hope they adjust those time charges or increase the exp that crafted items reward, because in its current state the system only works for the very rich or the very hardcore players.
Maybe for a few minutes before the robber-barons buy it all up and relist it at exorbitant mark-ups.
l don't know.
l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
SO somehow why repeat that same thing of course this time people can always go to the mighty zen shop and hope for mats so there is that