Crafting Designer Philip Chan discusses upcoming crafting changes in patch 1.3.2 in a new Dev Diary.  It seems like butchering is finally getting the attention it deserves!  'Pchan' discusses the addition of new defensive-oritented hybrid potions (those fancy level 40 potions that boost multiple stats).

On another note, since I understand how much time crafters spend in the field and how quickly they often end up filling their bags, I have also gone ahead and streamlined trash loot collection. From now on, players will receive one item in varying quantities based on the level of the monster. This should significantly reduce the number of inventory slots that trash loot reserves. Moreover, all trash loots will now stack to 999, making loot from the corpses of your victims easier to manage and sell!

See the full diary after the break!

Today, Phillip Chan, otherwise known around the Mythic studio and on the official forums as "Pchan", WAR's Crafting Designer, gives us a sneak peek at what's in store for Butchering and how it will play an integral part in new potions that you'll definitely be interested in. Read on for all the juicy details!

I will admit that I have been wringing my hands with anticipation for the next patch. I've poured my heart and soul into this one. I championed what I could and fought for every resource able to be mustered just to see it come to fruition. In this patch, I finally get to address the last profession on the list: Butchering. I know! I know—I am also slightly tearing up with joy and uncontainable excitement.

In 1.3.2, we are going to make good on a promise we made to the player base regarding the availability of unique Hybrid Potion ingredients and dyes in the Butchering system. Butchers/Apothecaries can now create defense hybrid potions which run the gamut from adding to a player's resists and reducing incoming damage to stat increases for Weapon Skill and Toughness. I hope that these become as popular and as widely used as the offensive hybrid potions. In addition to these new potion ingredients, new dye pigments will provide new coloring options unique to Butchers/Apothecaries that I hope will give them additional revenue in the virtual marketplace, as well as increase customization options for the players at large.

For quite some time now, the Butchering community has asked for parity with Scavenging. Without forcing players to do more PvE and less RvR, the call to balance the harvesting professions is a difficult challenge. In response to this, some monsters of varying levels will now supply the player with multiple harvests, increasing the ratio of materials to kills. Butchers should also expect to see stabilizers dropping with greater regularity, as this was a commonly indicated target for improvement. With these renovations in place, players will likely notice that many monsters and monster drops have been shuffled around—please realize that those changes were very keenly considered and will create a more sensible, predictable (and manageable) system.

On another note, since I understand how much time crafters spend in the field and how quickly they often end up filling their bags, I have also gone ahead and streamlined trash loot collection. From now on, players will receive one item in varying quantities based on the level of the monster. This should significantly reduce the number of inventory slots that trash loot reserves. Moreover, all trash loots will now stack to 999, making loot from the corpses of your victims easier to manage and sell! I hope that players are not too put off with which trash loots I selected to remain on the drop tables—I heard some folks really like linking [Squig Milk] and [Gork Wuz Heer] into chat. One of my personal favorites are the [Chaos Taffy] drop and [Warpstone Seasoning] (not together, of course—that would taste terrible!).

Finally, this coming patch marks a waypoint in a never-ending cycle of iterative changes to crafting. As we begin the cosmogonic cycle anew like some ascetic Vedic yogi hermitting on the edge of Brahmic eternity, I gently remind all the crafters out there that crafting in WAR will continue to change as the game matures, and to please be patient with development. Some changes may be drastic, others may not, but whatever happens, rest assured that there is someone listening to your pleas for a better way and fighting on your behalf. War is everywhere—you’d best believe it!