...
...
So I'll be honest. I'm really not a fan of how the Alchemy system currently works for a variety of reasons, but despite my grumbling, I actually have always thought (and still think) that Alchemy on a whole was/is has a lot of promise and definitely offers a new avenue for user interaction on the website.
When Alchemy was first introduced, I was really excited about the general concept and I quite happily Crafted my Aspiring Alchemist and then quite promptly bought some Formulas and Components from the Bifrost and prepared to get started.
Being able to use things in my inventory that I had hoarded away for all my years on Gaia sporadic or not seemed like a done deal for me, but once I saw how scarce (and then astoundingly expensive) the more 'useful' Alchemy-specific Components were and how many of the Formulas required Cash Shop items or Cash Shop-related items (like RIG pulls), I quickly started having my doubts.
In my eyes, Alchemy had been very heavily marketed and advertised to everyone on the site and as a result, it felt like Alchemy was supposed to be an activity accessible to everyone - veterans and newbies and richer and poorer alike. Basically, everyone - regardless of their 'status' here on Gaia - should be able to reasonably partake in Alchemy and move their way up through the Levels and, eventually, be able to Craft their own end goal Alchemy-related item(s).
Unfortunately, that's not quite how it happened and currently, those who have managed to successfully Level themselves up even to Level 3 much less beyond have either spent a very large sum of Gold or Cash or some combination of both.
I know some people don't share my same viewpoint (which is perfectly fine and in some ways, I understand the opposing viewpoint), but I personally see that situation as being wrong.
Or rather, the situation feels wrong because I - and other Gaians, apparently - were under the impression that Alchemy was supposed to be a feature accessible to all and yet the only people who have been able to Craft the items that they want (including a simple Formula 1 tank top for example) have been people who have invested large sums of Gold and/or Cash into the system.
Crafting Alchemist's Cases and Philosopher's Caches and Orb Aggregates is fine and dandy and all in terms of gaining experience and Leveling up and such, but...
Similar to how I have played RIGs for my own enjoyment, I also would very much like to be able to participate in Alchemy and Level up for MY OWN enjoyment and Craft items that I MYSELF would keep to use and unfortunately, the scarcity of components and the amount of investment needed just to Level up is a major roadblock in terms of making progress.
To add insult to injury, the much-requested Backwings were thrown into the Alchemy system with the Formulas being so rare that it took who-knows-how-long into Alchemy for someone to finally pull it/receive it which has shoved the prices of the Formulas themselves and not even their end products to ridiculous levels.
Furthermore, considering what some of the prevailing attitudes have been about Alchemy and the Backwings in general, it feels like there is an additional sense of 'passing the buck on' to the Gaians in how difficult it is to Level up in Alchemy in general and how impossible it is to Quest successfully for Backwings. Basically, there was a lot of difficulty on the part of the Staff members involved in the project and so this difficulty has to be similarly experienced by the users.
That said, I want to make myself absolutely clear on one very important fact:
I do NOT take issue with the notion of Questing or the notion of Earning My Wings or the notion of Putting in Hard Work.
What I DO take issue with is the lack of communication from the creators of the Alchemy system on how THEY envisioned the system working, what THEY think is 'reasonable' in terms of how Gaians of different 'status levels' are able to make progress and Level up, what THEY think is reasonable in regards to the availability of the Backwings formulas themselves, how THEY feel about the experiences the Level 10 Alchemists have had, and what THEY themselves have personally experienced in their own attempts to Craft the items they want all the way up to the Backwings.
Basically, what are we/am I supposed to expect if I were to Quest for my Black and Silver Edwardian Loafers, Black and White Tsunami KO tank tops, and Backwings (of any sort)?
If I had long since known that XYZ would be expected and/or required for ABC, then I would have an idea of how realistic my Quests are, what progress I could/should be making, what mini goals and milestones I should be expecting, and how much time, energy, Gold, and Cash I would be looking to invest.
I DON'T MIND investing time, energy, gold, and even some Cash - I really don't!
I just REALLY MIND not knowing and leaping before I look and I think it's really unfair that other Alchemists have inadvertently become guinea pigs to the cause and have felt obligated to post their progress simply because if they didn't then nobody else would ever know what kind of a situation to expect.
Related to that...
I ALSO REALLY MIND that Staff members haven't fully addressed these Level 10 Alchemists' questions and concerns which have been repeatedly brought up in various threads and in AtA sessions.
To me, the whole 'list of expectations' was/is something that Gaia was supposed to provide - especially given the unprecedented amount of gold, time and energy, and CASH that people have dumped into the system to further their Alchemy progress.
When even the Level 10 Alchemists have questioned the soundness of the Alchemy system (and people who have been involved in Crafting Backwings no less), when people have spent upwards of $500 to further a single Alchemy Quest that isn't the fabled Backwings, it just doesn't personally sit right with me at all.
The Staff/Devs have said that Alchemy wasn't something that was particularly geared towards the Gold-rich or the Cash-rich, but that is exactly how Alchemy has turned out to be as people have tried to pursue their Alchemy Quests and make progress and I guess that - coupled with the lack of communication and the feeling of jumping blindly into what is bound to be a very expensive endeavor - is what bothers me the most.
That said, I am Questing to find, pull, or otherwise acquire on my own a Formula 1: Quest Inizio and I am Questing to Craft a pair of Black and Silver Edwardian Children's Loafers and once I get all of my notes organized, I will be posting a Progress Report in my Journal for each Project and I will be posting general updates to my main OMG, OMG, OMG Quest thread. whee
...
Sefyrion Community Member 
|
|
