Was thinking about ways that might spice crafting up a bit and came up with this:

Crafting buffs based on class. It would go something like this:

Tactical Officers: no real crafting/R&D improvement, but more effective at using those items (damage buffs and such which may already be there)

Science Officers: R&D buffs. When a science officer improves an item perhaps it goes from blue to purple or something. Basically: Science officers are better at researching and improving existing items.

Engineering Officers: Crafting Buffs. This would require the ability to fabricate new items from scratch (rather than just improve ones you buy from a vendor 5 feet away). Everything that an engineering officer would craft would be better than if a science officer or tactical officer crafted the same thing.

I have always been a big fan of crafting in MMO's and something like this would probably be enough to make me switch over to an Engineer, rather than tactical.

Thoughts? Opinions? General Insults?

Not that I dissagree that the Reshearch system could need another overhaul, but there are plenty of posts already working with the topic.

You idea is ok, but it dosen't really comply with Star Trek. I mean, everyone in ST were able to create somthing cool within, and sometimes outside, tier own field of expertise (Tuvok making cool weapons, B'elana making a forcefield out of a phaser and a EPS conduit, data making a puppet out of a tricorder, and so on and so on)...

Also I think as we have to go to memory alpha each time, it seems that we are downloading schematics from the database rather than actually inventing new stuff.

The best way to look at STO crafting is not to call it crafting. Call it Upgrading, cause really all your doing is taking a white and making it better right now.

Once you know the angle, you have a good idea of what you can do. Instead of recipes, the upgrade system should be broken down into the constituent procs and buffs. Those each then have a set resource value and, if necessary, time of completion factor. This would then allow players to slap on what ever they darn well please for a cost in resources and time. Want your self a Mk X Hyper Impulse engine with a bonus to shield and engine power...sure. Want phasers that have a Acc x2 bonus and a crit x1 bonus, why not!

Some might say this could imbalance things...but I would ask how? Already we go out and we grind for gear, with VA's having ships with all purple items specially chosen for how they play. All this is is swapping one grind for another grind and letting the players control how their ships handle.

My ideas to spruce up crafting have been along the lines of customizing the bonuses on the parts you make and giving a random chance each time you make something to unlock a super awesome enhancement. Here's my thoughts.

You can choose from a list of different bonuses. Each bonus requires a certain kind of data sample combo with higher versions of the bonus unlocking as you progress in your crafting skills (ie the ability to make a X4 crit bonus rather than a X2 crit bonus). This is your base crafting mechanic. Each time you add another bonus to an item you need to pay extra data samples to unlock the new enactment slot, the first enhancement would have no extra cost.

For example. If I wanted to craft a phaser array with the Critical Hit Bonus it might cost me an assortment of 5 data samples. The samples would be determined based on the strength of the enhancement and the level of the item, with higher level samples being need the higher the item and enhancement level. If I decided to add another bonus, say a bonus to Accuracy, I would first need to pay data samples to add a new enhancement slot plus the cost of the new enhancement. Each additional slot should cost more than the last.

An alternative to working from a base, common item would be to use an existing item looted from NPCs and to add your own bonuses to it. When doing this you should receive a discount on each additional slot. Alternatively, you could pay data samples to either level up it's existing enhancements or to change them with your own. This keeps the need to loot high level items and doesn't make them entirely obsolete.

You should also be able to disassemble items to acquire data samples as well a item cores. Item cores are used to create base items. Thus If I had a Dual Phaser Cannon MK IX [DMG] I could dissabmle it and acquire a portion of data that would be used to create the damage bonus enhancement as well as a Phaser Core and Dual Cannon Core. Those items could then be combined with other cores to create items of any level, higher level items obviously requiring more data samples to create.


The new rare data samples can be used in the crafting up some really amazing items. Each of the new rare samples should be able to combine in different ways to make unique bonuses that you can apply to the items. Such unique bonus could include:

• A bonus to shield penetration
• A reduction in energy drain
• A bonus when using certain skills or abilities (like shields that boost the effect of Feed Back pulse or phasers that deal extra damage when using target sub systems) and what not.
• Bonus to shields that allow you to divert a large portion of shield power to one facing for a brief time.

Each time you craft an item you have a small chance of having some pats left over that can be used in the creation of a very rare and very awesome item. Such an item should be only attainable under these methods and should be tradable. Such items could include:

• Triple Beam Phaser Banks
• Consoles that grant the use of abilities. These consoles, rather than getting +15 to your Deflector skill might grant you the use of another lower level science skill like Sci Team or something),
• Duel Turrets
• Beam Turrets
• Torpedo Turrets
• Hyper Velocity Torpedo Launcher. This would have a narrow firing arc and a slower cool down but would launch a torpedo at high velocity and would deal massive damage.
• Rapid Fire Torpedo Launchers
• Engines that grand bonuses to power levels.
• Engines that change the color of your warp nacelles and warp trails.
• Engines that grand a skill that temporarily boosts your forward speed exponentially but you lose searing and pitch control during this time.
• A consoles that allow them to be placed in a different console slot (like a tactical console you could place in your science console slot). To prevent abuse of this it should have some kinda draw back like a lower than usual bonus.

To to summarize.

• Crafting should let you choose your base item and apply any bonuses you want to it with in reason (it no bonus to shield cap on your phasers but maybe at higher levels you could place a bonus to shield cap on your deflector) increasing in crafting levels should grant you acess to beter bonuses.The new rare data samples should allow you to get access to very rare, but highly specialized, item enhancements.
• You should be able to disassemble items in order to get extra data samples and item cores used in creating new items from scratch which will allow you to create your own base items when the desired items are either at a premium or unavailable on the market.
• The new, rare data samples should play a role in creating unique item enchantments or other powerful items.
• In order to reward dedication to crafting items you should have a chance to randomly get spare parts left over that can allow you to create awesome items only attainable vie crafting.

I'd like this. Anything that makes 'crafting' a bit less cookie-cutter predictable, really. I've a hard time seeing how crafting is even crafting at all, as there's only one place in the entire universe where you can 'create' anything. It's more like shopping at an Ikea that doesn't take cash.

Made me laugh...