Droid Engineer Archive

Nope this is not yet-another-thread asking "Do we need Master Artisan to be a DE?" Rather this concerns item #21 in Thunderhearts "Answers for the list of Droid Engineer Questions.":

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21.) Why are Droid Engineers dependant on Master Artisan components directly or indirectly (subcomponents of components) for at least 41 of the items in the Droid Engineering lines, but no other crafting profession even begins to approach this level of dependency?

We agree. In the not too distant future, either all dependencies are going up or your dependencies are going down. Its way too early to talk about which way that’s going to go at this point in time…

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Has anybody heard anything further regarding this? I read most, but not all, posts and don't recall hearing anymore discussion of this. And what's the general sentiment on where (or even if) they should move? My personal preference would be to see them move somewhere, maybe distributed (as opposed to dropping them all into Eng 4),into the Engineering tree. Not only would thatprevent DE's from becoming a "dependence" (Lord knows I have enough trouble making enough GP, Mem modules, etc. for my own use! lol) but would give pre-Novice DE's something useful to craft on their way to DE . . . Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Voco Ackopogo

I think dependence should go down between professions, even if the elite profession is based off of another. I don't want to be hunting down architects for power core units and weaponsmiths for blaster power handlers and armorsmiths for shield generators/composite armor segments just to build a low level droid that can blast a durni. The dependencies slow the game down for me and they should be lightened up.

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StrayCat1212 wrote:
I think dependence should go down between professions, even if the elite profession is based off of another. I don't want to be hunting down architects for power core units and weaponsmiths for blaster power handlers and armorsmiths for shield generators/composite armor segments just to build a low level droid that can blast a durni. The dependencies slow the game down for me and they should be lightened up.

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With respect, I tend to disagree. I enjoy getting out to meet more folks in this game and this is one way of doing it. Does not slow anything down for me because I am in no hurry to go anywhere. If nothing else, it gives me more items to put up on my vendor for sales and provides other vendors to make money off me when I need their goods.

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StrayCat1212 wrote:
I think dependence should go down between professions, even if the elite profession is based off of another. I don't want to be hunting down architects for power core units and weaponsmiths for blaster power handlers and armorsmiths for shield generators/composite armor segments just to build a low level droid that can blast a durni. The dependencies slow the game down for me and they should be lightened up.

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I also disagree. I like the interdependence that Droid Engineers have with other classes (though the MA dependence is a bit extreme) and think that all of the other elite crafting professions should have the same sort of interdependence. Either that, or they need to make MA a pre-requisite for DE.

Note that if you make MA a pre-requisite for DE (instead of just EngineeringIV)our inter-profession dependency level drops down to a level similar to the other elite crafting professions. At that point we only need power cores from Architects and composite armor segments from Armorsmiths. (That's off the top of my head... I might have missed something else.) If they want an "easy" way to "fix" the interdependency balance, that's the way to do it.

Of course, that would cause a huge pile of other problems, such as what do they do with all of the Droid Engineers who are not already Master Artisans.

I am concerned though that with the revamping of the profession and our current dependencies, that whole thing can get very ridiculous very quickly. This "Droid Invasion" stuff has combat ability as the main selling point. That could include Weaponsmith parts to make the combat offensive module. That could include more of a dependence on Armorsmiths for composite armor segments or maybe shield generators. That could include larger power units from Architects that is needed to power this module. Mix that in with Artisan parts and maybe a Chef refrigeration item to store my cold beer in the droid and that leaves me with very little profit in my pockets. Are there dependenciesthat exist going back to us? Are the other crafting professions as complicated with the number of parts needed to build just the sub-components for the final product?

I guess what I am trying to say is that I would rather prefer interaction with other professions rather than a dependency on them.

I like interdependence between the professions, but I think they should be more balanced. Some people on this board claim that you don't need to be Master Artisan to be a DE, and while that is is technically true, the quote above shows devs recognition of the fact that DEs' dependencies are out of balance right now.

As I've posted elsewhere: we are not tied to the present and apperantly aribtrary "reality." Just because it is the way it is doesn't mean it can't be better or more balanced. As it stands right now, DEs have too many dependencies on other profession with not enough dependencies in other professions dependant upon us.I think interdependencies need to be adjusted.

Generally, though, as I said, I like collaborating with other professions. Some how the pet wars wouldn't be so bad too me if they were cybernetic pet wars, with DEs and BEs collaborating to create both droids with bio-components like brains and creature pets with droid components like robotic limbs and claws. It would be cool if we could get high quality armor segments from armorsmiths for variable resists. Differing damage types for droid weapons from weaponsmiths would be cool too.

But a situation where we are dependent on high level components from other professions while they only need parts that any Novice DE can build would be inequitable. Balance is needed here.

If/when combat droids arrive I only see our dependancies going upwards and fast.

I believe that the low end items of elite crafting should be fairly independent, but that the high end items should be dependent on several classes. This would truly set dabblers apart from dedicated craftsmen who have taken the time to create business relationships with other masters in their fields. And not just for droids, but for all professions.

The same way the devs envision groups of people going after high endNPCs and creatures rather than one guy with 2 graul maulers and 3 AT-STs, I think that the toughest things in the game to build should be group efforts. So I'd like to see more interdependence at the upper levels. But maybe that's just me.

Yeah, fnck you too, one star pnssy.

Roukk,

IMHO, this has been a great thread! Not a single "bad" post (barring that last one of yours). Lots of good opinions were brought out on a subject that (again, IMHO) warranted some discussion. Don't worry if some jackass gets a charge out of clicking on the "one-star" radio button. Your opinion was thought out and well-worded -- who cares what anybody else thinks?

Voco