If you are like me and played at launch, you will remember that there were trade-skill instances everywhere in the main cities, and our inn rooms were very close to one. For example, I could run very quickly from my inn room in Castleview Hamlet to the trade-skill instance in that zone. However, the Freeport/Qeynos revamps were done without the notion that there might not be guildhalls available. Therefore, if you live in Freeport..for example...the inn rooms are quite a long distance from the trade-skill area or a broker. Obviously, I can only speak for myself; however, I can say that I very rarely go to my inn room on the TLE server...when I went all of the time when I was playing at the original launch. Anyway, I was thinking perhaps this might be addressed in one of two ways: 1) A motivated Freeport/Qeynos NPC opens up a new inn very close to the main trade-skill or main trading areas or 2) an item/ability/NPC is introduced into the game that would provide a means to travel to one's inn room from near the trade-skill or main trading areas. (Please read through this carefully before posting a knee-jerk response. You will note that I'm actually requesting a quality-of-life improvement that would bring us closer to the original game design. Obviously, it's OK to disagree, but don't embarrass yourself by suggesting that my suggestion is trying to make the game "easier" or more like the live servers.)
You don't need to be in the crafting areas to craft, and depending on your profession, you can stay quite close to your house. You can also move house to closer to the crafting area as another option (although WAY more expensive). Crafting stations are set up all around the cities. The only reason I craft in the Ironforge Exchange or Coalition House is because of the easy access to crafting trainers and writ givers, not the banker or broker. One way or the other, unless crafting in the main areas, you will need to move around a bit. Freeport Torlig's Herbs - has alchemy tables and is right next door to the Jade Tiger. Harbour Exchange (EFP) - forge Block & Tackle (SFP) - has all crafting stations, banker and broker Qeynos - a little more spread out Lion's Mane Inn (SQ) - stove Tin Soldier (SQ) - forge Maile's Exhange (SQ) - woodworking table, loom, banker, broker Herb Jar (SQ) - alchemy table Mage Tower (SQ) - desks Shipyard (QH) - woodworking table Chronomentor area (QH) - loom, also close to broker Echoes of Destiny (QH) - desk, alchemy table Hall of Steel (QH) - forge, also close to banker Remember, every mender's forge is usable by crafters. Merchants for fuel are nearby as well. Perhaps a different idea would be to place writ givers and crafting trainers in the Block & Tackle in Freeport, and Maile's Exchange in Qeynos. With the crafting stations in Qeynos being very spread out, some running around will be needed. It doesn't quite address your issue of being close to your house, but you can move house closer to one of these areas.
Can't you get writs from a board somewhere that you can place into your house? Or an NPC you can place??
Imagine spending the night at the castle in Neriak. Queen Cristanos Thex comes into your room at night and wakes you up with her voice "hey baby." (If you are wondering...go hear her talk in Neriak)
Tradeskill apprentices aren't available on TLE servers. Nor do they give you the recipes you need for writs. Writ givers and crafting tables (and trainer too, I think) can be placed in guild halls, but they are not unlocked yet. Yes, you can get the clipboard, but you still need to a) go to the writ giver and get the quest, and b ) return to the writ giver to get the reward. You can put crafting tables in your own house, but these cost a bit of gold and nearly 500k status each. I doubt that anyone yet has that amount of status on the TLE server.
You do realize all that you have to do is publish your home and you can visit it anywhere and exit exactly back to where you came from right? That would be option 2 you listed and it's been in the game for several years, works just fine on TLE servers. /house, choose ratings, select your home size, find your house and hit VISIT. When done, you just exit your house and you are back to where you were. Whether that is at a Broker, Writ giver or in Fallen Gate, it doesn't matter. The only thing it cannot be is an instanced zone with a lockout timer. There are people with every crafting table in their houses already and using the depots to be a personalized version of guildhalls in regards to crafting giving access to the house and depots as they see fit. You don't need any access if it's published if you have the mats in your bag, you can use someone else's crafting tables they bought and /house, zone in and out in front of the writ giver over and over. So, yeah, everything you said is pointless given this fact. Devs don't need to waste resources, people need to learn what tools are available to them in the game.
Rhodis' facts are all correct; however, the real issue are writs and broker access. To be honest, the distance from the broker to the inn rooms is more frustrating than the distance to the tradeskill writ givers. Splatterpunk's suggestion is one that I knew about already; however, I dismissed it because I really don't have an interest in making my house open to the public. It just seems somehow strange to make it so that people can just come in any time they want. Now -- if I could make it guild only or something like, and still get the "published" benefit, then that would be fine. Again, I want to remind everyone that my request is simply to return the TLE server to be closer to the launch experience. It's a very simple thing I'm requesting and although it would take some development time, a new "call to my house" ability, or an inn room portal near the tradeskill areas, etc. should not be difficult to implement. Or, since so much of the game (even the major cities and quest hubs) were re-designed with guildhalls in mind, we could just add the guildhalls sooner rather than later. I can't get anyone to talk on /ooc or in /shout in the major cities as it is already, so I don't see a downside in at least having a place to gather easily with guildees *shrug*.
If you don't want to publish your house then use someone elses that has crafting tables in them. Unless you are exiled, which I am not therefore I don't know what is published, then there are already published homes on both factions with all crafting tables. And if you are on Stormhold faction doesn't matter, there are at least 5 different small homes you can use their crafting tables, they have all of them in there -- you port in/out in front of the writ giver. I guess I just don't understand why you feel the need to go to your house when you are crafting, banking or needing to broker unless you are on Deathtoll and you don't want to get killed. And if you are on Deathtoll you will unlikely ever get a guildhall. Anyway, good luck.
