I will try to explain this:
Read this blog: http://citystateentertainment.com/20...l-principle-7/
Marc mentioned 3 crafting paths:
1 for everybody (fighting characters can gather)
2 for crafter characters (they probably don't fight and if they do, they will be poor as crafting will require dedication, dunno if they can gather)
Crafter characters can only craft. It is a dedicated option. But hey...bnobody said that you can't have an crafting alt I am gonna do my main as a crafter and alt for figthing.The crafting system is broken down into three specific tracks, journeyman, master, and artisan (placeholder name). Non-crafter classes are limited to the journeyman track while players who choose to play crafters can pursue the master track and then, if they so choose, the artisan track. Each track has its own set of skills and abilities along with leveling curves appropriate to characters that are not full-time crafters or those who choose to play a full-time crafter.
1st one will allow you to craft basic stuff and repair basic stuff.
Of the three tracks, the journeyman track is the least time-consuming and centers around the repairing and creation of a limited number of mundane items. As our goal here is to not use item decay as a true money sink (through the continued and costly repairing of items), but rather use it to ensure ongoing demand for new items, non-crafters will be able to repair low-level items and most crafters will not have to level through the repairing of items. While there is some cost involved in repairing of items, it will be quite small and we expect that most players will simply repair their own items as they level up their crafting skills. This track will also allow players to create non-magical arrows, sharpen their blades, and create some parts of structures and roads as well as to partake in a number of other crafting-related activities.
2 others are for Crafters and will give 2 different ways - more on that in the link and future info
Items which are better than basic items, will decay in time with possibility to salvage them. There will be no repair option to keep the market flowing. It is an awesome idea. It is like in Entropia Universe, we had "limited" items - items that were decaying in time and couldn't be repaired at all. This keeps the market flowing and worked well and mined materials vere nicely consumed. The only problem were old repairable items and repairable versions of limited items, but those were rare as hell and expensive.
CU won't have these.
Crafter characters will spend their time on crafting. In EU we had such players, who were doing this and planing this for many many hours/day and it kept them busy. As CU will have slitghty complciated process of crafting:
In time, many items will probably end up to sell for 105% - 160% of the crafting cost. Only above-average and hard to craft items will be veery expensive. Normally, prices will depend on the crafting cost, time, rarity and of course, strenght of the item. If only 1-2 carfters will have, let's name it as an exmaple, "legendary Sword of Masacre" which will be one of the best looking and killing weapon, the price could be 1k% or more. It also depends on the welath of customers.Players will create items through a combination of experimentation and learned patterns based on the use and creation of various alloys, ingredients and parts and then shaping them into the item that the crafter wishes to make. The imbuing of the item with a limited set of magical properties will be another step in what will be overall a time-consuming process for the crafter.
As mentioned in interview or one of the blogs, crafters will build all the materials for housing, structures and siege equipment. So you would be able to order (as a guild) 100 catapults from that crafter or that crafter guild. Awesome idea.
It is like connecting DAoC with WAR with EvE and Entropia Universe, all this in dark fantasy setting, aww, nice product, hopefully they will do it well
Hopefully me explaination helped Damn, I will be veery active on official forums.