Here are ten solid suggestions with some rationale for things I want to see changed/improved with the crafting skills (Tinkering, Alchemy, and Smithing) moving forward. I will preface this by suggesting some of my calls for diversity stem from a belief that the developers wanted most skills to have some level of synergy (I may be wrong but it feels this way to me). 1. More Craftable Thrown Items, with craftable thrown items in Smithing and Alchemy as well (even if the selection is less diverse). An example could be move the flasks (currently in Tinkering) to Alchemy and make the mundane thrown items similar to throwing knives such as Kunai crafted in Smithing. 2. Make more reasons in Smithing for non-warrior characters to invest in this skill. The obvious example that could be expanded upon is rings (following in the path of the Mana Torus). Currently almost all the weapons and armor feature only melee oriented stats or come with negative caster stats like magic power. 3. Introduce more recipes (or change some existing recipes) so that the burden on crafting materials is more even. Currently there are tons of uses for steel and iron, some for bronze, gold, and silver and very few for brass, platinum, or electrum. This level of uneven utility exists in other materials like powders as well (salt is far less useful) and gems (Citrine and Turquoise need some work). 4. Make the Transmute gem ability from Alchemy more predictable. An easy method would be to simply make it transmute gems in a circle. For example (this is hypothetical for illustrations purpose) if you transmute a Citrine you would always get a Ruby, and transmute a Ruby you would always get a Emerald etc.... such that they form a ring. 5. Even out the utility granted in the three crafting skills over their levels. Currently in Alchemy you need 1-2 to make nearly everything with 0 skill only useful for making reagents (mainly) though at higher levels you have a larger return in number of potions. In Smithing skill level four is extremely crowded, while earlier levels especially 0 are nearly useless. In Tinkering you can make low end bolts of every type even at 0, and to new players it is far from obvious bolt quantity increases with tinkering level. 6. Make crafting recipes for the specialty/spell/elemental bolts. This would be a good opportunity to add a little more utility in ammunition manufacture to one of the other crafting skills (much like in the thrown items). 7. Make crafting recipes for wizard/mage oriented armor. Currently the RNG plays too big a role in their availability and this effect will likely become more pronounced when the Wizard life bug is fixed. 8. Reduce the value of Aqua Vitae or remove the scaling nature of converting items into Aqua Vitae for high level Alchemy. Currently level 5 Alchemy is more free zorkmids than you'll ever spend. 9. Give Tinkering skill some incentive to make and use traps, currently high level Tinkering is primarily useful for finding and disarming traps. In doing so you accumulate more traps on each level than you'll ever use this makes the creation of traps largely pointless. Once more none of the trap effects as they exist scale well enough to justify using them over firing high quality bolts (also made through tinkering). 10. Even out the amount of junk people need to carry around for each crafting skill. Alchemy currently needs to carry around a still, a ingot grinder, and a ingot press (assuming they want to make a number of potions which require ingots) the others really only need the ingot press.
1. That would both make sense and be pretty cool. 2. I've almost always gotten Smithing just cause +5 Burl and free crafting is useful, though they moved almost all the staves to Alchemy. Actually it does fall off in usefulness after a short time... 3. VERY AGREED, I've gotten so pissed off that I find 1 piece of chalk every 3 floors at best, maybe a random Steel ingot, when the recipe I need requires like 4. 4. Well, the point of that skill is to be random. If you just use it on the useless ones (or if you only have one and keep transmuting it) then you'll probably get what you need eventually. That is a cool suggestion tho. 5. Also a good idea. 6. Wait, you mean stuff like Bolt of Mass Destruction, Tesla Bolt, etc.? I've found those recipes before. 7. Sounds good. 8. I haven't played with max Alchemy yet but that sounds...crazy. 9. Haven't had max Tinkering either, but I love using traps. I'm pretty sure I'd only craft the traps that have the coolest effects, from what you said. 10. Actually Smith needs the Anvil, and Tinkerer needs the Tinker Kit. And Alchemy also needs the Alchemy kit. But yeah, that's 4 to 2, there needs to be some way to increase inventory space if that can't be changed.
I think it will be nice if Smithing can make both staves and magic armor, or at least the pure damage staffs should be in smithing.
Kagemaru, in response to #6: Actually I meant the bolts that don't have crafting recipes currently like acid/poison bottle, tentacle, fire, bone etc. But thanks...
