Color Crystals: Start crafting them or...

[Grayseven]

...I will start a campaign to get them included on the commendations vendors!

 

Seriously, there is a need for more than just level 31 and higher crystals folks, and if you aren't going to craft them we'll have to start asking Bioware to cough them up as rewards or drops so we can upgrade our weapons.

 

I've seen a number of Artifice threads bemoaning the fact that they can't make any credits and I've so far on two servers seen a distinct lack of crystals available for items between level 9 and 31.

 

And for humanities sake, stop crafting nothing but Critical crystals! Tanks want Endurance crystals or maybe Power crystals but, really, it should be Endurance. If someone else has 15 Critical crystals up for sale...make something else!

 

Now go forth and craft so I don't have to level up an Artificer just to supply Crystals. Oh, and some decent hilts and Enhancements wouldn't hurt either...

[AshlaBoga]

I craft +41 crit, endurance, power Orange and +41 Endurance Magenta. The Magenta sell for about 400k a pop on Ajunta Pall. I've sold 6 (2.4 million credits) why would I want to sell level 9-31 crystals for a mere 10-15k each?

[lectotrans]

I craft +41 crit, endurance, power Orange and +41 Endurance Magenta. The Magenta sell for about 400k a pop on Ajunta Pall. I've sold 6 (2.4 million credits) why would I want to sell level 9-31 crystals for a mere 10-15k each?

 

because it's not just about you.....it's about your server community. if i'm able to move my sorc artificer over to my new server when transfers finally get here, it's what i'll be doing, crafting color crystals of all levels. i'll make some okay credits on the low level ones and help out newbies and low level altoholics of my server at the same time.

[Grayseven]

On one server I have an Artificer and I "fill the gaps". I make good credits and have a high turn over of sales.

 

My (tongue-in-cheek) post however brings up a specific point...if you don't craft them people are going to start complaining about not being able to get them and Bioware might have to "take steps" which could put an otherwise lucrative credit earning possibility out of business when color crystals get added to the commendation vendors.

 

Of course, if they do get added they will get added at all levels, not just low levels and so your +41's could end up not selling at all because people can use commendations to get them....

[Gwena]

Yes, please craft color crystals, artificers! On the GTN I normally have access to a lovely selection of level 7 crystals, maybe a level 15 or 23 crystal, several level 39 ones (that you get as a reward for a certain quest, all green in color), and a page or two of level 47-50 ones. Occasionally, a couple of level 31 magenta ones will pop up too.

 

I consider myself very lucky to have snagged a green quality level 15 crystal for my alt. That is now level 22, and I can't find a new one below level 39. -sigh-

 

Same problem with augments (thanks, Bowdaar, for crit crafting those level 23 earpieces for me! But augments below level 40 apparently don't exist). Would love a vendor for them.

[DarthBama]

The low level augment schematics are a pain in the butt to get for what ever reason. Add to that you level so fast during the low levels, you just don't care about them anymore.

[Yogol]

...I will start a campaign to get them included on the commendations vendors!

 

Seriously, there is a need for more than just level 31 and higher crystals folks, and if you aren't going to craft them we'll have to start asking Bioware to cough them up as rewards or drops so we can upgrade our weapons.

 

I've seen a number of Artifice threads bemoaning the fact that they can't make any credits and I've so far on two servers seen a distinct lack of crystals available for items between level 9 and 31.

 

This is not just a problem for Color Crystals, but also for mods, armoring, barrels & hilts.

 

Since Bioware (in all their wisdom) has decided that you can only put up 50 items, no one puts up lower level items where you make 5k per sales or less. Instead people put up items where they can make 50k per sales. Even if they make 10 times less sales, they still make more money, because Bioware (in their aforementioned wisdom) decided that you do not loose your deposit when your item doesn't sell.

 

The economy on SW:TOR is very, very badly constructed. It's one of the weaknesses, together with PvP & grouping.

 

All probably due to Bioware's inexperience with MMOs. They'll get it right, eventually, if they don't remain stubborn about it and admit they are dead wrong.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Yogol

[uniz]

getting the lower level mats is the main problem. archaeology is just terrible. the metals are not so bad but they take so many for the armoring and mods.

 

the game sorely needs more crewskill material nodes. it is bad enough in most areas but when server populations increase due to merges and transfers it will be even worse. missions do NOT provide enough green mats and companions are being used to get the blue mats anyways.

 

personally i have a hard enough time getting mats to make stuff for the alt i am currently leveling up let alone anything to put on the gtn. when i am not playing the lowbe i am doing dailies, farming for the lowbe or a hardmode when i can get one.

 

hopefully this helps explain a few things about some of us with multi 400 crewskillers that still play the game.

[uniz]

...I will start a campaign to get them included on the commendations vendors!

 

Seriously, there is a need for more than just level 31 and higher crystals folks, and if you aren't going to craft them we'll have to start asking Bioware to cough them up as rewards or drops so we can upgrade our weapons.

 

I've seen a number of Artifice threads bemoaning the fact that they can't make any credits and I've so far on two servers seen a distinct lack of crystals available for items between level 9 and 31.

 

And for humanities sake, stop crafting nothing but Critical crystals! Tanks want Endurance crystals or maybe Power crystals but, really, it should be Endurance. If someone else has 15 Critical crystals up for sale...make something else!

 

Now go forth and craft so I don't have to level up an Artificer just to supply Crystals. Oh, and some decent hilts and Enhancements wouldn't hurt either...

 

not sure if many people know this or not but color crystals are made every 8 levels. starting at level 7, 15, 23, 31, 39, 47 and then at 50. please dont get mad if you cant get one other than these levels. also in between these levels there are nodes for the lower level crystal which also gives artifacts when harvested. these lower level nodes share respawns with the areas appropriate level nodes making gathering even more banefull.

 

also they can be looted as drops but are rare much like other mods.

 

op you might want to drop your slicers and add a crewskill:D

[Rassuro]

+1 to lack of crystals on GTN, however this can be said for a lot of other items as well (at least on my server).

 

However, as a crafter, I completely understand why there aren't more stuff on GTN.

 

When I do craft something and put it on GTN, most times it simply does not sell within the two day time limit, even if I am the only one with an item of that type that for sale, and even if I list it with the default low price that the GTN suggests.

If no one want to buy it, then I'm not going to waste time re-listing it every two days.

 

Between my armormech and cybertech, the only things I've been able to make some decent money on (in relation to the cost of the materials to make it), has been crit crafted orange armor. I found two medium armor sets which apparently quite a few people liked, and started selling sets of head, chest, and legs. This worked especially well just after 1.2, however eventually those also didn't sell so well anymore.

 

Now I don't even bother with it, I craft for my own chars and put up some extras on GTN to see if anyone wants it before I vendor it.

 

How to fix it: The two day time limit needs to be longer, the number of items you can list needs to be bigger, and the GTN search options needs to improved as well as the general UI for the GTN in order to make it easier for buyers to find what they want.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Rassuro

[Hekatai]

One possibility for the OP's problem: Send in-game mail to the sellers of the high level crystals. Ask them to make you a crystal of the appropriate level range. Seeing a high level item that is craftable will usually mean that the character can make a lower level item that is appropriate to you, and if you have no crystal, then even a green quality one will be an improvement, and they are usually dirt cheap to make. I can only speak for myself, but I get at most two asks a month for stuff that I make, and I gladly help levelling characters out.

 

As a small digression, this thread is a good example of the problems with the crafting economy. I have suggested a short-term and a long term fix, somewhat close to what is discussed in this thread. The suggestion can be found here: http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=467213

 

Someone is looking for crystals below level 31. The artificers have no quick way to discover this. Why do the artificers not post any crystals below lvl 31? One reason may be that they do not know there is a demand, or that they have hit the 50 item limit. And if they check the GTN, and see no crystals below lvl 31, is it because they are all bought, or that there is no demand? Also since they make the crystals themselves, maybe they haven't noticed that there are none to get from planet comms.

 

The buyers are also not informed about the level ranges that the crystals come in, and may spend endless time looking for a crystal no one can craft.

 

To sum up, we have an information problem, the economy is totally supply driven and the supply is inentionally limited to 50 items per character.

 

I would love to see some constructive discussion on my suggestion, in that thread.

[LarryRow]

Hekatai I like your post. The biggest thing I took form it is this: We basically need 2 GTNs: one for buyers and one for sellers. If I need something I should be able to list it on the GTN, and a crafter can go fill the order (maybe give them 1 hour or something to make the item before it is re-listed).

 

The problem that arises is the user interface for the buyer listings. You basically need to be able to pick from all possible schematics, which is an insanely large list. We'll need some tools to hone in on what the buyer wants, say within a 5 level range. E.g., Armor->Medium->Boots->Blue quality->Main stat cunning->level 22-26. That would probably produce a sufficiently short list.

 

Back to the OP: the problem with lowbie crafting in this game is that it's pointless right now. You get enough stuff from drops, quest rewards, vendors that you just don't need the GTN except for a few things (I always go look for the low profile headpieces for companions, for example). Anything you buy you will outlevel soon anyway.

 

It's true that crystals are among the rarest things to get outside of a crafter, but every time I look they are overpriced. Who wants to take the time to troll the GTN looking for a decent deal on one-fourth of the mods in one of your 12 pieces of equippable gear. Much better to wait until you get a weapon as a quest reward and use the crystal from that. Also, the pre-50 content is simply not hard enough to require you to optimize all your gear.

 

Finally, there is an issue on the supply side as well. I don't know about you guys, but I reverse engineer all my crafted stuff that I don't plan to use so I can get free mats for the next item. I don't make any items that are grey difficulty. I only make green-quality items so I don't need the blue mats. I only send companions out on the companion gift missions because it raises their affection and makes leveling crew skills faster. It's all about leveling that crafting skill as quickly and cheaply as possible so it's ready for endgame crafting when I hit 50.

 

In short, as long as crafting is only important for endgame, you'll always see a lousy lowbie crafting economy.

[GnatB]

Another issue.

 

Vendor only stocks crit and endurance crystal schematics. You have to get the power ones from drops(maybe?) and investigation, and they aren't common. I've been sending my investigators out doing nothing but grade 3 missions for the last week trying to get lvl 23 red power crystal schematic, and have yet to succeed. (and my characters are sith, so you know, need a red one. I did find a yellow and green (or blue.. jedi color, anyways)).

 

That being said, the inability to upgrade power crystals isn't really that big a deal. In the scheme of things, they have much lower bonuses attached to them than pretty much any other mod.

[Mass]

I typically only make level 23 and above, but on my server, there's usually a pretty diverse selection on the GTN. If you were a preorder, there is a vendor on the fleet that sells all levels of yellow crystals.

 

They couldn't start keeping the deposit on the GTN without reworking all sources of credits in the game. Right now, you have to be a little clever and put forth some effort getting all the resources to make crafting more profitable than just doing dailies. If they put a lot of taxes on selling stuff (or experimenting with price points) I'll bet you'll see less goods on sale as selling will be higher risk than just doing quests to make credits.

 

I'm actually surprised at how much 'green' stuff is on the GTN considering half the time it's priced right around a vendor buy price.

[Blackavaar]

I've been putting up lower level crystals (11 - 31) on the GTN for about a month now (on the 3 servers I play on). The problem, no one wants to pay what they are worth. I calculated my asking price by taking the average price of the materials needed and then adding 20%. This is a more than fair price. But hardly anyone is buying them, so I stopped listing them.

 

[Ninja_Amnesty]

Who are you to demand them as commendation rewards. You had an equal chance to level up Artifice as a crew skill just like everyone else. If you are unhappy with what is available on the galactic trade market then you should try and ask in general chat. If I saw someone asking for an artificer to craft something for money in general chat I would step up and make it if I could and COD it. But to sit around crafting to make money is not why I play the game. My other suggestion to you would be to make an alt and level it up to around 40ish so you have all your companions to craft for you. Right now I have 4 level 50 toons and have been making mods for all my alts as well as my guildies/friends. If you aren't willing to do these things, then you don't deserve to have frequently upgraded crystals.

[criminalheretic]

I craft +41 crit, endurance, power Orange and +41 Endurance Magenta. The Magenta sell for about 400k a pop on Ajunta Pall. I've sold 6 (2.4 million credits) why would I want to sell level 9-31 crystals for a mere 10-15k each?

 

Um cause you could craft them faster, with cheaper mats, and they would sell. Like 6 a day, instead of 6 total.

[criminalheretic]

Who are you to demand them as commendation rewards. You had an equal chance to level up Artifice as a crew skill just like everyone else. If you are unhappy with what is available on the galactic trade market then you should try and ask in general chat. If I saw someone asking for an artificer to craft something for money in general chat I would step up and make it if I could and COD it. But to sit around crafting to make money is not why I play the game. My other suggestion to you would be to make an alt and level it up to around 40ish so you have all your companions to craft for you. Right now I have 4 level 50 toons and have been making mods for all my alts as well as my guildies/friends. If you aren't willing to do these things, then you don't deserve to have frequently upgraded crystals.

 

Um cause medpacs, stims, hilts, barrels, armor, enhancements, mods, and armoring are all already available at vendors...

 

The fact that this one item (which is as neccesary to every class as all of the above) was left almost entirely to human crafters, is a SERIOUS game flaw. A game flaw people could have taken advantage of and made some serious creds, but they failed.

 

Like you said, sitting around crafting is not why you play the game, but yet you will complain that people want crystals available at vendors...

[Telanis]

...I will start a campaign to get them included on the commendations vendors!

 

Seriously, there is a need for more than just level 31 and higher crystals folks, and if you aren't going to craft them we'll have to start asking Bioware to cough them up as rewards or drops so we can upgrade our weapons.

 

I've seen a number of Artifice threads bemoaning the fact that they can't make any credits and I've so far on two servers seen a distinct lack of crystals available for items between level 9 and 31.

 

And for humanities sake, stop crafting nothing but Critical crystals! Tanks want Endurance crystals or maybe Power crystals but, really, it should be Endurance. If someone else has 15 Critical crystals up for sale...make something else!

 

Now go forth and craft so I don't have to level up an Artificer just to supply Crystals. Oh, and some decent hilts and Enhancements wouldn't hurt either...

 

Endurance crystals mostly don't sell, in my experience. Low level crystals aren't worth it because (a) no one buys them and (b) you can't charge very much. Only 50s have piles of credits laying around. If you want something specific either take up Artifice or join a guild and get a mate to make one.

[AshlaBoga]

Endurance crystals mostly don't sell, in my experience. Low level crystals aren't worth it because (a) no one buys them and (b) you can't charge very much. Only 50s have piles of credits laying around. If you want something specific either take up Artifice or join a guild and get a mate to make one.

 

This ^

 

I tried selling level 13, 25 crystals but I ended waiting like 6 days for 20k profit.

 

Whereas when I put up a +41 Magenta or a +41 Expertise Purple it sells within 2 days for +400k. I've sold 4 Magenta over the last 4 days - that's 400k/day. As for the +41 Expertise Purple? I've sold 3 over the last 2 weeks for 800k each. That's 2.4 million/14 days or 1.2 million/week. All in all, most of the people on my server have 2 or more level 50s so I generally just don't have a market for low level items. It's not that I am biased against low level items, it's that they just. don't. sell.

 

(For the record my server is AJUNTA PALL)

[Arilou_skiff]

A system where you could put up bids eg. ("WTB level 41 color crystal for 40,000 credits") would be nice. You could even make it a reverse auction (where the suppliers get to "underbid" each other) Or just make it a simple "post bid, sell for cash" thing.

[Ninja_Amnesty]

Um cause medpacs, stims, hilts, barrels, armor, enhancements, mods, and armoring are all already available at vendors...

 

The fact that this one item (which is as neccesary to every class as all of the above) was left almost entirely to human crafters, is a SERIOUS game flaw. A game flaw people could have taken advantage of and made some serious creds, but they failed.

 

Like you said, sitting around crafting is not why you play the game, but yet you will complain that people want crystals available at vendors...

 

Plenty of people sell all levels of purple/orange weapons and for the same price you probably would be willing to buy a crystal for. Honestly, how hard is to take a crystal out of a weapon. Not to mention all of mods, stims, and medpacks are lower quality than what a crafter can actually make. There are many ways to get these things, I can't figure out if you're lazy or just want something to complain about. I am still laughing about the SERIOUS game flaw. What are we all going to do without level 9 crystals, the game is ruined and unplayable.

[JohnnyAceEVPTR]

I would make them all day if I could get purple schematics, but for red, blue, green etc if someone asks I'll make them one.

[AshlaBoga]

I would make them all day if I could get purple schematics, but for red, blue, green etc if someone asks I'll make them one.

 

I have the answer to your siggy.

 

I got my +41 Expertise from a grade 6 PvP crafting box. It took me 36 tries, which cost me 36,000 WZ comms.

 

SADLY, to the best of my knowledge there are no PvE schematics (endurance, power, crit) for Purple Crystals at this time.

[DakotaDoc]

A system where you could put up bids eg. ("WTB level 41 color crystal for 40,000 credits") would be nice. You could even make it a reverse auction (where the suppliers get to "underbid" each other) Or just make it a simple "post bid, sell for cash" thing.

 

That is a great idea. A WTB section of the market would be an excellent idea.