Sorry to interrupt heatmapsgate and socialskillgate, but...
@MadMole:
I mentioned this in the feedback thread, but I know more guys read and comment about this here.
To stop the gun loot over abundance and go back to encouraging crafting them, reverse the complete weapon drop probability and the weapon parts drop probability. Finding a complete gun will be a special treat, and people will NEED to craft weapons.
(I haven't been able to craft one better than loot in over 160 a18 game days over the course of 3 games now.)
To fix steel tool crafting (I haven't been able to make one in 3 games and 160+ hours now) I'd drop the schematic requirement, and either drop the parts completely or increase their drop probability.
Lastly, the traders seem to have a set price on weapon reselling. Can that have a more complex formula system instead taking into account weapon tier and the stats? Crafting later game higher tier weapons should make you more dukes when you sell them, and low level stuff should be less profitable.
What do you guys think of these balance ideas? the steel tools would still be gated by steel production and progression, and the guns crafting would kind of be a hybrid of the new random stat crafting and the old a15 gun crafting.
Less complete gun drops like Borderlands, and more weapon crafting like Skyrim.