Game Mechanics Profession Overhaul (effort)

FYI this is a long read WITHOUT pictures >:)
If your attention span can’t handle it, pull out your phone and play a video of subway surfers under your screen.

Professions are probably wynn’s most controversial feature. There are some superfans but outside of that the consensus is that they aren’t very fun. And it doesn’t take a genius to see why. It’s the same mundane task for all 4 of them, and the grind is abysmally long.

Every update feels like they’re trying to move further and further away from professions. First they banish professions from the tutorial. Then they hide profession miniquests to a side tab. Then they condense all profession levels into 1 icon. Then they set combat level as the default in chat. Then they remove the ingredient from Enzan’s brother. And the list goes on. I’m sure there’s tons of new players who probably wouldn’t even know professions existed if it wasn’t for Cook’s Assistant.

A problem I can think of is the complete dissociation from the rest of Wynncraft. It’s like professions are it’s own bubble, there is almost no interaction between gathering and the rest of the game, when they have so much potential for world events and improving gameplay.

I think there are some great ideas in there though. Particularly crafting, which is already pretty amazing. Gathering nodes also brought a lot of life to the world, as almost everything is seemingly intractable. Not much has been done to improve professions since their release, however. Profession XP Gear, Hunted mode, and Miniquests made the grind less grindy, and that’s really it. The grind was never fun in the first place, and instead of fixing it they made blanket changes to make it shorter.
I think it’s time for a complete overhaul in professions. Keep in mind that this is no minor update, this needs to be done right

New gathering progression​

Every 10 levels, the player will unlock a new base resource, which has no special properties. This is the same as the current system, and if the player wishes, they can level up their professions solely through base nodes.
However, these are not very fun and will be inefficient compared to the new system. Base nodes will receive a slight buff in xp, however they are significantly less efficient then the new nodes, especially at later levels.

At every level, the player will unlock a new node, which I’ll refer to as a special node. Each special node varies wildly, from unlocking a small cave, fishing up a rare creature, or finding a rare ore by the side of a mountain. Some of these nodes may not even require their profession’s tool, but they will be themed around their profession. Most of these nodes will only appear in one area, and they are tied to players' combat progression. You’ll find the same level profession content within the same level combat areas.
The 4 nodes that were added in 2.0.3 will be converted into special nodes, but will otherwise remain the same.

Each special node only grants xp at the level you unlock it at. In return however, special nodes xp is greatly boosted. For example, completing the small cave or killing the rare sea creature will instantly level you up, and it will only take a couple of those rare ores to level you up. These nodes can still be gathered at any level and the player can receive their rewards as many times as they’d like. I’ll get to rewards in a little bit.
Base nodes will not have this restriction, and they can be used if the player doesn’t want to be bothered with their current level’s node.
Special nodes will never give overflow XP beyond their level, and Base nodes will only give overflow XP if the player’s combat level is far beyond their profession level (see catch up boost)

Think of every level as a new miniquest or microgame. They won’t take very long and the player will discover something new or get a small reward. They have their own mechanics and conditions, so that the player will never feel like they are grinding. The world will also feel more alive, as a lot more can be interacted with.
All world events will be converted into these special nodes, and there will be a lot more now that they have their own dedicated content.

I understand that this means that they will have to add well over 400 new gathering spots, but this will make professions so much better.

Now, I have written several examples of what this could look like, but before I get to those, let me explain the remaining mechanics.

Rewards
Some give ingredients, some give exclusive materials, some give actual items, and some might even give special one off items, but every special node will give a worthwhile reward.

Ingredients: The special nodes that give ingredients will, for the most part, grant a single (possibly 2) exclusive ingredient. Not much different than Larbonic Geodes or Voidgloom roses, but they won’t have to be as fleshed out or give as many exclusive ingredients. Some may give a Major Ingredient, which I’ll explain later.
Materials: A lot of nodes will grant their own exclusive material. These materials will have special properties when used for crafting, and can ONLY be used for their level’s crafting bracket. (For example, a gather lvl 14 material can only be used to craft lvl 13-15 items) These materials will usually grant one property for another (+water damage in exchange for durability, for example), so they aren’t necessarily better then base materials.
Equipment: Not many special nodes will grant actual equipment, but I don’t see the problem with a couple giving exclusive equipment, especially when there’s a boss involved.
One-off Items: This is where I think these special nodes can really shine. Basically an item that has a niche use case or a simple upgrade, especially one geared towards professions. I can’t really explain it more than that, you’ll see a couple of these one-off ideas in the example section.​

Most rewards can be obtained as many times as the player likes, even after the player is beyond the node’s level.

Catch up boost
If the player’s combat level is ahead of their profession level, then the catch up boost is applied. This is the main use of base nodes beyond crafting. The further the player’s combat level is from their profession, the higher the boost, and if the difference is at least 5 levels then overflow xp will be counted.
The player shouldn’t have to backtrack to earlier content if they’ve already moved past it, as players will just skip out on professions like they already do. But at the same time, this is completely optional, and they can go through the new progression if they want to (and they should!)

Content Book
The content book will have 4 icons in it, one for each profession. The goal is not 100% completion, and the icon for each profession will display a hint for their current level’s special node. Right clicking the icon will open the list for all levels as well as their completion status. Outside of the hint there will not be any further guidance.

Overworld Buffs
Each gathering profession also boosts a non-profession aspect of the game. I was originally going to make this more integral, but I feel that they’re in a good spot here and I feel that special nodes give enough content that they don’t need much more.

Farming: Each level slightly improves horse breeding odds, as well as increasing the speed in which you can level them up. By level 100 your horses can never downgrade
Mining: Each level slightly buffs the loot found in cave chests while not in a LR. Mining special nodes also unlock several caves with chests in them.
Fishing: Each level slightly increases the speed in which the Seaskipper talks (faster seaskipper trips) and every 10 levels decreases the cost by 5%, capped at 50% off.
Foraging: Each level grants a slight discount to teleportation scrolls, capped at 50% off, and a 1% chance for scrolls not to consume SP. At level 100, scrolls do not consume SP.​

With that out of the way, it’s time for examples.

Examples

Mining 14: Scale Mt. Wynn and mine the Howlite at its peak. This can either be done physically or during Arachnid’s Ascent, where you get the lava.

Reward: Howlite, a material equivalent to gems that grants extra air damage on crafted level 13-15 accessories. Useful for Arakadicus.​

Mining 76: Break open the crystal cave and search its depths in Aldorei

Condition: Defeat the Crystallized High Elf
Reward: Access to the cave. The cave has crystals that can be mined for ingredients and a T4 chest at the end which can be unlocked through the miniboss. The Crystallized High Elf also drops an exclusive ingredient.​

Mining 83: Mine the mythical gemstone rumored to be around the cliffs of the Western Sea.

Reward: Mythical Gemstones (trademark pending), a gemstone material​

Mining 96: Mine your way into an Ancient Dogun temple, sealed within the permafrost of the Freezing Peaks.

Condition: Defeat the extremely difficult Dogun boss fight OR (if Dwarves and Doguns 4 is completed) make peace with the Doguns.
Reward: Access to the temple, which has a T4 chest at the end (The dogun that guards this chest is much weaker than the boss) and frozen crystals that can be mined for ingredients. The Dogun boss will also either gift or drop a piece of equipment.​

Fishing 26: Find the Azurite, lost in the deepest abyss of Sevale Reef.

Reward: Azurite, a Major Ingredient that has a major id granting dolphins grace while in the ocean when used on accessories.​

Fishing 43 (Requires Underice): See what this whole ice fishing is about. Fish with Fredris for a bit in Nesaak’s frozen lake.

Reward: Various fish ingredients/materials and dialogue with Fredris.​

Fishing 77: An incredibly swift cosmic fish has been spotted in Lake Gylia! Hunt it down and fish it up.

Condition: The fish must be caught. It requires multiple hits with a fishing rod and it constantly jumps around the lake. You only need 1 for the level up, but you can catch them as many times as you like.
Reward: Cosmic Fish, a major ingredient.​

Fishing 97: The time has come. Consult the Seaskipper Captain in order to fish up and slay the legendary Kraken.

Condition: The sea skipper will now offer to take you on a voyage to the Kraken’s den, an off map location with a large pool of water. Fishing in this pool will reel up the Kraken, an extremely difficult boss which needs to be killed for the level. Bring friends.
Rewards: Kraken drops (I can’t do it justice)​

Farming 11: You deserve a break. Farm some juicy grapes around Maltic.

Reward: The player eats the grapes, granting +50 HP from Combat Levels 11-16 (long enough for the players run in Infested pit)​

Farming 39: A particularly sought after herb is said to be found in the Sunrise Canyon. (It will be located within the area right before Rymek Luke.

Reward: Sunrise Herb, a Level 40 Grain material that grants extra health during the day, but minus health at night.​

Farming 77 (Requires The Bigger Picture): The Subtraxerim Utilium seems like it could be extremely useful. Harvest it without becoming small again.

Reward: Subtraxerim Utilium, a Major Ingredient that makes the player 1 block tall. (The mechanics behind this might need some work)​

Farming 86: A master rice farmer is said to be found in the Canyon of the Lost. Find him, and learn his technique.

Condition: Find the rice farmer. He will be in a hard to find location, but will grant the player the Superior Scythe Blade. The player levels up after gathering with an upgraded scythe.
Reward: Superior Scythe Blade, an item that can be applied to a T8 Scythe. Upon farming any crop with it, it will instantly gather 2 more nearby crops. Also grants a slight gather speed boost.​

Foraging 3: Search for bee hives on trees in Nivla Woods, and gather some honey. (Does not need an axe, bees will attack the player, replaces the rare mob bee hive spawn)

Reward: Nivlan Honey​

Foraging 12: Resurrected Ragni Guards are protecting a powerful blade sealed within the Corrupted Tree.

Reward: Bane of Arthropods, a Major Ingredient usable on weapons that increases damage dealt to spiders.​

Foraging 55: See what the Tree Island has to offer

Condition: Talk to the Druid. In the tree, near black nodes of wood are scattered throughout. Gather a couple to level up.
Reward: Forgotten Witherwood, a level 55 wood material that can only be used for wands, grants rainbow spell damage raw.​

Foraging 78: Gather sakura branches from the tree in Aldorei/around the Dojo. (requires climbing the tree, not gathering the base)

Reward: Cherry wood, a lvl 78 planks material that adds raw air damage in exchange for durability.​

These were actually pretty fun to come up with, and I’m sure it’d be more fun to see them in game. I want them to get creative here, it doesn’t just have to be “cut x tree” or “mine x ore” like it is now.

I also want these nodes to have the spirit of their profession, not just have their tool requirements. That’s why some of the nodes might not even require a tool. The way they’re divided is pretty simple:

Mining nodes involve mountains and caves
Farming nodes involve plantlife and crops
Fishing nodes involve water and sea creatures
Foraging nodes involve anything tree and forest related​

If you also noticed I tried to make level 11-14 professions focus on benefitting a player about to take on the Infested Pit, which can really be done for any level. It’s the beauty of making professions compliment gameplay, as if a player is having a hard time with a part of the game, they can do their professions and gain gear that will help them.

Crafting Overhaul​

Before I start, this will not be as thorough as gathering. Crafting isn’t nearly as flawed as gathering, so it does not warrant as many changes.

Now don’t get me wrong, crafting is great. It gives a lot of freedom on what you can build with. The biggest problem is that it’s only great for endgame. It’s never used for progression, outside of Craftsman characters and someone transferring powerful crafted gear to a new class.

I feel that problem stems from crafting levels. You need to craft a lot to level up, and it’s a big resource and time hog. And there’s 8 different crafting professions. No new players are going to go through the trouble of leveling up their woodworking to craft something cool when they can just find a wand in a chest that does the job.

So the first change will be crafting levels no longer affect what you can and can’t craft.
You can craft any item, up to your combat level, provided you have the materials. Crafting levels will still be in the game, but they work differently. This change, combined with the new gathering system, should allow crafted items to see much more use in the early-middle game.

New Crafting GUI
Crafting will now have 2 tabs, similar to the new identifier. I would show a picture but we’ve already gotten so far without them (I don’t know how to make new models)

Tab one is identical to the current crafting GUI, now known as Basic Crafting. It’s for the sole purpose of leveling up and crafting in bulk, which is useful for consumables. An arrow will be placed under the material slots to reach the second tab.

Tab two, dubbed Advanced Crafting, has several more features over basic crafting, and can only craft one item at a time. This is where you will craft your artisan items, and most crafting level upgrades will affect this tab.
There are 2 big differences in this tab at level 1. First, there is an Attack Speed Slider for weapons, which can (at level 1) select between Slow, Normal, and Fast attack speeds. I don’t know why this isn’t already a feature in the game, but here you go. Second, the check mark, when hovered over, will preview the item you are about to craft and its possible rolls. Again, why isn’t this in the game already?

Crafting Levels
Leveling crafting is the same as before, just craft items. More complex recipes grant more xp. Now that levels no longer dictate what you can craft, levels are focused on improving your crafting skills.
Every 5 levels slightly increases the speed in which you can craft items, as well as removing the bottom 5% of rolls. That means at level 100, every item you craft will have perfect identifications, and you can craft items instantly. Every 5 levels will also grant a perk that affects advanced crafting.

I can’t really think of a complete list of every level, so here’s a few examples:
All % increases are rounded down.
Level 5: Very Slow/Fast attack speed for weapons, +5% Health/Duration for Armor/Consumables, +5% Durability for Accessories.
Level 20: Super Slow/Fast attack speed for weapons, +1 Charge for consumables, +5% Identifications for Accessories/Armor
Level 25: +1 Stat Manipulation: Before crafting your item, you may set the exact value of 1 stat. The primary purpose of this is to allow players to have a minimum stat after their level removes that possibility, but it’s also a slight buff to what you can craft.
Level 40: +1 Item Reroll: If the player isn’t satisfied with their item they can reroll it once at no additional cost.

And the list goes on. The general idea is that each level milestone improves the items you craft, rather than unlocking later level items.
If they want to make it less confusing, they can condense the 100 levels into 20 levels, and make each level require as much as the 5 it replaces.

Major Ingredients
This really should be its own thread, but I like the idea of some super significant ingredients, especially from the new special nodes.
Basically, they’re really powerful ingredients. Only one of them can be added to an item at a time, and they are completely unaffected by ingredient modifiers (optional)
Many of these will have major ids. Definitely not the really powerful ones, but for example the Bane of Arthropods ingredient will grant a boost in damage against spiders.

Closing Notes​

I spent way too much time writing this, but I think professions need some form of change. They just aren’t fun and it’s been almost 5 years since their inception without any significant changes. I hope this wasn’t too confusing of a read, I really didn’t want to make pictures because that would take even longer. Here’s a Q&A to clear some stuff up

Will there still be flex levels?

Yes, and anyone that’s already nolifed professions will keep their levels. After a certain point, the special nodes will end, and it’s basically just old gathering to reach those levels.​

Ok, let's say this update did come out. How will the old system be transitioned into the new one?

I think it’s ok for everyone to keep their current levels. They can still check off everything new in their content book, and they can pick up where they left off with the new mechanics. Some golden medal or purple star can be given to people that have reached a certain point if there is actual backlash towards these changes because:​

How much faster is gathering in this new system?

Much faster. Like, significantly faster. Each level should only take a couple minutes, assuming you do special nodes. The later levels may have harder/longer challenges, but each level won’t take several hours anymore. Once the special nodes stop, however, the original challenge returns to those that want it.​

Who even uses bold text anymore?

Not me, there were just some points that I really wanted to emphasize.​

Nice pictures btw

Ok if you wanted pictures then you should've asked purple emerald to post this or smth​

Fun fact, Wynncraft just completely clears most formatting if you copy something from google docs >:(
I haven't posted a suggestion in like 5 years so your going to have your rations and youre going to like them

 

nice thread but i have been medically diagnosed with tiktok-attention span. to say i require subway surfers to be on at all times is a huge understatement, i also need at the bare minimum a family guy clip taking up a quarter of my vision to pay attention (jk i read the entire thing)

On a more serious note, really good thread, especially for the Gathering. That would bring so much life and novelty to a mechanic that right now is smthn you'd find on a prison server. The only thing I'd change about this would be:

Faster seaskipper convos is a pretty niche and underwhelming reward. I do like the idea of cheaper Seaskipper trips, which could save a lot of money over time. I think instead it should be faster swimming and you can breathe underwater for longer.

Other than that, certified cool thread that is worthy of a spot in my signature.

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o yea also replace cook assistant with a better prof tutorial quest (i've been working on that but ive been procrastinating on it for a while)

 

Yeah the faster seaskipper convo seems bland on paper, but it really just means faster seaskipper trips, because the ride ends when he's done talking. I like his dialogue but I think he just talks for too long, especially during certain ocean quests where you're taking multiple trips (level 40-50 fishing should be a noticeable difference for the majority of ocean quests)
I don't think they can change swimming speed/water breathing beyond enchantments so idk the possibility of that
and yes I agree there should be a better profession tutorial quest, it didn't cross my mind writing it
otherwise thanks bro

 

The main reason why I was against that is bc it could just be replaced with the sneaking thing.

 

Rn you can't sneak through his convo, and I actually kinda like it that way. I'd rather earn a slightly faster seaskipper and still catch his story then just being able to skip all of it (i am the #1 sneak to continue disliker)

 

cheeky bump

 

I loveeeee this thread, especially the new Crafting system! I don’t really have much to say other than that it’s an amazing suggestion. Nice work!!

 

Not gonna work.

But moving on:
Great thread, I think that gathering needs to be much faster and this thread perfectly combats the argument: "BUT I WANNA LEVEL UP SLOW SO I CAN TURN MY BRAIN OFF" thanks to the special node. Only 2 nitpicks


1. Dev Time would be insane assuming 1 per level till 90 that's 360 gathering events.
2. Crafting system looks pretty rad but rerolls and perfect items. Other than that, I think the new crafting system is great (especially preview and SPEED SELECTOR), I have been trying to level up stuff for quite a while now.

 

Yeah I understand that like 400 nodes will take the team some time, but it will definately pay off in the end
And I completely agree with the crafting system, I mainly just wanted to remove the crafting level requirements and add the qol of previewing and speed selection. The only problem was I don't know how to make leveling crafting worth it. I'll probably get rid of the op stuff and maybe just make crafting levels cosmetic or come up with something cooler, but yeah the more I think about it the more unbalanced it seems

 

I like the idea of higher crafting levels getting some perks, like the chance to have negative IDs reduced or positive IDs increased, higher durability, higher base damage/health, fewer materials used, stuff like that. It gives a reason to level them up and makes logical sense; an experienced smith should be able to make a spear that's better, more durable, uses less waste, etc. than a novice.

 

Yea but even a very experienced smith shouldn't be able to create the perfect spear. (At level 100 you would get perfect rolls.)

 

Agreed. I was just saying that I don't think crafting levels should be cosmetic or not useful. I think there are other things that could be increased as you level up.

 

Yea, I definitely agree with that.