Mac just wanted to pay homage to a wonderful series. Or maybe he has as much trouble thinking of names as I do, so he put Kirigaya Kazuto and Kayaba Akihiko together. Either way, the plot itself is so far removed from SAO that I can't parallel the two. This one is infinitely better for an RP.
Alright ladies and gentlemen, your wait is over. It is finally here. Without further ado; The most anticipated, glorious, one and only...
PROFESSION SYSTEM
In addition to battling, characters may also choose to pick up another type of job; called professions. Professions focus on resource gathering and item creation, ranging from food to recover HP and MP, to crafting weapons and armour, to taming monsters and using them as mounts! To learn a profession, talk to a crafting master NPC. Be careful though, you only get to learn one!
There are eight professions; Smithing, Tinkering, Mining, Construction, Infusion, Clothwork, Foresting and Shepherding. Each character gets to pick one which they'll be keeping for the rest of the game. Each profession brings something different to the table. One can gather resources another might use to refine items or materials for yet another to use. The details will be in the recipe list below.
It's important to note that to use your profession (specifically item creation or material processing) you will need to be at a corresponding crafting station. These are present on the Landing Site, but will be need to be built in new settlements. As a part of learning a profession, you will also gain an item used to craft (smith's hammer, for smithing for example). These are needed to craft as well.
Professions like characters can be leveled up. There are five ranks; Novice, Adept, Expert, Master and Ascendant. Everyone starts off as a novice and, given time and resources, will eventually become an Ascendant. However, this isn't done by plain and simple monster killing. Instead, ranks are gained by fulfilling special quest conditions. Quests proc through special events which will be put up as we progress through the story.
Obedience Collar - Can only be equipped by a Tame Monster. Adds the 'Follow', 'Stay' and 'Move To' commands.
10x Medium Leather
Saddle - Can only be equipped by a Tame Monster with an Obedience Collar. Adds the 'Mount' command. Cannot be used in conjunction with Command Harness.
20x Medium Leather
2x Leather Strips
Harenn Mount - 1x Movement Speed
Nexit Mount - 1x Movement Speed
Forunn Mount - 1x Movement Speed
Tryma Mount - 2x Movement Speed
Aenara Mount - 1x Movement Speed
Command Harness - Can only be equipped by a Tame Monster with an Obedience Collar. Adds the 'Attack', 'Guard' and 'Retreat' commands. Cannot be used in conjunction with the Saddle
40x Medium Leather
20x Leather Strip
Boosting Coat - Has 5 slots for Medallions. Requires Command Harness.
30x Iron Ingot
30x Medium Leather
20x Leather Strip
Strength Medallion
+5 STR
1x Silver Medallion
1x Heartwood
5x Tholsepar Bone
Vitality Medallion
+5 VIT
1x Silver Medallion
1x Heartwood
5x Selemar Skull
Intelligence Medallion
+5 INT
1x Silver Medallion
1x Heartwood
5x Pulsating Log
Wisdom Medallion
+5 WIS
1x Silver Medallion
1x Heartwood
5x Severed Nexit Tail
Armour modifications are power-up's for your weapons. Right now you may have one modification per armour.
Rigid Seal
+1 P.def | +3 HP
10x Small Prismatic Scale
2x Selemar Skull
Vital Seal
+6 HP
10x Carapace
2x Severed Nexit Tail
Stable Seal
+1 M.def | +3 HP
10x Tryma Feather
2x Lucky Harenn Foot
Healing Seal
Receive 5% extra Healing
10x Vuna Sap
2x Severed Nexit Tail
Reflect Seal
10% chance to reflect 50% of damage received
4x Razorbeak
4x Perfect Forunn Horn
10x Small Prismatic Scale
Rune Totems are made up of a Base, Pole and Figurehead. A Novice Rune Totem can support 5 Rune Slots.
Totem Base
15x Grayen Block
10x Unburl Log
Totem Pole
20x Unburl Log
10x Pulsating Log
1x Heartwood
Totem Figurehead
15x Pulsating Log
20x Tryma Feather
4x Perfect Forunn Horn
2x Razorbeak
1x Selemar Skull
1x Heartwood
Rune Slot
4x Pulsating Log
1x Severed Nexit Tail
Repair Item to full durability
1x Damaged Infusing Item
1x Primary Crafting Item
Fur Cloth
4x Harenn Fur
OR
2x Nexit Fur
OR
1x Tholsepar Fur
Silk Cloth
2x Aenara Silk
Fur Outfit
+1 P.def | +4 M.def
15x Fur Cloth
Fur Robes
+6 M.def
25x Fur Cloth
Silk Outfit
+4 P.def | +7 M.def
15x Silk Cloth
Silk Robes
+2 P.def | +9 M.def
25x Silk Cloth
Light Leather Outfit
+2 P.def | +2 M.def | +5 HP
15x Light Leather
12x Leather Strip
Light Leather Armour
+3 P.def | +3 M.def
25x Light Leather
18x Leather Strip
Medium Leather Outfit
+5 P.def | +5 M.def | +14 HP
15x Medium Leather
12x Leather Strip
Medium Leather Armour
+6 P.def | +6 M.def
25x Medium Leather
18x Leather Strip
Flag
4x Harch Log
25x Silk Cloth
Banner
20x Silk Cloth
Carpet
20x Fur Cloth
Repair Item to full durability
1x Damaged Clothwork Item
1x Primary Crafting Item
Harch Log
Unburl Log
Scilla Root
Jaran Leaf
Karas Berry
Mern Leaf
Myrris Root
Rough Hide
Tough Hide
Hide Scraps
Light Leather
1x Rough Hide
Medium Leather
1x Tough Hide
Leather Strip
1x Hide Scraps
To catch a wild monster, you must trap it, then subdue it, then restrain it. When restrained, they are slowed by 70% and cannot attack.
Iron Jaw Trap - Able to trap Monsters up to level 10
5x Iron Ingot
Steel Jaw Trap - Able to trap Monsters up to level 20
5x Steel Ingot
Weighted Net - Can subdue Trapped Monsters up to level 20
16x Leather Strip
8x Grayen Rock
Paralyzing Dart - Can subdue Trapped Monsters up to level 10
1x Iron Ingot
1x Paralytic Gland
1x Tryma Feather
Iron Shackles - Can restrain Subdued Monsters up to level 10
10x Iron Ingot
Steel Shackles - Can restrain Subdued Monsters up to level 20
10x Steel Ingot
Minor Health Restore Potion
Restores 10% HP
2x Scilla Root
2x Broken Forunn Horn
1x Jaran Leaf
Minor Mana Restore Potion
Restores 10% MP
2x Karas Berry
2x Forunn Milk
1x Jaran Leaf
Minor Health Regeneration Potion
Regenerates 20% HP over 5 posts
2x Scilla Root
2x Broken Forunn Horn
1x Mern Leaf
Minor Mana Regeneration Potion
Regenerates 20% MP over 5 posts
2x Karas Berry
2x Forunn Milk
1x Mern Leaf
Weak Antidote
Cures poison inflicted from monsters up to level 10
1x Venom Sac
1x Paralytic Gland
1x Adrenal Gland
2x Myrris Root
Fishing Drops
Raw Sleiken
Raw Duncrab
Harch Rod
2x Harch Log
2x Aenara Silk
Unburl Rod
2x Unburl Log
2x Aenara Silk
Sleiken Steak
Restores 5 HP
1x Raw Sleiken
Duncrab Stew
Restores 5 MP
2x Raw Duncrab
Harenn Stew
Restores 15 HP and 3 MP
5x Raw Harenn Meat
Harenn Jerky
Restores 2 HP
1x Raw Harenn Meat
Roast Tryma Drumstick
Restores 5 HP
1x Raw Tryma Leg
Fried Tryma Nuggets
Restores 10 HP and 2 MP
2x Raw Tryma Leg
Crispy Aenara Legs
Restores 10 HP, 10 MP and cures poison from monsters up to level 10.
8x Aenara Leg
Kentucky Fried Special
Restores 20 HP
6x Raw Chykunn Leg
To begin taming a monster you will need a Taming Pen and a Restrained Monster.
Taming Pen
50x Unburl Log
Once the monster is in the pen, you will need to feed it the appropriate food until it becomes passive. You can then remove the restraints and it will become a Tame Monster. It will no longer attack, even if you attack it. You can now breed this monster, or outfit it as a pet or mount with the appropriate items.
Leaving two tame monsters in this pen will eventually result in offspring.
Breeding Pen
50x Unburl Log
And here are some more concise lists that require less scrolling for specific items;
We'll also be converting recipes to a more convenient spreadsheet as we go on. Help on filling that one out would be most welcome, so if you're up for that; please let me know (I'm begging you guys, please). Questions about the system can be directed at @Mac the Impaler (who is to blame for most of this) or myself. So yeah, this is it. Have fun guys.
While I'm honestly not surprised that we're limited to one profession, my inner altaholic is staring at the list in dismay. (O-one? One?? And I can never switch ever? But, but, but...! ;_;)
That aside, it looks great from what I've read so far. Since all of the professions are useful and distinct in some way, there should be plenty of reasons for trade. Definitely important in a 100% player run economy. I could see some people playing just for that element...in non-"you can log in any time but never leave" conditions, at least.
How fast does a miner collect ores from veins?
How much ore can a miner fit in his inventory?
How fast can that be smelted?
What prices are NPCs attaching to all of these? (I'd actually attach an NPC price to each of the items in the lists--something small that isn't very worthwhile, of course. I will volunteer to help with that)
The fact that nobody has credits to start means either: A) NPCs will have to pump the economy; or B) players will have to deal in goods until NPCs pump the economy. It's a trader's heaven, since it's virtually impossible to offer a worse deal than NPCs; nevertheless, an economy needs currency.
Sav and Pulse have grenades they can sell for credits. The drops I believe can also be sold for credits. Kestrel may have gone to sleep, if so @Mac the Impaler should have a proper answer.
Right. Selling drops is the only way to earn credit right now. That's crippling for a player economy. Miners need to sell to smiths, who will buy from foresters to make equipment they can sell to fighters. If miners and foresters just sell their drops to NPCs, the smiths are hung out to dry.
In the beginning it will be a barter system yes, but it should run fairly smoothly. A miner could trade a smith 30 Iron Ore for a new set of armour. Likewise for the other gather-refine-craft processes. The NPCs will be buying stuff for credit, which they can then sell or trade to other players. Big quests (coming soon) will also have Credit rewards. The whole point of the player-fueled economy is that item value will fluctuate depending on rarity and usefulness. The value of Iron should stay fairly constant, since it will always be needed for repairs, right up until it is no longer used for anything.
@RayChel I don't think Kestrel has accepted your character yet...
Also, a few other things in relation to your post (some of which we've failed to cover in our information dump):
1. When you choose a profession, you start off with Bronze versions of the crafting tools, which can only be used for the most basic skills and can't be repaired.
Bronze Pickaxe - only mines Iron Ore - 20 uses
Bronze Lumber Axe - only chops Harch Logs - 20 uses
Bronze Skinning Knife - only gathers Rough Hide and Hide Scraps - 20 uses
Bronze Smith Hammer - only crafts Iron items - 20 uses
Bronze Tinkertool - only crafts Iron and Harch items - 20 uses
Bronze Needlework Box - only crafts Fur and Light Leather items - 20 uses
Bronze Mortar and Pestle - only has 10 uses
Bronze Cooking Pot - only has 10 uses
2. I'm pretty sure there are only 400 people in the Beta, not 2000.
3. While the meta-game is all part of the RP, please, for my sake, try not to have your character immediately know everything we talk about OOC, even if she is an information broker. For instance, she shouldn't know the recipe list for anything other than Smithing, at least until she has gathered that information from 7 other people with the other professions. Obviously, she can deduce things from the requirements on her own list, such as Leather Strips, but beyond that she needs to gather the information herself.
Hm, does that mean that if we don't have anyone who knows how to repair or build tools, we're stuck? (assuming 'just make a NPC who has the skill' isn't an acceptable loophole) Or will NPCs sell the basic tools for the foreseeable future?
Ditto on finding people with required information - do in-game NPCs as well as (from our meta perspective) NPC player characters count for that? I mean, at this point, NPCs are the only ones who are going to know how to make anything, outside of players stumbling across how to craft items. Will "throw things at the crafting interface until something happens" be a method of learning things too, ala Minecraft, or is trying recipe-less crafting a good way to end up without any supplies or credits? For that matter, does crafting cost anything beyond the supplies and time needed, or are there associated fees?
Semi-related question: What do rune totems do? Are those class (or profession) specific items?
Oh, one more: Can characters gather items without having the profession - say, at reduced chances or at an item rarity limit or something? (If we can just create NPCs/PCs with the abilities and items we need when we need something that's not covered by the characters of anybody in this thread, that's not a big deal. I'm just curious.)
With 8 professions and currently 17 active characters, I think we will have at least one of everything. If you can't get to a player character for crafting, I would say just make one up. NPCs will sell things that players sell to them, or things that they craft out of materials sold to them. So yes, Smithing NPCs will sell tools, given the right materials.
Once you have chosen a profession, you will have access to it as a tab in your menu, much like your abilities tab. It will list all the recipes you currently know and their requirements (see Kestrels post above). Simply selecting the item you wish to create, and having the appropriate items to craft it, will enable you to craft it, provided you have the correct tools and are at the appropriate crafting station. Crafting costs are the materials listed, no additional resources are required.
Rune Totems: another thing left out of the information dump. In our defense, all of the current information relevant to professions and crafting is spread over about 8 different documents.
Basically, you build them in territory you own, typically a town or city, and they will provide buffs or debuffs to the whole area, depending on which Runes you slot into them. You could provide a speed buff to all friendly players, you could make it slow invading forces. The exact requirements and effects of Runes are still a WIP, expect more soon.
The short answer is "No."
The long answer is, "That depends on what you mean by 'gather.'" If you mean, "obtain items such as Iron Ore, without being a miner" the answer is yes and no. There will be monsters that drop raw materials like Iron Ore and Gems, so really anyone could kill them and obtain those items. But only someone with the pertinent skills can harvest them from the source. Example: You have to be a Miner to extract Iron Ore from an Iron Vein, You have to be a Forester to skin hides from dead monsters, You have to be a Shepherd to catch things with a Fishing Rod.