Ok So I like the idea of Race/Class restrictions because if forces me to pick things I wouldn't so how about making a Trade-Skill specific as well? Like Shamans for instance and alchemy and rangers and fletching. Or make it race specfic as well? Gnomes and trinkets and jewelery and Ogre weaponsmith and armorsmith etc. Thoughts?
I'd rather see penalties (some severe, some just slightly annoying) applied to how quickly you level up the tradeskill than an outright restriction. I say this only because I hope to see quests akin to the Coldain Ring and Coldain Prayer Shawl which were in EQ1. Both these require mastery of every tradeskill as you had to produce some NoDrop items. Some things might be totally beyond a class/race, like enchanting where you must cast spells on an item to embue them with magic. But that could easily lead to more interactions between players as you negotiate with an Enchanter to embue some silver ingots you've made so you can use the enachanted bars in making some magic rings.
Vandraad said:I'd rather see penalties (some severe, some just slightly annoying) applied to how quickly you level up the tradeskill than an outright restriction. I say this only because I hope to see quests akin to the Coldain Ring and Coldain Prayer Shawl which were in EQ1. Both these require mastery of every tradeskill as you had to produce some NoDrop items. Some things might be totally beyond a class/race, like enchanting where you must cast spells on an item to embue them with magic. But that could easily lead to more interactions between players as you negotiate with an Enchanter to embue some silver ingots you've made so you can use the enachanted bars in making some magic rings.
I really hope to never again see such a quest line. What's the point of making a game that fosters interdependence, when such a quest requires you to learn all the trade skills yourself? I'm not against quests that involve crafted items, as long as you have the freedom to either make the item yourself, or have a crafter make it for you.
Fostering interdependence and allowing all races/classes to learn all tradeskills are not mutually exclusive. I think it is a safe bet that most people will only bother learning a tradeskill that is most applicable to their class thus (and I'm using EQ1 examples here) Fletching for Rangers, Poison Making for Rogues, Alchemy for Shaman, Jewelry Making for Enchanters.
A common mindset shared amongst nearly all players is an aversion to massive timesinks that have little reward. So with a well thought-out applicatio of appropriate penalties, the other tradeskills could each take an extraordinary amount of time (and thus money) to reach the maximum level. Those who truly want to learn everything can while those who won't take the time or spend the money won't bother. Your interdependence is still there and it still allows for gameplay that rewards those who do eventually learn everything. Besides, nothing says you must do such a quest.