Architect Archive
Thread: Which Architect Type are you?
I had a PA behind me... that was more like having 2 people behind me.
I ran missions to pay harvesters for 10hours a day.
I had more lots than most, not because PA members gave them to me, but because i traided and people would give me acouple of there lots in exchange for a small house when i got enough ore.
now what do i do? fill large orders, and have my aprentice work his way up. I don't under charge, but i give great rates.. diference? i make more than i could if i where still running those delivery missions.
Week 1-2: I am a guild-supported architect whose main goal was to get to master as fast as possible and get the guild hall placed. To do this, the combat divisions supported me with anything I asked, as should any guild have done that had our goal. I did not have to pay to get to master arch, and being one of the first on my server (the one in the lead being an imp) paid for all training from the npc. I had as many as 60 harvesters running at one time, with some help in the actual harvesting. Clearly lots were never an issue, and still aren't. I don't use heavies that often because of this, tho I am converting over.
Weeks 3-4. Now I had to settle in, start paying my way. I sold some PA Halls and houses to maintain costs, and dramatically dropped harvesting. I made harvesters, factories and houses for free to anyone in the guild that needed one, as well as furniture and stations. I helped many of our other crafters with free harvesters and factories. I stared weaponsmith.
Weeks 5-present. Still making harvesters et al for free for all guildies, as resources allow. Harvesters and factories are always free and first priority. Houses may have to wait, depending on resources. I never profit from guidlies tho. I give good deals to allied guilds (essentialy I charge them the cost of the materials, and will attempt combines for free is they have their own materials). I mastered weaponsmith.
I still have arch, tho my main focus is on weaponsmith now. I will support my guild this year with arch duties, which I will not be compensated for, nor will I ask. This is what a guild architect does in my guild. I know you guys think its the easy street for us spoiled guild archs, but it is just a different role we play in this profession. A necessary one for a prosperous guild.
I'm a guild supported crafter, 100%. I get free resources.
Now, before any of you start having a tantrum and scream, here's the second half of the deal:
I give everything (everything) I make to the guild for free. I make 0 profit, only exp. Guild sells everything I make at 4c/resource
So realize for a second that these "types" (yich!) are not in any way representative of the architect community. Not every guild supported crafter is what you portyray them as, evil people who destroy the market and make a lot of money with no effort. There are a few, I'll give you that. Thatdoesn't mean all architects supported by a guild are evil architects trying to corner the market.
I am equally disgusted by your "Type Two," which is apparently a crafter without a guild. You rant about the evils of player associations, how they've destroyed you're business and you have been abused. I don't see why they are abused any more than any other "type?"
Type Three is a bland, grudging recognition of people like me. It does not acknowledge any PA involved, to continue with your rhetoric of the evil megacorp.
Why do you have to create a type and otherize some groups? All you do is foster hate-feelings toward guilds of all sorts, regardless of their policies or their intentions.
Ockibis Genock
Halfway through architect (woohoo!)
Sabacc League
Corbantis
Well you didn't quite nail my type. I've played solo. I have never been given any money or resources. I mined about 90% of every resource I've used. The fastest person I knew that hit master architect hit about 2-3 weeks faster than I did but he was guilded and had 10 buddies give him resources.
Now about filling voids, I have not. There still is a demand for structures and what not, but the problem is 3 fold.
- Too many Master Architects are causing a huge supply surplus which lowers prices.
- Without having any degredation of our structures all purchases turn into one time ordeals. This further decreases demand over time.
- Lastly the highest demanded items are factories followed by harvesters. For a measely 15 skill points you can make every factory and4 of the 5 medium harvesters. Since it doesn't matter whether you have 100 experimentation points or 0 any class can easily and quickly pick up architecture. This is something I've been seeing more and more lately.
Due to these 3 issues I haven't sold any structures as of lately. Like I said not because the demand doesn't exist, but frankly because I feel that my time and resources are worth 10 cpu. That puts my factory price at 135K. I have effectively priced myself out of the market. Does this bother me? The answer is no. I make more money on resource speculation and weaponcrafting, along with using less of my time, then I ever would with architecture.
It's nice to be able to make my own structures, but is it worth the 70 odd skill points? I haven't yet decided...
You ever consider buying ore to keep up with your demand?
Hypnosia wrote:
my only gripe is that they consistently keep ore at such low rates on most planets it's hard to make more than 1 large harv per day. last few days, i've yet to see anyplace on Naboo, Tatooine, Rori that has more than 55% ore. (Flurry server) they really need to balance the ore supply so we as architects can at least do more than 30 minutes of work per day.
Daynn, that's why I rephrased and called them Phases.
WoodenTaco-No, Type Two could have a guild, but he didn't start with one. My whole point to writing this was just out of frustration at the direction the architect community is going. The Type Two architect is the ones that are currently selling at 2 creds/resource because they think that's all they can get, and are the ones that get offended when others try to help them out with their prices.
As you, yourself, embody more than one type,so do we all.Some of usgo through one phase and not another, we all go through some of them, no matter who we are. And no, not all guild architects are horrid people, just alot of them are out of touch with other architects and the prices others need to make to survive, where guild architects are supported. I find in commendable that your guildmates sell your structures for 4 creds/resource. Good, you're not the problem I was mentioning, and honestly, even the guild architects that did do that and didn't have a clue what the rest of the arch community went through are gone. They've moved on, and we don't have to worry about them anymore. I did mention that up there. I'm not really trying to divide us, we're all part of this community. Most of us are dealing with the issue of people selling too low, that is the issue killing so many architects. You, being guild supported and not selling your own structures, can't see that part, and I don't expect you to, it's just not how the game is played by you. Nothing against you.
I could be grouped slightly with guild architects, I started out as my guild's leader and had access to my brother's and close friend's lots, I had an edge alot of people didn't have. But, even then, I paid all my harv upkeep, ran missions to get it, gave hundreds of thousands of my proceeds to my guildmates for training and to have fun with. I don't want to stereotype guild architects, as I I certainly could be classed as one, but we def don't all fit the mold. The architects I refer to, however, greatly affected the prices of our structures forever, and need to be criticized.
Rath, I completely agree with you. Decay of some type needs to be in structures. What it is and to be fair to other players, I actually don't know right now, but I haven't read the post with what I think is the best choice yet. One the ore bit, though, the issue is the price again. If you sell at 3/4 creds a resource, buying the ore demands that you have to charge more. On Starsider, we can't get away with that, I see from posts from folks on a couple other servers that it isn't the case on theirs, and how I envy them!
Daynn, sorry, need an edit button, your reply warranted a more in depth reply, as you do seem to be the better type of guild architect. To both you and WoodenTaco, I apologize for not making myself clearer.
The guild architects I refer to really aren't around any more. They were the ones who's guild sold for 1 credit a resource, who *cough* TIO*cough* would go onto other architect's posts on the Galaxy boards and hijack someone's pricing thread, telling them how horrid their prices were and how their guild architects priced at dirt cheap.That is what started our downhill slide of prices. Those of us without the complete financial and lot support of a large guild were very hard pressed to stay in the game, alot of us didn't. I think some of us actually quit the game. I have many architect friends I used to talk to who haven't been online since a couple weeks after release.
Guild architects now are combat characters, or they are examples such as you two, who continue in the profession because they like it, or they made too far to give up on it. For that, I salute you.
Rath, if Hypnosia's server is anything like mine, the ore goes for anywhere from 4-6 CPU. More often at the 6 than the 4.
Buying at that cost makes no financial sense unless you are trying to save a customer sale for some reason where you expect additional business later on.
If I bought all my ore at the 4CPU rate, or even half of it at that rate I'd lose out on most of the profits I'm making now. And we all know thats not a lot. How does that make sense unless you're willing to go run missions to recoup the money?
Right from the getgo I was 100% independant. I faught tooth and nail to make a sale... Selling small homes and cheap tables out of backpack to anyone who would pay a fair cost. Every person who messaged me saying that I was too pricy and they could buy what they need from X architect down the road for 1/3 the cost got a 10 minute lecture on how they are distroying the profession.
I got picked up by deadz guild, but remained independant.
It's a hard life, any when one day your looking at a bank account of 500k, the next day 200k, then 750k, 100k etc, you began to go numb from credit. All your credit is is borrowed time.
Our profession needs a break... people need to stop expecting their HOUSE (that BIG F***KING THING YOUR LIVE IN) to cost the same as a pair of shoes.
I, myself, am a combination of all three, and we just might all be going through Phases instead of being types. I started out with my small guild, so I have 20 harvesters, I moved into Type 2, trying to sell to support my harvesters, with everyone telling me they could get cheaper. I think I've matured into the Type 3 now, trying to hold on to at least 4-5 creds a resource, with still some guild lots helping. I don't know how I'd make numbers of major harvesters without the extra ore harvesters my guildmate's lots make possible.
So I guess I should rephrase my title. Which Phase architect are you? Phase 4 seems to be the Master Architect who is sick of the profession and where it is going, but holds onto it because of all the hard work it took to get there, and it proves useful to his friends and guildmates.