Can crafted gear coexist with loot drops?

Recently we asked whether you prefer RNG or tokens when it comes to MMORPG loot. There's a third option, though, and that option is player-crafted gear. Games that focus on crafted materials over loot have fallen out of favor in recent years, but they may see something resembling a comeback thanks to the new generation of sandboxes and sandparks currently in development.

So, assuming that you don't curl into the fetal position at the thought of needing player-crafted gear, do you think it's possible for it to coexist with loot drops or are the two mutually exclusive in your ideal MMORPG?

TH

I like that you can make a really awesome thingy, like gw2 you can make those legendaries but that still will obviously require quite alot of farming, but i really like you can make it all by yourself and it'll be more of your own weapon

I was going to say something about crafting in the other thread, but the subject was vague enough that RNG vs a token system could refer to crafting materials (or loot of any kind).

In my vision for a perfect game, a robust crafting system with a vibrant player economy is a must. When I kill things in a game, I want it to make sense. Why is some random enemy carrying around that badass sword of ultimate destruction in his pocket? The only gear mobs should drop is the gear they actually use. Let players be happy with the slightly used crap, or scavenge it for raw materials. If all the best gear magically gets dropped in pristine condition by raid bosses or whatever, what is the point of crafting? Take SW:TOR for example... grind mats and crew skills to 400 so you can craft cool stuff... get better stuff for free once you ding 50. Might as well take it out of the game, because at that point, the crafter realizes he just wasted time that he could have been PvPing for commendations to get better (non player made) gear.

So, to answer your question (and give you proof), yes, crafting can coexist with loot drops. Take EVE for example. Nearly everything in the game is mined, refined, researched, manufactured, sold, bought, stolen or scavenged by players at every step along the way. Sure there are loot drops, most of its trash that gets melted down and turned into something useful. There are the occasional very rare drops that aren't made by a player, but those usually get sold for billions of credits, which are then used to buy more economical equipment.

Make crafted gear worthwhile, or scrap crafting altogether.