Asheras wrote on Oct 9
th, 2014 at 10:37am:
Just spitballing here, but what if your weapon crafting worked this way:
The base item is created with shroud crafting. GS Blank. Apply Mats to make it up to shroud T3.
Then MA doesn't drop blank alchems. LoB/MA drop mats that take a T3 GS as the base item. And enhance it from there.
Then Thunderholme doesn't craft base items. it takes a T3 Alchem item as a base item. And enhances it from there.
Then Epic Vale/Shroud takes a tier 3 Thunderholme weapon as it's base item and enhances it from there.
What would be the downside to a progression based crafting system like that?
Do the same with armor starting with Dragontouched Armor from Reaver's Reach. Then using those as input for the Epic GH dragon Armors. Then Going to Thunderholme armor on top of that.
A power progression that grows. Old stuff isn't really invalidated. It's just enhanced. But if you need to do a new item, you still have to run the progression.
I think your idea would work fine, esp. w/epic reincarnation.
But, yuck! We'd need each need a database to figure out what to do. And you'd have to have all the packs to complete an item.
Even just being able to trade between crafting systems would be nice - they wouldn't have to totally rework it the way you outline, but either:
1. add a conversion so that all mats can be made to fit all crafting systems (various costs determined by frequency of mats, etc)
or
2. change all mats to a select few types. These then, in different quantities, make stuff from any quest line. And all the crafting systems would then have to be streamlined according to this system, along with mats given out per quest, etc.
I guess either of these would allow players to simply save up their mats from low levels and then, boom, item finished. You could get around that by making lower level items a lot cheaper, with higher level ones very expensive (and maybe even tiering the universal loot, such that some mats are only available at high levels) - and the quantity of mats being handed out varies by quest level (higher equals more).
But, whatever, it's never going to happen. They're just going to keep making diffuse and separate crafting systems - all of which, except for the top level stuff and the best twink gear, we'll forget.