I’m seeing some missed opportunities in Guild Wars 2 crafting. It seems to have taken an approach made popular by other games, removed some of the hassle, and generally just streamlined existing ideas to varying degrees. This is probably very appealing to players who just want to get it done quickly and are familiar with the core approach, though it doesn’t seem to fully capitalize on the possibilities of creating new fun.
I’ve come up with some suggestions that both retain the familiar feel (because I’m realistic and don’t think there will be fundamental changes), but still try to add additional flavor or at least some improvements to the user interface.
The Longest of Lists
Having a huge long text list of items is unmanageable (and a bit boring). Sure, they can be collapsed, but how many clicks is that and what if I need stuff in the collapsed lists? Search? Something just seems off about that list.
Suggestion: Have the list on the left side, but do not show every single variation of each item. Instead, once I select “A Nice Sword” (for example), the right side is populated with that item, a preview would be lovely, as well as the items needed to craft it. In one of the boxes, I can then drag over (or select) the item that modifies which stats the sword will have. This would cut down significantly on clutter in the left side, and it would allow us to easily browse through items with a visual preview.
Alternatively, on the right side you could also provide a box with a selector for which variation of the sword you want to make. The boxes for variations that are yet to be unlocked could then have a question mark.
Variety
As with most MMOs I’ve played, the variety of items just seems to lack a bit. It no doubt takes time to add items into a game, so a lot of the crafted items look exactly the same.
Suggestion: It would be awesome if there were even some minor differences between the “same” items. I’m not sure what the most time consuming part of adding an item is – clipping adjustments? Actually creating the art? Putting it in the game? – but what about very minor tweaks to existing items? Maybe the medium level sword has some small feature differences from the lowest level? If the geometry of the sword stayed the same, could it not take the other sword’s parameters for positioning and clipping? Different color hilts? A tiny gem at the end? An engraving? Slightly different metal color?
Color
It would be fantastic if more recipes incorporated specific dyes. In light of the above, perhaps certain dyes could be added as a component to generate different results when creating an item, again to make some more variation.
Tiers, always the Tiers
I recently attempted to start a discussion about tiered crafting. Without regurgitating what was written, it seems that a huge part of crafting is just doing the same thing multiple times with materials of a different name. Tiny Claw, Somewhat Larger Claw, Average Sized Claw, Fairly Big Claw. It allows for an easy system, but it also introduces a lot of repetition and a great deal of useless items.
Suggestion: This is probably not something that will change, but I do think the UI could at least be modified to account for it. Instead of showing 5 potions with slightly increasing stats, couldn’t we just select the centaur slayer potion, and then in a similar fashion to the above suggestion, choose its strength by adding the correct material?
My gripe here is: who really needs +1% damage against rutabaga monsters at level 15? It’s hardly a single damage point in some situations.
Why not instead add some useful potions at lower level instead of just a tiered approach? A potion that grants you swiftness for 5 seconds (with a cooldown, obviously). Brief retaliation. Something that can make a difference in the heat of battle. Save the damage stuff for when the stats begin to make a difference. The trading post is brimming with useless unprofitable flasks made just to level.
Have a little potion icon in the UI that I can click so I don’t have to open my bag. Just let me drag my flask of choice into it and fight on until I need a boost.
Thoughts
Ideally, one would create skins and stats separately, which the transmutation stones allow somewhat, but it doesn’t feel integrated. I’d also love to see some more unusual item combinations create different things. Everything is just a bit too on rails right now. This is already long, so I probably shouldn’t get into fundamental changes!
(edited by Kosmo.5187)