Guild Wars 2

Crafting needs a better reason to be leveled, and especially to have multiple professions leveled. Having cheaper ways to get already existing items is by far the best idea I can think of that doesn’t force it onto the entire population.

Some suggestions (all of which are ACCOUNT BOUND… That’s the point):

1) Craft-able infusions – There needs to be an alternate method to get infusions outside of laurels, and having it be via crafting would make crafting more desirable as well. I consider making it cheap to do, but also somewhat time gated in acquisition the best application. I would make the crafted infusions + 1, then have a similar process to the agony infusions to upgrade them. THIS METHOD WOULD NEED A CAP (+5 I’d assume). This further drags out the process and would keep laurel vendor infusions from being obsolete.

2) Account-bound Sigils/Runes – This one is a bit of a stretch (TP could potentially crash), but if there was a way to craft Sigils/Runes at a significant discount -even if time gated- it would encourage having multiple professions maxed. I like this one because there are a lot of Runes/Sigils, and they could be divided up among all the professions to make them equally useful. To reiterate – ACCOUNT BOUND.

3) Craft-able “Infusion slots” – Basically bring the back piece infusion process to other pieces of gear and make it a crafting thing. I don’t like this one, but it’s an option.

Simple benefits like these are what’s missing from crafting professions to make them more appealing to the average player. Right now there is only two reasons one needs to level a profession:
– Legendary Gift Crafting
– Ascended Gear Crafting
And if you aren’t pursuing either of these crafting is a significant gold sink with no upside. Not that they aren’t good things to have in crafting, but what is really needed is a way to save money by having crafting professions… Maxed crafting should be rewarded, not solely required.

So wait, being able to craft all the gear I need from the mats I found for free, instead of buying everything from the TP, doesn’t save money? B/c I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. Every time I lvl an alt I’m very thankful to have maxed disciplines. I haven’t had to actually buy a piece of gear since…well, since I maxed my disciplines months ago. I craft everything I need from mats I find just playing the game.

Sure, it’s a huge gold sink if: you’re buying your way through the discipline, you’re taking everything to 500, and/or you want it all maxed this week. But if you take your time, make them long term goals (like they’re supposed to be,) and gradually work them to 400 with the mats you get from casual play, the rewards vastly outweigh the cost.

@Kalarchis: Absolutely – crafting is definitely useful when you play alts… I have done the same with the 2 level 30s I have to a certain extent (weapons).

That said, getting a crafting profession leveled takes money, and quite a lot of it (especially now). Even if you farm the mats, you are still technically paying to level because you lose the potential income of just selling those mats outright.

Simply put, the difference between buying gear on the TP and the value of the goods to make said piece is pretty minimal… add to that the cost of leveling the profession and you need to do a LOT of crafting to actually make a long-term profit. Some people are fine with that, but I can agree with people stating crafting in its current form is just a glorified gold sink.

These suggestions would just be a small perk for people that have a maxed profession. Like I stated, since these items are already in the game elsewhere, this won’t make crafting required… but gold sinks need a reward, and crafting right now honestly doesn’t have one.

(I don’t count legendary/ascended gear as rewards because the costs for these are oppressive outside of the cost to get crafting leveled… This is the difference between an item being a reward and crafting being a requirement for an item.)