Guild Wars 2

This is written from the PoV of a casual player that only has an hour a day max in GW2.

Crafting has been unprofitable from the start, but it has two uses: quick leveling for a gold investment (not for casual players obviously, GW2 is very stingy with mats and gold drops in open world play) and fairly accessible way to make exotics once you reach 400.

Now the players working on their ascended items seem to suck all the globs of ectoplasm and T6 mats right out of the market, making their prices skyrocket.

At the current rate, dungeon tokens, karma and the TP will all get more attractive than crafting exotics, leaving crafting only as a curious sideshow for legendary gifts and powerleveling.

Surely that can’t be the intention?

Well, there are some stuff you can’t get from dungeon tokens. And those stuff at TP were crafted exotics. I don’t understand your question o.o

It’s literally quite easy to get materials for exotics if you just farm for the mats you need rather than buy.

Not so easy when the materials required for the exotics is also needed for your ascended pieces and thus you can’t make exotics for your alts because the ludicrous amounts required for ascended back pieces.

If you are casual. Then just know that after people have gotten all their ascended backpacks and such……the prices will again drop as demand lowers.

It will take time. But more and more people are getting them done.

For now, sell your mats! Make money off the demand!

To be honest, the more experienced I get with the crafting system, the more flawed I realise it is.

For one, as you get more experienced in playing the game and you level up all of the crafts, there is less need for materials below the top tier.
This reveals a critical flaw in the entire system; materials shouldn’t have been tiered, but what you can make should have been.
If you have all level 80 characters, anything below top tier has literally no value to you beyond selling.

It’s also a massive shame that things you were able to craft at a lower level become entirely irrelevant once you advance in crafting and levels. For crafting to feel useful, you should be able to craft things with low skill that retain their usefulness.

It would have been a lot better if ArenaNet had approached the system the same way they originally approached gear; that you could craft the useful stuff pretty much immediately, but later tiers would have allowed for crafting of many and varied styles (something crafting is severely lacking in).

It would have also allowed for characters that while they had never dealt a blow in their life, could make a living from crafting.
There’s also the problem that once you max a crafting skill, you no longer earn experience from crafting, even if you craft something you’ve never made before.

They did a lot of good work with the crafting system in GW2, but it’s a transient thing with no real long term reward. There’s also hardly any reason to craft things for other players. Material costs often outstrip what you can sell finished items for. But I suppose this is the problem when you’re dealing with a system where materials are essentially infinite and everyone can eventually do it themselves.
If they had somehow managed to make a system whereby people were able to add personal stylistic flourishes to crafted gear, there would be a viable and lively market for crafted gear.

@Azure: When I had 6 hours a day to play, I farmed whatever I needed in WoW. now I have at most an hour, less if you count all the days I don’t get around to playing at all. I told myself I wouldn’t go farming if it wasn’t fun, it’s just not worth my time. ANet more or less promised it wouldn’t be needed.
I like DE’s and run event chains in Orr, but then I run off to explore or do a different event, I don’t want to do the exact same chain again and again. I mine when I see a node nearby, but don’t go making circuits.

@Kumu: That’s the casual player’s problem: I don’t have mats stockpiled.

After a few days at 80, I have 1 Powerful Blood, 2 Vicious Claws and 10 Ancient Bones.
I have barely enough Ori and 25% of the Gossamer I need, but the 90 Armored Scales for a Knight’s set? And forget about also making a Berserker’s set to have some options.

I do hope you’re right about people finishing their Ascended backs soon, because at this rate I’ll be going for ugly karma vendor stuff, or I would be if Arah wasn’t bugged all the time.

Mungrul.9358:

To be honest, the more experienced I get with the crafting system, the more flawed I realise it is.

For one, as you get more experienced in playing the game and you level up all of the crafts, there is less need for materials below the top tier.
This reveals a critical flaw in the entire system; materials shouldn’t have been tiered, but what you can make should have been.
If you have all level 80 characters, anything below top tier has literally no value to you beyond selling.

It’s also a massive shame that things you were able to craft at a lower level become entirely irrelevant once you advance in crafting and levels. For crafting to feel useful, you should be able to craft things with low skill that retain their usefulness.

It would have been a lot better if ArenaNet had approached the system the same way they originally approached gear; that you could craft the useful stuff pretty much immediately, but later tiers would have allowed for crafting of many and varied styles (something crafting is severely lacking in).

It would have also allowed for characters that while they had never dealt a blow in their life, could make a living from crafting.
There’s also the problem that once you max a crafting skill, you no longer earn experience from crafting, even if you craft something you’ve never made before.

They did a lot of good work with the crafting system in GW2, but it’s a transient thing with no real long term reward. There’s also hardly any reason to craft things for other players. Material costs often outstrip what you can sell finished items for. But I suppose this is the problem when you’re dealing with a system where materials are essentially infinite and everyone can eventually do it themselves.
If they had somehow managed to make a system whereby people were able to add personal stylistic flourishes to crafted gear, there would be a viable and lively market for crafted gear.

No there wouldnt..not any more than there is now. The issue is availability of information. As soon as anyone found a recipe it would be on every website within moments. The discovery formula is too simple..people would logically conclude the recipes within weeks unless the mats were dramatically difficult to get. The problem with crafting is everyone can do it..so why pay someone else for anything save convenience?

Did you not see the bit about being able to add personal flourishes?
I didn’t mean just another formula, I meant something that would add a creative personal touch. That way, truly creative people would be able to make something that would have a value beyond its stats.

Mungrul.9358:

Did you not see the bit about being able to add personal flourishes?
I didn’t mean just another formula, I meant something that would add a creative personal touch. That way, truly creative people would be able to make something that would have a value beyond its stats.

How on earth are you possibly going to add anything..that someone else couldnt? just because you have found something doesnt make it so that only you can do it..if you can do it..anyone else with that crafting profession can….so again you are stuck with why should I pay you any more than convenience?

Because different people like different things?
You really can’t see this?
If ArenaNet give people the tools to express themselves creatively, certain talented crafters would be able to carve themselves a niche. Artistic talent is not easily copied.

Mungrul.9358:

Because different people like different things?
You really can’t see this?
If ArenaNet give people the tools to express themselves creatively, certain talented crafters would be able to carve themselves a niche. Artistic talent is not easily copied.

this is a very vague idea. there is no game I know of that allows you to add actual skill into any kind of crafting. you are talking about a programming intensive system where people make their own designs..yeah..that is never going to happen.

Kumu Honua.2751:

For now, sell your mats! Make money off the demand!

This is pretty much what I am doing. I am also going for the mystic forge ascended back piece that requires ancient bone, since you get those dime-a-dozen in Orr. I don’t really care if the ancient bone ascended back piece doesn’t give berserker stats. I am perfectly ok with not buying/farming powerful blood that are going for ~25s per and just selling them. I am also ok with the endless quiver’s condition damage, precision, toughness stats to balance out my armor.