Weaving, skin avilability, purchased vs dropped

[maradyne]

A proposed change to Weaving, and the skin system in general.

We definitely need the Wardrobe changed to use the preset system, at the very least. The building basically has no use if you own a large number of skins.
Just getting that out of the way.

 

 

K. So. Weaving.
When the Forge was first introduced, it was used to give people access to the game's basic Emotes, Emoticons, Portrait Frames, Profile Icons, and Vignettes.
With the second run of the Forge, the event got its own set of event-related things to weave, like the Gorge did.
I suggest that the original set of these 'extra' things from the first run of the Forge be unlocked so that they can be weaved at any time, with the prices for any that are normally pretty high being lowered; they'd form a basic set accessible to any player year-round. Not added to the drop table; seriously, NOT added to the drop table; just available for weaving.

With that in mind, I suggest that...
Any Set items (Like Magmatic and Snowfallen) currently below Spiffy get moved to the Spiffy category. Kind of strange that their rarity is so low anyway.
The remaining Common and Classy items be given the same treatment, and be made Weavable. While still being marketable.
Set Spool costs of basic items so that it's only about as easy to make higher tier items as it would be through the Trade Inn. For now. Y'know, for testing's sake. This is a system that's meant to be expanded after playtesting can occur so doubts can be put to rest.
This keeps the new behavior to the 'basic' tier of items. Seeing as it includes no Set skins or even any 'special' skins, the Market prices don't matter; we remove them from existence in the Trade Inn already.

 

It would allow new players access to some nice basic skin/customization options and get them in on the desire to obtain more exotic skins, while leaving event/high tier skins as something requiring purchase or the market. Some involvement with money. But that first toe-dip into the pool is enough to drag people into eventually being willing to spend money. This is how cosmetic loot in some other 'free to play' games works, and boy does it work.
...I have suggestions on how to alter the higher tiers, but I'm interested in how basic changes like this that really wouldn't affect those higher tiers would go over first.
Think of it as a contained experiment, with the goal being a move toward consistency and accessibility.