The developers of the PvP MMORPG Crowfall have introduced the action-packed harvesting system, which has sparked some criticism.
Harvesting and crafting are an important part of every MMORPG, as players want to contribute to the world, and this works best through a functioning economy where every player can play a role. There are people who mine resources to sell them to crafters. The crafters then turn the resources into good items and sell them to adventurers, so they can go hunting for mobs equipped.
And the first link in this chain, harvesting resources, is supposed to be just as fun in Crowfall as fighting mobs at the end of the chain.
Gathering resources is often boring
Crafting and gathering resources, so-called “harvesting”, are usually not particularly spectacular tasks. In many games, for example, you click on a tree, watch an animation, and wait until a bar fills up, finally receiving the resource. The same applies to crafting. You place the required resources on a workbench and watch as a bar fills up to finally obtain the item.
Crowfall wants to bring action to harvesting
Things are supposed to be different in Crowfall. The so-called “action harvesting” is a type of mini-game that is based on classic MMORPG hotbar combat.
If you want to gather a resource in the game and enter “harvesting mode”, you’ll see a new hotbar containing all the skills you need to collect resources. You will use these skills just like you use abilities in a fight. You will perform your skills one by one to harvest resources. This will be accompanied by corresponding animations that are supposed to make the process visually interesting.
However, this system did not go down well with fans when it was recently introduced. And there are several reasons for this:
- While gathering resources and with the resource hotbar active, you can be attacked, and it is not easy to defend yourself, as you first have to switch back to combat mode.
- Players believe that it is only fun to use this system for the first few times and then it becomes work.
- Such experiments, according to fans, have not worked in the past because players are accustomed to their standard systems.
The system will be further optimized
The developers have responded to this criticism. They explain that the system is not final and needs further optimization. However, many have already found it more enjoyable than simply clicking on a resource and waiting to receive something. All of this is further underlined by suitable animations, and players receive hints in the form of pop-up texts that explain everything.
Additionally, this way, you get a much better sense of becoming better at resource gathering. According to the developers, the entire system just feels better.
It sounds like the team wants to stick with this new system. Ultimately, however, players will decide how well it is received once it is fully integrated into the MMORPG Crowfall.
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