Yep I got my Legendary Artisan badge. Very disappointed.
I am fully capable of buying stuff in the crown shop. But I'm here to play a game. After spending a week going all the crafting quests from Wizard City to Zafaria I was expecting something a bit more. Here are the facts:
1) The crafting quests were not fun.
2) The crafting quests took a large amount of time.
3) Completing the Zafaria quest was a lesson in exploiting game mechanics, not game play.
4) Crafting Quest completion allows me to aquire a couple articles of gear that look identical to what I can get in the bazaar, and have a slight bonus.
5) The variety of gear available for crafting is small. And there is NO customizable crafting capability.
6) Going to the crown shop I can buy far better looking and more efffective gear in less time than writing this sentence. So go to the crown shop!
My Message to KI --> There should be in game stuff that is superior and unique that can't just be bought for a couple bucks.
I've finished the crafting quests through Zafaria twice and will soon finish it for the third time. On the points you make:
1) Agree, they are not fun, although I can't really think of a way to make crafting fun in the sense that other story line quests are. The nature of crafting is collecting reagents and combining them into new items. What more could you do with that to make it more interesting than it is?
2) Agree. The first time I completed the quests took hours of farming. The next time, I knew what I needed and having an older wizard with access to places where needed items were easier to collect reduced the speed bump. With the third wizard reaching Legendary, I'm not even going to have to wait on timer cool downs.
3) Possibly. The crafting quests require far more reagents than anyone could ever gather with a 6 plot garden and an occasional jaunt down random streets hoping for a handfull of cattails. As long as someone uses the the mechanics the game provides according to their intended design, it isn't exploiting. It's a necessary exercise in creativity.
4) True. I don't know why the general overall design of gear in Wizards 101 must always be so...so...general and unimiginatively cookie-cutter looking. KI can pull a hat trick on gear when they set their mind to it and come up with some spectacular concepts. WW gear looks great. Many of the crowns sets look great. I find the appearance of Zafaria, Avalon and Azteca gear only passably good. Why more creative energy isn't put into the design of gear Iespecially crafted gear) is a mystery.
5) True. Crafting would be invaluable if only it offered a way to customize options on your gear. Since you can only craft for your own use as it is, it would make sense for this to be an option.
6) Disagree. Crowns gear may look better, true, but I've never found any of it to be superior to level appropriate crafted gear from Wintertusk on.
I have found that the only gear worth crafting was the WT gear (clothes and rings/athames) and the needed avalon gear for block. The lower level crafted gear is much worse than equivalent dragon's hoard pack gear, IMHO. I now have tons of reagents which I am not going to do anything with anytime soon. I am probably up to a couple hundred sunstones by now. I really wish we could customize a recipe or at least make the gear a move forward. Basically you are forced to craft the Avalon gear solely for block. You lose damage, pips, and many times universal resist. You get more critical and healing boost, but even the mobs block now and my critical is over 200. The healing boost is nice, but that isn't as critical as I am a death wizard. Craftable spells are nice, but appear much too late in the game to really make it worthwhile. pods
I am a level 70 Death in Zafaria. Where do i go to get a cafting recipe for a wand better than the Crescent Axe of the Astrals (4995 crowns at the Crown Shop)?
Crescent Axe: +30% critical +20% crit res +12% incoming health +1 pip 6 cards 130dmg
The Forlorn Soul Attire is looking pretty good too.
I am a level 70 Death in Zafaria. Where do i go to get a cafting recipe for a wand better than the Crescent Axe of the Astrals (4995 crowns at the Crown Shop)?
Crescent Axe: +30% critical +20% crit res +12% incoming health +1 pip 6 cards 130dmg
The Forlorn Soul Attire is looking pretty good too.
Exactly, you can't. The better weapons are all crown shop ones. You'd think they'd add at least a decent craftable weapon, doesn't have to be great, but with a nice graphic that would encourage some people to make it.
Only good things you can really craft now are the two houses, which are pretty darn cool. I just wish they'd add some decent crafting recipes. The azteca craftable armor is actually pretty good too, but nothing too powerful. Some of it makes good resist gear for particular figths.
