[Legends: Arceus] Crafting

From the official website:

As you're exploring, you'll collect all kinds of materials that you can use for crafting—combining items to make new ones. For example, if you combine an Apricorn and a type of stone called a tumblestone, you'll be able to craft a regular Poké Ball.

You can craft items using the workbenches found at Base camps and in Jubilife Village.

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Crafting is a staple system for many open world games to varying degrees of success. How do you feel about its inclusion in Legends Arceus? Do you see yourself taking advantage of this mechanic and farming for materials, or would you prefer to just buy everything you need in the shops as in previous games?

I hate crafting in JRPG's. I was hoping pokemon could be a series that strays from this. So disappointing to gain crafting material from a chest rather than just gaining the equipment. Even worse needing to search for hours on end for something I need. I just find it tedious.

If this is the only way to gain material then i'll probably skip this game all together.

Generally likes crafting in roleplaying games. Tends to be more flexible. Stinks getting the Amazing Bow of Ancient Fury that you cannot use multiple times in a row, for example. Provides an alternative avenue of obtaining gear besides combat sometimes also.

Grimaces at what this system may be. Probably requires actively gathering materials (such as kicking trees with Lucario). Should not need to gather materials for a resource as basic as Pokeballs. Amounts to a time sink to enjoy the fun parts of the game. Disrespects your time.

I actually don't tend to enjoy crafting very much, but this is mostly from how poorly it was implemented in ACNH - especially when it came to tools. Constantly breaking things and needing to go back to gather materials was a little unfun to me at a certain point. I'm hopeful it'll be done better in Legends and I won't feel that same level of tediousness. Can't really say why it's not a great mechanic to me, I just....didn't tend to enjoy it much in some games. Can only wait and see how it goes. :(

Crafting can be fun, but can also be extremely tedious. It's gonna depend on how it's implemented for me. If it's implemented the tedious way I'd rather just not have it, if it's implemented well/fun then I don't mind it at all.

For the most part I like crafting, but occasionally crafting system's can become extremely bloated, like needing an excessive amount of objects for one item. It does definitely make sense in the universe of Legends

I like crafting if it's limited and pretty simple, like in BOTW. Hopefully they'll do something similar!

I really just hope it isn't too tedious and becomes boring. I also wanna just be able to buy Pokeballs and whatever too without crafting. As you can tell, not really a big crafting fan at all. I don't like games where you have to craft stuff for some reason. Pokémon I'll gladly give it a chance as I love me some Pokémon.

I don't like it when games feature crafting mechanics for the sake of there being crafting mechanics. I still very much believe that if you want to have a game with a crafting system then the game should be build around that aspect. Otherwise it can just easily feel very out of place. And I'm very much afraid that this game is going to be no different in that regard.

Let's just hope they don't go overboard and keep things relatively simple.

i avoid crafting like the plague in games unless i really have to (like No Man's Sky, urgh) or unless it feels intuitive and easy (The Last Of Us iirc). Crafting in pokémon... It could become easy and fun? I guess? Like gathering materials with which you can craft different sorts of balls depending on what you need or favor, that's not a bad idea imo :)

Megan said:

I don't like it when games feature crafting mechanics for the sake of there being crafting mechanics. I still very much believe that if you want to have a game with a crafting system then the game should be build around that aspect. Otherwise it can just easily feel very out of place. And I'm very much afraid that this game is going to be no different in that regard.

Let's just hope they don't go overboard and keep things relatively simple.

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Me too. I really hate when games add crafting just for the sake of crafting.

I'd argue that crafting (and more broadly, living off the land in various ways) does make thematic sense in a game like this. They could still go overboard, but I wouldn't call it crafting for the sake of crafting.

The problem with crafting is that it's a time waster. It's a senseless chore that breaks up the natural gameplay flow and is often poorly implemented, meaning you have to waste more time than you should doing it. It's a system that is added for the sake of being added, rather than because it adds something meaningful and enjoyable to the game: having it in there because it makes thematic sense to have it in there isn't a valid reason for wasting the player's time. Crafting is ALWAYS for the sake of crafting, unless the entire game revolves around it as a mechanic.

I can't see this being anything other than a nuisance, because it'll be an obnoxious side activity at best and something you have to actively engage in to progress at worst. I play Pokemon games because I want to catch Pokemon, and I don't want that to be hindered by having to stop constantly to gather materials to make Pokeballs so I can do this. The only way they can mitigate this annoyance is by having wild Pokemon drop crafting materials when you defeat them, the same way that you're rewarded with money when you beat trainers...and even then, it'll depend on how rare some of the items you need are. I doubt Game Freak will do this somehow. It's going to be the standard mindless "farm from these random glittering spots!" in all probability, meaning you have to waste time doing this, then waiting for the spots to respawn. I really hope I'm wrong about this and that they DO have wild Pokemon carrying materials, or an easy way to accumulate materials that doesn't require player input, but...well, it's Game Freak, and this is a new system for them. Expecting anything other than a poorly-implemented mess would be far too optimistic.

The only positive thing I will say is that the screenshot very clearly shows you can craft multiple of the same item at once, so THANK GOD this won't be a mindless button mash like Animal Crossing New Horizons was.