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IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE HARD!!!

AuthorMessage
Survivor
Sep 08, 2008
32
A lot of people are really fed up with the crafting quests, either because some of the reagents are hard to find, or because of the time and money it takes to complete them.

I was frustrated too, at first, but then I realized something... IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HARD!!!

I think the point of these quests isn't to be able to finish it in five minutes and move onto the next one. I think the point is that these are supposed to be badges that are really hard to earn... they take a lot of hard work, time, and patience. THAT IS THE POINT!!!

I am only on the sixth or seventh crafting quest (I read there are 14 total... not sure if that's accurate) and the one I'm working on requires 75 diamonds, which are dropped once in about every twenty pieces of ore. Which means, it will take over a thousand pieces of ore to collect 75 diamonds. Talk about difficult! And, I realized, King Isle did this intentionally. They don't want us to sit down one night and power through all of these badges.

So, just have fun with it and consider it a big in-game accomplishment when you get each badge!

~ Elo

Defender
Oct 03, 2008
174
I'm sorry, but there's nothing hard about walking up to an item and clicking on it. Crafting being hard isn't the problem; the problem is that it's MASSIVELY time and gold consuming with absolutely ZERO payout.

This system of crafting is like paying $1000 dollars to buy a ticket that enables you to buy another ticket costing $10,000, which lets you buy another ticket at the price of $100,000, which finally allows you to buy a super ticket that costs $1,000,000, and this ticket will give you access to a store where everything costs another $1,000,000.

Seriously, this system needs to be revised, or removed from the game entirely, because it is NOT pulling its own weight; the quests give no exp, so you can't even lvl from doing these quests, and the gold given doesn't even compare with the amount you have to spend to craft the items needed to turn in the quests. Not to mention the items you can craft are either; impossible due to needing treasure cards of a school other than yours, and/or way too time consuming and only available after you finish ALL of the crafting quests, and/or doesn't compare to gear or items you can just get as drops from baddies or bosses. Fix it, or remove it. A mechanic this big, that KI implemented of raising the cap and/or fixing current existing issues, should provide more reward than just a badge.

Valkoor Crow
Grandmaster Necromancer

Survivor
May 24, 2009
2
Mastermind
Jun 23, 2009
319
is it supposed to be hard? is it really?

the way i see it, its a time waster and a gold sink, they drain your time and drain your money, however gold sinks have no effect here since players can't transfer money to eachother in any way...

the only reason i craft is because i want that master artisan badge

Survivor
Dec 29, 2008
13
Well I haven't seen anything worth the amount of time spent on it. The carousel maybe flashy but it has no sound or lights and has no use other than sitting at your house.

I would have agreed if there were good gears, which I haven't seen.

Survivor
Aug 09, 2009
9
Crafting is the one aspect of the game that disappoints me. Being essentially a crafter at heart in the real world, the prospect excited me at first. But then I quickly learned that it consists of 1) Buying a recipe 2) running around until at long, long, long, long last you accumulate enough nearly-impossible-to-find reagents so you can click the button, and 3) get sent on to the next instructor to start the cycle over again. I was expecting some subtlety, some intricacy, some intellectual challenge there, and found none. 99.9% of it is just hoping to stumble across a cattail or a piece of scrap iron. And then, after finally finishing a level, I can't find any recipes that are improvements over the equipment I already have. (Only been as far as Marleybone so far; maybe things will be better in Mooshu. The eternal optimist.) Still, I haven't given up on it because I hate to leave something undone, and I'd rather have crafting as it is than none at all. KI could greatly improve the game by putting some more thought into the whole crafting experience.

Still, this is a small disappointment in an otherwise absorbing game.

Survivor
Jun 23, 2009
28
elorajules wrote:
A lot of people are really fed up with the crafting quests, either because some of the reagents are hard to find, or because of the time and money it takes to complete them.

I was frustrated too, at first, but then I realized something... IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE HARD!!!

I think the point of these quests isn't to be able to finish it in five minutes and move onto the next one. I think the point is that these are supposed to be badges that are really hard to earn... they take a lot of hard work, time, and patience. THAT IS THE POINT!!!

I am only on the sixth or seventh crafting quest (I read there are 14 total... not sure if that's accurate) and the one I'm working on requires 75 diamonds, which are dropped once in about every twenty pieces of ore. Which means, it will take over a thousand pieces of ore to collect 75 diamonds. Talk about difficult! And, I realized, King Isle did this intentionally. They don't want us to sit down one night and power through all of these badges.

So, just have fun with it and consider it a big in-game accomplishment when you get each badge!

~ Elo


Ok. Ok! I'm more than willing to agree that's it's supposed to be hard BUT with anything this difficult the rewards should be comparable. They are not.

Ok KI, I've combed the message boards and it appears to me that the vast majority of folks who post about crafting are highly displeased or at the very least mildly irratated at the addition of crafting to an otherwise wonderful game.

Hunter Earthsong
level 47 Master Theurgist

Survivor
Jun 15, 2009
11
your all right guys this blows you get like near the amount of money you spend if you buy all your reagents and some of the items are super hard to find cause everyone wants them i try to find scrap iron and have only found sixteen of the fifty i need so KI does need this fixed pronto and there should be a better reward a super rare clothing item or pet or SOMETHING come on KI help us out

Survivor
Aug 17, 2009
12
What's irrational to me is making someone make 5 of something that takes 8 of a reagent that's hard to find and 5 of something else that requires the same reagent. And aren't you supposed to make the things for the person? Why do you have to buy the recipe if you're making them FOR them? It doesn't make sense. And if you accidentally sell one of the things you're supposed to make, you have to make another which takes longer. It's not a matter of how much gold this stuff takes to buy stuff, it's more of the fact that the stuff is so hard to find and you CAN'T buy it because none of the NPC's sells it, and it's not in the bazaar because everyone needs it. I could see crafting to be a important part of the game if you took gear you already had and made even better gear with it. Like adding stats to it that wouldn't normally be on it. It could even be like a business venture as well because you could sell stuff you make to the bazaar for more gold.

Survivor
Jun 23, 2009
28
Chewwy151 wrote:
What's irrational to me is making someone make 5 of something that takes 8 of a reagent that's hard to find and 5 of something else that requires the same reagent. And aren't you supposed to make the things for the person? Why do you have to buy the recipe if you're making them FOR them? It doesn't make sense. And if you accidentally sell one of the things you're supposed to make, you have to make another which takes longer. It's not a matter of how much gold this stuff takes to buy stuff, it's more of the fact that the stuff is so hard to find and you CAN'T buy it because none of the NPC's sells it, and it's not in the bazaar because everyone needs it. I could see crafting to be a important part of the game if you took gear you already had and made even better gear with it. Like adding stats to it that wouldn't normally be on it. It could even be like a business venture as well because you could sell stuff you make to the bazaar for more gold.


I've posted several times recently here and at Wizardcentral.com about crafting problems. Love this game but crafting is one big mess.

I like your idea about making current gear better.
At this time you can craft items and sell them at shops or the bazaar.
I specifically set out this morning to do just that and see what kind of results I got by crafting and selling a ring of insight.

I had to buy two of the items, 1 citrine at $15 and 1 simple vial at $40. Other two ingredients are reagents found in the game.

Went to the ring shop. Could sell it there for $16. Went to the Bazaar and could sell it there for $31. I could buy it back from the Bazaar at $180.00!!!!!

So I sold the durn thing at the Bazaar for a loss of $24. Of course the prices at the Bazaar depend on demand but still who's going to want to go into business in Wizard101 by crafting when you lose money?

Right now, in my opinion, the only possible advantage to crafting is making treasure cards. They'll help in a battle. As for the rest of it, I'm no longer going to attempt to take on any more crafting quests. I'll finish the last quest I got from Balthazar in DS but then that's it. Unless of course things change.

KI I hope you read these boards. I've read a lot of really good ideas on how to make crafting better. This part of the game really needs a complete overhaul.

Hunter Earthsong
level 47 Master Theurgist


Survivor
Apr 05, 2009
3
i just started crafting and i think im gonna do it later because it consumes time and money

Survivor
Apr 21, 2009
2
Yes it is hard but I like it or did until I quested ore and diamonds for my quest today and they didnt give me credit for them. That is a lot of time but I will keep trying. :P

Survivor
Jun 15, 2009
11
about the treasure card thing. if you know the normal speel version of a teasure and then use tough, strong, monstrous, precision or sniper on it in a battle ( i recommend in unicorn way makes it easy ) then it becomes a treasure and the base strengthening treasures you can buy at the bazaar so its not even good for treasures

Survivor
Jul 16, 2009
2
I am having a problem buying most of the furniture type recipes from Balthazar. I have enough gold and the proper table to craft the item, but it won't let me buy the recipe to make it. For example, the spired bed, wall clock, pond, and all the items in this category. I can buy the clothing items and the transmute recipes but not the furniture ones. Anyone have the same problem or can tell me why it is doing this? I am level 50 and have completed the game and now want to make these items. Please help.

Survivor
Dec 17, 2008
2
paulinee1958 wrote:
I am having a problem buying most of the furniture type recipes from Balthazar. I have enough gold and the proper table to craft the item, but it won't let me buy the recipe to make it. For example, the spired bed, wall clock, pond, and all the items in this category. I can buy the clothing items and the transmute recipes but not the furniture ones. Anyone have the same problem or can tell me why it is doing this? I am level 50 and have completed the game and now want to make these items. Please help.


Have you completed the crafting quests for him?? I am working on that now, and can't buy the housing recipes yet. So I am assuming, that once I complete both crafting quests for him, I will be able to buy them. That would be my guess. If ya haven't done the crafting quests for him you can't buy them till you do. If you have completed the crafting quests for him, then I'm sorry, I don't know what the issue is. Maybe ask KI Tech, for help.
UPDATE----Yes you have to complete the crafting quests for him to buy these housing recipes..(note: you have to complete each crafting quest for each world starting in Wizard City to get to the DS Craft Quests)

Survivor
Dec 17, 2008
2
Well now I gotta add my two cents in here. First off let me worn ya I have brain farts sometimes and this was one of those times! So I'm working on the second crafting quest in DS, and I'm just about to explode with frustration after picking 100 mandrake and only getting 4 blood moss. The spawn points for mandrake is just horrible!! It took me all day to pick that many. But the drop rate for blood moss is beyond nightmarish!! KI REALLY NEEDS TO ADJUST THIS!! Either more spawn points for the mandrake or increase the drop rate for the blood moss. The frustration level of collecting black pearls was nothing compared to this! So just as I am about to vent my frustration on here, I came across a post talking about transmutation spells! DUH!! So the light bulb turns on and the frustration is gone!! Hence, the brain fart!! So I ran to each crafting quest giver and bought every transmutation spell. So now all those mandrake I picked, I can now turn into blood moss. Spending money for crafting isn't a real big issue. The time to collect the items not so much a big deal now. So maybe this helps anyone else dealing with the same issue I was. If not, at least, you were able to read my DUH moment!!

Survivor
Aug 23, 2009
14
Crafting is insane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't really care about it that much. I'm only a novice crafter. BUT IM AN ADEPT NECROMANCER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!






P.S Ice and Myth Sucks!

Defender
May 30, 2009
157
Crafting is an OPTIONAL quest. I have just recently finished ALL quests in the game including all crafting quests. I was on one of the lasts quests in DS when they lowered the amount of items needed to complete the task. What a relief! As far as money is concerned, spending your gold on anything other than the recipes is optional also. You can do as I did and sit in the bazaar for a while refreshing the list and hoping to have the item you need come up, you can travel around the spiral picking up these items, or you can go to some of the recipe vendors and buy the transmuting recipes to speed up the process of obtaining rare reagents. As I stated before, spending gold on reagents is your choice. When it comes to the treasure cards needed for the items being crafted, I would suggest just buying the cards in the bazaar. I tried "making" the treasure card needed to complete the quest but it didn't have the same stats as the card I needed so I just went to the bazaar and bought them. Crafting IS NOT part of the main story lines in the game but trust me, if you keep working at it and FINALLY make it to the end, you will PROUDLY wear that master artisean (sp?) badge!

Survivor
Sep 07, 2009
42
I'll just add my opinion to the general consensus. The only quest left on my quest log is the crafting quest. It took me several days and 30,000 gold pieces to finish the two vests. Now I'm supposed to craft book shelves and by the amount of blood moss and black pearls I need, I'm throwing in the towel.

I do not find any pleasure in wandering around the game for hours and hours and spending nearly all of my gold just to make 2 bookshelves that I neither want nor need.

I do not find the craft quests difficult. I find them tedious, boring, and without reward.

KI, please further adjust the drop rate and number of locations where we can find these rare items.

Delver
Jul 30, 2009
254
Tholstar wrote:
I'll just add my opinion to the general consensus. The only quest left on my quest log is the crafting quest. It took me several days and 30,000 gold pieces to finish the two vests. Now I'm supposed to craft book shelves and by the amount of blood moss and black pearls I need, I'm throwing in the towel.

I do not find any pleasure in wandering around the game for hours and hours and spending nearly all of my gold just to make 2 bookshelves that I neither want nor need.

I do not find the craft quests difficult. I find them tedious, boring, and without reward.

KI, please further adjust the drop rate and number of locations where we can find these rare items.


Honestly, I love the recipes myself. I actually purchase recipes just to have an excuse to hunt regents and make items for personal use. Most of my furniture in my new home is all from regent hunting and recipes...Not to mention, most of those I bought were asking for diamonds, pearls, and bloodmoss regularly. Which actually the cooling periods took me more time to wait for then getting the actual regents needed for each item.

You just simply have to find one or two really reliable drop zones for a particular regent to get the rares to drop regularly.

Have you tried using any of the new regent transmutation recipes yet? It will help you with the blood moss issues you may be having with the last quest. And will save you a fortune and time in the bazaar waiting for someone to drop them.

Even though KI made it easier to nab bloodmoss drops recently, that's still the only regent that is the most difficult to find in-game. But that's because everyone is hunting mandrake, so finding a reliable drop zone for it to get the blood moss is still a first come, first nab issue. LOL!

Survivor
Sep 07, 2009
42
Yes, I have the recipes for creating blood moss, black pearls, and black lotus flowers. But to create them I have to collect hundreds of cat tails and ore or spend thousands of gold to buy them. I usually go to the bazaar looking for black pears, black lotuses, or blood moss. If there isn't any, then I'll buy cat tails and ore while I wait to help with the process. Either way, it costs a fortune and is horribly boring.

I agree with an earlier poster who said that if it's this difficult to make, then it ought to be good stuff. I can't make anything that is as good as the clothes that I already wear. I have no interest in furniture items. I'm a grand master and still don't even own a house. I thought about buying one but am glad that I did not since it's going to cost me another 70,000 gold probably to manufacture what I need for my next craft quest. Assuming, of course, that I even bother to do it.

Delver
Jul 30, 2009
254
Tholstar wrote:
Yes, I have the recipes for creating blood moss, black pearls, and black lotus flowers. But to create them I have to collect hundreds of cat tails and ore or spend thousands of gold to buy them. I usually go to the bazaar looking for black pears, black lotuses, or blood moss. If there isn't any, then I'll buy cat tails and ore while I wait to help with the process. Either way, it costs a fortune and is horribly boring.

I agree with an earlier poster who said that if it's this difficult to make, then it ought to be good stuff. I can't make anything that is as good as the clothes that I already wear. I have no interest in furniture items. I'm a grand master and still don't even own a house. I thought about buying one but am glad that I did not since it's going to cost me another 70,000 gold probably to manufacture what I need for my next craft quest. Assuming, of course, that I even bother to do it.


Honestly, you're really going about it the hard way there, to do your crafting quest by making the lotus. Getting the black lotus (thus the pearls) isn't all that hard. You just need to find a couple of good drop zones for the lotus and realm jump...

Two of the best places for black lotus is behind the broken pogoda in the commons (which incidentally gives you your cattails), as well as in the rooms in the burial grounds crypt. With realm jumping, you can average 35-60 lotus per realm jump completion in each area, depending on what time of day you do those realm searches.

About the ONLY thing you'd really need to purchase in the bazaar for your quest is the random piece of blood moss, although even that can be avoided if you find the really good drop zones for the mandrake...Which is in the Sunken City, the abandoned castle in Firecat Alley, outside Swiftarrow's Theater, and behind Eyes Maximus as well as the tree in the center next to it in Colossus Boulevard...Oh, and General Akilles has 2 drop zones outside for the mandrake as well.

But to trigger the rare drops you also have to pick up any other regeants you run across, open every chest you see, as well as get into an occassional fight. Because those are the triggers to spawning the rares. If you're just going after a single type of regent, the rare percentage drops, thus less rares showing up in the pickup.

I actually average about 8 bloodmoss per realm revolution, as well as 15 pearls per revolution using this type of hunting technique.