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Just What Does Morality Gear Restrictions Mean To The Crafter In SWTOR?

Published by under SwtorCrafter on Aug. 11. 2011.

So do you want a Light or Darkside blaster?

From a recent article on Darth Hater by Raiden entitled “Morality Gear”  and a conversation with my friend Zlatto from AskAJedi   I am perplexed by this question.

Just what does morality gear restrictions mean to the crafter in SWTOR?

In the article Raiden goes on to explain just what specifics the equipping of morality gear entails:

“Morality gear is restricted by character alignment and can only be equipped by characters with the correct alignment tier. If you find a blaster with a Light II restriction, you can only equip it if your character is Light II or higher. These restrictions can apply to armor, weapons, relics and may even include items that are not gear, such as consumables. Crafted, PvP, dungeon and raiding gear can all have morality restrictions as well.”

From their disection and interviews they were able to surmise this and now I find myself wondering just how will the crafter be able to make these different alignment pathed gear.  What will the mechanics be like in the creation process?  
There are differring ways to aquire this gear and from what I understand they all have the same type of morality restrictions, whether from crafting, PVE loot, PVP loot or what ever they are all going to be morality specific, either light side focused or dark side focused (possibly in the future gray or neutral focused as well).

Setting aside the other types of ways to acquire gear and focusing on the crafting faucet, I wonder just how the system will be managed during an items creation.  I have thought about it and I really only see 3 viable options, there may be a better way that I have not thought of but at the moment I cannot come up with them.

1. Each piece of morality aligned gear comes with its own recipe.  For example lets say I have a recipe for a “Gauntlet of Doom”  it comes with a dark side restriction of dark level 3 and when you make it from that recipe only a character that has the morality rank of dark level 3 can equip it and that is all that can be made from the recipe.  If I wanted to make a “Gauntlet of Purity” I would need a separate recipe.

This might mean to the crafter a few things right off the bat.  That gear would be highly specialized and that the possible amount of recipes and product he could create would increase dramatically.  Meaning at the very least that the amount of recipes and end product he has to keep track of and learn just went up two to three times what it might have been without this system.

It might also mean that when he tries to sell his product he might face a tougher market if only a certain morality pathed character is able to equip it.  This would mean that he might see fewer and more specialized sales in the long run if gear is not a “one size fits all classes that can use that type of item” type of set up.

2. A second option might be that the recipe for the item is universal at the start but when creating the item he has the ability to choose or attune a morality path for the item at that stage in creation, resulting in a piece of gear that he has chosen the path for and has specific stats according to his choice.  

For example, lets say in this situation the crafter has a recipe for “carbonite chest piece”.  When he is in the process of using that recipe before creation is done he can choose to make it a “Carbonite Chest of Justice” for the light side path or a “Carbonite Chest of Slavery” for the dark side path.

This would mean that there would be less recipes to deal with and that the specialization of gear’s morality would come in on a as needed basis to fufill orders or to make product for what might be selling better on the AH at the time.

3.  A third option is that a crafter might have a universal recipe that creates a standard item and that the player that recieves the item could choose it’s morality path at the time of equipping.  

Sort of like a “bind on equip” effect where its more like “morality choice on equip” giving the player acually using the item the choice.  This would be a situation where there would be less recipes and less end crafted product to manage for the crafter.  The example would be similar to the one for option 2 only the player would be in control of the choice.

Me personally, out of the three I have been able to think up I think I would prefer option two the best.  

I like the idea of having more recipies and end crafted product availiable to me as in option one because I am all about options when I game and craft, but I worry that it might just be too much to have to keep track of and that it become a nightmare to have to remember and manage.  

Option three sounds like it could work as well but as a crafter I want to have control over the product, I want to be in control up until the item is finished and leaves my hands.  I dont think I am comfortable with giving other people control of part of the destiny of my wears.

All I know at this point is that my interest is peaked to find out just how the choice of morality path comes in when crafting an item.  

What do you think?

Is there a better option I missed or am I way off base here with this thinking?

Thanks for reading!   🙂

(thanks to Zlatto for posing me with this question)

11 responses so far

11 Responses to “Just What Does Morality Gear Restrictions Mean To The Crafter In SWTOR?”

  1. Danon 11 Aug 2011 at 9:16 am

    I reckon its gunna be a ‘bind to character’ kind of system, its gunna have no alignment until worn and then when it goes on it transforms. But I guess it all really depends on whether or not that we can actually craft ds/ls armour, bioware may only let us craft normal items and let ls/ds armour be from drops/raids/quests only?!

  2. Dalqakon 11 Aug 2011 at 10:17 am

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    Morality on Equip is an interesting compromise. It seems odd to have crafted morality gear otherwise. If this stuff is locked based on morality, it’s strange to think that we might be able to craft outside of our morality. If I’m Light V and can’t even wear the Gauntlet of Doom, how would I even make them?

    I think for that reason, allowing gear to take on Morality is maybe an idea to explore. Honestly though, I don’t like the idea of crafted gear having an alignment aspect to it. They need to tell us what to expect from this gear too. Is it purely aesthetic? Will Grey be a supported choice as well?

  3. Zlattoon 11 Aug 2011 at 12:55 pm

    Great article! it generates so many questions it almost prompts me to head to PAX Prime and stalk some people, we need a crew skills Friday Update! Long live the Crafters!

  4. Draxillon 11 Aug 2011 at 1:48 pm

    Another option for crafted gear may be that a crafted item matches the alignment of the crafter himself. So if a jedi with a light side rating was crafting a lightsaber for example it may only be usable by people that match his alignment same would go for empire characters etc…

  5. BloggingTORon 11 Aug 2011 at 3:58 pm

    I was wondering if your alignment would determine what items you could craft. From a pure RP perspective it makes sense. Can you see a LS Jedi crafting an epic DS saber? It will be interesting to see what the full implications of alignment for crafting are.

  6. Mosthatedon 11 Aug 2011 at 4:27 pm

    Or option 4. Crafting it with a certain item makes its alignment different. So you may have a recipe for just gauntlets but using a piece of corrupted nether makes it gauntlets of doom and a piece of holy nether makes it gauntlets of light.

  7. Mosthatedon 11 Aug 2011 at 4:43 pm

    If an item takes on your morality when you put it on, then its not actually morality restricted. That would make no sense since its boe. You could just put it on regardless. It has to be restricted beforehand.

  8. Drakai88on 11 Aug 2011 at 7:45 pm

    If you can sell to anyone at the AH shouldn’t really be that much of an issue.

  9. swtorcrafteron 12 Aug 2011 at 8:34 pm

    I just wonder if they would go the route of limiting the items the crafter could craft based on his personal morality rating?????

    that is an interesting prospect that I could see them doing as well. Make that option #4! 🙂

    Thank you for all the great comments and discussion on these crew skills issues and theory’s I appreciate it for sure!

  10. Scheloson 23 Aug 2011 at 4:56 pm

    More likely the “staple”-item or “bread-and-butter”-item recipes will be readily available and non-restricted, and some uncommon/rare recipes will have restrictions.

    Example 1: Both Jedi Guardians and Troopers can wear heavy armor, but SOME armors would be specific for troopers. HERE, morality restrictions might apply.

    Example 2: Synthweaving Crafting allows for lighter armor that has “supernatural effects”. Since supernatural is usually the Force at work, in Star Wars, alignment restrictions would be almost a requirement here.

    Important to note that you will likely be able to sell stuff you craft, so …

  11. swtorcrafteron 24 Aug 2011 at 4:31 am

    @schelos I see that as being a good solution to the problem, one that doesnt seem to require much maintenance on their end.

    Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂