Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: From a Weaponsmith How would DE's feel about this.
Combat classes have to group together to be sucessful in SWG's and now with the talk of adding more droids to the DE class I think this gives a good opportunity to make crafters that work together have advantages.
I think the DE's should be able to make basic armor, weapons, shields for their combat droids so even if they don't get componants from any other classes they can still make the droids.
But to get the best weapons/armor/shields they have to turn to other crafters like Weaponsmiths or Armorsmiths. Also for the medic droids that are being proposed they have to get some componants from doctors too ?
Playing as a Master Weaponsmith I'm not a Master Artisan so I do have to get componants from them sometimes I would enjoy if this was expanded also.
Droid Engineers can already build amour modules for droids and we already require components from armoursmiths to make the top armour modules. Level six armour requires a composite armour panel.
Personally, I'm against it.
One reason that leaps to mind is that for every part you need to purchase from someone else - the price increases. They make profit. I need to make even more profit to absorb that cost.
And while it is true that combat classes have to group to take on some of the high end challenges of the game, they don't have to buy goggles from a master gogglemaker to reduce glare so they can pull the trigger in sunlight. Have gun - will travel.
Same with CH. They are not required to go and buy soothing music cassettes from entertainers to sooth the savage beast (Yes, I KNOW the quote is breast...) Have pet - will munch.
Doctors don't have the overhead of having to find nurses to squeeze affection from so each little medicine carries a hint of healing love...
As DE, we are already on a par with the other professions. We require rare resources, resources from master artisans, have a limited range of stock (Ok, You're a pistoleer. You can only shoot herbivores - the carnivores are for riflemen!) to sell and make and can't compete at the moment with organics. Maybe that will change - maybe it won't. Either way, it's going to be a LONG process and I would much rather function on getting things going and available to us than adding yet another layer of complexity to the mix.
Not saying it should never happen - just that it is not something I would even remotely endorse withing the foreseeable future for our class.
Rgs
Io-Accar
Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if very high-end combat capabilities required weaponsmith components. It fits with high-end armor requiring armorsmith components. What I would want though, is for them to indeed BE simple components. For instance, our armor modules at levels five and six require composite armor segments. Not full breastplates or anything, just those little segments. Similarly, I don't see why crafting a more powerful combat droid would not require, say, blaster power handlers and barrels or some such.
I would say put those requirements only into the highest-end combat droids/combat modules, so that we don't incur that dependency until well-advanced in our profession. Again, this fits the current armor model which I find works fine, with the exception that there's no real benefit to making the higher end modules if you're putting them in an advanced enough chassis.
Vampiric_Hoshi wrote:Droid Engineers can already build amour modules for droids and we already require components from armoursmiths to make the top armour modules. Level six armour requires a composite armour panel.
Well how do you like that would you mind if it was expanded ?
Beladan I understand what you're saying but it does create its own pricing limitations, a Weaponsmith wouldn't charge very much for the items you needed. They know you're only buying them to sell the end product, so you wouldn't be willing to pay a high price for what you needed. This is already how it works with items that I've needed from other crafters.
I don't see this as a way to stunt DE's but just to make crafters be in communication with each other and work together more.
Droid_Engineer_Rho wrote:Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if very high-end combat capabilities required weaponsmith components. It fits with high-end armor requiring armorsmith components. What I would want though, is for them to indeed BE simple components. For instance, our armor modules at levels five and six require composite armor segments. Not full breastplates or anything, just those little segments. Similarly, I don't see why crafting a more powerful combat droid would not require, say, blaster power handlers and barrels or some such.
I would say put those requirements only into the highest-end combat droids/combat modules, so that we don't incur that dependency until well-advanced in our profession. Again, this fits the current armor model which I find works fine, with the exception that there's no real benefit to making the higher end modules if you're putting them in an advanced enough chassis.
I agree it should only be for the highend droids and also I think you still should be able to craft the droids without having the extra componants just they wouldn't be as good. It's not a nice feeling though to not be able to craft something even if its just to try it out.
I agree with the idea. When I started learning about the whole artisan tree, I assumed that the professions were far more interconnected in terms of the modules they would require from each other. Granted, I'm not suggesting that there should be a high interdependence, but just some so that you'd have to seek out fellow artisans more often.
So if there was, say, a droid weapons module slot on probots, a DE could build the basic one, probably on par with a CDEF. And then a weaponsmith could build the more advanced weaponry.
There is the argument of cost, but I think the prices based on the value of the product will take care of themselves. For example, right now the probot's weapon is 'CDEF-like' (compared to creatures) and look at how much probots are sold for. Then just imagine if you started putting weapons in probots on par with laser rifles and higher. Customers would be getting a much more valuable droid, and the smiths would make a very healthy profit.
And the same goes for armor & armorsmiths.
Of course, such an idea is far from being implemented, as the game's droid infrastructure cannot support it at all. It would be like trying to build a Space Shuttle out of legos.
I agree. Although we already have some dependencies:
- Armorsmith components for higher end armor
- Architect components for power droids
- Master Artisan components for almost all our droids
Basically, we don't depend from weaponsmiths because ... well... our best combat droids do 50 damage.
I don't want more combat droids. The probot is just fine, if only it had an extra optional module for a weapon from a weaponsmith, then I could make an acid damage probot, a fire damage probot, a blast probot, etc.
In my opinion, too many of the items required for the majority of DE parts is dependant on other professions.
All the main droids require an Advanced Droid Brain.. an ADV Brain requires 8 Master Artisan components. Straight off the mark this leaves a DE with two choices;
Go Master Artisan
Buy Master Artisan parts
By going MA it means a DE is VERY restricted to what he can then learn.. for one thing, it means a DE can never be a high-level marchant unless the DE has NO combat skills. That in itself makes things VERY limited.
Then there are things like the Customisation Tool .. this tool has a limit to the amount of times it can be used. To most DE's that limit is 2-4. Since almost all droids require 2 paints to customise, it means you will almost always use up one tool on one droid. This tool requires two components. One of which is a Master Artisan tool.
The Power Droid requires a Power Core, which is a high-level architect component. Architects claim these are a "pig" to make, and as such the average price for one is 8k.
Seeker and Arakyd (BH) droids require the GP and Memory module (same Master Artisan components as the ADV Brain).
Probots require a micro sensor suit, again another Master Artisan component.
Level 6 armour requires a composite armourplate from armoursmiths.
This boils down to nearly EVERY droid a DE makes requiring a non-DE part. To then change high-end modules such as medical and combat to require even MORE non-DE parts... its just getting too much.
In theory, it would be great. I enjoy having suppliers ... but in practice it doesnt work. These are a few main issues it creates:
- Limits the "on-call" ability of a DE ... requiring external DE parts means a DE can only build when those parts are available. Finding people to craft parts for can be very difficult more many, especialy European's like myself who tend to play on weekends at times when many American players are asleep
- Increases the overall cost a DE has to pay to make a droid. Its aready hard enough selling droids at 20k .. anything higher and no one wants to know. Anything lower and you start losing money
- Doesn't work in reverse ... if a DE requires parts from another profession, that profession should in-turn require parts from a DE. Currently only Architects requirea DE component, and they only need ONE component (droid storage compartment) which I beleive is an optional component and not a necesity
Like I say, dependancy is good.. but right now too much of DE is dependant on Master Artisan... its begining to look like we can't make our own things 
Obi007, check this post i just made: http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=droid_engineer&message.id=34499... it shows how the combat droid could be made while requiring weaponsmith items
Like I said, dependancy is a good idea, but I gues my main problem with is that it needs to work both ways. If a DE has to be so dependant on other professions, then those professions should also be dependant on DE
If they were to add dependance on weaponsmiths I would definitely want a lessening of the reliance on Master Artisans.
So in summary, yes... IF they reduce our dependance on Master Artisans
We have more dependancies than any other crafting class bar none.
Let's get weaponsmiths some massive dependancies on US first. Then worry about us on them.
