WildStar Wednesday - Economy Q&A

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This week for WildStar Wednesday, we have a little surprise. As announced last week, Carbine are answering questions posed to the Economics Team from the community. What they "neglected" to mention however is that the Q&A is being hosted right here on WildStar Central!

Yes, you read that right - we have the definitive article right here.

So, without further ado let's break into our first batch of Economics questions and answers!

Q: To how big of an extent will player crafting be? Are we looking at top-tier, player-only-made items? Or will certain drops always be "better" than things the player can make?
A: With our item modification system, each piece of gear ends up being made up of parts from many different items. If you want your gear to be the best it can be, you will need to collect items from different sources, including crafting. So whether you are wearing crafted gear modified by looted gear, or vice versa, crafting will play an integral role in maximizing your gear’s potential.

Q: With regards to the crafting "grind" - creating piles of items to skill up a trade with no actual demand or need for the items - how is this addressed/handled?
A: In our system, items can be broken down for parts which can be used for crafting or modifying other items. If you craft an item to skill up and you can’t sell it, you can cannibalize it for your own use.

Q: You mentioned dyes in your intro, but do these dyes apply in preset patterns to an item? Or can the dye apply a completely different pattern to an item?
A: The patterns on an item are not changeable, since they are what makes each item distinct. The dye system allows you to color the different parts of that pattern to your liking. If you want your gear to look completely different, you’ll want to use the costume system (something we'll be showing off in great detail in the future).

Q: When you say you have a flexible system for item modification, is that really just devspeak for "items have sockets which you can put gems in, and you can enchant the items to improve their stats!" or is it more along the lines of being able to slap on actual modifications (like, let's say, a gun could have a scope attached for improved accuracy - although I guess that is really the same as sockets, in a way)? Or is it something else entirely, that you may or may not be able to tell us more about at this point?
A: While I can’t reveal all the juicy details yet, I can confidently say our modification system offers more complexity and customizability than simple gem sockets and enchants. We cover everything you can accomplish with gems, enchants, reforging, and even more, in one compelling package. Our goal is to make building and modifying your gear about choice and customization, rather than following a blueprint for the “best” choices.

Q: Can you elaborate on the costume system? Will it be a separate "appearance tab" where you can keep the stats of one item, but the look of another in that same slot? Or is it a separate item system all together?
A: You can use any gear that you have to overwrite the visual display of the gear you are wearing. We also plan to provide gear without stats intended to be used specifically for costuming. We want to allow players to completely customize their look, regardless of the gear they need to wear for combat effectiveness.

Q: How prevalent is the use of Bind on Pickup / Bind on Equip on WildStar items? Do you see this as a required/desirable property to include?
A: Bind on pickup items are an important tool for providing different gameplay elements with unique rewards, while bind on equip is useful for removing items from the economy, so both of those will be prevalent. That said, a robust player-driven economy requires ton of tradable items. There will be plenty of crafted items and loot drops that you can trade, and even bound items may often be broken down into component parts that are tradable.

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Many thanks to Carbine Studios for the opportunity to host their weekly update, and let us know your thoughts and further questions!