Dread -- You don't get em before level 10, maybe even 11 now. And some of them are double-edged bonuses (as in, they have associated penalties so yoiu need to decide if they're worth it).
Shinto (responding, not singling out
) -- What I mean by the "process" is that it appears to me, now, to be more random than it was. Mostly I'm getting a whole lot more complications than before - but sometimes it's just over the top many (8-10 on an easy?!) and sometimes it's none (on a difficult, go figure). I feel like the logic of it and the art of predictive point-gambling has been, to some extent, taken out of my hands, and the process has less to do with my own skill now (and my char's skills) than with some random event generator.
I realise lots of other people are having different experiences, though there are still quite a few saying that whatever has happened in the last few days, it's not been a lot of fun. It's not all in my head - or if it is, I'd sure like to hear it from a dev because I'm not the only one with delusions. If anything, I'm puzzled that the last few days seem more positive for some and more negative for others - if it's not just subjective (and there's enough breadth of comment that it may not be), then maybe there's something about the way the negative-effect people are set up that's making things harder for them, or vice versa.
I rather suspect skills may work differently now - maybe I need to stop maxing out 2 skills and letting one lag behind. Maybe I need to start scavenging around for great gear. Maybe I need to get luckier with rewards - I haven't had a dust in over a week. Granted, I've hardly crafted either, because it's become not-fun and I've more productive not-fun things to do.
For all I know, I'm just having a horrid time because both the crafty lasses I've used are level 11 and that's one of those between-tiers levels that might be particularly nasty. Complications become harder and skills haven't caught up - easy WOs are *too* easy and hard WOs are *too* hard, along the same logic. However, my outfitter levelled most of the way through 11 last week, before whatever changed, and it wasn't particularly painful - there definitely seems to have been some sort of change in the last few days, I just can't put my finger on what it is other than the increasing frequency of comps. (Actually, I'm also less able to clear them - what took 1 action mostly takes 2 now, what took 2 takes 3, and so on. But that may be a whole different kettle of fish.)
I'm passionate about crafting - it's the main reason I've followed VG for so long, it's the main reason I'm playing now. I vented because sometimes one just has to (though I am also trying to be productive and constructive about it). If I feel things aren't right I'm going to mention it till we figure out what, if anything, is going on.
Heh - sorry if this sounds defensive. It's not supposed to, other than a slight feeling of being dismissed on the crafting channel by those who haven't had problems lately and who (in the usual MMO way) assume that the rest of us are just being whiny hysteria-mongers. I'm not assuming anyone here is being dismissive, far from it.
