The New Tradeskill Writs - The Other Time Sink

by: Tony "RadarX" Jones

You'll find few people who haven't spent an afternoon grinding out writs at
one point or another, whether to level their guild, or gain personal status
points to purchase things. Tradeskillers have had the same opportunity, but
instead of hunting down basilisks in bonemire (don't lie like you take a
different writ), they make chairs and stuff that makes my rent cheaper. While no
more interesting than the adventuring, the tradeskill ones provided a meaningful
way for those who spend most of their time crafting to contribute to their guild
and buy guild reward items.

The writs made people that loved to craft happy, while they reminded those of
us who crafted on occasion why we didn't like adventure writs either. Along came
the glorious tradeskill revamp that made everything so much easier. Mysteriously
as the revamp came, the writs disappeared. Many were aghast! What shall be done
if we can't make a stack of leather straps for status points? Why dear Marr
why?!? The reasoning was simple. According to lead content designer, Dymus,
there were over 1500 exsisting writs when the tradeskill revamp went through.
Due to the sheer amount of work it require to revamp the old system, and based
on feedback they received on the forums and at the SOE block party, they removed
it, and began brainstorming on a new more exciting system.

What did they come up with? I'm glad you asked. The answer is, timed writs.
Is it that simple? Well, yes, it is. You'll find the writ giver, be tasked with
creating a certain number of items relating to your tradeskill, and the clock
will start. With timers being added, ne aspect I'm going to very interested to
see is the wording from the writ giver. For adventure writs, there is a sense of
urgency because there is actual danger from the creatures you're killing. It'll
be difficult to swallow Lucan needs 20 wooden chairs for a war effort, but I've
seen stranger things. Perhaps the owner of the tradehouse is interesting in
hiring cheap labor to make Billy dolls cheaper than China. Either way, you'll
only have a certain amount of time to complete the writ.

When is it coming? It's on the Test Server as I type this, and I've read
through some feedback from tradeskill guru's like Niami Denmother, Calthine, and
Adeste. The process seems to be coming along and should go live in GU#27.
Personally, these writs sound like a great diversion from the constant grind you
hit towards the upper tiers. This type of change of pace could breathe a little
bit of life into what many consider a dying area. So keep your eye out for GU
#27 and the addition of these writs, and remember, only you can provide Lucan
with the statues he needs.