Bit of a mixed bag this list, perhaps telling us more about what games the author played instead of what games have a top crafting system.

Definitely missing: Ryzom, Horizons (now Istaria) and Tale in the Desert, all of them candidates for a top 5 spot.

Originally posted by Larsa

Definitely missing: Ryzom, Horizons (now Istaria) and Tale in the Desert, all of them candidates for a top 5 spot.

 yeah, not to mention small indie sandboxes like wurm of haven and hearth, also maybe puzzle pirates, tho i am not sure if to count that one as full fledged mmorpg

My list: 1 SWG, 2 Vanguard, 3 EQ2.  I found Fallen Earth crafting boring; combine and wait 2 hours. Haven't played the others so cannot comment. But I like crafting that has it's own mini-game that can effect quality. I hate boring crafting that results in the same thing every time. Make it a fun, diverse, skill influenced activity please.

Great choices. I've tried all those games but SWG and I love crafting quite a lot. Are there any people still playing that game and would you still recommend it for a crafter (at least before SW TOR is out, because that is actually the game I'm waiting for today)?

Originally posted by sudo

Great choices. I've tried all those games but SWG and I love crafting quite a lot. Are there any people still playing that game and would you still recommend it for a crafter (at least before SW TOR is out, because that is actually the game I'm waiting for today)?

 

 Still playing fallen earth and enjoying crafting. the most fun part to me is that the crafting fits in with the world. Hunting for scraps in the wasteland and making nicer (often not nice) things.

While Darkfall crafting & gathering is boring, it is nice that everything is craftable and the stuff that you make is better than any mob dropped item.  The next major expansion promises some extra crafting love as well.

Good list. I have played all of those except for PofBS. Definitely would put EVE #2 and Vanguard #3. Fallen Earth #4 followed by Darkfall and lastly EQII. I'll ahve to take others' word for PotBS to be a top 5 game, perhaps should be replaced with Istaria and/or Ryzom

You forgot Ultima Online

EQ2 crafting looks great on the surface.  But when you actually get into level 20+ crafting...it is a nightmare of "grind" proportions and the most boring crafting gameplay I have ever come across.   Only one of those I really liked was Fallen Earth since it was more like like prepare and cook, instead of  prepare and click and click and click.  You could craft while still roaming about the land killing or exploring.

I agree with SWG being #1 but resent the fact that they state it being the best only in pre-NGE. SWGs crafting system is still the best, even in the NGE and todays version. It still has the same processes since day 1. Only the combat side got the major alteration with the NGE. All crafting professions are still in the game, but combined across 4 professions

Without Ryzom this "list" is null and void.

Sorry.

SWG No#1 Yes!

Pity that the developers and the Game marketers destroyed the game. Yes you were right to say "I hesitate to bring this one up, as I know it’s still a wound (maybe a scar?) that people feel the pains of today."

lol everytime i bring up this game to my fellow gamers its like opening up a big can of worms. So many shattered players after the changes.

I have to agree that SWG is hands down the correct number one for this article. As a crafter in it myself I found that crafting in SWG never got old, not even after 4 years of doing it. I keep waiting for a new game to come along that handles crafting the same way SWG did, but, sadly, I don't think such a game will ever come. As for the rest on this list, I wouldn't necessarily list EQ2 on here, but I can understand why the OP did, and I have to agree with the others saying this list is very incomplete without Ryzom and Istaria which, while dated, have crafting systems that are at the very least comparable to some of those listed, if not better.

Horizons (Istaria)  is definitively missing, in my oppinion the best crafting system to date.

Of the above the one I've enjoyed the most is SWG.

Why SWG is not free to play STILL?

Originally posted by Lanfea

defently missing: ryzom and istaria

 

I haven't played much Istaria, but I agree that Ryzom should be on that list (but then it would be a top 8)

As previously mentioned SWG has the same crafting system today as it had almost 8 years ago.  Some of the details are different, but the basic system is still the same.  It's far and away the best crafting system I've ever seen.

I feel that an objection is in order. In the introduction you said this was a list of the best of the current crop. SWG is a current game, but pre-NGE SWG isn't (unless you count the emulated servers, which I don't because they're not official). But yeah, a pretty spot on list.

You forgot about A Tale in the Desert.  Therefore, your list is wrong.

This article wasn't really worth the time taken to read it: missed out far too many games, given it's meant to be about crafting systems, not the games overall. As mentioned by another poster, neither Horizons/Istaria nor ATITD are there - this boggles me, as they blow EQ2's crafting away without even having to try. Definitely looks much more like a "crafting systems based only on games I've played and liked or currently remember, off the top of my head" list than anything else. Unimpressed, even if I do agree with the #1 spot.

The distinct and utter lack of research that seems to be evident, here, is abysmal. Step it up Bill; as a lead writer, we expect better of you.