I've been thinking of writing an ongoing series about crafting in MMORPGs for some time now. I'm far from learning all I can, but I think at this point, my best approach is a two-way road –- my hope is to gather as much data from readers as possible, while still providing some thought-provoking commentary.

However you choose to look at crafting, it can usually be split into a few main parts, with those parts being broken down into their various elements.

I want to look at crafting from a few viewpoints:

• Gathering
• Refining
• Crafting

But before I start breaking those sections down, I want to try and cover what crafting is, in relation to being in an MMORPG.

The player's perceptions as to what role crafting plays is an important one that I think shouldn't be overlooked. From my current knowledge, players fall into a few categories:

• Crafters
• Endgamers who utilize crafting to help them endgame
• Sandbox players who see it as an option but currently feel it’s too separate from regular game play. 

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Crafters

This is my group; I play from the standpoint of being a crafter. That is, crafting comes first with the rest of the game's elements being secondary, or playing off of crafting. I craft for the purpose of dealing my wares with other players, making money in the auction house, making something and having pride knowing that other players are wearing the items I make, or to try and "out craft" others. To me it would be one of the biggest achievements in a server to be known as the No. 1 Blacksmith or Armorcrafter. I enjoy leveling and other parts of the game, but being a crafter first, this is generally how I view crafting in-game.

I can spend an entire game session mining or gathering herbs. I'll plan crafting and money making strategies offline. I'll use crafting and auction house add-ons to keep tabs on market prices for the purpose of seeing which money making items I should be concentrating my skills on, and to find recipes I don't have. I make little personal goals and games out of venturing into higher level areas to get ore I need while using my skills to avoid mobs, or killing to get an awesome recipe drop. I'll always keep an eye out for items people need that I can make, because it brings me joy to make those items for them, knowing that someone wants my skills. I want to know that my skills are wanted for all other areas of play. I have seemingly boundless patience because to me going adventuring out into the world to gather the items I need, refining, and crafting for people or profit, or to wear myself is fun in the same way Endgamers have fun by becoming high level and raiding.

Endgamers

The Endgamers category isn't strictly made up of Endgamers, but also lower level players on their way to achieving the MMORPG's level cap. These players could be attempting to be the toughest in server and/or PvP, or simply wanting to be able to fly through a raid/dungeon. Their goals may center more on conquering the harder elements of gameplay in an MMO, and they will utilize crafting to help them to those goals. They can like making money, as well as trading crafted wares, but the main goal is to be strong enough to easily conquer that dungeon and/or boss to grow and move on to the next challenge. There's some definite overlap in goals between the Crafter and Endgamer.

They both like making money, but many Endgamers see crafting as a means to an end; Crafters see crafting as "it." The Endgamer may see fun in a crafting system, but they will be pretty critical of it. If they feel the money and time put into it, doesn't equal the "worth" of grinding for better gear so they can solo that dungeon or just buying the better gear from the gold they made selling the gear drops they've acquired, from high level players selling their drops, then crafting will usually take second place.

Sandbox Players

Usually feeling like they're in the minority but with just as much worth as the other players, the Sandbox Player is the guy or girl that wants to like crafting.

They view it as a potential additional element to add fun to the MMORPG, but may have trouble getting over, what they feel are, crafting’s more sublime and passive actions. They want it to be more engaging, skill based, or interactive.

As a person jumping back and forth between activities, relishing the fun in them all, feeling like they are being forced into committing to much time in any single endeavor, it can be a turn off. They may be comparing a lot to other areas of the game. If they feel they spent too much time just gathering, and could have had more fun, with that same amount of time, in an arena or doing something else, this could lead to frustrations about what’s “expected” of them when it comes to crafting.

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No doubt you’ve read this and can easily pick out which type of player you are, but sometimes it’s not always so clear.

Which type do you think you match the closest? Or do you feel I left your group out? The better we know ourselves and what we like, the better we can tell if we like crafting or not.

Next time I’ll dive into the gathering aspect of crafting systems to take a look at how gathering may, or may not, appeal to these player types.

Read the next installment of MMO Craft Soup: Gathering.

Posted by Jeremy Stratton
June 16, 2009

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