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The first information on one of the key features of Module 15 got revealed in a blog post this week. It’s not too much as of right now, although Asterdahl is also actively commenting on the message board’s Official Preview Thread. But it seems obvious that he really wants players to look into the content on the PTS first before going into more details. I originally planned a piece full of delicious theories on how the new system could look, but now that we only seem a day away from preview getting updated, I’ll just dish out some (not so) bold predictions. Feel free to come at me tomorrow when it all turns out to be complete nonsense!

They Totally Used World of Warcraft Garrison Templates

Good news everyone! We’ve not even seen one glimpse of the new system, but there already a full guide out! No, this time it wasn’t us, but wowhead.com! Because I fully anticipate the new system at least be inspired by WoW Garrisons, more specifically Garrison Missions. One follower Artisan per mission and upgrading your Garrison Workshop? Definitely sounds like somebody borrowed some templates from Irvine!

Say Goodbye to Gathering Resources in the Open World

Not that it has been a super essential part of professions so far, but with the new Gathering profession (replacing Leadership) it seems like nodes will either be reworked or removed. It doesn’t look like you’ll be needing them at all. Knowing Cryptic they might not have dealt with connected systems sufficiently by the way. Which means nodes could slowly die alone in the wild and nobody will visit those Masterwork vendors in Strongholds any longer to trade in Guild Marks for profession stuff.

Expect a Hefty Nerf to Refining Points and Guild Marks from Professions

Talking about Guild Marks: The only reason why you would trade in Guild Marks for basic profession resources is to make even more Guild Marks with various crate recipes. It’s unknown whether this will still be possible, but Asterdahl said they do not plan to let players craft stuff out of nothing. You know what that means? The Forgehammer, sorry nerf hammer, will be swung hard. You can probably also kiss goodbye to all those juicy refining points from the Leadership profession. I don’t think any other profession will adequately replace what those Leadership chests did generate.

Connected to this will be a nerf to alt viability in the system. It sure sounds like it’s going to make much more sense to constantly upgrade one Workshop for the full account and that your Leadership Level 25 army could become almost useless. My condolences to all those that clicked through all those recipes on a daily basis to level the professions. Oh wait, that would include me… damn!

Professions Will Still Be a Static System That Requires Steady Updates to Recipes to Stay Viable

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I personally hoped for a dynamic system that allows players to figure out recipes by try and error (Diablo Cube ftw!) and maybe even some sort of randomized stats and items. From what Asterdahl said however, it will still be static reward tiers that have a better chance of success based on the used assets. That’s really unfortunate because it would first and foremost mean that the system still requires steady updates to recipes to remain viable. Professions, even Masterworks, always kinda only stayed relevant for a single module and a static system won’t change that. If you allowed players to get a little creative on their own, you would pitch them content for much longer.

Professions Will Play a Larger Role in the Leveling and Gearing Process

I really like what Asterdahl said about the leveling process. We’ve been asking for the professions and crafting system to become a more relevant companion as you level up. And there might be a chance that this is actually possible within the new system. Imagine the following: You play for two hours, gain a couple levels and before logging off, send your Artisans to some missions. The next day, you come back and can claim a new weapon / armor piece that you can immediately use in your session. It’s not major, but currently it’s a real downer that you pretty much can’t use any professions until you brought them to max level. Making the products of crafting already relevant on lower levels is indeed one of the cool things that the system is solely missing.

What are your bold predictions ahead of the (assumed) preview release of the Workshop system tomorrow? Share them on our social channels, in the comments below, or visit our message board!

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