The Esoteric Nature of Crafting in MMORPGs
I was initially going to call this post “crafting can fuck right off” but I felt that was a somewhat bellicose opening gambit and a little hyperbolic. So I’ve toned it down to “the esoteric nature of crafting in MMORPGS”. Now to begin with, I tend not to craft when playing MMORPGs. The effort to reward ratio is often insufficient and I have yet to find a crafting system that is engaging and fun. However, for me the biggest sin that crafting can commit is being deliberately arcane and obtuse “with malice of forethought”, if I may invoke legal analogy. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with game systems and mechanics being complicated. Intricacy can be both intriguing and rewarding if presented correctly. However, all too often game developers cross over the line, stepping from “complexity” to “fucking annoying”. For example some card games such as Poker can have complex rules but mastering them transforms the proceedings from random chance into a game of skill. But at the other end of the spectrum there’s Fizzbin, which was invented purely to be frustrating due to its arcane nature. I frequently find that crafting in MMOs is just like Fizzbin. Except they’re not amusing or ironic, just tedious and irritating.
I tried crafting in The Lord of the Rings Online fairly recently after playing for 11 years. Initially it was simply a case of gathering raw material, refining them and gaining XP in the appropriate skill. But after a while additional resources were needed to progress and advancement became ponderous. Hence, I quickly abandoned this aspect of the game. Sadly, I did not learn my lesson. While recently playing The Elder Scrolls Online, I discovered several Crafting Motif Books that allow you to cosmetically augment your gear. However, my hopes and dreams of looking dapper and stylish in-game were quickly dashed. The use of these books are dependent upon having certain crafting skills at a specific level. For example, Crafting Motif 13: Primal Style “Requires Rank 6 or greater of any one of the Metalworking, Tailoring or Woodworking passives”. Now at first glance I thought this meant that the I had to have any one of those three skills at level 6. Turns out that is not the case. Ranking is not equivalent to level. There are 50 levels and 10 ranks. Rank 6 is level 25. Now some of you may be asking at this point, “what’s the problem here”? Well, how about the fact that none of this information regarding skill levels and rankings is immediately available in the game? Turns out if you wish to comprehensively learn about crafting in ESO, you have to do so outside of the game.
“I am no one to be trifled with”
Now call me old fashioned but I have always thought that if a game makes you tab out while you’re actively playing, to find something out via a third-party website, then it is doing itself a major disservice. And that is putting it mildly. It is an abject failure by the game developers. It is also fucking annoying. So far, my experience with crafting in ESO can be filled under such. However, I am no one to be trifled with so I have doggedly worked on increasing my Blacksmithing skill. I am currently bankrupting myself in-game by buying purple heavy armour and two-handed weapons and deconstructing them. The XP gained has so far got me to level 15 but it has also cost about 25,000 gold. It may be financially more practical to farm Dolmen and deconstruct the various weapons drops, although this may well take longer as loot is random and not always of the type required. But I intend to use my Crafting Motifs, come hell or high water. And ZeniMax Online Studios can go piss up a rope, as can crafting per se in the MMO genre. I will not be prevented from looking fabulous in this or any other game due to the whims and caprices of those who don’t know the subtle difference between complex and esoteric.
