auf >Entwicklertagebücher & offizielle Diskussion< wurde geschrieben:

We have some plans for LOTRO's crafting system, and we want to update you on where we are headed, so that you can share in our thought process and direction.

Overall, we like our crafting system, and we know that many players like it too. We want to take a very “do no harm” style of approach to this update. That said, we know there are some frustration points with the crafting system, and that the system suffers from being developed over 16 years ago.

Vocations:

At the outset of the game, we wanted the crafting system to serve manifold purposes. Vocations were designed with these factors in mind: socialization, game economy, and a unique way to highlight crafting. As time wore on, we added tiers, and then complexity through guilds. Crafting has been bumped with each new level band, but a focus on the system is something that has not happened in some time.

We hope, throughout 2023, to address that with updates that modernize the system.

Professions:

The first step is to separate vocations into individual professions. Our intent is allowing characters with a vocation to keep the three associated professions at the level that they have currently achieved. Players who are just enrolling in the crafting system can choose any three professions that they want.

We are also likely to allow players to expand their crafting vocations by one more slot. The details on how this is acquired is not yet solidified, but we are not expecting to allow players to have more than four professions trained at any time.The reason for this is simple, we still want to keep the social and game economy moving through the crafting system. While also offering you more flexibility.

Crafting Resource Tiers:

With Update 35: Return to Carn Dûm, we are introducing minor updates to the crafting system with new recipes and added items needed to craft those new recipes. This is the start of changes that will re-align crafting tiers. While we are not going to refine all the earlier tiers, we will continue to increase resource tiers for future level updates. We will continue creating more recipes for crafting vocations over time, rather than only at level increases.

Crafting Guilds:

There are three omissions for crafting professions and associated guilds: Forester, Prospector, and Farmer. We want to address this. We know that the length of time
needed in order to increase standing with guilds is prohibitive. We want to address that by making enrollment in the guild a more activeexperience where you will be able to maintain your membership and access by continued activity or it will decay slowly over time.

Crafting Relevance:

Our goal is to work toward making the relevance of crafted gear more important in the next level band, then over time integrate that back through the lower-level bands of the crafting system. The process to work backward through the tiers will take longer than this year.

The effort to make crafting more useful is integrated with the release of the expansion later this year. We want to establish crafted gear to be slightly ahead of quest gear. This will lead to two behaviors. One, providing optional rewards through the quests specific to crafters. And two, making crafting a unique stepping stone to assist in instances. The major quest lines and crafted gear should be used to get you prepared for the instances that come with the expansion.

Further, new gear and armor in instances will have some measure of crafting included to ensure that there is always something for crafters to look forward to. These items will assist in the stepping stones needed to move into raids, and so on.

The widgets or extra items that are needed to craft these latest items will be scattered throughout the game, not only in instance or raid spaces, so crafters should not feel forced to engage with the systems that they might feel less inclined to play. They will, however, be able to directly assist their fellow players and kinmates by making items that could help them in those endeavors.

Crafting and Housing:

We are looking at options to enhance how crafting influences and is influenced by the housing system. Details on this are still in the formative state but we have some ideas such as new hooked items or NPCs that function as gatherers for materials that you would need to visit and obtain the items that they are collecting for you. We expect that this will need a hefty side of control to ensure that it does not become abused.

Further, we want to make new recipes that allow crafters to make objects for home and hearth.

Events:

One idea that we have around enhancing the crafting system is the establishment of events that rotate and move from place to place in support of the different professions. An example might be a logging contest at different lumber camps, cooking competitions in the Shire or Bree, scholarly activities, metal working, and so on. Something available to engage in regularly that rewards unique recipes, items, titles, and most importantly crafting advancement for engaging with the events.

In Closing:

This is the first time we have spoken about crafting in a while. Now, we want to hear from you!

This thread will remain open until Monday of next week for your comments, questions, and opinions.

We will do our best to answer all questions, concerns, or thoughts within reason.

We hope you enjoy this little sneak peek at what may be and look forward to hearing from you.