I’m not the first to bring up these problems, but I think too much of the discussion centers around supply/demand , which I think is overly simplistic and while a problem, not the underlying problem. While I have a few partial suggestions, none of them are a solution in themselves (ie they are not complete suggestions, and thus I don’t really think belong in the suggestions forum). Mostly I’d like to know Anet’s thinking on these issues, and in a more detailed way than the usual hand-wavy explanations.
Fine Material Gating:
Most seem to agree that these materials are in undersupply in ratio to recipe needs of common materials. Even the non-node materials like leather and cloth can be farmed faster than the needed fine materials. (Personally, I haven’t had issues with leather and cloth, Imo their shortage relative to ore/wood is significantly due to players not salvaging enough – ie all that crap selling for vendor + 1 on the TP)
However, I think supply/demand for fine materials is more of a symptom rather than the underlying issue. Its that they are required for crafting progression in the first place. Which is linked into the “baked in” stat gear we’re forced to craft, instead of blank non-stat’d versions. It boggles my mind that Anet so quickly ignored/forgot the lesson of Nightfall with insignias and inscriptions. But the baked in stats are integral to the system behind the second problem…
Discovery System isn’t discovery:
Don’t get me wrong, the concept is great, but the implementation is meh. Like several of Anet’s attempts to boldly innovate, it got iterated down to something overly simple and not too different from the MMO mainstream. Discovery has a very basic pattern:
Tier X subcomponent A + Tier X subcomponent B + Tier X Fine Material = Tier X component w/ +stats of fine material
Its not discovery, its pretty routine. Its actually tedious and more annoying to have to drag 3-4 items over to “discover” something than to repeatedly hit the craft button in another MMO. Its grind that has been dressed up, and the dressing actually makes the grind worse.
So, what we have is a crafting system mechanistically like most other themepark MMOs, but with a side system, discovery, which actually makes the grind worse, not better as intended.
I don’t claim to have the solution, though I have some general ideas of the direction. Discovery, it seems to me, should be a mini-game that represents/simulates the character learning things, not the player applying a rather simple formula. The mini-game doesn’t need to be complex itself, but should have some element which is dynamic enough to make it interesting from “discovery” to “discovery” and not repetitively formulaic as it is now. Of course, figuring out what a good mini-game is the reason, in theory, I pay Anet money for their product.
There are other elements, which can be introduced a bit at a time, that could really let Anet turn what is a pretty meh MMO crafting system into something more interesting. Like blank stat items and insignias as upgrades. A blueprint system that let you craft any lower level crafted skin as a higher level armor. Eg seeker blueprint + higher tier subcomps = higher tier seeker armor – but maybe integrate this into whatever discover mini-game might be created. Or allowing the crafting of salvage kits and gathering tools (these are not actually gold sinks, since they add more value to the economy than they remove).
In short, bandaging the current system with supply/demand tweaks won’t help. If there are not the resources to give crafting a real makeover, focus on the rest of the game and leave the economy to go as all themepark economies go – a place to sell loot. (insert pun about salvaging the system…)