I don't know if it is just me but why do I feel that crafting any kind of gear or weapons is completely pointless because anything you make is never going to be of any use or even make decent credits from. Now item modifications dictate everything to which only a few can craft making a very uncompetitive market and items very expensive.

 

Things were not like this before. I took pride in learning schematics and what I crafted was at a very competitive level to what item modifications can offer. Don't get me wrong, Item modifications should always be better but the gap between these and crafted gear used to be small but now it's a huge chasm.

 

If that was not bad enough even the vendors that sell gear is better then what you can make at the same level and even have slots. It is really depressing when you see such changes to literally make crafting gear obsolete and have no consideration to those who love the crafting theme to the game and completely undermines all the work they have put in.

 

Take the [[Prototype] TD-07A Dread Scout Headgear]. I spent allot of time to RE the schematic and now someone can just buy it off the GTN and it is actually better then what I can make. What is the point of then doing any crewskills for crafting gear when you get slapped in the face for your efforts. Bioware you really should be ashamed to be doing this to crafters.

 

I used to really enjoy this but sadly it is no more. Gear crafting is truly dead!

Edited March 17, 2013 by FragRockKnuckles

It's a shame that this is your experience.

 

Personally, I'm thrilled that I've leveled and unlocked so many schematics for so many professions. Having 11 alts, it's helped cross-gear my own characters and their companions.

 

I also make money selling things from 10-45, as well as some of the higher end gear. In fact, anything I put on the gtn from 10-45 is gone within a day.

anything I put on the gtn from 10-45 is gone within a day.

 

My experience mirrors this. I don't make a killing on sales, but it's enough to pay for the habit. I'm not going to disagree that there are "market pressures" that frustrate crafters, I just don't think crafting is dead.

My experience mirrors this. I don't make a killing on sales, but it's enough to pay for the habit. I'm not going to disagree that there are "market pressures" that frustrate crafters, I just don't think crafting is dead.

Crafting isn't dead, indeed. But endgame crafting took a big hit in 2.0. In my honest opinion, crafting should be a pillar of endgame, on par with PvP and raids. People who devote themselves to acquiring rare and universally sought-after schematics should be on par as top-rated PvPers and server first progress raiders as far as attention from developers and respect of the community goes.

 

Otherwise, crafting seems to be a secondary diversion, good for making some credits and gearing alts, but with fairly limited impact on endgame.

Edited March 17, 2013 by Helig

It's a shame that this is your experience.

 

Personally, I'm thrilled that I've leveled and unlocked so many schematics for so many professions. Having 11 alts, it's helped cross-gear my own characters and their companions.

 

I also make money selling things from 10-45, as well as some of the higher end gear. In fact, anything I put on the gtn from 10-45 is gone within a day.

 

Interesting. I have a Synth and Armormech at 400, each with a large book of schematics and still buy adaptive gear for leveling alts the minute I hit fleet. I do eventually replace that gear with crafted or dropped items because the cheaper adaptive gear which does the trick stat wise once modded is very ugly.

 

My wife has a 400 Synth and early on after launch spent a ton of time REing and a ton of credits buying rare schematics. All of her alts are now geared in CM stuff which she buys on the GM because they are much more attractive to her. Except for a low level belt or bracers, I don't remember the last time that she crafted anything.

 

After launch I did sell some gear but have not done so for a long time because I found sales slowed down and did not return much profit.

 

Crafting, in concept, is a mini game within the game, a way to progress, and a way to make credits that has the potential to keep a large segment of the community engaged. It is a shame to see the state that it is in and consider the loss to the game itself. Over the outraged cries of the entitled and elite raiders, I would say that crafting should be on an equal level and provide the same quality of rewards as the other parts of an mmo.

Crafting isn't dead, indeed. But endgame crafting took a big hit in 2.0. In my honest opinion, crafting should be a pillar of endgame, on par with PvP and raids. People who devote themselves to acquiring rare and universally sought-after schematics should be on par as top-rated PvPers and server first progress raiders as far as attention from developers and respect of the community goes.

 

Otherwise, crafting seems to be a secondary diversion, good for making some credits and gearing alts, but with fairly limited impact on endgame.

 

Exactly when, at any point, has crafting been anything other than a diversion or money sink in this game, with the exception of biochem or cybertech crafters?

Exactly when, at any point, has crafting been anything other than a diversion or money sink in this game, with the exception of biochem or cybertech crafters?

When we listened/read about it?

 

Sure, it's so much fun gaining the schematic for a +shield +presence shotgun/knife...

Edited March 18, 2013 by JMCH

Thank you for all your responses.

 

Asbalana, you hit the nail on the head.

" I would say that crafting should be on an equal level and provide the same quality of rewards as the other parts of an mmo".

 

At present I feel Amormech and Synthweaving are not providing the same quality of rewards. They instead provide levels of convenience to be able to craft something in particular for your needs or alts. I certainly find nothing of value that can be made to at least earn enough credits to cover your mats + time and have a decent profit.

 

Take the new embargoed items vendor at level 43. None of the artifact items made by an Armormech can compete with those and if they try to sell it at over the 40k ask price well it's just not going to sell even though crafting offers players an alternative to having to get reputation for same level gear. What should have been done is the vendor offers either higher or lower level gear but just not the same level so as not to undermine crafters making a particular level of gear.

 

Maybe I'm just old school.

Edited March 18, 2013 by FragRockKnuckles

At present I feel Amormech and Synthweaving are not providing the same quality of rewards. They instead provide levels of convenience to be able to craft something in particular for your needs or alts. I certainly find nothing of value that can be made to at least earn enough credits to cover your mats + time and have a decent profit.

 

Main Stat augments.

Main Stat augments.

And augment kits

I think gear crafting (for under lvl 50) could increase after 2.0 hits because of the impending weekly limit to planetary comms.

 

If a leveling toon has 7 slots of orange armor, with an orange weapon/offhand, that's 11 comms worth of mods per slot. That is, at a minimum, 56 comms every two levels (just the armorings and barrels). It's more if you use comms to gear up mods and enhancements as many people do.

 

As a crafter, the choice becomes, 8 blue mats for the 3 mods going into an orange piece, or 4 blue mats for the pieces as a whole? For each of the 8 slots? it can get expensive to craft for those who don't have a 50 to run dailies to supplement their income during leveling.

 

(I tend to look at these topics from the perspective of someone leveling their first toon....not their 4th, or 5th...etc.)

 

This has actually always been the case, but there's never been a cap on comms, so if someone didn't want to craft/buy they could just run heroics on the planet a few times while leveling in order to dramatically increase their comms to buy mods for the orange gear.

 

Even w/o the cartel market, orange gear is easy, and cheap to get. Social vendor on DK/Coruscant has it for cheap.

Crafting with the new level cap should be improved, 400 cybertech on my knight who can buy 23 purple armour but, can't craft beyond 22. Artifice on my marauder is 400 and there are certain enhances that don't exist for crafting e.g. Lucid 22 isn't there while it does exist at higher levels you can't craft it for reference the Darth Sion lightsaber is epic for a juggernaut/guardian build even in a jr form while leveling but, for end game you'd still be stuck with it at a lucid 21.

Crafting with the new level cap should be improved, 400 cybertech on my knight who can buy 23 purple armour but, can't craft beyond 22. Artifice on my marauder is 400 and there are certain enhances that don't exist for crafting e.g. Lucid 22 isn't there while it does exist at higher levels you can't craft it for reference the Darth Sion lightsaber is epic for a juggernaut/guardian build even in a jr form while leveling but, for end game you'd still be stuck with it at a lucid 21.

You realize on live you can craft 26 and 27, right?

 

And on 2.0 that will extend to 28, 29 and 30?

You realize on live you can craft 26 and 27, right?

 

And on 2.0 that will extend to 28, 29 and 30?

You realize there's no 29 in the PTS build?

 

Basic is 28 (level 53, ilvl 66), Arkanian/Black Market is 30 (level 55, ilvl 69), nothing in-between.

You realize there's no 29 in the PTS build?

 

Basic is 28 (level 53, ilvl 66), Arkanian/Black Market is 30 (level 55, ilvl 69), nothing in-between.

Oops, my bad.

 

My point still stands. Antisthienes was claiming cybertech/artifice couldn't craft beyond grade 22.

Oops, my bad.

 

My point still stands. Antisthienes was claiming cybertech/artifice couldn't craft beyond grade 22.

Artifice won't, because all Black Market pieces have crappy enhancements.

Cybertech could learn useless armorings (no more set bonus from shells) and mods with almost no use because they come from FPs and SM Ops which are fast to run.

 

Either will be unable to craft because of a very limited exotic mats supply.

Artifice won't, because all Black Market pieces have crappy enhancements.

Arkanian gear can be RE'ed, which have Adept, Quick Savant and Initiative. I challenge you to find any dps/healer build that won't use any of those three "crappy" enhancements. Also, if BW fixes crit (big if, I know), there's Acute and Battle available.

Cybertech could learn useless armorings (no more set bonus from shells) and mods with almost no use because they come from FPs and SM Ops which are fast to run.

Everyone needs 3 armorings w/o set bonus. 10 ACs can use 4 armorings w/o set bonus (offhand)

Either will be unable to craft because of a very limited exotic mats supply.

Hard to argue with this. Hope it gets fixed. I'm pretty sure the prices on grade 9 stabs will be out the roof for a while.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Khevar

crafting is almost dead in swtor

 

while levelling alts - only cyber is useful for armorings and mods

all others do not cost the time - you can hilts/barrels by by comms, enhancements are cheap as dirt

 

for endgame:

bio for use of eternal medpacs and adrenals

and crafting augments - mainly power & main stats, maybe def for tanks

 

i never craft for sale - money are much easy with daylies + comms

alts are in constant need for mods and stuff..and when they reach 50 they will need augments..it's always better craft your stuff..and the schematics for 50lvl are good (cristal, spaceship parts..RE BH..WH schematics) and soon we'll get to 450..

I honestly prefer non-mod based gear, because from experience buying the mods on their own from the GTN is far more expensive then buying the gear themselves.

 

From Experience at level 11, i got some gear from the Cartel Market for my Jedi Guardian, then i bought level 11 armorings, level 9 mods and level 11 enhancements, all blue quality, guess how much i had to pay due to the overpricing tendances of most crafters?

 

6x armorings = 6x10k = 60k

6x mods = 6x8k = 48k

4x enhancements = 4x6k = 24k

 

10k per armoring

 

8k per mod

 

6k per enhancement

 

Total price paid at level 11 is: 132k

 

I bought a piece of gear as i could wear them and i paid FAR less then what i paid for mods, sorry, but if crafting is useless and not that profitable, its the crafters for being too greedy.

 

I shouldn't HAVE to craft to get gear, it should be an option, not the only solution, if crafters crafted items for all level brackets for a reasonable price, i would buy them, they might make less profit in the short-term, but in the long term, they will make more profit, but all they think about is short-term, never thinking about long-term....which is a huge mistake, in a business stand point.

@JamieKirby, Interesting. I guess this is the source of the issues you've had with crafters?

 

Let me first say that you are correct, those are vastly inflated prices for level 11 armoring, mods and enhancements. I would never buy those mods, and I also wouldn't sell those level 11 mods at those prices.

 

But let me also say that new players aren't the intended public for blue mods at that level.

 

You see, when you first hit Coruscant / Dromund Kaas around level 11, the next few levels go very quickly. Like really REALLY quickly. Any sort of investment in blue mods is going to be wasted as you'll out level them in the blink of an eye.

 

As well, the mobs and bosses you'll be fighting aren't tuned very tightly. In other words, blue level gear is overkill. Over a year ago, when my Sage hit Coruscant, I bought a set of moddable social gear, and filled it with the super cheap greens from the vendor, costing a couple hundred credits. I also used the planetary commendations to purchase the occasional blue armoring/mod as I completed quests. I spent very little cash.

 

And yet, I had no troubles fighting enemies as long as they were near my level.

 

Gearing up in FULL blues at level 11 is like renting a Lamborghini to drive to the grocery store for milk. It's 100% luxury and completely unneeded. The players that are likely to do that are moderately wealthy players who have one (or several) level 50s and are gearing up new alts and mailed them a f**k ton of credits to help them along the way. THIS is the public for whom those blue mods are intended.

 

Personally, I think it is silly. If I wanted blue-mod-overkill for a level 11 character, I'd craft them myself.

 

Now, if you feel very strongly that the below level 15 market needs to be overhauled and sell blue gear to new players at a reasonable price, you always have the option to do so yourself.

Edited March 19, 2013 by Khevar

Now, if you feel very strongly that the below level 15 market needs to be overhauled and sell blue gear to new players at a reasonable price, you always have the option to do so yourself.

 

Quite true!

 

I tried selling green and blue level 11 crafted gear for dirt cheap (about 1,500 credits) on the market, and it all came back to me even with two-day stints out there. There is no market for the stuff. Rather, I just use it for leveling my craft skill and then reverse engineer all of it. Heck, even the purple gear has a limited market (again, at rock-bottom prices), and it is difficult to come by the artifact-grade materials they use.

 

I try to keep orange and purple gear out there at very good prices so that people can get it if they want it, but even the orange stuff is getting spotty in terms of whether it will sell, and I haven't priced a crafted item yet at $10K or more.

Arkanian gear can be RE'ed, which have Adept, Quick Savant and Initiative. I challenge you to find any dps/healer build that won't use any of those three "crappy" enhancements. Also, if BW fixes crit (big if, I know), there's Acute and Battle available.

 

Everyone needs 3 armorings w/o set bonus. 10 ACs can use 4 armorings w/o set bonus (offhand)

 

Hard to argue with this. Hope it gets fixed. I'm pretty sure the prices on grade 9 stabs will be out the roof for a while.

1- Yeah, Arkanian could be RE'd too... but that comes from Ops drops only with a limited count each week.

 

2- Sure, we need 3 "blank" armorings, you just forgot the simple fact 2 of them are for the easiest pieces to acquire (first Ops bosses and elite comms even allow to buy the exact same as Arkanian), the last one being easier to acquire running FPs. With how stupid 10% chance to learn is, no one should even try to RE these armorings (by the time you'll learn the patterns, your guild will be BiS already... that already happen with BH mods RE'ing despite the 20% chance to learn, I spent more than 1000 of my own BH comms just for that and obtained 2 mods and 6 enhancements, do the math).

 

I should add :

Senior Game Balance Designer Jason Attard posted that while we do intend to make reverse engineering more consistent in the future, we do not consider reverse engineering other player’s mods an exploit.

http://www.swtor.com/blog/dev-tracker-summary-october-19th-2012

 

What does "more consistent" means for me has to not mean the same thing for others... or was it a lie?

 

Well, we already had some :

Depending on how you choose to specialize, your crew will be able to construct armor, weapons, implants, or other types of useful items and gear.

 

No doubt why I unsubbed, I'm tired of this kind of "inconsistency" from the dev team on top of countless gamebreaking bugs, strange decisions (level cap increase & trees reworked to top at 55 instead of 50 & stats back to where they were in 1.0?) and extremely stupid marketing communication (sorry, I don't pre-ordrer "5 more levels and a new planet" except if I've some confidence in the team...).

Edited March 22, 2013 by JMCH

Ya I do agree that crafting is taking a big hit here. I also agree that it should be on par with raids and also heroics. But what I have seen is the market goes through a fluctuation just like any other MMO. When it dose the crafting gets hit even harder because of greedy people wanting to make a fast credits.

 

I will say only having one Lvl 50 toon crafting is not cutting it because like everyone has said the stuff you can make is effective. And ya its awesome that they give you some starter gear at that lvl but it still undermines crafting. I personally love crafting its a great way of gear alts and to kill time in queses, or if you are just sitting around talkin to guildies.

 

It should be a happy medium if you want to craft on par gear then you should be able to or if you want to raid for similar gear then do so or even buy it too.

The problem is not that crafting in this game is dead but now with the cartel items you have to choose from 2 very simple options (while you could do both at same time before cartel items): Crafting for money or Crafting for fun. If you want to still doing the same way as before then, you are wasting time and mostly, you will quit it due you'll get frustrated.

 

If you want to craft for money then you will have a lot of trouble making money now; while full purple gear is best; It can't compare with cartel "beautiful" gear. Now you'll have 2 sides there... Beautiful or Practical gear?.. sorry but most ppls in a SWTOR joined for the fantasy to get a semi-nude slave Leia gear in their toons than have a full purple ugly cover Leia gear.. Specially when you can just buy mods for it and "almost" get that stats. Now you'll still have "costumers" for those purple gear but... it wont be as profitable as before. So better start thinking about which Crafting skills you want to keep for "making money" now.

 

If you want to craft for Fun.. that's different and you wont quit at all, crafting for alts or guild mates sometimes is fun.

 

BTW not only "gear" crafters are having that issue but also "weapon" and "vehicles" crafters.