Profession Catchup Mechanism Needs Help

Gameplay Professions
1

As the title says. I believe the catchup mechanism for professions needs some help, specifically for crafting professions (Blacksmithing, Engineering, Alchemy, Leatherworking, Tailoring, Inscription, and Jewelcrafting).

The existing mechanism for catchup is good if you missed a week and you’re on quite regularly. However, for new players, players who don’t play their alts often enough, and players who - for whatever reason - get into professions late in the game, they inevitably end up extremely behind those who started from Day 1. This isn’t a matter of 10, 20, or even 50 KP. We’re talking somewhere in the range of 150+ (my blacksmith is ~180 behind and engineering is ~130).

This is a disparity compared to the gathering professions (Mining, Skinning, Herbalism, and Enchanting). To get any of the catchup mechanisms for any of these professions, all you have to do is complete the current week’s available KP (so the weekly Artisan’s Consortium quest, trainer quest, and the random treasure items, don’t recall if the treatise is required). Then you catch up by simply going out and farming (which if you’re trying to build it up you’re likely doing this anyway). So if you have the time to spend, you can fully catch up within a single week. You absolutely cannot do this for crafting professions.

Right now, crafters might get 1 or 2 of the one-KP orders a day, while they get 1 or 2 of the two-KP orders twice a week. Assuming you get every single one in a given week, you will receive roughly 22 points a week (in addition to the normal weekly sources). Sometimes you might get more (like for new crafters getting several at one time), but sometimes you get less (my alchemist never really seems to catch up even though I’m only a few points behind). This makes it feel a bit overwhelming when coming into a new profession.

My suggestion to clear up the disparity and speed up the KP gain would be to add an item to the Artisan’s Consortium vendor - or even each profession’s supplies vendor in Dornagol - that grants one KP per use. It should cost 5 or 10 Artisan’s Acuity per item and does not grant Artisan’s Acuity when used (so you do have to give up a more limited resource to catch up). This allows crafters to catch up faster without making it “free”. It should only be usable as long as you have not acquired all of the available weekly points.

This would make it so those who started earlier still have an advantage, but new players and alts will have an easier time catching up. They would still have to make an effort and will be behind on Artisan’s Acuity - so their tools might not be maxed out and they won’t be able to get the vendor recipes immediately - but they will be able to craft higher-tier stuff without having to hope that RNG favors them (or having to level up an alt to spend the easily available points differently).

2 Likes
2

I was thinking about this the other day. The new knowledge point system is punishing to new or returning players that didn’t start at the beginning of the expansion. Unlike the old system in older parts of wow there is no way to catch up since everything is gated behind the KP tree and Acuity. They really need to do a profession pass of tuning at this and at this point I am skeptical they have enough people working at Blizzard to keep up with the road map they released.

3

Yeah let us return to DF’s way of catching up… See how you prefer that way? There is a catch up system. Gathering has an easier time at it than crafters, but its there. Or tis just that you want the lazy way out and they hand it to you on a platter with a bow and a cute frill? You start later, you will finish later.

4

On my end, I found it pretty easy to catch up on my alts. Most all (maybe all) paths are like 3 nodes max and I’ve been 30-40 KP per week (25ish base plus about 5-15 catchup), so in 2-3 weeks I can be completely specializing in what I need. Additionally with concentration, I can usually forgo the last of those 3 nodes and just do the first two and relying on concentration and that lets me do max rank on multiple types of crafts. It’s been way friendlier for me than Dragonflight had it.

1 Like
5

I’m not calling for a “give us everything on a silver platter”. What I’m calling for is something more equitable.

Gathering professions get the ability to catch up completely to everyone else. It takes a lot of time and you have to find the nodes, but a dedicated player can do it in a single week (I’ve done it on an alt or two).

Crafting professions are 100% dependent on getting the patron orders. I’ve gotten quite a few “catch up” orders for recipes that I don’t even know, and some of those also include a very large number of very costly materials.

That is why I suggest adding an additional way to gain KP (only for the “catch-up” points) that require you to spend Artisan’s Acuity. It gives players who are behind everyone else an avenue to catch up to a point.

It’s not a perfect solution. New crafters would still be behind new gatherers for the most part, and will likely always be behind when it comes to gaining KP. Plus, with this solution, new crafters won’t be able to get their best crafting tools made early because they’re spending the Acuity on catching up. That’s where the existing crafters get their edge, which makes more sense IMO.

2 Likes
6

i literally am falling behind even though im getting all the treasures, treatises, and every single work order offered, even the stupidly expensive ones.

7

gathering is getting screwed on acuity.

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Subject is the catch up, for which gathering has full reign on to do. Crafting falls victim to the randomness of the patrons. Only enchanting is able to fully reach its weekly quota. The others? Closest I got is 1 point behind on an engy, but still could not get the missing point to pop.

9

I’ve noticed this as well. The catch up offerings from patron orders seems to be very generous on my new crafters, but once I approach the “10-20 points of catch up left” range, the KP offerings seem to slow down significantly.

On this alt, seems to always be in the 20’s with my Tailoring. On my other Jewelcrafter alt, seem to be perpetually stuck at around 10 KP left. I try to do every Patron Order I possibly can, prioritizing KP and acuity orders. Will sometimes leave a crystal order hanging because I don’t have the recipe and lack the KP or acuity to learn said recipe. I’m beginning to suspect this is affecting my chances at more KP Patron Orders.

This is all anecdotal and I’d need to start tracking my weekly results more closely to know for certain.

10

more acuity and not having so MANY recipes on vendors that need acuity to buy would help any catch-up IMO

11

Stupidly expensive u said ? Contract with the Severed Threads 25 shadow inks and it last only 1 week .I think at Blizz they are laughing at us . I can 't go on anymore this is ridiculous

12

I began leveling LW and Skinning this week on an alt, and to add up to what has already been said, the difference between gathering and crafting catch-up mechanics is incredible. I got fully caught up with skinning in 2 days, while for LW I barely get 2-4 points per day, and that’s when the patrons feel generous and don’t ask for things I don’t even have the recipes for (since I need more KP to unlock them). This difference feels a bit discouraging.