Hello all of Fonlinedom! I come before you today to bring you an idea that you may/may not enjoy and like! Perhaps you may think it interesting and think upon some time, or you might just spit on my boots (they need a shine anyway)!
In my short time here with you all, I have come across a simple reality. Your economy is in the tank. It was before the wipe, and 2 days afterwards. Now I know, many higher level players will say its fine! It works perfectly for us! Well thats all fine n dandy for you uppers, but for us lowbies and mid levelers, its not that fine.
Let me clarify my position a little. I tried to make a miner. Making a single sledgehammer was arduous and difficult. Shouldn't such a simple tool be easy to get your hands on? Even in the wasteland, people should be building, wood and stone and the like. Just because the bombs dropped doesn't mean we all suddeny lost the ability to make and construct things.
Basic materials, such as wood and junk, can be annoying at best to get your hands on (especially wood) if you don't know where too look, and even if you do know where too look, you might not find it for several minutes (especially if you have crap RL luck).
My overall suggestion, would to make Barter and Speech cause your gathering cooldown to lessen, allowing the particular player to harvest at a faster rate, perhaps moving from town to town hawking his wares to those desperate people of the wastes (perhaps even to merchants, If they ever had some fuckin caps on em). Junk, Wood, Xander root, B flowers are what i'm talking about, not so much ores and higher level things.
The end idea would to make a traveling trader, versed in outdoors and bartering, traveling about, selling to random players and making friends of PVE and PVPers alike. You never know when you need the odd item here and there. I know I do.
And perhaps, if you are willing to have read this far, you might humor this last idea, that of a profession Trader. One that goes from merchant to merchant, collecting out of place items and setting them in places with the demands. I've heard suggestions of auction houses from other players, and with traders in the mix, this would make the system function even more.
Lastly, I think that on occasion, or with a high enough barter skill, you can change an item directly to caps with certain traders. This might help ease the clogging on the economy a tad.
New addition : Increased barter reduces chance of a successful steal.
