Crafting elemental properties into armor and weapons

[MadUkranian]

This may have been covered in the past so I apologize if I'm repeating an earlier thread...

I was wondering if elemental properties have ever been considered as an option for crafted items. Crafted weapons and armor, while nice, are not nearly as useful as the amulets, boots, belts, cloaks and gloves that other crafters can make. Would it be possible to add the ability into the code? Maybe use something like trap components to add the elemental protection (for armor and shields) or damage (weapons)?

Anyway, just a thought... Maybe a nice challenge for our talented developers?

[DM_Kim]

Your right in that this has been discussed before.

Crafted, as they are, work very well. In fact some are better than drops, depending on the item.

Other enhancements on items are left to the casters adding temp effects or can be found as drops.

[VagaStorm]

Indeed, some of the craftd gear is the best there is, and if you have a crafter you can make the gear you need and not have to stik with what ever drops... I have a toon runing about with 37.5k xp worth of gear

[MLoki]

But does anybody really use the crafted weapons or armor once they hit 40th? Some of the other gear is better but I only ever use crafted weapons or armor while leveling a character. Once you hit 30+ the weapons and armor you find are usually better.

[DM_Kim]

When drops are thin your best bet is crafted. I use it on my PC's until I find the right drops to enhance it even more. Crafted can and will take you to level 35 in some cases.

And there is most definitely crafted items that are used by level 40's to enhance their skills and stats.

[Rufio]

right, but the whole point is that crafting weapons and armor is near pointless as they are inferior to the non-generic drops in every way. No one is saying that the tailored/leather worked/arcane items are bad.

[DM_Kim]

You just might be surprised. It all has to do with style of play and what your going for.

"Mikey, try it, you'll like it"

All I can say it that I use a lot of crafted including armor, and weapons. At least until I find a real goodie drop somewhere. Besides, ever since day 1 I have had a full set of MA crafters, and I've been through 4 or 5 wipes..

My style of play is.. "Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

Like I've said many a time before I play Atheria. To snap one's finger and instant have top end gear is boooooring to me. It's fun getting into parties, doing high end runs and rolling for gear. Or farming for a few days looking for the right drop etc.. Crafting, for me is part and parcel to that, specially when what you find as drops sucks and is sold.

You'll also find most guilds have a full set of crafters as well. They do have purpose and value.

[Korr]

Gotta go with kim on this one especially as far as leather/tailor/arcane are concerned. Those crafted items are some of the best in the game. . . and the access is so easy that you will use it easily into the 800k xp range.

[MLoki]

Nobody is saying crafted items aren't good. The topic of this thread was about Weapons (which are lacking elemental damage) and armor (which don't have any elemental resistances). Both of which can be found on just about every other weapon or armor out there. (besides the generic Imbued line) I agree with the original poster that the weapons and armor you can craft are not as usefull as the other specialties. Especially since you have to take 3 different styles of crafting to be able to craft all the different styles of weapons and Armor crafting is limited to just heavy armor. Perhaps giving these crafting specialties a little boost would make them more usefull in game. If you took a poll of the different types of crafters people made you would see Leather, Cloth and Arcane topping the lists because those items are comparable with the drops you can find in game. I even tried looking up the weapons and armor you can craft in the wiki and nobody has even posted them but you can find the other craftable items listed there. Just some thoughts which I guess is why he posted this under Ideas and Suggestions.

[MadUkranian]

MLoki and Rufio are right... My post wasn't about crafted items in general, just weapons and armor (though elemental protection in a nice tailored shirt would be super).

I agree other crafters DO make some of the best gear. This is what prompted my question about weapons and armor. The leather goods my ranger makes are fantastic, as are the amulets from my wizard. I can't wait to get my tailor to MA. I had one pre-wipe... I think my toon thought it was a sweat shop employee stitching gloves on a daily basis.

The armor and weapons just seem to lack the 'wow' factor of the others. They are decent for getting by until something better comes along, but not something a toon might keep career-long like the others.

Since it costs the same to be a master artisan, regardless of trade, I was just wondering if giving them some more options has ever been considered, or maybe re-considered.

[MadUkranian]

Sorry for the double post, but I had to get back to work before I could finish last time...

For those who skim read this - yes, I think most crafted gear rocks.

The idea I had was to make the armor and weapon crafting specialties more attractive. Right now they just produce lighter weight generic adamantium gear. Compared to, say, the leather crafter, the martial crafter I made pre-wipe was a disappointment, as was my fletcher. I haven't bothered to make new ones and if I did they would always be last priority.

I think MLoki mentioned a poll would find most players make leather, arcane and tailor crafters. I fit that right now. When I first started pre-wipe I tried to make all of them to check out the goods and help my noob toons survive at higher levels. The only one I didnt make was exotic weapons (after I saw martial, why bother?).

Going back to my first post, if a crafter could use, for example, "X" number of alchemists fire to add 1-8 fire damage to their MA crafted sword and have it flame like the gnoll chiefs, I would put on a pot of coffee and work all weekend to get that master artisan, not only for the better weapon but also the visual coolness factor.

I'm not looking to change game balance. I like it the way it is. I'm just pointing out that crafted armor and crafted weapons pale in comparison to other crafted items. I think most players would agree. It would add to the fun if they were given more appeal, and it would help out those players who don't have the gear to make it yet in the tougher areas.

[Korr]

One part of that might include the fact that beating metal together or sewing cloth/leather together isnt gonna make it magically enhanced. Using an alchemist fire would be like flickin ur bic in hell as far as metal is concerned. The thought would be that magical items from leather/arcane/tailoring comes from the fact (generally) that the creators have magical presence. Whereas a fighter lacks this ability.

[DM_Kim]

There are some wonderful, intense and exacting crafting systems out there.

In it's early days, long before Frost Dale was discovered, and players were capped at 25 levels, our current system was the means by which players got to where they needed to get to. I remember the days when my crafters could sell Master Artisan items for between 1 to 4 million gold depending on the item.

We basically have the same crafting system. It was discussed if should be change, use another type of system. You see the results. One reason it is the way it is, is because of the "drops" available out there. The craft system plays more towards the solo player who can make gear that will carry them through until they find the drops needed.

Plus, there are enough issues that the devs are working on without dipping into the craft system. That doesn't mean that there is the possibility that it might be changed in the distant future. For now, for all intent and purpose, what you see is what is and will be.

[MLoki]

I don't even think it would take a rework of the whole crafting system. Like Mad Ukranian said adding X amount of Alchemist fire (which already holds the magic within since it's alchemical) to a weapon to add fire damage. This step could occur during the upgrade process, since the chest is already open to add the weapon or armor, just script that part to add elemental damage based on the trap component added. This would deffinatly add more appeal to crafted weapons or armor since you could choose the right resistance for your armor or the right extra damage for your weapon based on your needs. Just something to think about since I know the devs are busy and the crafting system isn't technically broken at the moment.

[VagaStorm]

I I whant an onHit(doSetTrap());