How to make crafting harder: An idea for a true multi-crafter event.

[LivelyHound]

As there has recently been a lot of discussion over making crafting harder and there seems to be a feeling that harder crafting might be a nice addition to the current crafting options. However, given the current crafting mechanics people feel it is not possible to create and thus I have posted below an idea for a crafting "event" / "boss" that I came up with a while back.

This is a work in progress and is only one "mob" found within a zone that has trash events and another eight or so main events. It is based in Maj'Dul and the excerpt below is missing a few of the zone details such as the buffs players can provide found in a recipe book at the entrance to the zone. The expo wares aare also found in that recipe book and the gained expo coins are tokens to be used within the zone.

The idea is for a X2 raid zone for crafters lvl 85 and above. The first 3 mobs could be done with current gear and the 5 after that would require gear that comes from the zone to improve your crafting. I.e. it's an entry level top tier x2 craft raid. 

This is the first 2/3rds or so of the 2nd event in the zone. Make of it what you will.

 

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Mid-day Market

Mob Type: Raid Coordination

The idea: This is the first complex script designed to take 10 minutes to complete the first stage and 10 minutes to complete the second. It is a slow power and hp drain mob that will eventually kill the players or cause them to fail the combine.

Fail: De-buffs will kill the players or the Coin Guards will kill the players or the market will close for coin loss.Success:  One weapon and one armour piece created for the Coin Captain.Loot: crafting item (legs), possible rare, possible  dungeon rare, possible recipe, coin (min 22p), aa xp.

Script: On reaching the market : Players have to hail the market bursar and buy a pitch: 10p. This activates the event.

Random npc: "Phew, so hot today."Npc faints.As the npc faints zone wide de-buff is applied."Mid-day sun: Drains2%hp every 6 seconds, drains 2%mana every 6 seconds".This will kill players in 5 minutes. The players have 10 minutes to build their market stall at which time the Coin Captain and his guards will arrive. If the stalls are not up and running when the captain arrives he will wait for 30 seconds looking for suitable crafters and then move on to find another crafting team. If the captain moves on, the guards close down the market, the pitch is dismantled, ts xp debt is incurred and the cost of the pitch lost.

Mechanics:Building the stall requires the following and the recipes are found in Expo Stalls Vol. 1 on a bench near the setup site:1 Specialty Forge (8min, armorer)1 Specialty Workbench (8 min, woodworker)4 Canopies(8min, tailor), 2 Tables(6min, carpenter), 40 Expo Wares (20 min, all),2 Signs (6min, sage)12 Cool Drinks necessary (6 min, provisioner)12 Sun Salves necessary (6min, alchemist)12players = 120 min. This leaves 3 players to help out and deal with adds.

When 2 Canopies are attached to a table then they become active. At present the fastest one table and two canopies can be done would be 3min (or 4min if only one tailor present) extending the player life until 7 min (6min with one tailor). With only one alchemist this is just enough time to save everyone.

Each canopy provides a buff."Sun Shelter: Reduces the effect of Mid-day sun by 25%"During the set up stage random npcs will wander into the camp at a rate of one every 15 seconds and will provide a de-buff every 20seconds until hailed and an Expo Ware commission is completed like normal trash. They provide an Expo coin on completion.  Hailing will remove the de-buff from the player who hails, however non completion of the combine will result in the usual trash death."Persistent Interruption: 50% reuse reduction on all beneficial spells. This effect can stack. Duration 30 seconds"

Speciality Forge Recipe:Skill: Armoring Recipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 6400 ,3200, 3200, 3200Approx Time:8mins per with current full gear

Speciality Workbench Recipe:Skill: FletchingRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 6400 ,3200, 3200, 3200Approx Time:8mins per with current full gear

Canopy Recipe: Skill: TailoringRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 1600 ,800, 800, 800Approx Time: 2mins per with current full gear (8mins)

Table Recipe:Skill: Sculpting Recipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 2400 ,1200, 1200, 1200Approx Time: 3mins per with current full gear (6mins)

Sign Recipe:Skill: Scribing Recipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 2400 ,1200, 1200, 1200Approx Time: 3mins per with current full gear (6mins)

Stage Two: Coin Captain CommissionScript:"I require the services of a master weapon-smith and jeweller to make me a sword worthy of my status. Do any here have the skills?"

Mechanics: A weapon-smith has 1 minute in order to hail the captain and take him to the completed specialist forge and then create the "Coin Captains Broadsword". The captain's guards will erect some barricades to prevent any more trash from entering. If no-one hails him in time he will move on and the event ends with the loss of the pitch coin, the stalls are dismantled and ts xp debt is incurred. If the forge pitch is complete and the workbench pitch is not then the raid can still progress, by starting the sword combine whilst other player hurry to finish the workbench.The other players then need to maintain the forge fire. (woodworker)The other players then need to maintain the forge. (armorer)The other players then need to maintain the barricades (carpenter)The other players then need to maintain the weaponsmith. (all)Adds:

Any barricade that fails will let through one npc every 30 seconds until repaired to full durability and these will provide a de-buff every 20seconds until hailed and an Expo Ware commission is completed like normal trash. They provide an Expo coin on completion.  Hailing will remove the de-buff from the player who hails, however non completion of the combine will result in the usual trash death. "Chronic  Interruption: 70% reuse reduction on all beneficial spells. This effect can stack. Duration 30 seconds"

Maintaining the Forge Fire:This requires a woodworker to click on the forge and a combine window will open. The four different tiers will provide a different buff / de-buff that is fontal cone. The woodworker is position behind the forge. It is up to the woodworker to pick which area they retain the craft in. If the durability drops to zero the fire goes out and the captain moves on in disgust. The pitch is dismantled, Ts xp debt incurred, coin for pitch lost. If the combine is completed the forge is too hot and explodes killing everyone. This workstation uses normal counters.

Skill: FletchingRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 400, 100, 100, 50Recipe Progress: 400, 100, 100, 400Creates: Forge Explosion: 120%hp focus damage in aoe 200m.

Tier 1 debuff: "Cool fire: progress is slow going with a cold fire, -100 progress per tick."Tier 2 debuff: "Medium heat: progress is slow but steady, -50 progress per tick, +50 durability per tick"Tier 3 debuff:"Perfect heat: progress is perfect, +20 progress per tick, +20 durability per tick"Tier 4 debuff: "Scorching heat: progress is rapid but so is decay, +50 progress per tick, -50 durability per tick"

Maintaining the Forge :This requires an armorer to click on the forge and a combine window will open. The four different tiers will provide a different buff / de-buff that is fontal cone. The armorer is positioned behind the forge. It is up to the armorer to pick which area they retain the craft in. If the durability drops to zero the forge falls apart and explodes killing everyone and the captain moves on in disgust. This workstation uses normal counters.Skill: ArmoringRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 400, 100, 100, 50Recipe Progress: 400, 100, 100, 30000Creates: Forge Explosion: 120%hp focus damage in aoe 200m.

Tier 1 debuff: "Cracks galore: a lot of heat escaping, -100 progress per tick, 5%hp drain per tick"Tier 2 debuff: "Shored up: fires are barely contained, -50 progress per tick, 3%hp drain per tick"Tier 3 debuff:"Containment: fires are under control, 2%hp drain per tick"Tier 4 debuff: "Nuclear Shelter: the heat is perfectly controlled, +50 progress per tick"

This should result in around 15% hp loss max.

Maintaining the Barricades :This requires a carpenter  to click on either barricade and a combine window will open. If durability reaches zero on the barricade adds will once again start entering into the compound and disrupting the raid. This workstation uses normal counters. Barricades will have a permanent debuff. "Wear and tear: 5% progress lost per 3 seconds". This should result in 1 repair per minute with the two barricades being 20 seconds run apart.

Skill: SculptingRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 400, 100, 100, 50Recipe Progress: 400, 100, 100, 100

Maintaining the Weaponsmith :Each of the other classes will have a recipe in expo wares that provides a buff that can be applied to another player. provo, alchemist, sage, tailor, jeweller, weaponsmith. 30 second buffs that take approx. 1min30 to make. These buffs don't stack. This workstation uses normal counters and is done via the tinkered workstations. The weapon-smith meanwhile does the following recipe, aiming at a 5minute combine:

Skill: WeaponsmithyRecipe Level: 98 (orange con)Recipe Durabililty: 400, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 10000, 10000, 2000, 500

Special Counters:Counter Rate:    1 : 3 ticks

Counter	Frequency	Success Tick 1	Tick 2	Fail Tick 1	Tick 2
Fiery Blast	15%	+50 p		-50p, -2%hp
Severe Fiery Blast	10%	+100 p	+50p	-100p, -4%hp	-50p, -2%hp
Metal Impurities	15%	+50 d		-50 d, -2%mana
Severe Metal Impurities	10%	+100 d	+50 d	-100 d, -4%mana	-50 d, -2%mana
Minor Distraction	30%	+25p, +25d		-50p, -50d,-3%hp, -3%mana-15% success, 9 sec
Major Distraction	20%	+100p, +100d		-100p, -100d,-6%hp, -6%mana-30% success, 9 sec	-50p, -50d

**Text went black on converting from a Word table... hence the Green and slightly odd columns** 

Stage Two: Coin Captain Commission, Part 2

The weapon then needs a jewel inlayed, for which a jeweller steps up to the workbench and does the commission using the newly forged weapon. This follows the previous principle but utilises the specialty workbench.

The other players then need to maintain the workbench tools. (weaponsmith)The other players then need to maintain the workbench. (sage)The other players then need to maintain the barricades (carpenter)The other players then need to maintain jeweller. (all)

There is a little more to this mob for Part 2 but it follows similar ideas to those already outlined but palying with the buffs and counters and so on to create some variation. However, I think the above is enough to post.

Excerpt from the Recipe Book, within which there are similar recipes for all crafter classes that do varying things:

Skill: ChemistryRecipe Level: 95 (yellow con)Recipe Durabililty: 400, 100, 100, 50Recipe Progress: 1200, 300, 300, 300Creates:  target receives enlightenment potion:  everyone works better with a little enlightenment: insight buff applied +25 skill, 30 second duration.

Cool Drinks Recipe:Skill: Artficing Recipe Level: 90 (white con)Recipe Durabililty: 200, 100, 100, 100Recipe Progress: 400, 200, 200, 200Approx Time: 30sec per with current full gear (6mins to  do all 12 players)Notes: Creates drink that can be applied to a player to heal mana for 50%

I hope you all enjoyed that lengthy read and for now I'm done as I have a plane to catch. Hopefully I'll be back to check on replies sometime soon.

[Meirril]

Complicated event, but it sounds like fun. I'd run it a few times just to try something different. If the rewards matched the difficulty level I'd probably do this one a week for a few months.

[Gwyrdd]

The event looks complicated, but it could be fun. I like the idea of the Maj'dul setting. (Zone-wide debuffs might be an issue though, since other visitors to the city might not enjoy being melted by the sun because some other folks are crafting, although I may misconstrue your meaning.)

I like a lot of the concepts that you propose in your idea: diverse functions for different tradeskill professions, mostly themed with the flavor of those classes.

I'd play something like this, no question.

[LivelyHound]

Gwyrdd@Unrest_old wrote:

The event looks complicated, but it could be fun. I like the idea of the Maj'dul setting. (Zone-wide debuffs might be an issue though, since other visitors to the city might not enjoy being melted by the sun because some other folks are crafting, although I may misconstrue your meaning.)

I like a lot of the concepts that you propose in your idea: diverse functions for different tradeskill professions, mostly themed with the flavor of those classes.

I'd play something like this, no question.

Oh I should have said set in Maj'dul , but as a modified instance version named, "Maj'Dul: Expo Day!" similar to the way Nektulos Castle has the modified, "Nektulos Castle: Tribulation" zone. So the only people in the zone would be your groups of crafters for precisely the reason you stated

The whole zone I have in my head is a lot more than this one event and that is just one of the early mobs to get people into the idea of crafting with consequences and effects and stuff. Some of the later events add different stuff and the final event is meant to be a tricky one to work out and complete.

[Gladiolus]

This sounds like it could be fun, provided you're on a server with loads of crafters who can simultaneously spend so much time on it and who all have good computers and connections for all those quick actions. What would you envision as a reward?

[Meirril]

Gladiolus wrote:

This sounds like it could be fun, provided you're on a server with loads of crafters who can simultaneously spend so much time on it and who all have good computers and connections for all those quick actions. What would you envision as a reward?

It should be about as demanding as raiding is now on your computer. Most people can raid, I don't see that being any real limitation.

[LivelyHound]

Gladiolus wrote:

 What would you envision as a reward?

For that one mob:

"Loot: crafting item (legs), possible rare, possible dungeon rare, possible recipe, coin (min 22p), aa xp."

The 22p covers the pitch cost 10p and gives each player 1p. The possible rare is just a top tier rare like ulteran diamond. The possible dungeon rare is a top tier crafting material usually found in a dungeon like a jaundice gem. The possible recipe would be better than normal recipes for something as yet to be determined, (maybe a better set of poisons for adventurers for example) the crafting item(legs) refers to specific crafting gear to make progression in the zone possible as the higher level events would not be possible in current equipment. 

For the whole zone that depends really on how tough the end event is made and would be up to SoE really as I don't have their itemisation guidelines but I would make it adventure based.