Just finished my third beta session this past weekend and I have to say I'm really enjoying the game. I can hardly wait to get back in. I spent a fair amount of time crafting. I think you've done a great job, here. ESO has some of the most comprehensive crafting that I've seen in any game. Seems like there's still some minor balancing to do:

Provisioning - In terms of enjoyment, this was the least and possibly the least useful, at least early on. Materials weren't hard to come by (if you didn't mind clicking every container you came across), but the process was extremely repetitive. The combat bonuses provided by the resulting food/drinks seemed like they might be useful, until I realized just how easy early mobs are to kill. In the end I found myself provisioning as a way to clear up bag space and make a little money selling to vendors.

Enchanting - This gets more fun the more time I spend with it. I seemed to be getting an inordinate number of "round" runes and producing an inordinate number of enchantments for jewelry. Given the number of opportunities to enchant jewelry early on, this was a little disappointing.

Blacksmithing - No real complaints here. Ore is relatively easy to spot and there's no shortage of drops that break down into smithing mats. I played primarily a Nightblade bow specialist so I didn't personally benefit much from the fruits of my labor, but I can see how others would.

Clothing - Again, not many complaints here. It did take me a bit to realize that the primary source of leather early on is mudcrabs. Huh, didn't realize mudcrabs had hides. Once I figured this out, I had no trouble supplying myself with medium armor. And, once I fired out what jute looked like, it was also pretty easy to find that. I did find myself short of tempers. It seems like the level 1 tempers should be pretty common and maybe even purchasable through vendors.

Woodworking - Ah, woodworking, the ugly stepchild of crafting. Okay, it's not that bad, but mats can be tough to come by. Wood is the most difficult to pick out, especially in areas with a lot of ground cover. After the weekend, I found myself wondering if it would be easier if I reduced ground cover through video settings. Doesn't seem like I should have to do this, though. Drops that break down into planks are also relatively rare. This past weekend, despite my efforts, I ended up with no woodworking tempers. Zero. Very disappointing as a bow specialist.

Alchemy - I didn't spend much time with this as it seemed only marginally more useful than Provisioning. If I had spent more time, I'm sure the plants would have been easier to find amidst the non-harvestable flowers. This one seems like it has a lot of promise and I feel like I'll do more with it in the future.

Research - This is still a bit of a mystery to me and I feel like the in game help could have been a little more detailed. In all the time I've spent crafting, I've still not had an occasion to craft something I would use with a trait I had researched. I suppose this will change over time as the number of traits I've researched grows.

With the exception on Provisioning, crafting in this game is at least as fun and useful as in any MMO I've played. I think this is one of the things that really sets ESO apart. As for the game in general, I love the pace and the emphasis/opportunity for exploration. You'll likely get a lot of pressure to speed things up. I'm sure some will even stop playing because leveling is just too slow. In the past, other games have caved to this pressure and ultimately suffered for it in terms of the quality of the experience. They become just another grind. I sincerely hope this is not the fate of ESO.

I like provisioning. The buffs are actually pretty significant once you start getting the rare recipes. I found one that gives 115 stamina and 115 HP for 60 minutes, I think it was. Something like that. It was a level 15 rare recipe.

alchemy can make some really good potions

regarding research im not sure i understand what you mean, are you saying that you wouldnt have liked to use traits on the items?

if so why? why not get a bonus to exploration when leveling up(and this is one of the worst traits) or have resistance to crit on your armor? or get an 8% bonus to mundo stones, ill agree that some of the traits are kinda bad(but still better than no trait), but others are really great

I honestly like all the crafting, especially Woodworking and Blacksmithing.

While I only had a limited time with the game, I feel you on woodworking. The nodes look so much like backdrop they can be difficult to spot. Putting a point into the material find trait helps a lot though, also difficult to find stuff to break down. Given how many people plan to use bows this craft is going to be sought after.

i actually thought i found way more bows and staffs than i did other weapon types

my woodworking was higher than both clothier and blacksmithing just from breaking down gear

maybe drops are in some way affected by class? i was playing a staff wielding sorc, and i did seem to find a lot of staffs

It seems that way. I stopped using a staff with my Sorcerer and using a 2 Handed Sword and the only one I got was a reward item, which is why I swapped to the 2 Handed, as I could not afford any weapons yet. I had to craft some. However I did get other weapons too, just not as many of one type.

BSing and Clothing seem extremely, extremely slow to level compared to alchemy.

That said, I do like the crafting system in general, and a little too slow to level is better than too fast to level.

I actually found woodworking to be very easy. In fact, it was meant to be my secondary skill because I only wanted to be able to craft my own bows and leather armor. Staffs were everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I had more staffs than any other kind of loot.

So I was selling all the Iron goods I had to the vendor for cash, and extracting all clothing, leather, and wood items (including staffs) in order to stock up on materials and level clothier and woodworker.

I was lvl 7 in both crafts by the end of the weekend, but I reached lvl 7 much faster in woodworking than clothier. And it was almost purely by extraction xp because I only crafted a handful of bows

Its just staff drops a lot. I played as a dragon knight and all i get is staff (i want inferno staff but they kept dropping frost and lightning staves)

You could always make one...

And that is what i did.

Nice. But it did seem pretty easy to loot staffs but I had no problem with it.

More extraction to level up woodworking!!! as well as chance to get gems and temper mats.

Very true, same with other weapons too! Leveling up crafting skills and getting materials at the same time? That's a killer deal in my book!

I've been enjoying the crafting in this game far more than any other MMO I've played, dating back to EQ. I love blacksmithing, and I'm having a hard time trying to keep the number of crafts I do on one toon in check.

--Myrron

I love the blacksmithing in TESO too!

Didn't like it. Don't know why. I never like crafting, though, so no surprise there.

We're all allowed to feel the way we feel.

I spent a lot of time crafting too, which given the limited amount of time available during the different weekends, normally wouldn't have been such a priority... but it was fun from the get go, good job.

Now, if they can just give us some sandbox functionality to go with the great crafting system and allow us to entertain ourselves rather than be always chasing new content.

Player stores (not just within a guild) would be a good start to make crafting a fun mini game in itself

I know but how can you not like the crafting in TESO? I thought it was very nice and it's one of the keys to success!

Totally agree with that. I'm going to have to do it. I just don't enjoy it.

I thought it was very rewarding. Crafting in any of the games that I've played have ever caught my attention as much as ESO. I can't wait to get back in and be a self sustaining adventurer! - For the most part -

There were a few times in game when I wanted a break from questing that I spent an hour or two exploring and filling my bags just for crafting. I went off the beaten path and found multiple treasure chests also. It was fun and profitable.