Allow us to craft in bulk?
First world virtual problems.
I would not be opposed to crafting items in bulk, but maybe let them fix all of the other bugs first.
Te Nosce [TC]
It would be such a quality of life change, though!
But you are totally right ofcourse, it’s a first world problem, but when you start counting seconds of your life, you go mad!
So… There’s that.
When refining mats, which can take a little while, there are all sorts of things you can do:
- In game: chat, salvage, re-arrange inventory, sell off excess mats and put in buy orders for approaching needs, check the TP, write a guild notice, etc.
- Almost in-game: check the forums, add a +1, post something, check qT’s latest builds, listen to Wooden Potatoes, read the ANet blog, check the wiki
- Not in-game: stretch, tease the cat, refresh my beverage (don’t forget to hydrate!), recycle the beverage to the environment (yes, a euphemism).
There are a couple of reasons why game companies don’t want insta-craft:
- There are economic implications: crafted items become less valuable, the easier they are to craft — people pay a premium to save them time.
- There are gameplay implications: people value crafting less if it becomes too easy. It becomes just an obstacle rather than an activity.
ANet doesn’t always find the best balance, of course. Still, it’s pretty good in this game compared to most.
You are right, it’s a minor thing… Buuuut…
I don’t agree on their balance on this matter. Or any of their balance for that matter, but that’s an endless discussion for the Class forums.
I would have to do a needless amount of pre-planning if all I wanted to do was craft 400 bolts of silk(the example in this discussion) for your multi-task… “Solution” to be feasible, when it would be much simpler to allow me to craft simple materials in bulk.
It’s also completely ridiculous to expect me to keep a messy inventory just so that I can sort it on the off-chance that I am going to be crafting massive amounts of basic materials, when it’s much easier to simply clean it regularly and not have to worry about it at all.
There’s no way to speed up crafting in the game either, so there’s no paying a premium to get it quick, as no such service is offered by ANET.
400 bolts of silk would not become any less valuable if it took 1 minute less to craft them, so the economy wouldn’t suffer.
There should be no reason some items are quicker to craft than others. First time crafts, sure, for flair, ofcourse, but after that, allow me to craft items in bulk, and stop wasting my time within the game I am already trying to waste my efficiently time with, WITHOUT having to waste a lot of time pre-planning just because I want to craft huge amounts of basic stuff.
And no, I am not talking about crafting equipment in bulk, or ascended daily items in bulk, the time-gate is there for a reason, I simply want to not have to waste time watching a yellow bar go from left to right 400 times for Mithril, Elderwood, Ancient Wood, Orichalcum, Silk, Gossamer, you kittening name it, before I can finally play again.
It’s incredibly time-wasting, and it’s such a simple QoL change, that I see no good reason not to have it other than “It’s an MMO and MMO’s have to waste your time”. It’s a horrible trend that needs to die… At least for the crafting of simple materials. I get that MMO’s need to pad out their content to sustain interest.
(edited by TwiceDead.1963)
There is a way to speed up crafting; buy the crafted items from the TP. Otherwise, there would be no refined Mats on the TP.
I’d support bulk crafting but in the meantime either craft little and often to stop it all building up (which helps with storage too) or let a huge amount build up then set it going and tab out and read your emails, twitter, forums, whatever.
Also whilst it is crafting you can organise your inventory, trade on the TP, fiddle with your build etc.