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I am a huge fan of the current crafting system, but it could use a few more items in its library. I know, Lokey said adding items isn't the fix, but I'm not proposing a fix/revamp here. I'm merely appealing for a balance in crafted items and world drops. For example, level 20 items don't have a generic (a la GM or IA) drop so as to increase the appeal of crafted items. And, for the most part, this logic permeates all required levels (1, 5, 9, 13, etc). My gripe is when the existence of an item-type within the crafting library is utterly useless, or when the lack of an item in the crafting library doesn't have a matching world drop, causing a lack of that item-type for a given level.
Useless items: crafted heavy plates and shields at levels 1-13 are utter crap. Crafted heavy armors are the 1/7 kind (so already 1 AC lower) and they have -1 AC enhancement from their equal-level store-bought counterpart, For a total of -2 AC vs store-bought heavy armor of the same category. Why would you ever craft that armor for low level use? There is no reason to ever craft it, not even the -20 lbs lightness is justification enough. Once you hit level 16, the progression picks up to current standards and there is no issue, but lower levels definitely suck. You should at least update these kinds of items to match store gear. It would make for a much more enjoyable leveling experience, having more useful craftables during your leveling progression 1-16. And no, it won't make store bought items obsolete. It's not like every STR toon takes up armor crafting. Only the armor crafter would be able to pass on store armors and shields, and it makes perfect sense that he should be able to. I understand that the armor crafting system was made back when items' AC progression was still as in NS3, but please do update the armor crafting AC and DI/DR to meet current standards. Moreover, I have NO issues whatsoever with there not being craftable slash shields or pierce heavy armor. This restriction actually enriches gameplay, making IA reinforced shields and IA mesh heavy armors coveted pieces of equipment. The end-game slash shield, Guardian of Celestia, and pierce armors like the Lolth plate variants are even more valuable and highly rewarding when acquired.
Lack of item-type: it seems that leather and medium armors are major points of complaint. Why are there no medium armors as part of the armor crafting library? Store bought medium armors are utter crap with split DI/DR, often times lacking the right damage type appropriate for typical lowbie leveling areas. Beyond level 20, medium armors are few and far in between. Medium armors are STUPID GOOD at level 35, but you're s**t out of luck until your toon hits 35. It would be awesome to be able to craft 5/2 and 4/4 medium armors of different DI/DR flavors. And why are there only 1x 2/6 and 1x 3/4 leather armors in the leathers library, and no choices for DI/DR in either category? By contrast, tailoring has cloth armors in all non-split DI/DR flavors. It would be cool to have more DI/DR types for each kind of leather armor and also 1/8 armors. For store bought leather armor, most of it is split DI/DR, just like medium armors. At levels beyond 30, the pickings are slim. Chanter's Shroud, Bahamut Copper Scales, or Zetch'r'r's Armor are all good and way better than anything you would be able to craft at level 30, so you're really not diminishing the value of those end-game armors by adding more leather armor variety to crafting. My point here is that you can fill in the item gaps by adding these underused armor types into the crafting system, boosting the usefulness of the craft, as well as not reducing the value of high-end drops.
On a less important note, some crafted items are unusable due to an NS4 error. These items are easily identifiable, as they cost 0xp 0gold to craft. Maybe you can fix those and enable them for use?
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