"Shard Conversion" / "Shard Forging"

I think this is a fantastic idea! Of course it does favour people who’ve been playing for a long time and have many, many shards to burn, but perhaps when/if leagues/seasons are ever implemented this could be a thing then?

Or there could be some other mechanic involved that isn’t trading some shards for others, like being able to choose a shard you desire and ensure it dropping at the end of a mono, etc.

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@Gilavar Well that is where proper balancing of how much currency it takes to craft certain shards come in. My examples in the original post were just that, examples, and when it comes to “very rare” shards said example is a bit too generous, I agree. I think a more realistic example of shard forging costs would be within the following ranges (though I am no expert):

  • Common Shard: 100-150
  • Uncommon Shard: 150-300
  • Rare Shard: 300-500
  • Very Rare Shard: 500-1000

@ashorak
Since you and Garfunkel mention similar concerns about how this system would favour veterans I’ll address you both—while there would indeed be “favouritism” its impact wouldn’t be particularly major.

Sure, veteran players would be able to get shards they want right after implementation in good quantities, but then again, do they not deserve it? They’ve spent hundreds to thousands of hours gathering all their materials so why should it be considered a bad form of favouritism if that effort has already been put into the game. New players would reach that point eventually, and if they join after the implementation of a system like this, they would be able to benefit from it at the start, with every single shard they loot, rather than the hundreds to thousands of shards veterans have used or lost to terrible crafts etc.

So in my personal opinion, “favouritism” is not a very strong argument in this situation even though it’s not a factually incorrect one, it’s just that I think the veterans who have put so much time and effort into this game deserve what they would get as long as the system itself is well-balanced in regards to costs as mentioned above.

@g_o_o_f veteran players would be able to get shards they want right after implementation in good quantities, but then again, do they not deserve it?

I don’t even think it’s about them deserving it or not - it would be a good thing for veteran players to have access to these crafting systems during the Beta in order to provide accurate feedback on the way the system works.

It’s already been confirmed that current characters will not be carried over to the multiplayer servers once launch happens, meaning that these current hordes and stashes of affix shards will be safely restricted to the Solo game-mode; none of these shards (or consequently, the characters capable of utilizing them) will ever impact the multiplayer version of this game and do not have to be balanced around that.

Once the game fully releases, it would be better if there were a system for when a player sinks time and effort in to grind out thousands of new affix shards and wants to have more control over their crafting abilities. There are several affixes that will be irrelevant to characters, specifically class-specific shards.

In conclusion, favouritism is not and cannot be an argument against this system.

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I completely forgot about this entire point lmao, thank you for the reminder.

But yeah, you’re right.

At those rates it’s a lot more balanced for rich players, but then it becomes out of reach for newer players. This is literally why leagues exist in ARPGs, to close the power gap disparity. However, I think having a very high exchange rate for shards doesn’t make the game worse for players with few shards, though it might feel bad to have a feature you can’t access.

I think that another consideration is trade. Once trade is enabled if we’ve implemented your change and the rate is too low (i.e. rare shards are too cheap), we’ll potentially see a monopoly on super high tier crafts from rich players in the market.

There’s a few kinks to iron out but I think it’s a great suggestion.

EDIT: I just saw that multiplayer servers will be independent from the current ones, so that addresses some of these points!

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Is this “I haven’t read the dev post giving a complete description of the changes to the crafting system coming on the 10th” the thread?

No, that doesn’t affect what the OP is talking about.

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Kinda does. They made it a point to implement a rune that we will use the less used shards with. The point of this discussion is…a use for our less used shards.

No, unfortunately you have been mistaken. The fundamental purpose of this thread is to promote an idea for methods to create shards - a way to give players better agency when it comes to crafting.

OP has already acknowledged that they understand the upcoming crafting update provides a more appropriate sink for surplus affix shards, but it provides no solution for generating the specific ones that an individual build desires.

The suggestions posted in this thread are regarding methods to craft affix shards. One of the better, more realistic solutions that was presented was breaking down affix shards into a new material that would be used to forge the specific affix shards that a player wants.

It’s awfully belligerent to storm into the thread without properly taking the time to recognize what the OP has suggested.

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Yeah, who would do that kind of thing??? cough

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Ok. We are also getting a new type of crafting item that lets us get more shards from items as well. So the concern being talked about is also being addressed on the 10th. You still have to pay attention to your drops but you will be able to reliably get more of the shards you are seeking from the drop. I don’t suggest proposing systems that bypass drop chasing in a game type that is traditionally about chasing drops. Especially when the specific game has been leaning into creating drop chase for the past…hard to count but pretty much every patch has been increasing drop chase for as long as I remember.

This thread hasn’t been regarding any concerns. This thread is proposing an alternative idea for players to have more complex crafting options.

Despite what you claim, what has been discussed in this thread will not be addressed on the 10th with the crafting update; you have wrongly assumed and I recommend you spend some time to familiarize yourself with the thread before commenting further.

The main idea of this thread is to create a more intricate crafting system that uses a new material gathered by breaking down affix shards. This material (named “Ettereal Dust” by the OP, @g_o_o_f) could be used for several different options in game - including but not limited to the creation of specific affix shards. As proposed in the thread, Ettereal Dust could be used to modify, amplify, or enhance crafting rolls.

This thread consists of interesting ideas for possible updates. This is not and never has been a thread about concerns regarding the current or future state of the game.

This wouldn’t be bypassing those systems. According to Dev post regarding the crafting update, players will need better base items to craft with - since lower rarity or tiered items will have fewer forging potential points.

Players will still be encouraged to find the best crafting bases to start from. The system proposed in this thread does not negatively interact with or inhibit the developers current goals.

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Which one was that? I must have missed it when I skimmed the crafting thread.

The one that removes an affix and gives you a shard for every tier of the affix.

The rune of shattering? That’s been in for years!

No. Rune of Shattering is destroy item and get a random number of shards based on the affixes. The new rune is remove one affix from item. Get shards equal to tier of affix. Item still exists minus one affix. The new rune makes target farming shards much easier.

Well it wasn’t teased here, unless Mike did it on the stream last week (which I missed).

Yes it is. Rune of Removal (yes, I had forgotten its name until checking it through that link just now). It even has a big picture in the thread showing its upcoming tooltip. Its the only rune in that picture too.

Bolded part and tooltip does state the new functionality

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