From Frequently Asked Questions
My opinions below are based on my experiences as a 3+ year veteran of WoW (plus some other MMOs that allow item repair) and a 3+ year veteran of Ryzom.
In the real world there is no full repair and your valued items wear out and must be replaced regularly. Without this natural turnover, much of human activity and commerce would shrivel, the world economy would stagnate and the rises of living standards we now take for granted would be severely curtailed.
Of course, Ryzom and other MMOs are merely games and as such sacrifice realism for the sake of playability. In this context, to repair or not repair can be considered a matter of personal preference, depending on what level of realism you seek in your gaming. That said, the spin off effects of No Repair are enormous and essential to the propagation of a dynamic crafting economy. No Repair is one of major things Ryzom got right and most other MMOs (who strive to incorporate a crafting simulation) have gotten wrong.
Allowing WoW-style repairs requires that best gear must be soul-bound to prevent ruinous item-inflation. Soul-bound means there is no after market or trading liquidity for the best crafted gear. Soul-bound even limits the market for crafting materials, since everyone must craft their own gear and will only need 1 of any particular final item.
In Ryzom, there are true master crafters as well as crafting novices. Anyone can aspire to be a master crafter or avoid it altogether (e.g., specialize in other skills). Even if you do not personally craft, you can still aspire to obtain the best crafted gear simply by working out a trade arrangement with a crafting master. In Rzyom, the master crafters truly are masters. They have knowledge of crafting nuances far far beyond that of crafter novices. The crafting system is correspondingly deep and dynamic. Crafting is a true profession worthy of special acclaim and recognition.
In WoW-style repair MMOs, there are no master crafters. You can only be a 1-off novice crafter because of soul-binding. The crafting system is correspondingly shallow and static. Of course, these games must also provide an alternative for those not inclined to craft -- all the more so because the crafting is so dull and unfulfilling. This alternative is to use dropped loot instead. In other words, the crafting system is so weak that the most viable approach is simply to steal all your gear from mobs.
Both approaches have merits in terms of realism vs. playability. However, my preference is to play a game that actually has a deep and dynamic crafting economy. If Ryzom was to introduce Item Repair, it would destroy ½ the game.
Citadean
I like well some of Ryzom aspect, but the No Repair is not acceptable. Dont matter the poor excuse of keep crafter happy or busy, it's a trap, make player run after a fake ball they already have. The game must be really empty if people have to keep running after something they already have.
My opinions below are based on my experiences as a 3+ year veteran of WoW (plus some other MMOs that allow item repair) and a 3+ year veteran of Ryzom.
In the real world there is no full repair and your valued items wear out and must be replaced regularly. Without this natural turnover, much of human activity and commerce would shrivel, the world economy would stagnate and the rises of living standards we now take for granted would be severely curtailed.
Of course, Ryzom and other MMOs are merely games and as such sacrifice realism for the sake of playability. In this context, to repair or not repair can be considered a matter of personal preference, depending on what level of realism you seek in your gaming. That said, the spin off effects of No Repair are enormous and essential to the propagation of a dynamic crafting economy. No Repair is one of major things Ryzom got right and most other MMOs (who strive to incorporate a crafting simulation) have gotten wrong.
Allowing WoW-style repairs requires that best gear must be soul-bound to prevent ruinous item-inflation. Soul-bound means there is no after market or trading liquidity for the best crafted gear. Soul-bound even limits the market for crafting materials, since everyone must craft their own gear and will only need 1 of any particular final item.
In Ryzom, there are true master crafters as well as crafting novices. Anyone can aspire to be a master crafter or avoid it altogether (e.g., specialize in other skills). Even if you do not personally craft, you can still aspire to obtain the best crafted gear simply by working out a trade arrangement with a crafting master. In Rzyom, the master crafters truly are masters. They have knowledge of crafting nuances far far beyond that of crafter novices. The crafting system is correspondingly deep and dynamic. Crafting is a true profession worthy of special acclaim and recognition.
In WoW-style repair MMOs, there are no master crafters. You can only be a 1-off novice crafter because of soul-binding. The crafting system is correspondingly shallow and static. Of course, these games must also provide an alternative for those not inclined to craft -- all the more so because the crafting is so dull and unfulfilling. This alternative is to use dropped loot instead. In other words, the crafting system is so weak that the most viable approach is simply to steal all your gear from mobs.
Both approaches have merits in terms of realism vs. playability. However, my preference is to play a game that actually has a deep and dynamic crafting economy. If Ryzom was to introduce Item Repair, it would destroy ½ the game.
Jola(Arispotle) of the ARMAGEDDONS