Slicing isn't going anywhere, people. And I believe there's a very simple reason for that: The implementation of slicing was a calculated move by the developers. Hear me out...

 

Of all the gathering and mission crew skills, Slicing is the only one that doesn't return materials that are required by a trade skill. The only reason it exists is to provide augments (and mission discoveries). That's it. Considering that every trade skill has at least two gathering/mission skills that you need to complement it to be self-sufficient, anyone who takes Slicing is setting themselves up to have to buy materials to craft. Nobody would do that to themselves for augments alone.

 

How did the developers work around this? They made slicing create credits. Makes perfect sense. And I think what people really think is busted about slicing isnt so much that it makes straight credits, but how quickly it does so. And that's where I think people are jumping the gun.

 

Much of the community is basing their opinion of how much is too much on the comparison between slicing at a high level of skill and leveling/questing/etc at low to mid levels. And in this comparison, slicing looks fantastic. But at 50, credits come much, much faster than they do at 20, 30, even 40. Slicing at 400 skill compared much less favorably to farming/questing and gathering at 50. So much less favorably if you want to do any crafting, you absolutely want to dump slicing and pick up the second gathering/mission skill, because using slicing and buying your high end materials isn't as efficient as just farming them.

 

My point is this: the game is a week old. The economy is nowhere near what it'll be a month or two from now. The perceived value of a credit is inflated right now because most everyone is still leveling. And none of you are MMO-economists, so to judge something like this based on limited knowledge and during a unique timeframe within the life of the game is irresponsible.

 

Thanks for reading, and I hope I enlightened somebody.

And none of you are MMO-economists,.

 

Are you sure about that?

 

lol

 

I will say that at this point trying to use credits and the GTN to support crafting isnt working so far. Grade 4 and 5 salvageable items just are not popping up that often on my server. Or when they do someone lists one at a time for 5k each.

 

And the Grade 5 underworld metals and fabrics I get are not selling.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Aloharover

Are you sure about that?

 

lol

 

 

Yes, I'm sure.

Heck, I can't even buy basic Scavenging mats on my server, let alone UT ones. For now I'm pilling up credits with slicing but I intend on swiping it for UT later on, for my Cybertech... And I intend on swiping cyber for Biochem at lvl50.

That doesn't make any sense. If what you are saying were the case, slicers should just be able to sell augments and missions for credits and buy mats. The fewer people who took slicing, the more valuable the discoveries would be.

 

That's how an MMO economy works. The designers shouldn't be like "hey, slicing kind of sucks...screw it, let's just make it create straight credits! lol I hate my job." At least I really hope they wouldn't.

Edited December 26, 2011 by SigmaX

That doesn't make any sense. If what you are saying were the case, slicers should just be able to sell augments and missions for credits and buy mats. The fewer people who took slicing, the more valuable the discoveries would be.

 

That's how an MMO economy works. The designers shouldn't be like "hey, slicing kind of sucks...screw it, let's just make it create straight credits! lol I hate my job." At least I really hope they wouldn't.

 

That would make sense if they made it so that you had to have the missions, but as it is you don't. They aren't required, and because of that very few of them actually sell. If they implemented something that slicing could produce that was required by all other professions then it would work out better.

 

Say they made it so that you could only get purple mats from doing a mission you get form slicing. Then people would have to buy from slicers, and there would be no need for slicing to make credits. I think if that happened though slicing would be more profitable than it is now. Instead people want slicing to return 0 credits, and still don't want it to have anything of value. Makes no sense at all.

Huh? You mean they put Slicing in the game on purpose?

 

Every trend you can think of is tracked. They have access to data we don't, people. They put Slicing where it is very deliberately. If the data starts to suggest that there is a problem, then they will tweak it... but not before.

 

10,000 forum posts doesn't mean squat to them if the data isn't there to support the position.

The real problem is not slicing at all, it is commendation vendors. Right now when leveling you can make lots of money, but there is no reason to spend it. Once you get orange gear you can just upgrade it with commendations. There is no need to actually spend money to upgrade. If they removed the commendation vendors then people with slicing would have to put their money back into the player base by buying mods.

The jist of my post is that slicing will seem much less profitable when most people are 50. To judge it based on how it is weighted right now, when everybody is still leveling, isn't smart.

That doesn't make any sense. If what you are saying were the case, slicers should just be able to sell augments and missions for credits and buy mats. The fewer people who took slicing, the more valuable the discoveries would be.

 

That's how an MMO economy works. The designers shouldn't be like "hey, slicing kind of sucks...screw it, let's just make it create straight credits! lol I hate my job." At least I really hope they wouldn't.

 

Discoveries wouldn't be more valuable if fewer people were slicing. Discoveries are only as valuable as the product they return. They don't return anything unique, therefor they aren't really that special.

Discoveries wouldn't be more valuable if fewer people were slicing. Discoveries are only as valuable as the product they return. They don't return anything unique, therefor they aren't really that special.

 

That's what I was saying, in order for the discoveries to become a supplement for slicing returning credits then bioware would need to make them the only way to obtain certain things. They could make it so that you can't get purple mats from anywhere except a single use slicing mission.

well ive read countless times from beta onwards that the only real way to make credits is to ditch slicing when you reach 40+ because it just doesn't bring in the cheese like the other options.

Discoveries wouldn't be more valuable if fewer people were slicing. Discoveries are only as valuable as the product they return. They don't return anything unique, therefor they aren't really that special.

 

Exactly. That is why I said "should." Assuming the profession was designed properly.

Edited December 26, 2011 by SigmaX