SUGGESTIONS:

Crafting Skills

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"Crafting Skills" refers to: Alchemy, Enchanting, Smithing and Spellcrafting. As engrossing as crafting was in Skyrim, it caused a major balance problem that I also cover in ECONOMY. I can't speak for most players, but I was attracted to the crafting skills because they seemed an easy way to make money and develop my character. Once it became a positive sum game to buy ingredients and sell the created potions at a mark up, it was a trifle to establish a trade circuit around the province- and feasibly not enter combat at all until I had mastered all the crafting skills. Because enemies level up with the player in Skyrim, I found combat frustratingly difficult, as my combat skills were so low compared to my crafting skills. It is not fun sniping and hiding from a Draugr Death Overlord with combat skills around the 20 mark.

 

The EXP earned from crafting skills should follow diminishing returns. Most RPGs do this to an extent already as one levels up, but I am referring specifically to each type and sub-type of crafted item. Though unlikely and numbingly repetitive, one could feasibly become a master smith of Skyrim by forging the same iron dagger over and over again. Why should an expert of iron daggers be an authority in crafting a fine Elven helmet?

 

If experience were based on diminishing returns, one could only forge so many iron daggers before the Smithing skill no longer improved. This indicates the player has mastered this particular type of weapon, and must broaden his or her skill set. ​This rule of thumb also applies to enchanting and alchemy, only with enchantment types and alchemical effects.

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ALCHEMY:

It was easy in Skyrim to mash a button and create hundreds of potions worth hundreds of gold, featuring such arbitrary benefits as fortify carry weight, invisibility, restore stamina and fortify smithing in one poultice. The game could counter this by penalising the stacking value of potions with multiple effects, unless those effects logically complement each other. Example: an invisibility potion that incidentally fortifies Enchanting should only be marginally more valuable than a standard invisibility potion. An invisibility potion that also fortifies Stealth would be worth significantly more because both effects are to the same end.

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Alchemical ingredients have randomised effects for each play through, with obvious exceptions (fire salts providing fire-based results, nightshade being poisonous etc). This eliminates the option to cheat on the Internet.

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Poisons: The effects of poisons are gradual and dependant on quality. They are significantly more potent, often lethal, but take minutes or hours to take full effect. Poisons may also be inhaled. A poisoned players may suffer other side effects, such as stumbling, blurred vision and vomiting.

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SMITHING:
Smithing as it was in Skyrim detracted from the wonder of exploration, because the player could create advanced weapons and armour two doors down from home. The satisfaction of plundering caves for unseen treasures was diminished. Forged weapons and armour should only be considered entry to mid-level compared with what lies waiting to be discovered.

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The player has independent sub-levels in:

Weapons & Arrows- separated into Light Weapons / Heavy Weapons: Slashing / Thrusting / Chopping / Blunt, Marksman: Bow / Longbow / Crossbow / Arbalest, then into the following materials:

• Wood, Iron, Steel, Orichalcum, Silver, Quicksilver, Dwarven, Moonstone, Corundum, Glass, Ebony, Dragonbone.

Armour / Shields:

• Wood, Hide, Leather, Iron, Steel, Orichalcum, Silver, Quicksilver, Dwarven, Moonstone, Corundum, Glass, Ebony, Dragonscale, Dragonbone

Miscellaneous:

• Jewelry, Upholstery, Crockery.

 

All of which contribute to the Smithing skill by way of diminishing returns, as noted above. Rarer materials like Ebony will yield greater returns than common materials. The player won't need to master all of these sub skills to become a master smith, but is encouraged to diversify. This presents an organic and more realistic approach to Smithing.

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The player may only create hide and iron armours by default, with leather and steel unlocked as perks. Designs for more advanced items, such as Dwarven, Orcish, Glass, Chitin and Ebony, must be learned from manuals and knowledgeable NPCs, re-emphasising the discovery of knowledge. Consequently, common materials like iron, steel, hide and leather must come into their own in terms of diversity and quality to allow Smithing to remain interesting while also grounded.

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To further help restore balance, the base materials of advanced weapons and armours (Moonstone, Malachite, Ebony, Orichalcum, Corundum) are largely indigenous to relevant locales (Orichalcum ingots in Orc strongholds, Moonstone ingots in Thalmor strongholds etc). Ebony would need to be imported from faraway Morrowind, making it rare and prohibitively expensive.

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Condition:

The notion of forging armour several magnitudes better, using the same materials while retaining the original design, in some way seems odd. In Elsweyr, players acquire armour and weapons in varying conditions, and the equivalent of a “Legendary” item would be at 100% condition- a finite barrier that can never be crossed. For example, an iron helm may have a 162 armour rating when fully repaired to 100% condition by a skilled smith, but if the player finds it at 28%, the helm only has a 45 armour rating. Note that the weapon or armour's condition does not diminish as the player uses it.

 

While similar to Skyrim, not being able to create an item better than 100% prevents the use of stacking fortification potions to create obscenely overpowered items that in essence 'break' the game. The player's Smithing skill determines how closely to 100% an item can be repaired, and the amount of materials used up in the process. A master smith will almost salvage the same materials from melting down weapons as he would creating them.

 

The state of the item is apparent. Poorly produced items have visible bumps, impurities and cracks. High quality items are visibly immaculate. Repairing a poor item up to 100% would cost more in base materials than starting again from scratch.

 

Daedric & Advanced Items:

Removed is the ability to forge Deadric items. Only the Daedra should possess such mysterious knowledge. These items must be found, making them exceedingly rare and much more valuable. Forging advanced items (Glass, Ebony, Orcish, Dwarven etc) is possible but not as a perk (refer Smithing under ECONOMY & BARTERING for more). However, if the player is an Orc for example, he will have knowledge of basic Orcish gear from the start.

 

Disassembling / Melting Items:

At a blacksmith, one can disassemble weapons and armour into their base components for a fee. For example, disassembling a steel short sword will provide 1 x Leather, 1 x Timber and 1 x Steel. Putting it back together again requires more base materials to ensure a non-zero sum game. One can also melt metal objects, such as pots and kettles, into their various metallic components.

 

Other items:

The player can also forge items like crockery, upholstery and other decorative items in much the same way as making custom weapons, which represents a steady source of income.