What are the odds...

[AbitooXev]

That the new expansion will raise effective skill caps?

Right now, the max you can get any tradeskill to is 250. The excepted softcap max is a modified 252. What are the odds they change that softcap, perhaps even removing it? Allowing someone with a 15% mod item to get an effective 280 or beyond.

The reason I thought of this is because someone mentioned on test that the silver chain combine for solstice robes was listed as trivial 305 or something rediculous. I am suspecting that they raised all the trivials for high end items in anticipation of allowing higher effective skills. This may explain the sudden rash of failures on the same high end items. (Or these failures are normal, just more people are noticing them)

Personally, I would welcome such a change as a way of rewarding those that put in the effort to get from 240-250 in the skills. It does however penalize those without smithing hammers/gloves and tailoring sheers.

[Tudamorf]

Re: What are the odds...

Originally posted by AbitooXev
The reason I thought of this is because someone mentioned on test that the silver chain combine for solstice robes was listed as trivial 305 or something rediculous.

They were always about that high, like some of the other end PoTC quest items (star ruby stein, mistletoe cutting sickle, misty thicket picnic). When PoTC came out, judging from the low success rate (~50%), I reverse-engineered my success formula and calculated a trivial of about 300.

I would be for increasing the cap, if only to clean up some of the damage from the AG quest. However, they would have to nerf the 15% items because they are just too powerful at that skill level. Alternatively, they could introduce new AAs that are raised by trade skills, not killing NPCs, and act as effective skill gain increases (e.g., Tailoring Mastery level 10 gives you effective 350 tailoring skill).

A downside to this method is that it would flood the market with now-trivial PoP items, but the trade skill market is in such bad shape now I doubt it would hurt much.

[Myrron]

I think either an AA Craft Mastery (like JC Mastery) open to all people is one good idea, or possibly an AA that allows ONE trade to surpass 250. I do not want to see a bunch of people running around with 350 in all trades, but allowing people to "specialize" in one trade then adding more high-end recipes in all trades might be cool. Right now if another high-end (300+ trivial) item is added, anyone in the 1750 club has an equal chance of making it. There's nothing wrong with that, but I think it would be cool from a roleplaying view if some people could have the insight to truley specialize in a single trade surpassing their knowledge of the remaining ones, and thus make a 300+ item easier to make. Whether that is by raising the cap for a single trade over 250 or by adding the Craft Mastery AA for a single trade that would reduce failure rates, I don't know. True mastery of one trade would imply years of devotion to that one craft and a foregoing of the others, and right now unless you choose not to buy NTCM, we don't have that.

1750 is a great feat to be sure, but with some items with success rates of 50% or less even with a max modified skill, there still seems to be some room for specialized improvement in my opinion.

--Myrron

[Leafrat]

Ugh, I'm approaching 1750, I've worked hard to do it--I wanna be ontop, dangit

If they raised how high you can get, I think I would throw up