EverQuest Next Landmark: Alpha Testing Adventures, About Crafting
In my previous post, I discussed the opening day of alpha (which is currently undergoing the expected server woes — we deal with it so you don’t have to later!). This time around, I want to talk about crafting.
This game is essentially a game about gathering, crafting and building the world around you with other people. It’s like a blend of Second Life and Starbound with an EverQuest look and feel. Once you’ve gathered your materials, it’s time to do stuff with those materials. Namely, crafting.
A starter crafting station, the Stone Forge, is located at the hub spot in the middle of every island. Click on the forge to see a list of beginner-type recipes. Some recipes refine raw material into usable material. Some create props for decorating your plot. Some even create better tools and other workstations.
Different workstations can create different items. This is important to remember because the basic crafting station at the hub can’t craft everything. For example, it can’t refine wood.
How to Craft
Crafting at this point is very straightforward. I don’t know if there will be any game-like mechanics added later, though I’ve heard hints about it.
Visit the Stone Forge and browse the recipes to see what materials are required for the item you want to make. Keep in mind, some items require you to refine raw materials into useable materials, such as ingot.
The crafting window shows you how much material you have and how much you need to craft the item. You simply input the number of items you want to make and craft.
Starting Tips for New Crafters
If you’re just starting out, concentrate on creating the Copper Pick, so that you can build on that to create more powerful mining tools. Once you have a Copper Pick, you can upgrade that through crafting to the Bronze Pick, for example.
Because you need refined wood for the Bronze Pick, next concentrate on crafting the Copper Reinforced Saw Table. This is an item you can put on your plot that allows you to refine wood. If you’re lucky, you may be able to use saw tables placed by other players on their plots. While I’ve done that, I still want to craft one for my own home, so I can begin to build a place to craft on my plot.
So you see, there’s a natural and logical progression of crafting that allows you to build better items, which in turn, allows you to gather better items, which in turn, allows you to build yet more better items! Pretty clear, right?
The one note that I want to make is that the official FAQ states that each time you craft a tool, the stats on that tool are randomized. So in order to get the tool of your dreams, keep crafting!
So far, this is all there really is to know about crafting. I’m waiting for the servers to calm down a bit before I try my hand with building. That might be a tonight-project if all goes well.
