Forums » Crafting and Gathering

Ranked Crafting?! Crafting Halls?

    • 97 posts
    February 8, 2021 3:37 PM PST

    What do you think about the idea of "Ranked Crafting"? Where your crafted wares' quality and your name are registered & measured in contest, against others.

    This allows the players to consult the global list of the top crafters and their associated top-notch wares. Could also be a way of advertising ;)

    Your ranked tier would determine the reward payout + bragging rights ofc. Like any other ranked season, crafting ranked seasonal statistics would be reset after a while to allow newcomers a chance against the veterans.

    Another related idea is this.  Players must be present in a Crafting Hall to participate in the contest. So, if the player doesn't want to participate in the ranked shenanigans, then they don't have to.

     Btw...this idea was executed on Ragnarok Online back in the day before the mechanic was ruined by a pay2win model.


    This post was edited by Jiub at February 8, 2021 3:56 PM PST
    • 1992 posts
    February 8, 2021 6:57 PM PST

    With a strong base of active crafters in the game, I could easily see this coming along in an expansion.

    • 83 posts
    February 9, 2021 8:47 AM PST

    Eh... I'm not really sure an objective way of measuring that sort of thing is a good idea. It's easy to game, and really the best measure of a crafter is how reliable or how affordable they are. "Best ever crafted item" is just another way for the top guilds to flex on people and I'm pretty sure they don't need that.

    • 768 posts
    February 9, 2021 11:46 AM PST

    Commercials and marketing should call for pricings. Aside of that there should always be room for new players to advertise parallel to veterans.

    In cities there could be multiple bulletinboards that allow players to deposit a tag. 

    Depending on the tag, it could be up for 1 day or 1 week.  If those bulletinboards are placed with some thought into it, it could leave room for new players to "capture" a hotspot. 

    A solution could be that if you've managed to purchase/deposit your tag on a post. When your time runs out, you will not be able to post on that same spot for X duration. How long this period is, could be calculated based on the difference between your level and the max level range of the board itself. So the bigger the difference, the longer you're not able to post on it. This keeps potential more (or more frequently) room to crafters/character of that exact level range. And thus, more efficient, more useful. Less risk of dominant playerbehaviour by veterans.

    And one such board could allow up to 10 players to put up a listing or demand tag.

    Now where ranking comes into place: if you manage to have different boards up, you can have boards in parts if larger cities that require more investment from the crafter/character doing the 'tagging'. But at the same time, you showcase your progress by having your name on it, you inform people about how far you are in the game. Or in other words, your progress, quality or reliability.

    The requirements to use a board, could differ. For example, it could prevent you from placing a tag on a board if you haven't reached a minimum requirement of that board/area where that board is placed.  This could be based on valuta cost to use that tagspot, faction of the area, pure level of the crafter/character. Another option could be, that each board does not allow more than 1-2 crafter(s) of the same guild to occupy a tag-spot on that board. This again to prevent pushing out player that aren't in a guild or from guilds blocking out the competition. Also the board could calibrate a base pricing, based on the crafter's or character's level. So a higher level player might pay more for the same spot compared to a lower level player.

    I can see this being a very lively feature, for a long time after launch. 

    It might not be the ranking you're looking for @jiub but if players understand the "reputation-element" behind those boards. It can be a proud accomplishment to have your name on the board (be that as a costumer or a supplier). 

    An add-on here, could be that the board itself keeps a listing of the last 50 or so tags on that board. So each board will keep record of the last 50 occupants. Which can be translated as: my name is 4 times on this board, which makes me the most populated crafter on this board. And depending on how difficult it is to access that board, this might be an accomplishment aka temporary moment of ranking. And this last thing also means that a new player could reach a higher temporary ranking compared to a veteran player. And that's an encouraging thought.

     Afterthought: the valuta cost to use a board could be calculated based on how quickly the spots on that boards are being taken. So a board that fills up quickly will be more expensive. If a board takes longer to fill up its posts, the costs will be lowered. Example; board has 10 spots, Spot 1 = 5gp and is taken within 5 minutes of becoming available => Spot 2 = 10 gp and is taken within 10 minutes of becoming available => Spot 3 = 15 gp, etc.    So pricing of the next spot on the board is based on how quickly the previous spot is taken, with spot 1 having a base cost determined by the boards' ID. (Well, I hope you get the point.)


    This post was edited by Barin999 at February 9, 2021 12:05 PM PST
    • 902 posts
    February 10, 2021 5:35 AM PST

    Im not sure a crafting league is really needed or necessarily desirable and I am not sure how the competition would work either? If you can make something, you can make it.

    Do you calculate the number of completed items in a time period? Base the competition on the craft level you are and what recipes you have access to? How do you measure reliability in a game where you click to make something and it is created or not? How can you measure one rare recipe against another; if two crafters have a rare each, which is better? This seems to me to be advantageous to those in big guilds that can afford the time to get every recipe out there and puts everyone else at a big disadvantage.

    Even if there was a good way to measure the best crafters, I wouldn't want to be a top crafter because every time you log on you would end up having 100s of messages asking to make stuff. 

    I dont get the tag thing either; are you saying that only those with a tag should be allowed to sell their crafted items? Everyone in an area should be allowed to show and sell their goods, not just the first 10 (or so) who manage to buy a tag. I also dont want to run around 3 or more boards when in a city to find the best price for a crafted item that I am after. I would suggest that tag system could be easily monopolised by a guild too. Ending up with only their crafters being listed and that would lead to a monopoly on selling crafted items in specific areas.

    The prestige of the crafter will be a natural reflection from the sales in an open marketplace. I'm fine with a city-wide market over a world market too, but it shouldnt restrict who can sell or not. There should be multiple boards, but they all should show everything that is for sale in the location (city, town, etc.). All players must be allowed to sell their goods and advertise the prices they want to sell at. 

    I do like the idea for advertising requests for specific items and the price they buyer is prepared to pay, though.

     

    • 768 posts
    February 10, 2021 12:14 PM PST

    chenzeme said:

    I dont get the tag thing either; are you saying that only those with a tag should be allowed to sell their crafted items? Everyone in an area should be allowed to show and sell their goods, not just the first 10 (or so) who manage to buy a tag. I also dont want to run around 3 or more boards when in a city to find the best price for a crafted item that I am after. I would suggest that tag system could be easily monopolised by a guild too. Ending up with only their crafters being listed and that would lead to a monopoly on selling crafted items in specific areas. 

    I'll quickly but shortly reply here. The bulletinboard or Tagboard or advertising board (however you want to call it) is not the only way for a demand and supply chain. The familiar method could still excist. The board system allows players to advertise their craft/willingness to do work orders. Even when those players are not online at the time. 

    If a board only allows for 2 guildmembers of the same guild to occupy that board, which has room for (as example) 10 occupants. That guild will not dominate this board. At best, it will occupy 2 spots. This is just an example, you could go 1 occupant of a guild per board. Multiple boards would allow members of the same guild to use the same feature, be it on different boards. Again this isn't for your every day crafter. It's for those that are interested in ranking/prestige or a true crafting carrier. Where most of their online time goes to crafting, for example. It's not restricting or preventing anyone to do commerce by any other means.

    And this could for the most part work in major cities. By making those listings a temporary thing, it allows new players to quite quickly be on par with veterans when it comes to advertising their trade. Where it might be more difficult if you'd only use auction or broker systems. 

    I'm fully onboard with an actual boot at the market. We'll have to see how VR works things out.


    This post was edited by Barin999 at February 10, 2021 12:16 PM PST
    • 97 posts
    February 11, 2021 10:15 AM PST

    @chez

    The way I thought it would work assumes there are quality metrics associated with the crafted item, not a flat model of simple translation of recipe -> item.

    Alchemical potions would have a potency, Blacksmith weapons/armour would have a finish, etc...

    Your crafting skill would influence where you end up on this range and improve your chances of hitting higher qualities, alongside the crafting equipment you used, and the suggested 'mini-game' Neph mentioned.

     

     

     

    • 520 posts
    February 12, 2021 1:48 PM PST

    If you are talking about simple crafting "mini games" or common rng quality - then it was discussed  couple of times before and as always I'm for it.

     If you are talking about some kind of competition, then basically this:

     

    Darchias said:

    Eh... I'm not really sure an objective way of measuring that sort of thing is a good idea. It's easy to game, and really the best measure of a crafter is how reliable or how affordable they are. "Best ever crafted item" is just another way for the top guilds to flex on people and I'm pretty sure they don't need that.


    This post was edited by Hegenox at February 12, 2021 1:48 PM PST