Loot and Crafting.

[Mudfly]

Does anyone know how the gear and crafting systems will work in the game, if these are even in the game?
I guess there has to be some sort of loot system since one of the kickstarter rewards was getting a family heirloom into the game. But these might just be for trading with other resources?

Personally I would love a good crafting system were you first salvaged or traded for different materials that could then be turned into weapons or armors. I think it would be really cool if you had to give up buying food (which would benefit everyone) to instead get better gear for your warriors (Which I guess would be good for everyone too…).

What do you guys think?

[JokerAR]

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2012/04...ner-saga/all/1

Stoic have stated that looting chests and the like aren't really what the Banner Saga is about. Crafting in the vein that you mention does sound interesting and is certainly in the style of King of Dragon Pass so it's certainly a possibility.

[Mudfly]

Thanks for the link!

[Oktober]

Oh boy. Crafting. Simulated chores in video games. Please no.

[JokerAR]

By that logic any sort of combat scenario would be unbearable too- I'd much rather craft an item in real life than be walloped by a Varl

[Oktober]

Right. That's why people generally have constructive hobbies/jobs in real life -- knitting, carpentry, cooking -- and leave the Varl-walloping to the video-games.

[Tsuga C]

If I have to craft gear to do reasonably well, then it's just a nuisance and it detracts from my enjoyment. I'd rather open up the toolset and just give myself whatever I darn well please than have to search all over the <bleeping> landscape looking for every darned one of the 17 components with which I may craft a Staff of Neutron Bombs. If it's optional, then it doesn't bother me as I can take it or leave it according to my IRL time availability.

Customization is something else entirely and I'm greatly in favor of it--avatars, arms & panoplies, clothing. Even if we can't have a direct say over all of the details, ask us the following questions and then have the items generated from our input: Favorite colors (select 3 from palate)? High boots or low? Cape or cloak? Plain, embroidered, ornate?

Anything that helps me make my PC mine is a good thing. This extends to crafting, as well. Give our "weavers" a choice of 5-8 different staff or rod designs and throw in some color options, for instance, when we're crafting a focus. The same applies to warriors and their weapons.

[Oktober]

Bearing in mind the (painstaking) hand-drawn art, I wouldn't expect much visual customization.

And check out what the guys have said in their interviews about combat. They seem to be going more for an abstract, elegant, board-game style combat as opposed to your typical number-crunching turn-based tactical fare.

Which is awesome!

So I'm definitely not expecting crafting, I kind of doubt there's going to be much in the way of items/item use at all. I think we're in for something completely different, and much more special.

[S.R.Irwinkill]

Hmmm, this might be jumpin the gun a little then, but it sounds like, if they are forgoing loot and the such, that equipment is gonna be way simple. Like, more simple than FF tactics. I guess that is a good thing, but getting epic loot is one of the damned funnest parts of tactical rpg's. Not every game needs crafting, but the possibility of an rpg with no equipment variance on the service sounds a little rough.

[raven2134]

Judging from the beta so far, there's already a lot of depth due to the existence of renown which is used to augment and develop your characters. And similar to loot, this renown is only gained by felling foes. I have to say that it's pretty crazy when you see how certain combinations of renown can be used to make a unit play or behave differently and be used for different purposes.

In short, I hope you will or already have had the chance to see what the combat is like so far, from the beta. It's a ton of fun, and the simplicity without the loot/equipment I think is just right, given how deep things seem even at this point.

[franknarf]

I've never really enjoyed crafting, what with the long learning curve and unsatisfying payoff ("hey, now I get the +1 sword everyone else who put in an hour of tedious work has!").

I think that not all games need equipment, much less the crafting of equipment. It's hardly a mark against a game to be lacking these (even if you find them in other games you think are comparable). Among turn-based games with a campaign, Wesnoth, the new XCOM, Rebuild and Fire Emblem barely have gear for units; while King's Bounty/HOMM and (I think) Disciples have none. Jagged Alliance 2 has some crafting, but I avoided it.

More to the point, I like TBS's light RPG elements (via upgrades, as raven mentioned) that are tied to interesting tactical tradeoffs.