Make the Fire Crystals and Orbs of Alchemy drop similarly to Materials.
This is what the material drops are.
0* - All Depths
1* - All Depths
2* - Stratum 2 and Deeper
3* - Stratum 3 and Deeper
4* - Stratum 4 and Deeper
5* - Stratum 5 and Deeper
This is what the rarity drops would be like.
0*(Cracked Crystals) - Stratum 1
1*(Dim Crystals & Flawed Orbs) - Stratum 1 and 2
2*(Warm Crystals & Simple Orbs) - Stratum 2 and Deeper
3*(Glowing Crystals & Advanced Orbs) - Stratum 3 and Deeper
4*(Shining Crystals & Elite Orbs) - Stratum 4 and Deeper
5*(Radiant Crystals & Eternal Orbs) - Stratum 6(or 5?) and Deeper
Also, make fire crystals able to be sold to vendors in these amounts
0* - 1 Crown
1* - 1 Crown
2* - 10 Crowns
3* - 25 Crowns
4* - 50 Crowns
5* - 100 Crowns
Finally, remove the minimum forge, make the medium forge cost the minimum forge price, and make the maximum forge cost the initial medium forge price.
That's all I have to say.
-Pery
TFW this suggestion would make me close to 2 million crowns in shining fire crystals.
In all seriousness though, this isn't too bad of an idea. Selling rarities and changing up how the forge works (in terms of changing the actual "forging" options) isn't something super needed however. Removing the forge chances (min, med, max) isn't something that's a problem if we have so many radiants, which is what this suggestion allows us to get more frequently. At the same time, it allows players to play in their appropriate tier to get items they want, plus able to get bonuses towards lower items as well.
Also, no matter how much I want fire crystals to be able to be vendored for personal gain, I don't think it's necessarily needed. I'm more of the thought that we should have a haven/guildhall-only group-heating/crafting table where players put their resources together to make specific items. It's essentially a group trade of rarities, materials, etc. that can only be used for crafting/heating, and everyone bands together to help each other.
If I have a bunch of shinings, I might give away my 4* heating services for free or charge a small fee. This removes the shinings from my inventory (and thus my own mini-economy), and thus allows me to feel better when finding shinings. I could help someone heat up a 4* item and they could help me heat up a 5*, or I could help someone craft a 5* item and instead of paying 800 energy for the orbs, they could pay me 400 energy, or absolutely nothing if I don't want to charge anything.
If anything, I would say make fire crystals appear the way you described, however make orbs work in a different way. Make them appear 3 depths before their intended stratum, last into the next strata, but always appear no matter what depth in their tier. Tier 3 will have elite and eternal orbs throughout the whole thing, however there's bleed over with advanced orbs rarely in stratum 5, and some bleed over of elite orbs into stratum 4. This means you choose a tier for your orb farming, but can "crystal farm" essentially anywhere, granted the star level matches your stratum.