Guild Wars 2

With the economy in freefall crafting is currently pointless. You buy your materials and by time you have got to the crafting station and made your items the materials prices have dropped another 20s meaning if you try to sell what you just made you are going to make a loss due to tax and undercutting.

Material costs of some of the major commodities (Powerful Bloods, Ectos etc.) are down as much as 75% in price over the last 3 weeks of which the most dramatic decrease has been in the last 3-5 days.

Until the economy stabilises there is simply no point in making anything at the moment.

Actually, you can make a cool 10 levels on an alt for maybe 2g by leveling a craft to 400.

15 levels actually.

It’s 10 levels for each craft.

It’s 1/8 of the total XP you need to get to level 80 per craft.
1/8 of the total XP is not equal to 10 levels.

I craft with what I gather. Thus it is much cheaper for me to craft than to buy.

The real point of this topic: Don’t rely on TP for crafting, you’ll lose money.

Definitely 15 levels, as I levelled up artificer on an alt and he got exactly 15.

M

I leveled from 65 to 75 2 days ago on my alt Elementalist from 1-400 Artifice.

yes I would assume 65 to 75 is about 1/8 of the total xp as well as 1/8 of the total level, it’s just coincidence. I had a friend that the first thing he did on a character was max a crafter and it got him into the early 20s.

My alt is lvl 15 – all of his XP )apart from the starter tutorial) is from crafting 0-400 huntsman. Granted I used Crafting Boosters but that is a given (if you aren’t using them you are a bit silly). So it is 15 lvls you can get from crafting 0-400.

EndlessDreamer.6780:

I craft with what I gather. Thus it is much cheaper for me to craft than to buy.

The real point of this topic: Don’t rely on TP for crafting, you’ll lose money.

I have sold thousands of pieces of exotic armor – if I only crafted what I gather it would take me 17 years to collect the amount of gossamer and orichalcum I need. And you can quite happily buy materials on TP and still make a profit – I used to average close to 1G profit per piece through buying at the right times – even now I can profit but the margins are incredibly slim due to the freefalling economy which means I have to sell a dozen or more pieces to make the same profit I made from a single piece just 3 weeks ago. If I have to relist something because of nickel and dime undercutting, my profit disappears due to the multiple listing fees.

So yes you can make profit, but the point was the economy is completely kittened at the moment and incredibly unstable.

Ummm. Ok, two things. First, now is the best time to craft stuff. With the prices dropping, it’s the best time to pick up the required materials. I normally just salvage everything and reuse those materials in more crafting, but if you craft any rares or anything, you can hold on to them and sell them later should prices go back up. If they don’t, well, just salvage or merch.

Secondly, it’s 10 levels. For those that are stating that they’re now level 15, well you start at level 1, so that’s 14. By the time you finish the starter instance you’re level 2, so that’s now 13. You have to wander around for a bit and while that’s not usually 3 levels, well, let’s look at it another way. You gain 1 level from going from the start to 100 in a craft, each time you gain a crafting level you get 1% of your current XP. From 100 to 200 you gain 2 levels. From 200 to 300, 3 levels. From 300 to 400 you gain 4 levels. That adds up to 10. I don’t know what else you guys did to get the extra level or 3, but it’s not crafting. It’s probably exploring, or perhaps, leveling up another craft. It’s definitely 10 levels though.

Here’s an example, my Elementalist who does my weaponsmithing (375) & artificing (400). She’s currently level 28. If it was 15 levels per crafting discipline she’d be at least level 31 by now. As it is she was level 2 at the end of the intro, gained 9 + 10 levels for crafting (21) and has gained the other 7 by running around gathering materials, doing personal story, dailies and what-have-you.

Also, I currently don’t have any crafting boosters and I don’t feel like spending money on them. If that’s silly, than so be it.

EndlessDreamer.6780:

I craft with what I gather. Thus it is much cheaper for me to craft than to buy.

The real point of this topic: Don’t rely on TP for crafting, you’ll lose money.

You will still lose money eitherway and it doesn’t matter if you collect your own mats.
It takes a while to get the mats, craft the item and put it up lose a little on taxes. You eventually get it sold and bam another tax.
Mats is basically the TP’s current value and how much the item costs to craft and it’s current value on the TP.

You should be happy if you make a profit on it afaik I haven’t made any profit yet on my stuff.

I usually craft the necessary gear when I actually hit the level required for the gear to gain more XP as well as to get the armor for better survivability.

Which economy? The US? Greece? I see reasonable prices on the TP as I am leveling my crafting, and I have most of the mats myself. I am leveling two toons(and additional lvl 80), so thats 3x the mats, but at the same time thats 3x the crafting professions to level.

I make money from crafting nearly every day. Sure, I’d like to see some additional features added to crafting, but when it comes to making money, especially at Lv400, there are opportunities out there.

I agree wit the OP wholeheartedly, although in different ways.

I didn’t/don’t care about the exp you get while crafting. For me, that is a bonus and nothing else.

However, if you go to the market and you buy all your stuff and post the finished product on the market, you end up losing money as a crafter. It’s a buyers market right now, which means those selling are screwed over because they are not getting face value for items that they sell. Tack on tax, and crafters are doubly screwed.

My friend made a shield, explicitly out of his own mats and listed it for cheaper that the current SELLER (not buyer). We then tallied everything up, if he had bought all the materials from the market and then turned around to sell it, his current price was 20c under what he’d have bought. Add teh listing fee and he’s already losing and additional 2s, and then add sales taxe, and he losses an additional 4 for a grand total of 6s LOSS on making the fine people of Tyria a shield.

That does not promote crafting, it destroys it.

I, personally, am not making ANYONE any armor, because people do not realize just how expensive the prices are (oh, and I did not factor in vendor mats either so he losses even MORE money).

Plus, some of the design decisions on A.Net’s part makes no sense. To make a satchel of explorers armor, I need ELEVN INSIGNIA’S??? for 6 pieces of armor?? What, do I get the satchel as a 6 slot bag as a freebie? Even 20 slots…can I justify 11 insignia’s?

the ratio of upgrade mats is horrible
the rate of rare mats at higher level is horrible

Crafting overall, is just not profitable.

I make a 10-15% profit on the items I currently make. This include all costs, and buying 100% of the mats off the TP, and selling via the TP.

The last three days has been rough though with a lot of people undercutting for no particularly good reason.

EasymodeX.4062:

I make a 10-15% profit on the items I currently make. This include all costs, and buying 100% of the mats off the TP, and selling via the TP.

The last three days has been rough though with a lot of people undercutting for no particularly good reason.

The reason is supply and demand. More people making said items, less people buying said item – because a large part of the community is hitting 80 and becoming fully geared. This is an important factor for why crafted gear has been dropping in price and or approaching lower proffit margin compared to the materials.

I had issues with crafting in beta. The amount of mats needed was too high. The drop rates where a joke. And the level as you go……. Well after spending a lot on the TP and I mean a lot. I’ve spent real money to catch my crafting up. About £60. And only now at level 75 have I crafted something I can use. The system is horrible. So much so that I’m not going to bother doing any with my alts.

The reason is supply and demand. More people making said items, less people buying said item – because a large part of the community is hitting 80 and becoming fully geared. This is an important factor for why crafted gear has been dropping in price and or approaching lower proffit margin compared to the materials.

I’m aware of the concept of supply and demand. I’m just saying it’s been tedious the past few days in general ever since the patch where the “loosening of the anti-farm code” was stated. I think that particular piece has accelerated the decline in prices, although I expect it to stabilize in the next week or so.

1-400 on crafting is definitely 10 levels no matter what level you are at, 1/8th of 80 experience is false.

I decided to reroll and had lots of gold from my main so I powercrafted 6 crafting to 400 giving me exactly 59.4 levels (you lose some xp from going from current level to next because it’s % of current level that you gain as xp)

As for crafting, some of them can still make money at 400 however all the players who hit 80 and in full exotic already are turning to mystic forge for special skin

@Shadowbane
No it is 15. I did starter quest (doesn’t lvl you to lvl 2) and then went straight to LA and crafted Huntsman to 400 – I did nothing else, absolutely nothing else. No wondering around, no discovering, no killing a few mobs here and there – the sole purpose of my alt was to get 400 in Huntsman and that is what I did.

By the end I was almost lvl 16 (about 90% through 15) – I gained 15 lvls through crafting. I used crafting boosters for most of it.

Please stop trying to tell people what they did or didn’t do, I think those of us who have done it are quite capable of knowing what we did and how we did it, thanks.

While I’m in agreement that crafting isn’t profitable right now…I’m surprised no one has mentioned that maybe, just maybe, crafting could be for your own use? that’s what I use it for, with my own materials too so I’m not losing out on any money, and it keeps me occupied…

Who uses the TP for crafting? just farm it and reap the profit…

Because the materials that you farm could be sold on the TP?

So the difference between using the TP for crafting and your own time for material gathering is the 10% tax?

@Paladine first 15 levels, % xp earned from crafting modifier is different, after lv.15, you gain 10 levels per 1-400

http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Experience

Note 2 things:

• Crafting xp earned mechanic
• Modifier table for first 15 levels of your character

Obviously the people who actually done it doesn’t know how they got it, crafting booster only modifies how much xp you gain for crafting only, you gain same amount of player xp going from 1-400

As for actual conversation of thread, I think they need to change how much npc ingredients cost, some recipe cost is 30%+ npc item but they aren’t dynamic pricing like TP where supply/demand controls the price

Paladine.6082:

@Shadowbane
No it is 15. I did starter quest (doesn’t lvl you to lvl 2) and then went straight to LA and crafted Huntsman to 400 – I did nothing else, absolutely nothing else. No wondering around, no discovering, no killing a few mobs here and there – the sole purpose of my alt was to get 400 in Huntsman and that is what I did.

By the end I was almost lvl 16 (about 90% through 15) – I gained 15 lvls through crafting. I used crafting boosters for most of it.

Please stop trying to tell people what they did or didn’t do, I think those of us who have done it are quite capable of knowing what we did and how we did it, thanks.

I can request the same of you. Right from the link below to experience

Crafting Level 1-100 1% of the character level
Crafting Level 101-200 2% of the character level
Crafting Level 201-300 3% of the character level
Crafting Level 301-400 4% of the character level

1 level + 2 levels + 3 levels + 4 levels = 10 levels. I’m not sure how you managed to get 15 levels out of it, and for the record when you finish the tutorial you’re automatically leveled up to level 2, so if you’re currently level 15 that’s 13 levels you’ve gained.

Additionally, as I’ve said, my Ele is currently level 28 and has leveled up 2 crafting professions. If it was 15 levels per craft, she’d be at least level 32 right now. She isn’t, therefore it cannot be 15 levels.

@Paladine:
Firstly, yes, the first quest absolutely does level you up to 2. I have done this on 5 characters, and it happens every time (it levels you up exactly to 2, it seems, so gives less XP if you managed to get more XP during the first quest). Second, yes, it works a bit differently up to level 15, so I believe you when you say you leveled 1 craft up to 400 and got 15 levels. (You got a bit less, actually, since you started crafting a bit above 2 — since you leveled to 2 in your first quest and discovered a few waypoints on your way through Lion’s Arch to the crafting stations.)

However, if you took up another craft now and leveled it up to 400, you would get at most 10 levels exactly (a bit less, as mentioned, because the number of XP for each item that dings you to the next level is determined as a percentage of the previous level, and is thus slightly low). So yeah, you could level up 7 crafts all the way and the 8th would get you to level 80 by the time you hit 300. But it’s definitely not 15 levels per craft for anyone who starts above level 2, and it’s definitely not 1/8 of the XP needed to get to 80, since pretty much all experience in this game is calculated as a fraction of level (whether it’s you or your foe or the event or the instance you’re doing).

I would estimate 75% of my gold that I used to craft my legendary and all exotic gear was from crafting.

The remaining 25% was investments.

So yeah, crafting is useless if you’re not interested in making money.