(A topic suggested by my loyal blog reader Daelda, thanks!)

The question I want to pose to you today is:

How can a guild best support their crafters in SWTOR?

 

One of the things I absolutely hate to see in a guild group is a lack of optimization of equipment.  When I see guild groups in game and I mouse over their equipment and they are wearing shoddy, mismatched gear that is tiers below the optimization that I as a crafter know is available, it makes me sad.

It could be this way for many reasons, either they don’t know any better, or possibly their guild crafters are failing in gearing up the guild.  If it is the latter then possibly it stems from a lack of support from the people they need to be gearing up.

 

If this is the case, then how can a guild come together to make sure they provide the crafters for their guild the support they need to be able to effectively equip them to the fullest?  How can a guild help to ensure themselves victory in the cold cruel world of MMO’s by being equipment optimized?

Some of the usual old standbys come to mind immediately,

Supply the crafters- When a guild crafter has a tall order at hand of suiting up the members, there is one thing he will always need to produce gear and that’s resources or materials commonly referred to as “mats”.  The crafter not only usually needs the mats to make items but must also (usually) use the mats to level up his skill ranks in the crafting branch he has chosen to master.

All the mats in the realm don’t do him any good if he doesn’t have the required skill level to make really good gear.  Wooden clubs and leather shoulder pads wont work here, a guild that is depending on him needs better quality gear.  So when trying to level the crafter quickly, to get him to the highest tier that the guild needs him to be at,  a guild needs to provide a steady flow of raw resources to allow him to do just that.

Then when the crafter is able to produce high tier gear suited to the guilds level, the focus can then shift to producing gear and equipment.  This can be done in stages to make sure that the crafter stays with the guild and doesn’t out level them being able to produce gear of such a high level that no one can wear it yet.

Communicate with the crafters- When a crafter doesn’t know ahead of time the kinds of things you will be needing, he can not plan his resources and time wisely.  Take this example for instance:

When he has a stack of 1000 hardwood logs, and he needs to make some credits to fund some crew skills missions, thinking he hasn’t needed those for at least a week they would probably be a safe bet to sell.  So he does so and either vendors them or sells them through the Auction House.  Then that same night the guild members decide they need 25 blaster rifles which have as a main component a wooden stock which requires as raw resources some of the same logs he just sold.

If the crafter would have known ahead of time via vent discussion or forum post or email or in-game message or something  (just what ever means the guild uses to communicate) he could have planned ahead of time and prepared his stockpile better eliminating the need to re-buy mats from the AH or vendor, or worse yet have to have them gathered again.

Do some research for the crafters- Don’t just expect the crafter to always know what the optimum gear is for your level.  In some games there is an immense amount of items that a crafter has to keep track of.  Not to mention resource specifics, crafting skilling tips and tricks, needs other guildmates have, the list can go on and on in a really deep system.  I expect no less from SWTOR, as I see it right now it will be challenging.

Do a little research ahead of time and come to the crafter with a clear idea of which direction you want to go.  That will allow the crafter the ability to know what is the most efficient way to help you towards your goals. Those are some of the old normal ways that a guild can fully support a guild crafter, now let’s think on specifically, some of the new ways a guild can do this in the realm of Star Wars the Old Republic MMO.

With the new mechanics presented with the up and coming “crew skills system” how can a guild find new interesting ways to support their crafters?

Come back on the next installment to find out in part two.

Thanks for reading!

Tags: auction house, beta, bioware, classes, companions, crafting, crew skills, gameplay, group, guilds, mats, resources, star wars, swtor, video