What if profs were more interesting

Correct me if I am wrong (40% chance I am wrong), but most of the time, people do not do many miniquests. Unless they're proffing. Miniquests seem like an underused mechanic, kind of eh, so here's a suggestion for how to improve them.

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I'd suggest, for combat miniquests, that each miniquest is composed of one challenge, similar to a Lootrun challenge but with a different focus. Possible challenges:

1. Kill boss: The miniquest spawns a boss monster which you have to kill. Pretty simple.
2. Kill enemies: The miniquest spawns enemies in the local area which you have to hunt down and kill. Normal enemies have their spawn rates slashed, so they basically won't respawn until the miniquest is over.
3. Kill normal enemies: The miniquest tells you to kill enemies (either a set amount or a randomly-chosen amount) of a certain kind. Kill count is tracked, not specific items being dropped.
4. Defeat waves: Three waves of enemies attack you, which are special enemies for the miniquest, similar to but not the same as the local enemies. Regular enemies don't spawn during this segment.

This avoids the issue of RNG in the combat miniquests, where whatever item you're looking for drops randomly from randomly-spawning enemies.

The rewards for defeating a combat miniquest would be primarily combat XP, but these miniquests could possibly yield additional stuff. Perhaps a chest, like the one you get for beating a lootrun challenge.

Although, here's another thought - maybe it's a *special* chest. The miniquest chest contains some quantity of emeralds - depending on the level, although I suppose the ballpark of a couple EB would be good generally - as well as a small quantity of items that are skewed towards Legendary. So instead of opening a mostly-Unique chest (with some Rares), it has, perhaps, an 80% chance of a Legendary and then usually, like, 1 Unique or Rare.

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On the topic of profession miniquests, I'd suggest heavily buffing their XP gain and/or frequency per level block, just because that seems like a good way to make profs less grindy. If you had to only kill mobs to gain XP to your next combat level up, with the exception of a quest every 5 levels or so, for all of Wynn, it would get grindy pretty fast.

Prof miniquests are still grindy, though. They're identical grind to regular profs, but give you a side bonus of extra XP. I'll suggest more complicated structures, but I will note this: These structures assume that the updated Prof miniquests, instead of being started from a quest sign, are started from a quest NPC of some form. (This makes a lot of sense to me, because it's a 'profession'. You are working like it's a job. Therefore, people should be paying you.)

This quest NPC has some dialogue, and makes a prof request to you, of one of these forms:

1. HARVEST! An NPC requests that you gather X amount of a material for them. Unsure whether the material should be variant-specific or not (I.E. does the NPC want Wheat Grians Grains, Wheat String, or either, indiscriminately?
2. SUPPLY! An NPC requests that you provide X basic crafted items for them, I.E. X spears of the 3-5 range, or X bows of the 13-15 range.
3. CRAFT! An NPC requests that you create 1 crafted item that fits within specific ID parameters, I.E. the food must give +10 health for its duration, or the spear must have X poison. (Extra IDs would be ignored, I guess?) The requisite IDs would be based on ings around the level of the mini-quest, but lower-level ings could also work, coincidentally (or not-so). (You might be penalised for making a weapon with impractically low durability.)

You could also have these go into a slightly more complex form:

1. MULTI-HARVEST! You're asked to gather raw materials from several different profs. For instance, Trout Oil, Granite Gems, and Birch Wood, or Wheat Grains, Wheat String, and Gudgeon Meat. (In the latter's case, that assumes that HARVEST! is non-inclusive of the alternate form of that material.)
2. QUALITY-HARVEST! You need to give high-level (2 or 3) materials, specifically.
3. MULTI-SUPPLY! You're asked to supply several different crafted items. I.E. Almuj military wants potions, bows, and wands.
4. QUALITY-SUPPLY! You need to craft Supply items with high duration/durability, or, alternately, just with higher-level materials used in their construction.
5. MULTI-CRAFT! You're asked to supply some number of crafted items with a specific ID or small number of IDs. This ID is low and lenient, and can be achieved with only 1 or 2 ingredients which the quest-giver hints at.

Completing a prof miniquest, in this updated form, would reward you with a good chunk of emeralds and prof XP. Harvest miniquests would yield XP for the specific Gathering Prof the quest asked for, Supply miniquests would yield XP for the two Gathering Profs that contribute to the Crafting Prof (which you also get XP for), and Craft miniquests yield a very large amount of Crafting Prof XP (on account that you need to puzzle out what ingredients to use). Multi-versions would be basically the same, but applied to the multi conceit. Quality-versions give more XP.

This would be an overall improvement. Not a perfect solution to the problem of Profs being grindy and unfun (there needs to be some skill elements added, somehow, IDK how), but just improving the miniquests would be a great help.

(I would have posted this a month ago, but I got bogged down trying to write 400 Prof miniquests. Got around 6 or 7 of the 16 profs done, still working on the rest.)

 

Lootrunning

 

yes but the prof changes are more interesting tbf. Not saying that they are fun, but they are at least contributing to crafteds xp too.

 

Really, just... anything, just anything would be better than the current sequence.

Proffing has 0 content. There are no lines of dialogue, not a single crumb of plot of any kind to be had. Even just giving the current miniquests some slapdash lore would help a good deal.

Spoiler: Example prof miniquests - Gathering (except Fishing, I didn't finish that)

Spoiler: Mining

Level 2 - At the Emerald Trail outpost, some of the soldiers have some damaged weapons that need repairs. They ask for some Copper Ingots from the nearby mine to fix up their equipment.

Level 5 - A jeweler's apprentice in Alekin Village is seeking Copper Gems as part of his jewelry practice.

Level 8 - A Detlas armorer is running short of Copper Ingots for his work, and asks you to get him more.

Level 13 - An armorer in Detlas needs more Granite Ingots for his equipment.

Level 16 - A Detlas jeweler is looking to ruin his rival's reputation, and plans to do this by making replicas of his rival's high-quality jewelry, but using Granite Gems. Naturally, he needs someone to actually acquire these gems, and preferably, someone who can discreetly bring them to him.

Level 19 - The armorer's back (well, his apprentice this time). Turns out, they're still low on Granite Ingots.

Level 24 - A gold-mining crew in Nemract are trying to get the local economy back on track. They pay you to help out with mining Gold Ingots for a bit.

Level 27 - An entrepreneur from Almuj is looking into the quality of Nemract's Gold Gems. He asks you to fetch samples.

Level 30 - The only enchanter of the Nemract garrison (in the building where Mylo is) requests some Gold Gems for experimentation, as he's heard they have arcane properties.

Level 31 - An Almuj denizen is looking for some Sandstone Ingots to fix up their house.

Level 34 - In order to prove a point, an appraiser in Almuj has been collecting various gems from around Wynn. He's come to Almuj to find some Sandstone Gems, which he asks you to procure for him.

Level 37 - A skeptical weaponsmith wants to figure out if Sandstone Ingots are really that good for making spears. He hires you to find some for him.

Level 42 - A maker of metal trinkets in Nesaak is looking for Iron Ingots for his craft. (He'll give you some trinket ingredients for your troubles as a bonus quest reward.)

Level 45 - A miner in the Karoc Quarry wasn't able to make his quota due to his mom being sick, and him visiting her. He'll lose his job if he doesn't turn in enough iron, so he begs you to find some Iron Ingots so that he can keep his job.

Level 48 - A Lusuco jeweler is looking to make quite the interesting ice-infused piece. He simply lacks enough Iron Gems to pull it off. You are hired.

Level 53 - An enterprising merchant in Troms is looking to get genuine Tromsi Silver Gems to sell at a high markup all the way back in Llevigar. However, because the profit margin won't quite be high enough - even with him tripling the price to Llevigar's villagers - he decides to scam you, hiring you to mine the gems for him for much less money than they actually cost in the market.

Level 56 - Troms (or someone in Troms) has been experimenting with a currency that isn't based on emeralds, for the reason that there are very few emeralds in the Troms jungle. You are asked to bring some Silver Ingots to make experimental 'coins'.

Level 59 - A very poor man in Olux wants to clutch a Silver Gem before he dies. You can do this. He won't pay you because after you give him the gem he keels over in satisfaction.

Level 64 - An alchemist in Gelibord seeking to find a cure for the Decay asks you to acquire her some Cobalt Gems for their alchemical value. (You may be able to find him later on, in Kander Forest, having rediscovered Garvan's breakthrough that Kanderstone is Decayed cobalt.)

Level 67 - A Gelibord mage, trying his best to eke out a living improving and enchanting things, has run out of Cobalt Ingots and sends you to fetch more.

Level 70 - An Efilim elf wants to have some Cobalt Gems to look at, because they are pretty. They ask you to find some for them.

Level 71 - A Lexdale refugee in Cinfras is working to research the decay. They ask you to bring them some Kanderstone Ingots for research.

Level 74 - Another Decay researcher, this time in Efilim, theorises that the Light Forest may have some counter-magic to the Dark Forest. They ask you to bring them Kanderstone Gems for research purposes.

Level 77 - Although Lexdale is very bleak, someone there has managed to scrounge up enough money to ask you to fetch them Kanderstone Gems. Why? Because they're an insane cultist who worships the Decay.

Level 82 - Diamonds! They're seen as very valuable. (Especially the Diamond Gems.) A man in Cinfras enraptured by them wants you to get him ALL THE DIAMONDS! (He's gone a bit insane.) You aren't sure how many 'all' is, so you merely fetch 'a bunch'.

Level 85 - A Thesead villager is curious about what Diamond Ingots actually are, as he's heard of them but never seen any. He asks you to bring him one so that he can inspect it.

Level 88 - A Thanos inhabitant wants to compare Canyon diamonds with diamonds from a new mine in the Molten Heights, and asks you to find him some Diamond Gems, as he'll be out of town in Rodoroc (he owns a stake in the mine and will be helping set it up.)

Level 93 - Rodoroc jeweler seeks Molten Gems to make some sweet bracers for an upcoming jewelry party (like a car show but for your jewelry).

Level 96 - A Maex metalsmith isn't able to find Molten Ingots at a reasonable price anymore, so he hires you to get some, for a lower price than he'd normally have to pay.

Level 99 - A guy in Kandon-Beda has been commissioned to repair the weapons that the Ahmsord military use - they suffer a lot of wear and tear, as they're not really up to scratch against the dangers of the Isles. He needs a lot of Molten Ingots for some repair jobs he's just gotten.

Level 104 - With the advent of Void exploration (is this gated behind 1km Under?), some people want to see a lot of Voidstone Ingots for comparison with the mysterious Ahmsord veins of Molten Ore that nobody's really successfully worked with. (The comparison reveals that they're the same, which opens a lot of questions - and opportunities for Ahmsord to finally have weapons which fit its level in-game.)

Level 107 - Some really kooky island-seller in Ahmsord has the insane theory that Voidstone Ingots can be transmuted into quartz. Somehow, he believes it will be a process highly in-demand, despite Karoc Quarry existing. (Perhaps he'll scalp flying-island-homeowners.) He of course needs samples to test the process on.

Level 110 - 'Did you know Voidstone Ingots might have levitating properties?' says Kook #2341, this time in Ahmsord, or possibly Kandon-Beda. Naturally some are needed for testing.

Level 111 - There's a curious closed door with slots for many gems. If you can find some Dernic Gems to insert into the slots, perhaps it'll open and reveal the contents beyond.

Level 115 - In one of the buildings, there's a minuscule little crack, indicating a door of some kind. Some hidden cache, perhaps. With a good knife, or perhaps a couple, you might be able to pry open the door - but it'll need quite a few Dernic Ingots to be made into the blades.

Spoiler: Woodcutting

Level 2 - A Ragni librarian needs some Oak Paper to copy some books.

Level 5 - Someone in Alekin Village needs to repair their house from where a tree fell on it. Naturally, they need Oak Wood for this.

Level 8 - A Detlas fletcher needs wood for his arrows, and pays you to fetch him some Oak Wood from the forest.

Level 13 - The Detlas air-post office (in the airbase) has run out of Birch Paper for its letters and packages, and sends you to get more.

Level 16 - An assistant to the Detlas Scroll Merchant needs Birch Paper for his scribing.

Level 19 - A Detlas bowyer requests Birch Wood for his bow work.

Level 24 - Did you know Willow Wood is really good for bows? So says a Nemract bow-maker. So you fetch him some.

Level 27 - Willow Paper, green and probably moldy, is used for funerary rites in Nemract. And the church has, unfortunately, got a fresh pile of corpses to inter. You pitch in.

Level 30 - Willow Wood? Is it useful for anything? Well, most certainly patching holes in rotten, wind-shattered wood, like in this... Elkurn guy's house? Why is this one in Elkurn?

Level 31 - Welcome to Almuj! Here's an entitled brat demanding you find him enough Acacia Wood for his carpenter to fix his house, because there's none in the desert, unsurprisingly.

Level 34 - QUALITY-HARVEST! Almuj still practices mummification in some circles (mostly among the rich and traditional - the types who live in rural riverside estates, or in Rymek where they're free of those pesky government regulations). They need some [T2] Acacia Paper for a recent notable death (the owner of the Rymek Mansion, in fact - it has passed to the dead guy's son when you play through Mission Wynnpossible).

Level 37 - Bremminglar has a problem - the palisades have been busted down by a corrupted attack. The selfsame attack also got a lot of Bremminglar citizens injured, and even the Bremminglar witch doctors can't fix them fast enough. You're hired, just so that they can get the Acacia Wood they need - nobody can be venturing outside the village right now.

Level 42 - Spruce Wood is a good insulator if you know how to use it correctly. A carpenter, who knows how to use it correctly, has been asked by someone from Nesaak to demonstrate the Ice Island house-building technique. He has come over (because he got paid a bunch) to show it off, but unfortunately, the wood he brought was ruined by rot on the journey. He asks you to get him new wood so that he won't be embarrassed.

Level 45 - The Ice Islanders are pretty good shipbuilders, but a timber shortage has left them bereft of their economy's centerpiece. Without Spruce Wood, they'll be broke, and their unfinished boats in drydock with angry clients knocking at their doors. One boatbuilding company asks you to find some (partially because you can skirt Dujgon's ban on harvesting the trees on the island so that the forests can regrow), so that they can finish at least this one, bigger ship, so they won't fold under the weight of their debts.

Level 48 - Nesaak postage has run into the Detlas' post's problem. The post office sells letter-paper but they've run out of Spruce Paper to actually sell. They buy it off you, because you're in the area and don't have a head for finance. (Nor do you sleep, eat, or take a reasonable amount of time to harvest things. You're an absurdly productive military polymath and they partially just want to get into your good graces so you don't murder them.)

Level 53 - A Troms guy wants to rebuild his house after slimes got into it and ruined the wood. He needs a lot of Jungle Wood to accomplish this.

Level 56 - Jungle Paper has well-recorded anti-slime properties, which means that an experimental barrier is being created by the Troms military to test how good it would be against a slimy attack. Unfortunately, they got their measurements wrong and ran out of paper. You are hired to rectify this error by getting more.

Level 59 - Iboju Village needs to rebuild its barricades after a corrupted attack that Troms didn't defend them against (this is a violation of a treaty). Unfortunately for the Iboju government, some NIMBYs in the tribe lobbied against cutting down any of the trees near Iboju. So you must find Jungle Wood for the palisades.

Level 64 - Welcome to Gelibord! Where the zombies just attacked (they're a different kind from Wynn), and someone's house is halfway wrecked. They can't afford for it to collapse, so they send you to quickly find Dark Wood to fix it.

Level 67 - The Gelibord funeral pyre-keeper has run out of Dark Wood for the pyre. They ask you to find more. (If you do this after doing Lazarus Pit, you can mention that you fixed the zombie problem. They'll be skeptical and say they want some Dark Wood just in case - maybe you're lying, or you didn't really fix the problem, or there's still Pit fluids in the waterbed or whatever.)

Level 70 - A kid wants to make torches. They've got the pitch and stick and everything! But unfortunately that wasn't enough. They ask you to find Dark Paper, since apparently they need that too - and they aren't allowed to rip up their dad's books! (It's not like anyone can read them...)

Level 71 - A woodland elf in Efilim is injured and needs a rest. Unfortunately, he was really planning on being able to chop wood for the next few days, and this'll mess up their house-building schedule - they need to have this thing ready for when their soon-to-be-exiled parents come! You're commissioned to get the needed Light Wood.

Level 74 - QUALITY-HARVEST! Ollie, the most famous Cinfras wand-crafter, needs only the best Light Wood for his craft. He blows the Horn of Player Summoning to get said [T2] Light Wood.

Level 77 - QUALITY-HARVEST! Light Paper is prized by Aldorei scrollmakers for its intense Light magic, so an Aldorei elf asks you to find him some of the [T2] stuff to work with.

Level 82 - Someone has dammed a river to get themselves some sort of stable housing in the Canyon of the Lost, but naturally, it shifted and now that dam has burst. Their house is ruined but they might be able to resettle the lake bed, again - if you get them enough Pine Wood for them to rebuild the dam.

Level 85 - A peaceful Ailuropoda (unlike his much more warlike fellows) asks you to get him some Pine Wood so that he can whittle himself a staff for an upcoming duel with the rest.

Level 88 - An injured Elephelk (who had gotten into a brawl with another Elephelk over a love interest) asks you to get him some Pine Paper he can use as bandages. (He's willing to not beat you up, because he's too injured to fight. Also, his trunk is ripped in two.)

Level 93 - An Avo who lives in the lowlands has had her house harassed by a roving mech, which means she needs Avo Wood to repair it. Fetch some, you will.

Level 96 - A rural Corkian needs a lot of Avo Paper for her blueprinting of new mech concepts. This Corkian is flouting the laws against mech construction, which is why she needs to buy it from you.

Level 99 - A sneaky, up-to-date mech entered Corkus City and suicide-bombed a house. (It was basically a Mine Turtle.) Avo Wood is needed for repairs.

Level 104 - A crucial Sky Islands bridge has been blown up by an angry angel. You decide to fix it yourself (with Sky Wood). Once you do so, the actual repair crew comes along, they get a bit surprised, and pay you for your volunteer labor.

Level 107 - Quick! Someone in Ahmsord has fallen into the void! Board up their house so nobody squats in it! (Sky Wood is used here.)

Level 110 - Someone dropped a package into the Void in the Sky Islands. Oopss. Luckily, they violated the privacy of the package-sender by taking a peek inside! This means they can replicate the contents - if they can quickly get Sky Paper for the job.

Level 112 - There's a roiling, living pit, that is squeezed shut. You might be able to prop it open with Dernic Wood to access anything hidden beneath.

Level 116 - A staring scribe, much like the wandering Blinders, sits peacefully in a secluded nook. It seems to want to write something, but it has no Dernic Paper to work with. Perhaps if you give it some, it'll give you a reward?

Spoiler: Fishing

Level 2 - A minor Ragni noble is preparing a fancy dinner for his social circle, and needs Gudgeon Meat for it.

Level 5 - That Ragni feast (from Cook's Assistant) is still happening, and Gudgeon Meat is in great demand for signature Ragni delicacies such as Gudgeon Stew. The Cook's actual assistant commissions you to collect a bunch.

Level 8 - A mad alchemist in Alekin Village is trying a potion experiment, which Gudgeon Oil factors into. She asks you to fetch her some.

Level 13 - Is Trout Oil good for cooking? An enterprising Detlas chef asks you the question, with some money as a payment.

Level 16 - Trout Meat. Very fishy. A visitor to Detlas (from Selchar) wants to know what trout tastes like.

Level 19 - Someone who was really sick of the concept that Trout Oil is used to write scrolls threw someone's inkwell across the room in a rage. Now they need to buy a new one, but they're too embarrassed to get Trout Oil from a fisherman, because everyone has heard of the incident. They ask you to buy the Trout Oil. (After completing the quest, they vanish and the person whose inkwell was smashed appears in their place. This second person explains the backstory.)

Level 24 - A marooned sailor on the Bear Zoo lost his boat and all his fishing equipment when his boat sank, and the Bear Zoo guy doesn't have the fishing capacity to feed the bear, himself, and the marooned guy. You're asked to fetch the castaway some Salmon Meat to eat while they wait for resupply and a second fishing rod. (After this quest, the marooned sailor is seen to settle into the Zoo, and just becomes a second guy living on the island. He even says he'll build a house there.)

Level 27 - The Durum Islands have significant grain obligations to Selchar, meaning that they struggle to feed themselves when harvests are bad. Recently, a blight went through the potatoes - their main food source - and without the ability to eat the bountiful harvest on the island, they're about ready to starve. They beg you to get them some Salmon Meat, because Selchar simply does not care about keeping them from starving.

Level 30 - A mage on Mage Island wants you to get him Salmon Oil because he can't be bothered to get it himself.

Level 31 - The overheating desert of Almuj is somehow a prosperous economic area. Along the river, there's a lone alchemist/arcane scribe/enchanter/polymath extraordinaire who has run out of Carp Oil because his fishing rod broke.

Level 34 - QUALITY-HARVEST! An Almuj alchemist needs some [T2] Carp Oil for some extra-special potions they're making.

Level 37 - Someone in Llevigar wants to try Carp Meat. They ask you to find some.

Level 42 - Icefish Meat is believed to have ice-magical properties, which isn't unreasonable. A Tempo Townie asks you to get some so that they can examine it.

Level 45 - Icefish Oil is alchemically useful, so an Elkurnite tells you to find them a bit so that they can do alchemy practice. (Elkurn has some alchemy talent.)

Level 48 - Icefish Meat is so boring that a Nesaak person wants to freeze it to see what happens.

Level 53 - Piranha Meat is rumored to taste like your tongue's getting cut. Sharp in a literal sense. A lover of exotic taste wants to try it to see if the rumors are true.

Level 56 - Piranha Oil is supposedly charged with the overgrowing energy of the jungle waters, and an alchemist wants to test this by brewing a couple potions with it. You are hired to find the oil.

Level 59 - QUALITY-HARVEST! A Ragni chef, seeking to make a perfectly peculiar dish for his eminently enigmatic master, wants [T2] Piranha Meat for that exotic taste.

Level 64 - Koi Oil (Koil?) is revered as having the ability to induce serenity in its drinkers. A stressed and upset elf, who's gone through a lot recently, asks you to get him some Koi Oil, so that he can find at least some comfort.

Level 67 - Koi Meat is often considered to be not the best eating by those in Efilim, but nonetheless, one elf (a rare, crueler one) wants to serve a terrible dish as part of a cool (but heating-up) rivalry with another elf. Koi Meat is thus needed, so that he can make something that is artfully bad. (His rival will be forced by courtesy to eat the whole thing. Dastardly!)

Level 70 - Kooooooooooooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Koi Oil, to be specific. A really, really weird guy seems to think it's a type of drug and insistently demands it. He pays you several LE when you procure him some, and if you interact again, the game reveals that he is in a drugged-out stupor, so apparently the koil was drugs.

Level 71 - Gylia Oil is rumored to have... interesting properties if you drink it raw. For a publicity stunt, a tavern-owner wants you to get him some so that he can spike his beer with. (If you come back after this, the tavern is completely trashed and there’s several people in critical condition. Some appear to be dead by poisoning.)

Level 74 - A farmer is looking to have some Gylia Meat so that he can distract Gerts while he does some sort of errand near them. You must find some.

Level 77 - Gylia Oil is rumored to have interesting effects in potions. An alchemist asks you for some so that he can research it.

Level 82 - An eccentric in the Canyon wants some Bass Meat, because apparently, it tastes like the sound of a deep, strong voice.

Level 85 - A Bantisu Air Monk needs Bass Oil to treat his bamboo rod with (for whacking annoying Ailuropoda when they harass him).

Level 88 - An illegal roboticist in Corkus wants some Bass Oil, to test if its peculiar denseness would help with an experimental weapon.

Level 93 - There’s a strange Corkian machine sitting outside a lava-pool. Some dwarvish script is on it, which you translate to indicate that it’s asking for you to throw Molten Meat in it. The machine will automatically dispense payment for every piece. (If possible, you would actually interact with the machine, where you deposit items into it and receive proportional rewards, until, after a threshold is hit, it breaks down, and you finish the quest.)

Level 96 - An injured Dogun has dragged himself to a secluded, hot cave, to recover. He asks you to get him Molten Meat, for eating purposes.

Level 99 - A Fleris of curious disposition has a nest filled with emeralds. A lot of emeralds. It guards the nest jealously, but if you get enough Molten Meat, you might be able to lure it away.

Level 104 - A crazy cultist of the number 5 (in Jofash, naturally) wants 25 Starfish Meat for some sort of ritual.

Level 107 - The Koi Oil guy is back, and this time, he wants Starfish Oil. Same reason, same effect, but less money this time.

Level 110 - A forlorn Void denizen, filled with sorrow, wishes you to find some of this Starfish Meat they remember, so they can taste the light above, and perhaps even remember it, even if they can never find their way back.

Level 113 - A curious pit in the Toxic Wastes seems to rumble with hunger. You can spy treasures within, but you'd need to feed it Dernic Meat to access it.

Level 117 - There's a box of treasure hidden inside a toxic maw. You could get it out, but the maw is closed tight - you'd need Dernic Oil to lubricate it enough to remove the box.

 

Do note that at early levels, gathering levels much faster than crafting, as you have few resources to add. At later levels, when it's much more reasonable to buy materials for crafting xp and more variety in the ingredients instead of "just rotten flesh and string", it (i believe) tends to go much faster.

Also, xp is extremely unbalanced - you can get to level 4 or so farming from just the Cook's Assistant quest, but without bombs you're looking at about half an hour per level already at level 80 or so.

I believe the solution to the issues profs present are very well here - reducing grind with more xp and reducing grind with more variety, but at low levels, it definitely doesn't need extra complexity or speed. Level 20 or so might be a good place to start.

 

That issue is also present in combat experience. However, it's much, much less noticeable for the following reasons:

1. There are a wide variety of content options available for getting XP. Even if you classify dungeon and raid runs as being grinding, which is only really true if you do a massive amount of them, there's not much grinding in the slower upper levels, because caves, secret discoveries, and especially quests can give the vast majority of needed experience.
2. You're constantly leveling combat just by playing the game. Low levels, killing mobs gets you a lot of levels. High levels, as above, quests, caves, and discoveries will hand you a lot of XP.

I think the main issue with prof leveling is that, in effect, leveling profs is like leveling combat by only fighting mobs with no grind spots available. There's very little in the way of alternate XP sources and you're essentially forced to always run two or three bombs when leveling gathering. (Crafting is probably easier because of ing use.)

The unbalance in XP also needs to be corrected, especially if earlygame's going to be handed more content*. Earlygame levels way too fast, and lategame's slow, so the XP reqs for those levels should be rebalanced.

*Salted wants earlygame to have more combat challenges so new players can experience the game's combat system. Adding those doesn't help if they're blasting through the levels and ignoring most early stuff. I'm probably just gonna make a post about that.