Simply put, assign "effectiveness" to metals and allow any weapon/armor to be made of any metal; except possibly tin.
For example, a sword requires 2 bars, so a sword made of copper requires 2 copper bars and is called a "Copper sword Quality X".
Said copper sword will obviously be much less effective than a wrought iron one, but it makes it easier for a new character to acquire a weapon without having to trade so much for a wrought iron sword or having to resort to the god-awful wind system.
I'd also like to see one-handed axes, so people can wield axes without having to give up their shields. Perhaps other weapons such as hammers, maces, and spears; though I'd prefer to wait until other status effects such as "Dazed", "Bleeding" or "Broken bones" are put in.
I ask that chainmail be slightly nerfed but cost only 4 bars instead of 6.
Shields should absorb and take damage just like other armor. I believe this was mentioned several times before. Also, I ask that other types of shields be added. Bucklers, heater shields, kite shields to name a few. The shields are not completely made of metal, simply reinforced with it. Oh, I suppose fur/leather shields get an honorable mention.
The effectiveness will be as such, from weakest to strongest:
Copper*
Cast Iron*
Wrought Iron**
Bronze**
Steel
I'll let you decide the exact effectiveness.
*Cast iron is difficult to shape and copper might not hold its shape if the applied force is too great, so I suppose it would be limited to chainmail(possibly copper only, cast iron would be too brittle to shape into that form), shields, and one-handed weapons.
** I'm a bit miffed that bronze is so much stronger than wrought iron. 6 cast iron will *maybe* give you 4 wrought iron, and 4 copper and 2 tin will always give 6 bronze.Bronze is also unaffected by the quality of the alloying crucible and charcoal used to power said crucible. However, since people really seem to love their bronze swords/plate, I'd like to ask that wrought iron be buffed slightly.
The metalcrafting menu may have to be altered to accomodate these changes.
Metalcrafting
-Armor
1. Chainmail
(Assorted metal types)
2. Platemail
(Assorted metal types)
3. Shields
(Assorted metal types)
-Weapons
1. One-handed weapons
(Axes, swords, maces, etc leading to another menu with assorted metal types.
2. Two-handed weapons
(Battle axes, warhammers, claymores, etc leading to another menu with assorted metal types.)
-Tools (Saws, hoes, scythes, etc.)
There's also a big gap between leather and metal armors, so I ask that Cuirboulli (Boiled leather) and perhaps studded leather be added.
Miscellaneous:
1. If nothing else, replace the poor man's belt with a hip quiver (Holding 20-30 arrows) so marksmen can hunt without giving up their backpacks.
2. IF the aforementioned armor/weapon changes are implemented, give animals a boost. As of right now, Level X foxes can't even scratch me, on the rare occasion that they actually hit, when I'm wearing only leather armor; low quality or otherwise.