The Elder Scrolls Online is easily the most anticipated new MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) in recent memory, and its developer ZeniMax Media is trying to create something a bit different than the cookie-cutter Everquest clones and World of Warcraft impersonators that have come before. One of the ways they’re attempting this is in the game’s crafting system and economy.
Like in other online RPGs, players can both find materials they need for crafting scattered about the world and purchase them from vendors. The system is much more complex, however, with ten different styles (one for each of the game’s races) and a wide variety of “traits” that can be given to an item. Traits are learned by deconstructing items the player finds or buys through the “research” system, and can immensely increase a given item’s value and usefulness. Keep in mind, though, that to research a trait requires hours of real time, though you can wander off and do other things while the progress bar crawls toward completion. The system is also much more flexible than in other games, allowing for items to be created along a sliding scale of levels.
Elder Scrolls Online’s crafting system also tosses out many of the restrictions put on crafting in other games, and adds in some new opportunities- and opportunity costs. A character can use skill points to grant highly useful perks in a crafting skill, though this must be balanced with other skills.
It’s possible to trade the fruits of your labor, of course, and instead of a global Auction House as seen in so many other titles, trading is done through Guild Stores, so gaining membership in a guild with a lot of skilled crafters will no doubt become high priority for a lot of players. Crafted items in this game have the potential to surpass even the items gained by defeating powerful and difficult monsters in the game’s dungeons and other end-game content, so being able to craft at the very highest levels offers serious opportunity both for turning a profit and for helping out your friends and guildmates.
Those looking for tips on best utilizing the crafting system to their advantage should remember to keep on researching traits, spend some time off the beaten path to gather materials, and consider investing skill points for perks like hirelings that make materials available daily or boost your crafting output.