Masquerade! Paper faces on parade. Masquerade!
You must understand that when those working on the backwings, the same people that are avid Exchangers/vendors, artists, etc. and can make millions of gold at the drop of a hat, are complaining about component supply and how much gold they have shelled out on crafting costs alone, it deters a lot of people from participating entirely (possibly one billion gold just to get a set of basic wings other sites have in their gold shoppes for a few hundred or thousand?). When crafting Caches or Cases no longer gets you anywhere once you reach level three, a lot of the users will back off especially when they are battling each other over a handful of certain components that are needed to craft level three and two formulas, and especially when those same components are needed in ridiculous amounts in the Quest formulas in addition.
I have been crafting as many Caches as I can. Half of the time I am pulling shitty components that are not used in more than one formula that no one touches or does not even have a formula to be used in (what in hell does Frog Slime get used in?). The other half is split down the middle between the components I need currently and what others are looking for. I am still at level three, and I have had to shift my focus around because of the amount of certain components available to trade for or purchase dropped and their prices skyrocketed to the moon and back all because of the Quest formulas. I cannot craft the three Dove Capelets I want to, two to craft Windy Gear, because Spring Breezes, which I was finding more often being traded and sold for between 160k to 260k now reach between 600k to over one million gold in value. I am going to have a very difficult time crafting level three formulas that create components called for in the formula chains required for the last formula in the Quest chains; I want to craft them to level up and to have on hand for the formulas that call for them later on (Erebus' Moon is one I have my eye on right now).
It does not even come down to the components from the Caches alone. I cannot craft another Giant Scalpel because the price for the Giant Syringe is teetering between 800k and one million because they are being destroyed and hoarded faster than RIGs can replenish them. When I crafted the one I have now, I bought two Syringes for a little over 300k a piece (one because I had wanted one for a while anyway and one for the formula). Wedding Doves and Ribbons is called for in making Dove Capelet and in other formulas as well, and that item is only being destroyed and has no way of seeing more enter the system because it is no longer sold and has not been since it was removed from the Cash Shop about three years ago. The price of that item is steadily rising in price as its supply becomes scarcer. The same can be said for the Gentleman items called for in a few formulas and the special bundle items no longer available to purchase from Gaia directly.
Sure, someone can craft Caches and make a good chunk of gold for later on, but when that chunk of gold is gone faster than the user with it can blink in order to get past level four in Alchemy, mostly from purchasing CS items from other users and whatever other items that cannot be obtained from a crafted Alchemy RIG, that user no longer has the drive to work Alchemy and instead steers clear of it unless they are willing to continue to craft Caches and Cases just to obtain a dream item on their wishlist.
Hide your face so the world will never find you.