Master craft

Continuing the theme of exploration vs. achievement, would an exploration-based crafting system add something new over the same old achievement systems?

Achievement stand-bys are: grinding for mats, raiding for mats and leveling by creating piles of stuff.

I'd argue that that works best for consumables and toys - potions and temporary buffs, purely aesthetic clothes, minor pets and gadgets. You don't have to grind too much because the flow of such things doesn't need to be rigidly controlled. Leveling by "practice" still sucks, but can be fun particularly for new players. The system fails miserably when it comes to core use items like weapons and armor because quality must be limited and the grind must be enormous. Now, to some people that's not failing, but around here it is.

So there is an achievement crafting system for those consumables and toys, maybe some common but useful items as well, then we add master crafting.

The goal is a system that gatekeeps by exploration. Achievement systems gatekeep via long grinds (time invested) and large group content (organization). The former is just annoying while the latter breeds much resentment among those who dislike large group content. We start by imagining a combat-like interface for master crafting, complete with group dynamics. The process of creation is simulated as a protection fight - keeping the item "alive" until the process is complete. Different techniques are applied at different times to keep a complex equilibrium, but the total trace of the process contributes to the final product. The process is based on the materials used (which have random elements) such that only real-time feedback can tell the crafters how to react. Using a hidden item model, as discussed below, the output is not simply success or failure. Discerning the potential (quality) of an item becomes a skill in and of itself. This is a game to be learned, not a template to be followed.

Practice looks different because techniques can be awarded like abilities, and they must be tried out with other techniques for the player to learn them. Materials are still required for this practice, but it does not seem so arbitrary. The ongoing war in a dynamic environment provides a sink for practice pieces.