Crafting in Adventuring Quests

So, I've been in Sinking Sands for a while (lots to do there), and I've been working on progressing the story in Maj Dul, and just found out that in order to do so, I have to craft an item in a tradeskill I'm not proficient in.

I can understand having to do that for tradeskill quests (and possibly even encourage it for such quests), or even non-essential quests, but requiring it of a storyline quest is just really poor game design. I don't use the broker, but even if I did, the item isn't on there, and I choose not to be in a guild.

So basically, I'm not going to be able to progress the story there on this character until I create an alt and level up its tradeskill to make it. I've never seen any MMO force a player to craft an item to progress the story. If this was an attempt to get people to interact, it was a very poorly executed attempt. Not everyone likes to have to rely on other people for everything - I'm not a solo-only player, I like to group, but I still like to be self-sufficient.

I really enjoy the tradeskilling in this game, too, but if you're going to put crafting in a game, it should never directly intersect with the adventuring side, and most definitely not in the storyline. I hope there's not many more storyline quests like this.

I'm 99.99% sure you missed something but without knowing about which quest you're ranting I - and others - can't help you..

In many zones there are crafting quests. Crafters are valued higher in EQ2 than in many other MMOs, so often get craft quests in the zones. It sounds like you started a crafting quest line. What is the name of the quest?

Thanks for responding, but I know for certain it's a storyline quest:

*SPOILER ALERT*



The quest is Court of the Blades: Dukaris, Hero of the People. This quest is a pre-requisite for the quest that gives you one of the items you need to eventually unite Maj Dul. You have to craft a piece of jewelry for part of the quest.

I assume it is the earring you need. You can also buy it off the broker, or get the materials and ask in chat for someone to craft it for you. If you do that, be willing to tip the crafter for his/her time.

Yes, I know that, but that really wasn't the point.

I guess I'm part of a dying group of players who actually want to be self-sufficient instead of relying on others for everything. If I'm doing a group quest, then I don't mind grouping up with someone - that's how it should be. But if I'm doing a solo quest, I don't want to have to depend on someone else. I don't want to start the game with the best of everything - I still use Tier I mastercrafted boxes/bags and I've made do with it just fine. I just didn't want to have to choose between asking someone to help me through a solo story quest or stopping progression on that character and raising an alt just to make one crafted item.

Yes, I realize this is an MMO, and I enjoy interaction with other players - I just don't think that interaction should be forced in this particular situation. That's all. But alas, that's just me.

I can understand what you are saying. But to be truly self-sufficient, you would also need to bring up crafters in each area other than scholar to craft all your gear. Or depend entirely on drops, quest rewards and barter gear.

I totaly understand that. But seriously, just do like the rest of "us" and level 9 crafters if you want to be self-sufficient.
EQ2 is still a MMO and asking for a handcrafted item (iow every 56+ jeweler can do it) in quest that wasn't even intended to be soloed isn't out of line.

This hour you've spent writing your opinion on the forum could have been spent finishing the quest by asking someone to craft for you. Just saying...

There are plenty of quests in this game (and eq1 as well) that required crafting. At least one epic weapon requires getting an item crafted even. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. While I tend to play solo most of the time these days, you can't really expect to play 100% of any MMO in vaccuum never having to interact with anyone else. There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with a quest requiring a crafting item that can be traded by or commissioned by another player. That's just the multiplayer part of the game showing. I personally think it's a pretty healthy thing that crafting & adventuring intersect.

There are storyline quests that start out soloable but end with you being required to complete raid zones to finish up the quest.

I also would like to point out, pretty much every quest in the game is optional these days since we no longer have to complete a quest series to gain our final adventure class. Plenty of people level up doing a bare minimum of quests (only doing epic, epic repercussions & quests needed to access endgame zones). i'd never do that, but there are many who do.
You are forcing restrictions upon yourself & then complaining about the game not complying with your self imposed restrictions.

This.

Plus there are items from adventuring that crafters need to be able to get. Well rounded characters for the win.

I wonder, why play an MMO? I don't think there was ever a group of players that were "self-sufficient" in the manner you describe. What is the appeal?

I second the idea that there will be quite a few quests that will require you to get adventure help. Some things are just not soloable still, even with a merc. There's a crafting channel on every server, and most crafters are super friendly, so I don't see the harm in making a passing aquaintance and then going back to being an island. =)

You all completely misunderstood the context of my post.

I'm not a solo-only player - I love to group up and I do so regularly. However, I don't think that you should have to group up for everything. I think there should be exceptions. This game actually discourages grouping up for heroic content, as most of it is easily soloable on level with a mercenary (and sometimes even without a mercenary), and I think it's too solo-friendly in that particular regard. But then it forces you to depend on another player for a solo storyline quest, and yes, it is supposed to be a solo quest - the other part of the quest has you kill 25 non-heroic lizardmen, and there's nothing group-oriented about that.

To me, there's just a distinct difference between grouping up with someone for combat and asking them to get an item for you. One of them is a necessary function of a multiplayer game and the other is relying on someone else to play a portion of the game for you. The manner of self sufficiency that I described is very possible, and I have achieved it in other MMO's without having to make alts just to do so.

And tradeskilling, while very useful, is not essential. Just using Tier 1 12-slot bags/boxes still gives you more storage than most other MMO's. The best gear is not crafted. You can buy food and arrows. Crafting, in my opinion, should never be a required activity to adventure. Again, I do enjoy it, but many players don't, and they shouldn't be forced to do it or depend on other players that do it.

You must be exceptionally bored, if the best thing you can find to complain about, is a HEROIC quest that requires a crafted component.

Find comfort in knowing that you do not have to group up for everything in EQ2. There are thousands of quests that can be completed by a solo character.

Its not. At all. You aren't required to perform that quest. You can skip it. Or you can get someone else to make the item for you for a few gold. Or you can level up crafting and make it yourself. Or you can buy it on the broker. You're being ridiculous right now with your "I don't want to do X, Y or Z, but I still want to do this quest which requires it." Well, either you want to do the quest, which will require you to do X, Y or Z, or you don't want to do X, Y or Z, and so you'll skip the quest.

There is probably less than 1% of the THOUSANDS of quests out there that require crafting. And of those, there is probably only 10% of them that require that YOU do the actual crafting (the rest are attainable through trades, broker or commission). If you don't want to do the crafting quests, you'll miss out on a handful of quests compared to the thousands of other quests that you can do without lifting a needle (or saw, or tongs, or whatever your craft class is).

Since no one still seems to understand exactly what I'm trying to convey, and is just writing it off as a rant (which it's not), let me say it another way.

This is an MMO. It is a multiplayer game. Interaction with other players is intended. I understand that. I like that interaction - it's why I'm playing an MMO.

However, each individual has their own idea of how much interaction should be necessary. Some players are OK with having a friend make the very best of everything for them when they start out. Some players go completely solo and never interact with anyone else. I try to find a balance between the two, but then it's a difficult struggle deciding how much to actually rely on another player before it feels like "cheating". I'm not saying that people relying on others is cheating - I'm just saying that most people have that cutoff point where they say "OK, I'm fine with someone else doing x, y, z for me but I want to do a, b, c on my own."

To give another example, I've grouped up with players that have entered dungeons with me and just stayed on follow or shot off a random heal from time to time to make sure they got XP. That's not something that I would be comfortable doing. I always strive to bring as much to a group as I can, and as the tank, I'm usually the one that leads it. But then on the other hand, asking someone else to just make me an item doesn't feel right to me. When interacting with other people, I don't like accepting rewards for things I haven't contributed to. But that's just my playstyle.

And one more thing - yes, I could just skip this quest, but without it, you can't progress the main story in Maj Dul. I consider that an essential quest, and the part of the quest I'm on is not heroic. So it's not just "any other quest" for me.

So yes, for me the option is creating an alt to make it. But I'm not really up for that right now. I think I just need a break from the game for a while.

Or you need to realize that you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Its a common recipe that requires common harvests. I don't understand why you are so dead set against asking someone to make it for you, or buying it on the broker. Its not even comparable to someone PLing you. Its maybe comparable to someone jumping in and healing you when you're struggling with a named mob.

So, for a common crafted ring, a game is lost? I dont' mean any disrepect, but put this in context. You are doing one of the better quest lines in the game, I liked it. It's worth doing. And the ring that is required for the quest is a common ring. The only reason it's not so easy to perhaps find is because it's old content, no one needs that ring. At the time the content was relavant, I bet the ring was all over the broker. There isn't a decent jewler out there that wouldn't drop what they were doing and happily craft that item for you. I'd do in in a second and not even charge you for it.
But, then if this upsets you, you may as well stop, as later in ROK, a quest requires another jewler item...two no less...again common crafted.
I'm all for playing your way. I support the solo style, it's the way I mostly play myself, but if I didn't already have a jewler. I'd have no problems prowling around looking for one. Find the friendly people out there and let 'em help you out.
There are principled stands to make. I just don't know that this is the one to give up on a game for.

I don't think you need a break, you just need to think over the obstacle your putting in front of yourself. It's a handcrafted ring you can find on the broker or buy from someone else. It's no more difficult than coming here to post about your problem with the quest and interacting with us.

When I think of the situation, I begin to imagine how many people wouldn't be married right now if they felt it was cheating to go into a jewelry store and buy a wedding ring.

I actually get what you are trying to say. A component of a quest, which seemed at the outset to be a soloable questline, now has an annoying road block which requires you to take some extra steps, steps that the average player can't overcome without intervention from another player or leveling up a new crafting character of their own.

Since this is a KoS questline, it seems to be the developers (and this was the Scott Hartsman days) deliberately wanted to put in a road block that required player cooperation. In those days, you might well have been doing it with a group (I am not sure about this quest line as far as previous difficulty). Hartsman liked groups and cooperation, so it's no surprise that this quest, and others from KoS required more than a solo player to complete. I am sure the idea was also to involve crafters, and give them a role with adventurers, so that was also a win-win in those days. One more thought: the designer of this quest might have thought it gave a good flavor of lore and difficulty to have the player craft a ring/have one crafted as part of the story line.

We have been through a couple of producers since Hartsman was at the helm, and they certainly have thrown out the idea that anything would need more than one player and some ingenuity to complete -- including "advanced solo" dungeons, which clearly are designed to do with a merc.

Frankly, since the item is available on the broker, that doesn't sound too difficult to me to just buy it and move on. I am not sure why you don't like the broker, but if you want to finish this quest, sounds like it might be a one time visit for you.

Good luck -- sometimes the game does get frustrating and it helps to step away from the keyboard and get some perspective.