Some thoughts...

[wtpooh]

Hi all
Has anyone ever proposed to Sony or seen sony talk about the idea of high end trade skilled items that are no drop? Meaning wouldn't it be nice to be able to reward ourselves for all the hard work we have put in to tradeskills by making gear that your toon can wear that is something like Time lvl or some range that allows the non uber guilded person to be able to have some nice stuff that is only made for themselves. There would be no money in it for people, but sure would be a huge incentive for people to do trade skilling. I know there is some nice items out there (especially EP drops) but many times if you are not in a guild working on all that your only option is to spend thousands (if not tens of thousands) on parts that those guilds loot and sell. I guess I am thinking something more along the lines of the shawl quest (without the big fights) that a single person can do just as a reward for having skills at some X lvl. I guess in my mind trade skills could totally be used by the solo player who does not have all the time in the world to raid and still have enough equipment to fight in some of the more current zones. Even if it takes multiple skills in order to make said items it would convince more people to see tradeskills as a usefull part of the game. Just my thoughts

Wtpooh

[miakiss]

I agree it would be very nice. I think a lot of people were originally motivated to do tradeskills either through the shawl/ring quests four (??) years ago or through the Grimel earring a couple of years later.

However, I think anything they introduce is likely to be along the same lines - complex quests using multiple skills and rare drops from hard zones.

I can't see them ever introducing "raid-quality" gear through tradeskills, unless raids are needed to get some of the components. If you could get raid-quality gear without raiding, then whole balance of the game would be destroyed.

[Ngreth Thergn]

Aye, if you can get (current)raid quality gear, without (current)raiding, from tradeskills... then everyone would jsut become a tradeskiller and get that gear

I put "current" in there becuase often after 2-4 expansions have passed, the new tradeskill stuff is of quality fo what was gotten from raids 2-4 expansions ago...

[cattywumpus]

I personally think the worst thing ever done to tradeskillers was the Aid Grimel quest. Tradeskills were a different path for players before that. Now, thanks to AG, everyone seems to be a GM in at least one tradeskill and have the rest over 220.

The shawl quest was bad but the trivials were low enough that they didn't force players to get to near GM levels and most didn't do any more than they had to to complete their shawl, leaving room for the true tradeskillers to have a special place.

It is becoming harder every day to make any money from tradeskills because of things like that. If they put in any better stuff then what little is left of the market for tradeskilled goods will be crushed.

I pretty much gave up trying to sell stuff and just do tradeskills because I enjoy doing them and make a few things for myself and friends.

I would like to see tradeskillers have some special reward for their work but it really needs to be balanced so that it doesn't make everyone and their brother's third cousin's nephew's dog want to become GMs.

[Wyvernwill]

Aid Grimels earring proved Ngreth's point to an extent that almost everyone would do trades to get it. The Signet Earring rivaled a lot of PoTime drop earrings, I still find it amazingly difficult to replace due simply to the 25ac (I'm a tank class) and the high resists, stats and focus effects.

To be honest, I don't see a problem with having an Aid Grimel or two type quests per expansion or so. Nothing insane like a full suit of near Muramite Armor gear, Quarm loot style rings and earrings, and something for every slot. That would be a bit much.

But in a respect, something like this has already been in the game. 8th Shawl/10th Ring in Velious. Signet Earring and Bristlebane Party Platters in PoP. Breakdown in Communications in GoD (Not solely based on trades, but then again, neither is the 10th ring)

It would be nice to even possibly see one really nice no drop item per trade maybe. Have a GM Smith give the necessary part to you and then when you complete the combine, you turn the item into him (it has no stats, he gives you back one with stats). You get flagged for finishing the combine and it doesn't allow you to get anything else from him. This could possibly even be tied into new tradeskill trophies. There are a lot of ways this stuff could go.

I just see a lot of possibly good things that could come of it if the right planning was implemented.

And true tradeskillers do get a special reward for high skill levels. You get new titles that you can affix over your head so that the whole world knows we're a special breed that needs to seek help... especially those with "Tailor" and "Smith" over their heads. As for the balance, it is. Think about it, no one would just do trades for a title over their head... so all the true tradeskillers have a prize they can be proud of that won't make most feel it's worth the time.

[YurienStonebow]

I personally think the worst thing ever done to tradeskillers was the Aid Grimel quest. Tradeskills were a different path for players before that. Now, thanks to AG, everyone seems to be a GM in at least one tradeskill and have the rest over 220.

The shawl quest was bad but the trivials were low enough that they didn't force players to get to near GM levels and most didn't do any more than they had to to complete their shawl, leaving room for the true tradeskillers to have a special place.

It is becoming harder every day to make any money from tradeskills because of things like that. If they put in any better stuff then what little is left of the market for tradeskilled goods will be crushed.

I pretty much gave up trying to sell stuff and just do tradeskills because I enjoy doing them and make a few things for myself and friends.

I would like to see tradeskillers have some special reward for their work but it really needs to be balanced so that it doesn't make everyone and their brother's third cousin's nephew's dog want to become GMs.

that is my main reason not to do them anymore. too expensive and nothing to sell. 220smith 176tailor 252brew 260bake 193jc 200fletch 199pot/fish.....yet nothing to make for profit other then mtp/hmp and qat/glm. would take thousands of items to make it worth it. i still plug away because i have little time to play and this is all i have time for. i'll spend a month trying to get 20 combines now. good thing is i can collect old stuff (feran/murk/bazu hide/skin) and be able to afford blood in a few months lol......mostly talk to friends and get their pity for TS stuff so i get whored out to their guilds for combines sometmes heh

shawl/AG isn't taht bad, good alt skill up path if you want to do it that way, only 1 ingredient away from making the party platter and i've been trying since PoP went live. more along these lines would be good, even if rewards suck it is another alt skill up path and since ppl can't afford much it solves a problem for a lot

[Wyvernwill]

I forgot one other quest that was tradeskill based and popular, Earring of the Solstice/Xanthe's Earring.

Come to think of it, that is the one quest solely responsible for the GM problem. Aid Grimel's trivials may have been high, but requiring 220 to do them removed them from any sort of a burnable skill up route. Earring of the Solstice, however, gave every trade except brewing, a very viable means to skill up from 1 to 250 and do it resonably cheaply (no one in their right mind would have skilled up 1-250 on those things as there are cheaper low level things to do).

Bare in mind, though littered with annoying subcombines, Mistletoe Cutting Sickles actually are a cheaper means for skilling up for me vs BD Cultural. One blue diamond nulls the cost of the Gems and a good bit of the cost of the dust also. The rest is a very negligable cost. MTP are another very sub combine intensive recipe. Star Ruby Encrusted Steins aren't bad at all. Gem Studded Chains are insanely costly to make, but still when compared to a fail on BD + Plat/Vellium, the cost is similar. Solstice Robes were are a great way to skill up if you don't want to spend weeks farming Wyverns or Othmir (mind you, pre trivial change, still works if looking at only 250 skilling.) Yes, on a success, solstice robes are costly, but every fail is VERY cheap compared to time farming. (Spider Silks way more common than Wyvern hides and Vellium and Cod)

So... if any single tradeskill item deserves the blame, it's the Earring of the Solstice vs the Signet of the Arcane/Might.

[Sylphan]

When the tradeskill cap went to 300, I just assumed that it was for the express purpose of making max-skill rare again. Then it would be practical to put in some high-end recipes. Not necessarily nodrop items, but possibly.

Now that so many people have been getting to 300 using the old trivials, they might have to raise the caps again to accomplish that.

[Wyvernwill]

Watch the moaning if they raise the caps again, with all of the trivs lowered. That would definitely make tradeskills a chore that they are worthy of being