Tailor made gear should be the Uber Gear

[Rhygar]

I thought of this while posting in the "Breeding" thread about the armoured horses. Can't remember it being mentioned anywhere else. So point me there if it was.

It has been stressed by many people here that it would be boring to have too few types of weapons and armour. To make it more exciting they want to have those items give a player a damage or defence boost in combat.

Unfortunately that goes against the ideal of moving away from a level based system in which any two combatants have an equal chance to win even if they are equally skilled.

I am comfortable with the fact that some weapons could give you a slight advantage in combat. That does, however, still limit the variety that people are looking for.

The problem is all weapons are generic, unless you go with the "soulbound" idea. A particular weapon has the same benefits for everyone. Not only that but benefits are also in the form of "increase/decrease damage".

I want to propose something similar in the sense of tailor made items. I.e. a blacksmith can make a weapon specifically balanced for you, enabling you to strike faster and more accurately. Or armour which fits perfectly and increases movement speed or reduces stamina usage. Tailor made items would, like current "special" items, require more materials and time to make thus making them more expensive. Also only the more experienced/skilled blacksmiths would be able to make tailor made items further decreasing the availability.

This will allow you to further develop on a crafter's skills. I.e. taking the required measurements instead of merely making a generic version. More precise skill is required to copy the customer's body shape into material. I see the potential for a whole mini-game on this.

The crux
Of course to someone else your weapon is merely generic. Only to you does it have more value. That way you do not have thousands of "better" items flooding the market which kills of the value of the "lower" quality items. If you want something special have it made specifically for you. And due to the nature of the game you will definitely be a repeat customer.

[Lachrymose]

sounds like a pretty good idea, but as always, only as long as these items arent overpowered. the advantages should be relatively modest (which makes sense since having tailor made items only realistically provides a minimal advantage), but for someone that can afford it, every little bit counts.