Game mode: Any
Type of issue: Crafting mechanic/ resource use imbalance (?)
Mods?: no
Edition: Steam (Any)
Bug Description:
When using a dye, the empty glass orb is consumed in the dyes application.
When using a dark or light dye colorant, arguably a more potent dye substance than the dyes themselves, you receive back an empty glass orb from those colorants, which establishes that receiving a glass orb from using dyes is the intended outcome but has not been fully implemented, and perhaps this is an oversight.
It makes sense for them to be consumed when used as a throwable, but not much sense when consumed as a dye. Even the image of the empty glass orb has a funnel that implies their fillable functionality.
Primarily the reason I even bring this admittedly minor issue up is because it actually leads to an unnecessarily high cost in crystal, an arguably important resource for other areas of the game, for something that is only a cosmetic aspect and does not impact gameplay.
Returning an empty glass orb for dyes would be a QOL improvement that would make resource use more balanced and the crafting process of dyes more consistent.
It is minor, and in a less important area of the game, but I still think it’s worth mentioning.
It is a personal choice to dye gear or not. For some players, they do not care, other players love to experiment with high fashion (some I argue, take fashion risks, joking here). When spending attribute points, someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I recall dyes even being separate meaning optional learned skills to craft and not tied to be learned before other alchemy, only after.
Now, I get what you’re saying, and you have a good suggestion, I just do not feel that it would make a difference in my gameplay at all. I loot empty flasks, water orbs, and dyes when killing NPCs, and when you pick them all up you end up with quite a decent amount over time.
Considering crystal sources on Exiled and Isle of Siptah via loot drops and harvested, it seems like a minor QOL change.
That reason is as weak as dye would be to water. The empty glass orb still exists. In your scenario, then, why can we not dismantle the glass back into crystal? Or use it for throwables, where dyes don’t matter at all in those recipes. The orb doesn’t just disappear as something rendered useless. Again, weak.
“The glass is DISCOLORED…tainted, it will never be the same!” Meanwhile I hack away at all kinds of crystals in all colors to just get white crystal in my inventory.
Not to bump this thread unnecessarily but one thing I want to add that I forgot to mention (since added to original post) is that another indication that this might be an oversight is how using a dark or light dye colorant does in fact return an empty glass orb, which reinforces how they can be reused as plain glass orbs even despite having had a form of dye substance within them.
I’m glad they’re consumed myself. I suppose I could RP it and claim that dying techniques in the Conan universe was accomplished by pinning the garment or armor and hurling the dye flask at it.
In my case I don’t want the empties cluttering up the place. Besides of course making the dye crafting process too easy.
How would returning a glass orb in a way that already occurs in the making of dyes with colorants, and when dyes still require their ingredients to be made, in any way, shape, or form make creating dyes less difficult. And what purpose does rendering crafting of a cosmetic dye difficult serve for the game and when the ingredients are simply common plants? Why do people need to make contrasting arguments just for the sake of arguing, even if it makes absolutely no sense or is totally knee-jerk illogical
If returned:
You now no longer have to mine crystal or find glass.
You now no longer have to create flasks.
You could in affect not even have to make a casting table at all and just continue reusing ones you find.
But would that really be a problem? (Not that I really have much opinion either way)
In a normal playthrough, I mine crystal once (maybe twice in an extreme case). Skipping that wouldn’t make a great deal of difference.
The casting table is also used for other things (though, mostly flasks, I admit) - is it really a problem if someone doesn’t bother making it? Until not that long ago, the casting table didn’t even exist.
A couple of other situations that raise questions with flasks -
if you fill a glass flask with water, as far as I recall, you can drink the water and once again have an empty flask.
If you take that same filled flask to the stove and boil it to make Purified Water, you lose the flask.
Again, I don’t really care - mining crystal once gives me as many flasks as I ever need - but does that really make sense?
Dying is a cosmetic aspect of the game that has no impact whatsoever on gameplay and in real life the functional purpose and arguable intention of glass containers being reusable for liquids is not something I’m going to explain as a reality to you.
Glass orbs are already returned when dark or light dye colorants are used in dyes so the issue you take with glass orbs being returned to you is already in the game, in this specific category of crafting.
So the complete implementation of this mechanic, again, for a cosmetic aspect of the game that has no impact on gameplay whatsoever, is completely reasonable and does not impact any other crafting area but said cosmetic dyes. They still require their specific ingredients along with the orb in the first place to be created and where crystal is used in more important recipes like throwables, and dragon powder- crafting areas that have a direct impact on gameplay, it is consumed, as it should be and no where have I argued otherwise. It is clearly an oversight of implementation and results in an imbalanced requirement of an excessive amount of a valuable resource for, once again, something that is cosmetic and the use of has no impact on gameplay at all.
That too is definitely another strange inconsistency with them but I wanted to focus on one area.
Yeah, on it’s own it’s a rather insignificant issue to be sure…
A problem? Mmmm, maybe not a problem but if flasks are everlasting it bypasses an intended mechanic. How many bypasses can we get away with before the game is nothing more than a sim? Overcoming difficultly is an value. Like crypto-currency, if it was made to be easier the value would drop.
It’s still part of the game. Heck, to some players it’s one of the most important aspects. If you think style and fashion has no place in Conan then I can’t explain it to you. Mostly because I don’t want to and I think it’s entirely obvious, but whatever…
You are entirely making an assumption that mechanics like these are intentional.
Glass orbs are essentially one of the most worthless items in the game already, in contrast to their cost to craft, which would remain the same either way.
I’m not pointing out underlying mechanics of an area of the game here to debate the subjective value it might have at face value to individual people. The two do not correlate. There is a hard barrier between discussing underlying functionality and balance compared to the subjective merit something has to individuals. Do you tell a mechanic that the paint on your car is pristine, so the engine must actually be running fine, when it isn’t? Something cosmetic is improperly impacting the resource balance of the actual game. That shouldn’t occur.
