I would like to make some suggestions to increase the viability of each profession. I will not list Biochem because that seems to have some teeth, but it's the only profession that appears to have any traction in this game. Some of the suggestions are trade window requests...in this case you would add a mechanic that would allow a player to place an item in the trade window to be boosted, sliced or converted, the other player can do the deed, and then only accept the trade once a tip is applied.

The other option is to allow players to simply convert any piece of armor to a schematic for a identical empty slot Orange adaptable gear item.

Armormech

I would suggest you allow Armormechs to convert any piece of heavy or medium gear to empty slot Orange gear. They would be able to do this in a trade window OR just convert armor and post it on the GTN. Can also repair heavy or medium armor, and strengthen armor to resist damage ( Called Reinforce, makes armor impervious to damage, only medium or heavy armor, one hour resistance, no damage even in death) Can also install dye slots on armor.

Armstech

This profession would benefit from the ability to modify weapons (with the exception of lightsabers) with temporary boosts to output, an ability called Overdrive. The effect would last for, say, one hour, and would increase damage output by 10 percent. Boost would not work in PVP. Again, allow the boost to be applied in a trade window.

Artifice

I would ask that you allow this trade to temporarily boost lightsabers in the same manner that Armstech can boost other weapons, and also the ability to permanently modify crystals to add a small boost to its current stats. 1 percent, always at least one point. Same trade window ability. Can also install dye slots in crystals that can hold primary or secondary dye sets, and manufacture dyes that can be used to change gear colors.

Cybertech

This trade would benefit from the ability to modify/boost mods of all types, 1 percent, always at least one point. In the case where more than one stat is available the application is random. This would be a permanent modification. I would also suggest that they be allowed to set a piece of armor to allow mod extraction one time with no cost. They would enable the free extraction in the window, and then the player would have 1 hour to remove the mods for free...after that the cost resets to normal. Can also install dye slots on speeders.

Synthweaving

I would like to see synthweaving allowed to convert any piece of light gear to empty slot Orange gear. They would also, like Armormechs, be able to do this in a trade window OR just convert armor and post it on the GTN. Can also repair light armor, and fortify armor to resist damage (only light armor, one hour resistance, no damage even in death). Can also install dye slots on armor.

Now for the gathering and odd skills.

Archeology - Ability to boost relics, 1 percent, at least one point.

Bioanalysis - Give boost to health regen rate, in combat and out, 10 percent, and instant full health self-revive buff, good for 24 hours, one 24 hour use. Not usable in PVP.

Scavenging - Ability to modify any armor piece to allow recoloring, any color, color choice is permanent after 1 hour. Could start system with just chest recoloring for now. Also boost to gathering rate by increasing gathering results for one hour.

Slicing - Ability to slice any weapon or armor to increase stats. Slice can provide from 1 to 10 percent boost to ALL stats, armor becomes bound, slice will fail if armor drops below 50 percent condition. 1% chance to slice to one higher quality item.

Treasure Hunting - Ability to boost loot quality for one hour. Increased chance to get higher quality drops from general mobs, does not include bosses or FP/Operations/Heroics, nor mission rewards.

Underworld Trading - Ability to gain a 10 percent boost in payout from all items sold to vendors, and a 10 percent cut in costs to purchase items and train for one hour. Also a boost to credit payout from standard missions for one hour.

Diplomacy - Ability to boost dark or light side payout by 10 percent for one hour, 5 percent XP boost for one hour. Boosts do not apply to FP/Operations but do apply to missions.

Side note: Colors would be Primary and extended only...Red, Green, Blue, Purple, Yellow, Orange, Black and White.

I would like to add a few suggestions to change how crafting works. I have already suggested legacy perks to reduce crafting time and/or increase critical results so I will not list those items here.

I would like to suggest that you allow crewmembers that are marked as idle (a setting you would choose) to go on bulk qued quests. A box would pop up, allowing you to que a number of quests (I suggest six) that you could send your companion on, one after another. You would have to pay up front for all of the quests.

The other suggestion would be to allow a hold box, similar to your hold box for your Cartel Market, that can hold crafting results. This way we would not get our bags filled with the crafting and mission results.

Remember, I left out Biochem because that profession doesn't seem to need any help.

Thanks for reading.

I admit I have only read what interested me the most (Synthweaving) and since I'm a Guardian Tank using Heavy Armor I strongly disagree, even if I could convert/repair/fortify other people's items for a fee, it wouldn't be the same as being able to repair and fortify my own. With the system you suggest I could either craft gear that I can use (with Synthweaving) or have the advantages you spoke of (with Armormech) but not both.

Crew Skill improvements shouldn't be tied to an item being light, medium or heavy.

I would just like to see more schematics for items that are competitive with the comms items. I spent a lot of time and credits building my crafting on my two toons only to reach 50 and find out that everything I make (except the custom weapons my armstech can make) are useless past level 49. Unless I just have not seen them anywhere, I will never make any armor past grade 22. Nor barrels. Nor mods. My cyber can make droid parts but who actually uses their droid in the field? Is there even a market for custom droid motors? Armorings and mods bought with comms outdo anything I can make and you get enough comms to upgrade at least one outfit piece per day. At the end of a week, my crafting is moot. All I have left are grenades that I seriously doubt there is a market for the same as the droid parts. I can make starship parts but none that I have tried to put on GTN ever sold. My orange grade earpieces with an augment slot and an augment in place have so far outlasted anything that I can get with daily comms. So that might be the only thing I have to offer from cyber. I have not seen any schematics for sale from fleet vendors with comms for armorings, mods, or earpieces. If there are any, would someone mind tipping me where to look?

My arms skill has augmentations. So far, I have not seen those offered for comms. I looked through the vendors on fleet and have seen no schematics purchasable with comms for barrels or augments. If there are some, would someone mind tipping me where to look?

My next character is going to be artifice, maybe... I am reluctant to do more than slice and sell the harvests to those who craft and need sliced parts as well as their underworld etc parts from the two main skills they gather with while needing a third.

Some interesting ideas.

I'm a cybertech and I'm mostly focused on doing operations. I love being a cybertech, but there's not a day I don't feel tempted to switch to biochem to take advantage of the rakata adrenals.

What I would like to see is crew skills other than cybertech and biochem useful in PvE. Right now, cybertech has the reusable grenades, which are annoying to use (15 meters range) and are also on the global cool down and biochem has the reusable rakata adrenals. With exotech adrenals being prohibitively expensive, this means that biochems have a clear advantage in terms of PvE performance. None of the other crew skills provide any boost to performance that are unique to them.

This needs to be remedied.

Cybertech - Remove the GCD restriction on the cybertech grenades, increase the range to 30 meters.

Synthweaving, Armormech, armstech - Access to improved augments, limit of 2 equipped that provide a benefit equivalent to the averaged power/stats that biochem would get if using their adrenals on cooldown.

Artifice - Augment only usable on a relic that has a clicky effect that is balanced to similar levels to the other crew skills, one that boosts healing, dps or mitigation.

These are just suggestions, but I feel the other crew skills do need to provide an equivalent boost in performance that biochem in particular, provides.

I certainly like the ability to convert ANY item into an Orange/Customisable piece of equipment. Empty Slots seems a fair trade off for this and it would then allow significantly more cosmetic customisation for players.

But as someone above also mentioned, for its expense/usefulness Crafting is pretty much not a viable alternative. With as integrated crafting is into the design of the game, (having missions for companions to go off on etc) that its results are so lackluster is a bit of a problem for me as someone who has 400 in Synthweaving, Armormech, Cybertech, Bio and Artifice (Still working on the Armstech).

I do this not because its advantageous to do it, but because I have a problem.

Seriously though, Crafted equipment, especially after the end-game is basically useless. It is too easy to purchase equipment that far exceeds anything a crafter can make.

Part of 'world buiding/community building' (See games like Eve) is having players and their work have more of an impact. So crafter items should really be the next tot he top tier equipment in the game. This model works very well as is evidenced in a mythic BioWare property Dark Ages of Camelot. A critically crafted item from a master crafter was the second best thing you could equip in the game. The BEST items fell only from the hardest encounters in the game. I understand there is a desire to make sure folks can get things from the PVP Endgame and as such a need was felt to also have items available for purchase for the PVE endgame but this really was wrong headed.

Instead, both PvP and PvE should have dropped more 'materials' from encounters which could then be traded or sold to high end crafters in order for them to make the very best gear. (Somewhat like Rakata gear now.. but actually tradeable)

Additionally, I would love to see the crafting system augmented with more 'slots' but these slots would not be used for stat adjusting enhancements like present, but instead 'cosmetic' slots in which you could customise your characters look further. Being able to obtain a wookie skin cape for your Bounty Hunter, or the like, to further augment your appearances and make it your own.

But that is a 'would like to have' thing.. A MUST have thing is making High End/End Game crafted gear actually Viable. I am somehwat put off by the fact that my character has to look pretty much like _every other character of my class_ in the end game if I want to have the best stats/equipment. Especially when I am not particularly fond of the aesthetic they have chosen for the end game stuff.

Did I just read an opening post in the suggestion box forum and agree with every single idea?

I think I did.

These ideas would be great additions to crafting in general, and would fill some pretty huge "wants" from the community, like an increase in orange gear, and the ability to recolor armor. Enchanting is popular in WoW (was? I haven't played since before BC ) so I should think that allowing for similar skills from the crafting professions in ToR would be received positively.

-Macheath.

Did I just read an opening post in the suggestion box forum and agree with every single idea?

 

I think I did.

 

These ideas would be great additions to crafting in general, and would fill some pretty huge "wants" from the community, like an increase in orange gear, and the ability to recolor armor. Enchanting is popular in WoW (was? I haven't played since before BC ) so I should think that allowing for similar skills from the crafting professions in ToR would be received positively.

 

-Macheath.

Thanks. I was actually thinking of adding one more, allowing the conversion of all gear to empty orange adaptive schematics. That way crafters would get extra business.

I would just like to see more schematics for items that are competitive with the comms items. I spent a lot of time and credits building my crafting on my two toons only to reach 50 and find out that everything I make (except the custom weapons my armstech can make) are useless past level 49. Unless I just have not seen them anywhere, I will never make any armor past grade 22. Nor barrels. Nor mods. My cyber can make droid parts but who actually uses their droid in the field? Is there even a market for custom droid motors? Armorings and mods bought with comms outdo anything I can make and you get enough comms to upgrade at least one outfit piece per day. At the end of a week, my crafting is moot. All I have left are grenades that I seriously doubt there is a market for the same as the droid parts. I can make starship parts but none that I have tried to put on GTN ever sold. My orange grade earpieces with an augment slot and an augment in place have so far outlasted anything that I can get with daily comms. So that might be the only thing I have to offer from cyber. I have not seen any schematics for sale from fleet vendors with comms for armorings, mods, or earpieces. If there are any, would someone mind tipping me where to look?

 

My arms skill has augmentations. So far, I have not seen those offered for comms. I looked through the vendors on fleet and have seen no schematics purchasable with comms for barrels or augments. If there are some, would someone mind tipping me where to look?

 

My next character is going to be artifice, maybe... I am reluctant to do more than slice and sell the harvests to those who craft and need sliced parts as well as their underworld etc parts from the two main skills they gather with while needing a third.

You actually can get higher rank mods, but it requires hard modes and operations. From what I understand, you have to break down the orange gear that drops and play the RNG game and hope you get lucks. I've also been told you can do the same thing with the PvP gear if you have the extra war zone tokens, but haven't confirmed it.