Jibbs, I've given a lot of thought to what we can do for a Crifting analogue in GW2. It's tricky. All of the materials are tier-dependent, and come from a certain level range in PVE. So we'd need to choose a tier to focus on.
Next, many of the materials come from killing mobs. Cloth and leather comes mostly from killing humanoid mobs and then salvaging the gear they drop. Humanoids also drop bags with all kinds of different crafting mats (except cooking). "Humanoid runs" are great for large groups since more people means more enemies spawn, and folks get loot from every mob they tag. We'll just have to coach folks to bring salvage kits, and take a bag compression break every so often to let folks salvage and deposit collectibles.
"Critter runs": trophy farming (blood, faws, claws, poison sacs, etc.) from critters. Usually each trophy type drops from specific mob types so critter runs will be more focused that humanoid runs. It can be grindy, but if there's a common need for a particular trophy/tier I can see it. Generally I think humanoids are a better "value". :)
"Cook runs" is another possibility. I found a heart/renown/karma vendor in Gendarran Fields this past BWE that had several different cooking supplies (nutmeg, vanilla, chili peppers, celery), all on one vendor. Rather than doing an entire zone with the raid, why not do a "Gendarran Fields for Cooks" run focused on the key hearts and harvests.
Lastly, nodes. Nearly every node is guarded by mobs (or players in WvW). I think if we have a We-Brake-For-Nodes policy in all of our runs, we'll get plenty of nodes too.
Back on topic: I plan to level every craft, eventually. First up: Jeweller, and Cook.
One brilliant thing about Gaiscioch is the Marketplace: it fuels crafting very nicely so we are sure to have lots of crafters in every profession. As it should be! Crafting is content for everyone, and in GW2 both crafting and harvesting level you up! More is better. :)
» Edited on: 2012-07-25 08:35:13