There have been several suggestions on the forums regarding a ‘tiered’ scaling of resource costs instead of forging potential. For example:
- Crafting a tier one affix onto a piece of gear costs 1 affix shard.
- Enhancing a tier one affix into a tier two affix costs 5 affix shards.
- Further enhancing a tier two affix into a tier three affix costs 25 affix shards, etc.
By changing the system into a resource sink instead of an arbitrary tool to prevent excess crafting (i.e. the only thing forging potential does now), this system would allow players to interact more deeply with their gear - focusing more on loot drops that have affixes they care about to be broken down for their shards.
This also highlights the need for players to interact with their affix shards in different ways; implementing a way to trade them or using a shard conversion system like the one discussed in @g_o_o_f’s thread:
The main point should be that the crafting system should be more engaging. Players should feel the impact and reward of using the system. Currently, forging potential is too limiting and makes the majority of drops feel worthless.