Bingo!totnkopf wrote: Phat lewt is already in game in the form of NPC armors. Thats about as far as I'd like to see it go. The encyclopedia rewards have shown great potential so far (except that lame +5 map marker one...... ) we just need more of them and allow the existing ones to be upgraded.
As to the remark of taking them out completely... as long as Nevrax keeps their word on the future implementation as on the Feedback forum, they ought to be a challenge for guilds and the scarcity won't affect crafters, so as far as I'm concerned they can stay to add challenge and some more flavor, but I don't see a need to add more.
A remark to Thool (elvigy1) on the need of relatively high level of hp:
Not necessarily; it's perfectly feasable to have 100 hp only to gather the better materials. Both solo and teamed. In the case of soloing you'll need luck and some basic evasive skill, yes, and suck up the DP in the case you falter and mess up big time.
But ... Atys and the way ecosystems, material-mob relations and the skillsets itself work, are all linked to one another. They were meant to be more than challenging for single characters; you'd need to function as a team to reap the best benefits. Fighters/mages would escort and protect foragers to the dangerous locations and keep it clear of any dangers, animal or homin; these foragers would gather the materials and hand these to crafters so these in turn could supply the fighters/mages with adequate gear. The materials looted from the slain animals would be compatible with the foraged materials, since, generaly speaking, you need both foraged and looted materials to compensate for the item's statistics.
It's all a visious circle really.
Ofcourse that only works when you have your mind set to social interaction and working as a team.
Now if only I could remember what I was trying to point out ...