Crafting plays an important role in many MMORPGs. However, players definitely want to receive valuable rewards during their adventures. Should therefore found items, known as Drops, or self-crafted ones be better?
To forge a sword in an MMORPG, a considerable effort is required. One needs to gather and combine the appropriate raw materials and then craft the weapon from them. Additionally, a high skill level is needed. Often, items created this way can be improved with special materials or gems, as well as an even higher crafting skill, allowing a truly skilled “Crafter” to create extremely powerful weapons.
Many MMO fans love to create their own items and then sell them to other players. This creates a functioning economy. But what about ancient artifacts that can be found in dark dungeons?
Artifacts, Self-crafted or both?
Some players are less engaged or do not engage at all with crafting and prefer to embark on adventures and fight monsters instead. Especially during tough battles or in ancient ruins, it is indeed possible in some MMOs to find weapons or other relics from long ago. Should such artifacts, which were conceived by the game developers, be more powerful than self-crafted items? In games like World of Warcraft, the hunt for epic items constitutes a large part of the gameplay, while this plays a lesser role in sandbox games.
The upcoming “Selective Multiplayer RPG” Shroud of the Avatar aims to ensure that crafted items are the most powerful in the entire game. Even players who do not wish to play or trade with others – for example, in single-player mode – will have access to them.
Everything that players create will flow into the world. Monsters can also drop player-crafted weapons. Therefore, it is possible that adventurers find a particularly powerful axe in a dungeon after a tough battle, which, however, is not a relic from the past but rather made by another player.
This brings us to another issue: If there is a legendary sword in an ancient crypt, is it only available once in the world or can everyone find this artifact? If only one player can have it, others might feel unfairly treated. If everyone can find it, it loses its uniqueness. Finding a good balance here is always difficult. Moreover, such artifacts could disrupt the economy of an MMO, especially if it is determined by self-crafted items.
What do you think? Should artifacts created by the developers appear in an MMORPG or do you believe crafted items should dominate? If both exist, which should be more powerful?
