I didn't want this getting lost in the suggestion thread, and since I've seen Eurydice posting in outside threads I feel like this should be safe.
A simple fix to the whole binding when upgrading an item would be to merge the alchemy and trade windows (m
aybe even a restriction that you have to be near an alchemy station). That way each individual can contribute the alchemy components (for instance, the leveled up piece of gear that's being upgraded), but any bound items introduced to the alchemy process must stay with the player.
While this may sound like its mostly going back to the old system where anyone can just buy their upgrades, it still isn't the same as it was before. The player buying the upgrade is still going to have to put in all the work of building up a piece of gear's heat level, as well as finding someone with the actual recipe and paying them for their services. The people that have all these really good recipes can still make use of them buy selling the upgrades, but they can't stock pile all their resources and sell tons of 5* gear because they built up that much...
My only other note would be to add in recipes for specific UVs, that way people can get the enhancements that want specifically without relying so much on random chance, now that the system is setup in a way that REALLY hurts F2P players. (and also reduce the CE costs on alchemy upgrades, 800 for 5* gear is really steep unless you plan on adding in a way to earn energy for free...)
Great idea mooant. This seems really interesting and a fun middle ground between forcing everyone to grind out the recipes for their own 4/5* gear and preventing them from buying the gear as soon as they start playing.
To round out how I interpret the process:
Group crafting.
This prevents the ability for people to "buy" straight to 5* gear. They will have to buy or make a 3*, level it to 5, then get someone with the recipe to craft their 3* into a 4*. They will then have to level that to 10 and find another (potentially the same) player to craft their 4* into a 5*.
But it does allow people to help their friends by crafting them new gear.
You would probably also need to add a new tab to the new shiny Auction House. Add a place that people can post recipes (with required tips) they want to craft for people. These posts would only show up if the Crafter is currently online. This would give Buyers the ability to find Crafters that can craft their gear up to the next level. You can probably get some sort of posting fee as well to limit how many of their recipes people are willing to post.