Max Level Proffesions Feel Lifeless

Why are most of the high, or more importantly MAX, level professions set up in such dark and dreary places?
After spending days grinding, finally getting my mining to 110 I looked up where to farm nodes and the only viable options are right outside of lutho. Personally I really do not like the aesthetic of the endgame area. especially when I have to spend so much time in that area. It really does affect my mental and makes me want to just go do low level quests or something just to get a proper beautiful scenery.

Is there not a way or anything that can be done to fix this? I would love for an option to do max level professions somewhere with more life. I genuinely think spending such a long time in the dark and bland areas for max professions is hurtful for mental health. There is simply nothing to catch the eyes to keep them moving and is cause for a lot of eye strain. I think having max professions available to grind in a more vibrant and alive area would help make the grind feel a lot less draining. Possibly improving engagement as well as playtime. Especially for players that think about grinding professions, then get to lvl 90 and give up. Not because of how long it takes, but because of how bland and boring it is. It feels like it forces you to either find some tv show or other simple game to play while doing it or don't do it at all.

Again, TO BE CLEAR, I have absolutely zero issues with how long professions take to grind, I actually enjoy that (when in areas that feel alive). What I do have an issue with is how painfully empty the high/max level areas are. I would rather grind in a forest with life all over than inside of a cave ANY DAY. Even the farming on islands in the ocean looks better than the lifeless lvl 110 areas.

Edit: Some basic ideas would be maybe add another type of item with the exact same properties as dernic items somewhere else with more life maybe around Detlas or something. Or maybe when you get to lvl 110 on all for gathering professions add an unlock for an area to teleport to for grinding. That way you can make a whole town or even just some bushes and fences, maybe a couple trees. I'd take almost anything over what we've got right now. I just want an area that keeps me more engaged instead of nearly passing out from sheer boredom. Even I would almost rather stop playing than grind professions after lvl 90 and I LOVE this game! I can only imagine how many people quit playing SPECIFICALLY because of gathering professions. Not to mention crafting, which I've hardly even started.

 

add a toggle to wynntils so that when u press G, in addition to fulbrite, it toggles shaders that turns all black into neon yellow, all purple into neon green, all red into bright blue, all gray into hot pink, and all brown into vibrant turquoise.

/j

but srsly, idk, bc adding crops to lowergame areas makes no sense, u cant rework an entire area for profers, but also this is a valid point that could be addressed. im conflicted

 

I completely understand that and makes me realize doing something in a lower level area wouldn't be realistic. It does make me want to expand on my other idea though.

To further expand on this:
Add a "door" or "portal" or maybe something whimsical like an NPC that you do a quest for.
Requirements for the quest start instead would be something like LVL 120 Mining, LVL 120 Farming, LVL 120 Fishing, LVL 120 Wood Cutting. That way you still go through the 10 more levels of dernic, but at least have something to look forward to as a reward for the grind.

Quest could be something as simple as provide X amount of Dernic Ingot and Gems, Dernic fish and oil, Dernic wood and paper, AND Dernic grains and string as proof you're worthy.

Quest reward could be something like *Unlocks "Haven of the Adept" a new location to teleport to, separate from the main map.

In this area could be a crossroads type of village or central hub, themed around mastery, professionalism, perfection at your craft but maybe a bit poorly kept, because the villagers are too focused on their craft to be bothered with cleaning around the place. This hub would branch into 4 other areas designed with a fishing, mining, farming, and wood cutting theme like their own little mini ecosystems. All in an effort to make it a place you would be able to just stare at all day simply because it's beautiful. Something you would put your best builders up to to deliver, with the main focus NOT being the actual profession necessarily, but the scenery.

If you don't want to do the work of balancing a whole extra tier of items, just add another item that is simply Dernic reskined/renamed with all the exact same recipes, and rates, gathering speed, etc. as dernic for the area.

Simply having somewhat close access to the central hub for blacksmith repairs would be a life changer instead of having to waist a fair bit of time in some cases traveling just to repair.
Adding other things like Trade Market, and spots for each of the crafting stations in the hub would be a big help as well.

I hope it's not too much of a word vomit. I have a difficult time explaining things sometimes lmfao

 

this seems like a more complex version of resource tunnels.
if you dont know what those are, because nobody does, they are an obscure feature in the world.
In certain places, usually unlocked by a quest, you can find special proffing areas.

Spoiler: resource tunnels

The ones I can think of are
1: after completing Rise of the Quartron, you can break through a wall to get access to a special mining area.
2: after ROL 1 iirc, you can find the Resource Tunnels, which are in the olux swamp, and have farming, fishing, and mining
3: in maex, theres a mining area. im not sure if its questlocked
4: there might be one in the Void

each of these locations are dedicated to gathering, and when you are in them, you get a hefty profession buff (i cant remember if its xp or speed.) they dont have blacksmiths and are pretty ugly, but a more complex endgame one could be very useful

 

I think I know what you mean with the gathering tunnels, and I do use them for the initial gathering grind, which helps a ton, I also have +136% gathering xp from my gear. My issue however isn't necessarily that. It's more about the fact that after all the work you put into grinding to get to the point of LVL110, you're left with terrible options for locations, that also make you question your mental state, in order to grind end game ingredients for high tier crafted gear/consumables. I personally really enjoy building gear sets for different use cases, but this issue I'm having just makes me want to buy the items from the market. That is seeming to be the issue. Everyone wants to do this. Which means you basically have no choice but to grind out the ingredients yourself and go insane because of how bland it is or go broke just to experiment with different gear, not to mention consistent use of crafted consumable. It's like gathering is setup in a perfect deadzone how much attention is required in order to perform the task. When grinding with that being as the sole focus, I want to fall asleep, but if I throw something up like a tv show, it takes just enough attention away from the grind to feel disruptive instead of productive, while also taking enough attention away from the show to not be able to keep up with what's going on. (because you have to look back at the screen to travel between nodes) I feel like putting a strong effort into improving the scenery, giving something for your eyes to wander to, maybe subtle stories in the environment to notice or something, would make it so if you do decide to focus only on the grind, it at least has something to look at other than the same 3 colors splattered around in different shapes. That coupled with the music would make it easier to have something like a focused 2 hour grind to gather a lump of materials for a bit of crafting without nearly falling asleep after just 20 minutes.

 

Granted, I just did think of this, no matter what it looks like, if the environment is the same the whole way through, it'll become dull eventually. So maybe it will help yes, but now upon deeper consideration. I'm thinking it'll just delay the problem. I'm now realizing that the larger issue making the grind difficult is the travel between nodes. maybe an area designed with a more linear layout for nodes. For example a simple wall of nodes you just need to go left and right to gather with. Making the grind a fair bit more AFKable still without being fully AFK. Or perhaps a minigame of some kind. With low or no XP for doing so.
Mining you could do a janky version of Minesweeper. For every x amount of spaces cleared without hitting a bomb you get 1 material. If you clear the whole board, reward bonus material or increase chances for higher quality material.
Fishing you could do something many different minigames, maybe an area to catch large fish with a reel (timing) mechanic. Could be something like a bar bouncing back and forth. Click or press space when the bar is in a specific point x amount of times to catch a fish, x amount of misses on the timing will break the line. different size fish give different amounts of material or different qualities.
Farming you could do something like whack a mole, giving material for each mole hit, maybe a rare and faster golden mole that give bonus material or quality, lose material for hitting a farmer. Speed up the game over time, game goes for 30 seconds or something like that.
Wood Cutting you could add a minigame where you have to go and put out fires, the more fires contained, the more material you net in the end. Could be an area with log piles and/or tress with obstacles in the way that spontaneously ignite, you have to run over with a water bucket and douse the flames. The longer you wait before dousing, the larger the fire gets. If a log pile or tree is full engulfed, it burns to ash. Goal is to last 60-120 seconds. The more logs and trees left at the end, the more material you get. Bonus material or higher quality if completed without burning up any trees or logs.

 

Realistically, this problem's going to solve itself when Fruma drops.

 

you're gonna hate the Realm of Darkness lol

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Also there's no place outside of SE for Dernic profs. Every area that has Dernic nodes would be Dernic.

 

Dern comfirned

 

Now that.. Is something that never even crossed my mind. I'll still let this post float around until the update bc I do think that professions need a bit more attention from the devs but I did genuinely forget about fruma. Tbf tho they've been working on it for what, 2 years now? And the only info they've really given is the teaser trailer to my knowledge. Which wasn't a whole lot to go off of.

 

Fruma is the next update.

 

Youve gotten more than that, and it's been a lot more than 2 years of development. A lot of work was just in the background.

 

because the current endgame area on the map is a dark and dreary place...?

 

Btw your poll is very biased, and can frame people who vote in a bad way, since the votes are public. The purpose of having a poll on suggestion threads is to gauge raw opinions about your suggestion, and forcing additional unwanted opinions onto voters can dissuade people from voting in your poll.