The Master Craftsman

IrishGirlGamer

"If you are in need of new arms for the Hand's tourney, you have come to the right shop ... My work is costly, and I make no apologies for that, my lord ... you will not find craftsmanship equal to mine anywhere in the Seven Kingdoms, I promise you. ... Any village smith can hammer out a shirt of mail; my work is art."

George R.R. Martin's, "A Game of Thrones," Chapter 27.

There's the moment. The Hand of the King in the shop of a craftsman. The opportunity to obtain armor like no other in the land.

Many of us (most of us?) have stood in the presence of the rulers of the Three Factions and have been addressed as "The Champion". We have earned our status by running quests that include everything from slaying terrifying beasts to fetching peoples lost pets (yes, sigh). We have grinded away for hours to get to where we are. We have stood close enough to Molag Bal to feel the heat radiating from his presence.

And that's not all! We have spent untold hours bent over a crafting table or anvil, learning the skills and techniques associated with making armor and clothing. We have researched, constructed, deconstructed, and dyed more pieces of armor than most people can even imagine. We have maxed out every possible skill and researched every possible trait.

And for this we get an achievement and a color. We are grateful.

But we are master craftsman. Shouldn't our work be ... art? Shouldn't we have access to Master Craftsman stations?

Such a station could make crafting easier and more streamlined. We could construct, dye, and finish our armor all in one place. We could have access to all custom sets of armor in one place (providing we had located the original custom crafting station, such as Death's Wind).

We could also have design options not available to other mere mortal craftsman. Perhaps designs for shields or artistic elements for clothing and armor. Heraldry, maybe. Perhaps unique armor elements that only master craftsmen can access.

What we would create would not be bound to us. We could sell it for exorbitant amounts of gold (well maybe not the dyed stuff) to mere mortal craftsmen. Maybe we could know the secrets of dyeing .... costumes. Any smith with a racial motif can make you a shield. We ... would make you a personal statement.

We are master craftsmen. We have earned it. Our work should be art.

Master crafting stations. Please.

ProfessorKittyhawk

That's what the 9 trait crafting stations are for.

MaxBat

One of the things that really excited me about ESO when it was released was the crafting system. I remember reading posts on the forums from people predicting which of the six crafting areas would be best for making gold. We thought the crafting system would be an essential part of the game economy.

Then Zenimax gutted craftsman by introducing motif's to the crown store and making dyes achievement based. After that, there wasn't much need for craftsmen, let alone master craftsmen. Hell, I finally caved in and bought all the motifs last week. I don't feel great about it but it's easier than grinding away in the hopes of completing a motif sometime this year.

When assistants were announced earlier this week, that something like this would happen. Maybe a crafting assistant that would make, dye and improve your armor all in place.

I like the OP's idea. A special area for Master Craftsmen would be a great addition to the game. Special stations that create armor only Master Craftsmen can make - and sell? I like it.

But don't hold your breath. Anything like that, Zenimax is going to put securely behind a price gate.

ProfessorKittyhawk wrote: »

That's what the 9 trait crafting stations are for.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You do realize you don't have to be a master craftsman to use those, right?

And maybe I'm getting old, but a more efficient system than running all over two or three zones to make my armor would be welcome.

ProfessorKittyhawk

I was mostly being a smart ass. I've often. Wished there was a way to add your own signature flare to pieces of armor you make to help differentiate it from what everyone else is wearing. It's bad enough the dying system is so limiting. I mean, it would be nice to dye whatever part of the armor I want any color I want, but no, certain parts of the armor basically remain the same color no matter what. Makes it hard going for a particular look when one part of the armor won't/can't be dyed the way you want it.

VShane

true, all over Tamriel there are large constructs that have open ground arena style architecture, be nice for Master Craftsmans that an area like that is only activated by them (having the status) where a portal to all available craft-stations, walk right through the portal and your right in there.

WldKarde

+1 for the OP's idea

It would indeed be nice if a "master" craftsman could perform his/hers artwork at one crafting station, and give it a flair that could be uniquely their own

BabeestorGor

Another thing I'd like for master craftsmen (not my idea originally) is to be able to research dropped sets and then be able to craft them ourselves at any level. Theres so many interesting sets that we level past too quickly to ever really use.

Baconfat79

It sounds like a decent idea, but in reality, I think there are far more "master craftsmen" than you might think. I'm fairly certain that just about every "non-casual" player has a character with all crafts maxed and all traits researched. Bottom line is that it's really not that hard to do. This whole "master craftsman" thing wouldn't be as exclusive of a club as it might sound, and if a large percentage of the player base can access it, then it loses a lot of it's luster.

kirk_lewis_ESO

I want to own my shop with a workshop in the back like the people in sword art online have. I want to be able to take orders and set times so i can go out craft and fulfill the requisitions. Guild stores means slow business. I want to be able to create titles like "Blacksmith for hire" . My personal banker can transfer the revenue from sales to the bank with no need for an armored truck and security. Make the crafting tables purchasable.

MrDerrikk

Baconfat79 wrote: »

It sounds like a decent idea, but in reality, I think there are far more "master craftsmen" than you might think. I'm fairly certain that just about every "non-casual" player has a character with all crafts maxed and all traits researched. Bottom line is that it's really not that hard to do. This whole "master craftsman" thing wouldn't be as exclusive of a club as it might sound, and if a large percentage of the player base can access it, then it loses a lot of it's luster.

I've been researching since I started playing again since last August, and I've just started to get 8 traits on a couple of pieces (by neglecting most other items for traits and focusing on those). Because it takes a very, very long time for it it's a lot rarer than you seem to think.

jjdane

What I would like to see is a Constellation devoted to crafting. There are elements of it in existing constellations, such as reduced gathering times et.c .

For instance, 10 point bonus = 10% reduction in research time, 30 points = increased chance of higher value items like nirncrux from nodes, 75 points = ability to create max level repair kits at crafting stations, 120 points = the ability to "improve" existing self-crafted gear beyond 100%.

Personally, I have 3 Vr16 chars with all crafting traits maxed and still enough skill/cp points left for combat stuff, and it kinda bothers me a bit from a rp pov. This would make dedicated crafting chars make more sense with a significant investment of champion point yielding real, substantive

benefits..

Refuse2GrowUp

I would really love for the option to change the motif look of armor. Example, I want to change my Xifkyn heavy armor to Glass, or Akaviri, or whatever the next new, cool thing is...similar to how those with the Imperial Ed can change the look of any crafted armor to Imperial. I think this would be a cool feature for those with a Master Crafter certification of sorts. It would be even cooler if there were a special Master Crafters table/booth that allowed us to do this for other player's bound gear, i.e. we are both at the table, they que up with their bound gear, then we can select a style to change it to, or even upgrade it for them, for an agreed upon price (similar to a trade window almost).