Crafting in video games can sometimes be a great way for players to get new weapons and items using resources they find around the game world. Other times, crafting feels more like an extra step to pad out gameplay. Regardless, this system can sometimes be as simple as getting two objects together.
There are times when crafting gets a little bit complex and just a bit cumbersome. Did the game really need this feature? From crafting that gets more complex the more simple items you make to mechanics that got hijacked by players and turned into a crafting system, here are the eight most complex crafting mechanics in video games.
8 Skyrim
Making Potions To Enchant Armor That Buffs Potions
Skyrim’s crafting system seems simple on paper, but it becomes more complex if you want to maximize the usefulness of your equipment. Alchemy, Smithing, and Enchanting are all divided between three skill trees which all play on each other. You essentially need to sell what you make, buy more material, to slowly level up each category.
Even if you level up Enchanting to 100, you still need to level up your character and allocate points towards the skills that will maximize your gains. Even then, enchanting an item stops you from upgrading it using Smithing unless you have yet another perk from the Smithing line. Alchemy will help you buff your buffs for a limited time.
7 Minecraft
Starts Easy Gets More Complex
Minecraft has a very easy-to-grasp concept of crafting. The very first thing you are prompted to do when you start the game is to start punching trees. This gives you wood and allows you to get the Crafting Table so you can make your first Stone Pickaxe.
However, there are so many unique things that can be made that it eclipses most other crafting systems. You start off making easy crafts that lead to bigger crafts with the introduction of new ingredients. This crafting system is complex not for its difficulty but for its many combinations that encourage the player to explore the world and gather different types of resources.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Players Became Engineers Overnight
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom introduced new enhancements that resulted in one of the most interesting and creative crafting systems of all time. There are plenty of items that can be put together to form elixirs and foods. However, in addition to this, the game also allows you to stick objects together to solve puzzles.
While this feature is intended to make use of the environment to solve challenges, players took it even further and started using it as a secondary crafting system. Get the right pieces together, and you can make a tank that moves around and fires projectiles.
5 Team Fortress 2
Luck-Based Crafting
Team Fortress 2 is a legendary multiplayer game from a nostalgic era of PC gaming. While many players can buy the items they want on the market, the game also has a long-forgotten crafting system. This system was introduced during the War Update of the game and lets you turn your unwanted items into scrap.
However, this usually takes too long and each craftable weapon had specific ingredients you needed to have first. Even using craft tokens to substitute for ingredients usually results in a random item you might not even want. This makes Team Fortress 2’s crafting system one that revolves around spending time playing and luck.
4 Call Of Duty Zombies
Can’t Start The Game Till You Craft
When crafting items and work benches were first introduced in Black Ops 2 Zombies, it fundamentally changed how the round-based gameplay worked. Gone were the days of killing zombies and hitting the box from the get-go. For a while, Zombies revolved around setting up crafting tables before you started moving up rounds.
This system also constantly changed. Sometimes items need to be placed on specific work benches, while other times you can choose what to make and where to make them. Later, some items were hidden within the map or required you to follow complex easter egg steps to upgrade. Ironically, with Black Ops: Cold War, you can easily make items using scrap dropped from zombies using a menu.
3 Fallout 4
Become King Of The Wasteland
Let’s face it, the weapons that enemies drop in Fallout 4 aren’t always the greatest. However, the game does give you the option to craft weapons that are specifically suited to your playstyle. Once you gain access to the workbench, you can start modifying the weapons that you find around the world.
This can include magazine modifications, sights, silencers, and so much more. You can even craft settlement upgrades using the junk that you find in the wasteland or buy directly from vendors. Crafting is an important yet complex element of Fallout 4 that will help you get the best weapons in the game.
2 Dark Souls 3
Crafting Using Skill-Based Choices
Dark Souls 3 doesn’t make it difficult to craft items. The complexity comes with the choices that you make and the situation that you want to tackle. Take, for example, the idea of turning a long sword into a fire-long sword. Seems simple enough, but you need to take into account the play style that the sword has to offer.
You also need to know what exactly it is that you want to use it for. Do you just want to bash random enemies or is there a specific boss that you want to take down by exploiting its weakness? A fast enemy may be weak to fire, but if you craft a slow weapon by infusing it with fire, then you won’t make much headway.
1 Monster Hunter World
Become The Ultimate Hunter
Monster Hunter World is a great entry point for players who want to experience the joys of chasing after mighty beasts. The crafting system is also complex since everything you can make requires you to use a different gameplay element. Cooking requires you to get ingredients from the field or purchase the meals directly.
Meanwhile, you can craft potions and other supplements by taking care of your botanical research lab. However, the best part is hunting specific monsters in the hopes of getting parts that will help you both upgrade and sidegrade your weapons. This system promotes a complex but easy-to-learn crafting mechanic that promotes a healthy gameplay loop.
