Crafting Commentary
T
By: Cutekhaos
he Elder Scrolls Online or ESO has provided many interesting firsts in the world of
MMO gaming and the crafting is no exception to this rule. As a person who spent
the majority of my gaming experience in the MMO universe, I am consistently amazed
by how ESO has turned the crafting of items in Tamriel into a lucrative player driven
economy from the moment you enter the game.
There are the usual suspects to crafting when it comes
to the Elder Scrolls, such as crafting food also known
as Provisioning, Blacksmithing (Heavy armor and
Melee Weapons), Alchemy and Enchanting. There was
a crafting overhaul in the beta that birthed Clothing
(Light and Medium Armor) and Woodworking
(Shields and Ranged Weapons). These skills were all
incorporated into your character skill sheet allowing
players to specialize in these crafts as they would any
other skill line.
What does this mean for said individual… infinite
possibilities. Want to be a Templar wearing Medium
Armor and rocking a bow? Clothing and Woodworking
are going to be your bread and butter. Want to upgrade
to a new armor picked up on your travels, no worries
about bag space as old armor and weapons can be
recycled through researching . Once enough traits have
been researched you can craft that special set item.
What makes crafting unique in this author’s opinion
is how it relates to character progression and the
overall economy. There are crafting stations that are
integrated throughout the world, playing heavily on
the exploration Elder Scrolls fans love, while allow
crafters to dedicate time and materials in order to
create unique offerings that MMO players will salivate
over. This couples these two worlds in a new economy
platform.
Gone is the traditional Auction House, but don’t fret.
There is an ESO equivalent called Guild Stores. As
seen in some beta weekends, there will be guilds based
solely on providing this function to the game. However
the heart of this world is the crafting community. Much
like any community supply and demand are going to
set the pace, but the individual players are going to be
shaping the long term growth.
After crafting an item you upgrade it by utilizing
enhancements found through deconstruction and
looting. You can put skill points into passives for better
chances and are able to start creating as soon as you can
get to a crafting table and have the needed materials.
Another important note is the ability to create only
your native style of armor at first. There are racial lore
books that open up the ability to craft for other races.
These items can only be located in the world as rare
drops.
Over all the crafting system like most aspects of the
game are integrated into the very fabric of Tamriel. If
a player puts forth the effort they cannot only get some
instant gratification through creating personal items,
but create their own crafting empire through word of
mouth and the ability to craft a unique set of items.
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