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Wizard101 Needs Gem Cutting

AuthorMessage
Survivor
Jun 28, 2014
31
Grind, grind, grind, grind, grind, grind...

And all you get is a cookie cutter set the same as the rest when it comes to gear.

KI needs to implement Gem Cutting (Or Mana Stones, Shadow Forging, or whatever they want to call it) in order to allow players to customize their gear. There are several reasons for this:

1) It will make crafting more important in the game, as well as secondary activities like fishing, and gardening.
2) It will provide a game experience that is unique versus cookie cutter.
3) It increases player's desire to play and pay.

So for those who do not know, gem cutting is an time old, but proven effective, profession that allows players to augment stats by the application of crafted and cut gems that deliver specific attributes. Typically, gear will have anywhere from a single slot for uncommon gear up to 3 slots for epic or legendary drops. Some games have even gone so far as to allow players to craft a slot on gear that has no gem slots available. Now this usually requires time and investment by the player, but the returns can be astounding.

The greater a player can customize their items, the deeper the commitment to their characters. This is something fundamental to all MMORPGs.

What do you think? Is this something you would like to see brought into the game?

Survivor
Jun 15, 2013
37
while i do love this idea by the way you showcased it, but how will it be balanced out to prevent someone,
from possibly obtaining immunity to all the schools, or really high damage or critical rating?

Defender
Aug 11, 2013
113
Oh I agree with part of it. I've been griping off and on for a couple months that we need to be able to craft gear to our own chosen specs. That's for those who have come into promethean level in actual level and crafting level

Survivor
Jun 28, 2014
31
master of death o on Jan 10, 2015 wrote:
while i do love this idea by the way you showcased it, but how will it be balanced out to prevent someone,
from possibly obtaining immunity to all the schools, or really high damage or critical rating?
Well right now, it is very hard for someone to be immune to a single school let alone multiple schools without a pet trained for spell proof or a like talent. Jade gear is about the closest someone can come to being immune to a school without the aid of a ring, athame, or pet. However to avoid issues like that gems could be limited to the following boosts:

1) Mana
2) Health
3) Stun Resist
4) Regular Pip Chance
5) Accuracy
6) Block up to 20pts
7) Critical up to 3%
8) Damage up to 3%
9) Resist up to 7%

To further keep someone from stacking one type of gem, you can limit the types of gems someone can have at a time.

Defender
May 09, 2010
180
Maybe some slight customization would be neat, like being able to say for example, instead of having to eyes glowing from underneath your hood, (Malistaire hat) you could chose 3, or none! Or maybe allowing to remove the wings on the Malistaire robes or something. But yeah, allowing players to upgrade their gear like that, would cause even more problems, like stability, and balancing. Maybe instead, there could be a small upgrade tree, and players might have to pay 100 gold for the first upgrade, find 10 mist wood for another, and then the tree could branch out, and you could choose between perks like increased resistance, (slightly, like, 6%) or even a foot-speed upgrade for something like boots, where if you choose that perk, you get a plus 5 percent increase to your walking speed. I think it would keep players more interested, and the end goal of choosing the way you want to look and be like.

Blaze Stormmancer

Astrologist
Aug 20, 2011
1077
I'd use gem cutting. It sounds amazing, and there's already a furniture item for it (although imo it should be lowered a few inches, that table is too tall).

I agree with above posters that if gem cutting makes it into the game, developers should be cautious of how players might attempt to exploit it. On one end of the solution spectrum, this might mean gem cutting makes your gear No-PvP the instant you attach a gem to it. On the other end of the spectrum, we could just see how problems develop as people use it. Either way, I think it's worth exploring.

Survivor
Jun 28, 2014
31
lettup on Jan 12, 2015 wrote:
Maybe some slight customization would be neat, like being able to say for example, instead of having to eyes glowing from underneath your hood, (Malistaire hat) you could chose 3, or none! Or maybe allowing to remove the wings on the Malistaire robes or something. But yeah, allowing players to upgrade their gear like that, would cause even more problems, like stability, and balancing. Maybe instead, there could be a small upgrade tree, and players might have to pay 100 gold for the first upgrade, find 10 mist wood for another, and then the tree could branch out, and you could choose between perks like increased resistance, (slightly, like, 6%) or even a foot-speed upgrade for something like boots, where if you choose that perk, you get a plus 5 percent increase to your walking speed. I think it would keep players more interested, and the end goal of choosing the way you want to look and be like.

Blaze Stormmancer
Oh that is a cool idea! I know some other games went to a talent tree as well to allow wizards to specialize within their schools. I get that pets are supposed to do this, but pet training is exceptionally time consuming and unpredictable. As I envision your idea, each subsequent expansion of specialization would carry with it a higher cost and possibly quest objectives and or other achievements in the game (like badges that people have skipped). The only challenge I see is that the game is designed to be cookie cutter. This, and gem crafting, may be something that is far out of the realm for what the developers intend for the gaming experience. After all, the game is geared for kids, even if the end game content is tuned to an adult understanding of game mechanics.

Astrologist
Dec 26, 2013
1124
Sounds like a variation of the Diablo II socketed items feature. For those not familiar with that, some weapons and armor were equipped with open sockets that could be filled with either gems or runes. Different combinations of gems and runes could give boosts to various stats. Once an item is inserted into a socket it cannot be easily removed so you have to plan carefully how you want to use them. I think this would be an interesting addition to the game especially if the gems and runes were made available as rare drops from bosses. It would almost have to be a dumbed-down version because in Diablo II it was a very involved system and the mechanics involved in Wiz101 would have to be tweaked a lot to make it work.

Delver
Jun 27, 2013
299
TucsonWizard on Jan 16, 2015 wrote:
Sounds like a variation of the Diablo II socketed items feature. For those not familiar with that, some weapons and armor were equipped with open sockets that could be filled with either gems or runes. Different combinations of gems and runes could give boosts to various stats. Once an item is inserted into a socket it cannot be easily removed so you have to plan carefully how you want to use them. I think this would be an interesting addition to the game especially if the gems and runes were made available as rare drops from bosses. It would almost have to be a dumbed-down version because in Diablo II it was a very involved system and the mechanics involved in Wiz101 would have to be tweaked a lot to make it work.
Final Fantasy 7 had a feature similar with armor and weapons having gem slots, and the gems inserted added stats and spells...

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
Well, with the additions of Darkmoor, we could use Motes. Also, from the reagent list, we could use Amber/Comet dust, gems, fires, etc there's plenty of options already

Survivor
Jun 28, 2014
31
Yeah they would have to simplify it for sure, but it is something they could implement. Case in point, they made modifications to the ability to dye certain gear that you could not dye before, they have gone in and made changes to existing spells, and they have modified certain stats. The ability to implement this dynamic exists, how they would keep it from being over powered is another question.

Armiger
Jan 11, 2012
2497
the BIG problem I have is this game becoming too much like Runescape; where you had, last I saw, 33 skills to train in. Granted, we only have 5 (combat, fishing, gardening, pet training, and crafting - and crafting doesnt level up the same way as the other 4), but still, dont add TOO many. IF Gem cutting/usage were to be implemented, then it should fall under the realm of crafting and not its own skill set

Survivor
Feb 28, 2011
4
Any well thought out customizable addition is only a good thing. I'm very against cookie cutter games, but even now this doesn't seem to be one. Mainly because you have customization with which secondary school you choose. Some combinations work better than others and thus are the cookie cutter for the perfect wizard, but there is customization.

But for the gem cutting, I give an emphatic YES! People asking about how to keep it from being overpowered do need to be assured that there would be limits. If the best gems could add (as an example) 2% critical rating, and the best items have perhaps 2 slots, then you can up your critical by 4% per piece of equipment. Theoretically that could boost you by (hat, robes, boots, weapon, athame, ring, amulet, deck) 32%.

However, if each item can only boost certain stats (a choice between 3, based on the item...for instance weapon can boost critical, damage, or armor piercing. Robe can boost defense, crit block, or health, etc.) then we limit the boost to the gems.

I would go further and say that the only items that could be empowered with gems would be craftable, giving reason to craft some of the items. I know now that since I bought a bundle and have the armor from it, I don't want any crafted junk. The boosts for spending $ wind up exceeding anything that can be made (that I've seen). There needs to be more reason to craft as there is so much untapped potential in the system. Gem cutting could improve crafting immensely!

Survivor
Jun 28, 2014
31
I am tickled that I posted about this back in January and they added it. I just wish I bought a lotto ticket instead. HAHAHAHA

Hero
Aug 18, 2011
776
Scribble Scribe on Apr 18, 2015 wrote:
I am tickled that I posted about this back in January and they added it. I just wish I bought a lotto ticket instead. HAHAHAHA
When you're right, you're right :D

Actually it's been in the works for about 4 years.

Delver
Jan 21, 2014
284
Congrats! you just made a mayor change in this wonderful game!

Isaac GoldHeart lvl 32