Artisan Archive

Hello all,

Please use this thread to debate what our next question to the developers should be.

Our last two questions and answers can be found:

Our Question Answered
Our Question Answered 5/5/04

As our last two questions have revolved around improving artisan/Master artisan, I would recommend a different focus this time.

Some suggestions:

1) Artisan Mission fixes/enhancements: Artisan mission provide much needed income to crafters just getting started. We would like to see some changes/fixes in them. First, currently Artisan missions difficulty level scales with combat ability, not crafter ability. This requires the crafter to either be good at combat or to group with someone good at combat to increase their mission payout. Artisan missions should scale on crafting skill. Second, crafting missions should require the crafter to make a real item, not a 'fake' item with 'fake' parts given by the NPC. The crafter could be required to make a crafting tool, for example, of at least 50% quality (just as one idea). The mission would only assign items that the crafter has schematics for, of course. Can these ideas be implemented?

2) Artisans possess a unique skill tree in all of the professions of SWG: Surveying. This skill allows the artisan to look for resources on a planet and to 'hand-mine' or sample the resource for it's quality. Higher skill levels result in longer survey range and greater sample sizes. Would it be possible to take this skill in resource discovery/recovery and translate it into a bonus to harvested resources when using harvesters? For example: Survey 1: +5%, Survey 2: +10%, Survey 3: +15%, Survey 4: +20%, Master Artisan: +25%

3) Artisans posess a unique set of schematics: repair tools. These tools allow the repairing of degraded weapons, armor, and clothing. There is considerable debate on how repairing works. There is no apparent repair skill, nor is there any documentation on the repair process. Is there an 'invisible' repair skill? There is some anecdotal evidence that elite crafting masters (weaponsmiths, armorsmiths, and tailors) have a better chance of successfully repairing an item from their field than someone without those skills, using the same quality repair tool. Other evidence exists that it is strictly a random roll based upon the quality of the repair tool. Either way, repair risk is very high, even on top quality tools and crafting masters, and impossible to guage. We suggest that Artisans be granted a repair skill. This skill would be in our skill trees. Weapon and Armor repair would increase up the engineering line, clothing repair up the Domestic Arts line. A documented repair skill, and obvious repair risk (as with the risk in experimentation), would be a boon not just to the artisan, but to all players. A 'field repair' skill would be a most welcome enhancement to our profession. Can this vision happen?


These are but a few examples, please chime in with your own. I don't know how long we have, perhaps Wednesday of this week or next week, but we should reach consensus soon.

Take care,

Guruweaver,

Thanks for letting us know about the last two questions. It seems the harvester certification idea has been around for a while. And it was interesting to see Sinist "quit" one prior time. Lol.

I can see two excellent lines of questions regarding (1) enhancing the survey line or (2) specifically making the time/credit average rewards of artisan missions in line with combat missions. As things stand now, the only real market forcrafted goods is the player market. While it is nice to see players depend on crafters for goods, I am not so sure that crafters should absolutely depend on the player market for basic income such as that needed to run their harvs. The fact that artisan missions are often very time-consuming I think means that beginning artisans have a hard time finding the money to run their harvs...at least I did.

My preference would be a survey line question. Of course, I'm one of the more vocal proponents of harvester certs, so my preference may be skewed by that fact.

Question: The surveying line of artisan skills relates both to locating resources and obtaining resources. Since under present game mechanics, anyone with a waypoint can harvest resources as well as a survey-4 artisan or master artisan, many folks who use harvesters drop the survey line of artisan and get waypoints from friends or guildmates (or sometimes purchase them for a pittance). Would you consider granting folks who have the survey line some sort of bonus or certification with regard to resource extraction so that crafters who use harvested resources would have a reason (beyond finding a spot) to keep the artisan survey line and those who keep master artisan would receive a return on the points invested in the survey line more in keeping with what the return would be if these points were invested elsewhere?

This question is a bit more open-endedthan yours, Guruweaver. And intentionally so because I would rather the devs give some thought to this (if they are so minded) rather than just say yes or no to specific percentages. Of course, I'm new and your experience may show you that if you don't ask for something specific the devs will just say something pleasing and do nothing. I don't know.

I like the repair one.

I actually don't like the repair one. I know master armorsmiths who don't wear the title because they don't like to get tells asking them to repair things.

I project that if artisans get a repair skill we will constantly be in tell h*edit*ll from people asking us to repair their items and not wanting to pay us much. Moreover, many of these people will want us to come to them. And...it the result is poor...the customer will likely be unhappy. I'm actually much happier making repair tools and selling them than I would be conducting repairs on items I'm not able to make. I say leave those repair tells to the armorsmiths and weaponsmiths, please. So that I can wear the master artisan title without inconvenience. Heck...I may still wear the master artisan title when I master armorsmith which should be soon.

I'm voting for the Artisan mission fix (question #1)...this should scale to the crafting ability not the combat ability...many players don't want their crafting character to have to invest in combat skills just to get better missions..

Has anyone ever asked the Devs regarding giving more lots to artisans (say via Master or such)?

I really like the second question about giving a bonus to harvesting to those who have points in the surveying line. That way nothing is being taken away from other players who have not invested in surveying, so no one can cry "nerf", but for those of us who have invested points, we get a little something for it.