Much of the system doesn't work efficiently or properly now. First, we are forced to literary destroy precious items such as freshly released sets or rare items, but in return we only get 10% better item, and the more you upgrade the less you get. I know you can buy almost all sets each Christmas but it still doesn't change the fact that other named rare items have to be destroyed in order to improve them. Like Pankreas said, 243 Harper's axes is no easy thing to do since you're restricted in terms how many you can produce in certain time period, and now, poof, it's worth nothing. Why I say nothing? Because you can only keep it as an artifact or sell it to the merchant who doesn't care that you have 243 items in 1, he still won't give you more than 5k for that axe! Now here is the interesting part. If I was to be asked how certain things would work within the game, I'd change following immediately:
1. Upgrading items no longer requires actual multiple items, only money. Items are auctionable. Items gain 20% bonus from PREVIOUS level, not the base!
2. Crafting waiting times for stupid bonuses like Castello cheese and other items would be disabled. So good bye to 4 days of waiting for 1 product!
3. Fort Fight experience cap would be actually removed and the new formula would be made so a lot of factors would decide how much you'll get.
4. Jobs.... THOSE MISERABLE AND PATHETIC rewards you get especially now with 250 level cap is not even funny. Those would be raised as well.
5. The quests. Even more miserable and stupid than jobs, the quest rewards would be raised a lot since 100exp and $300 at level 100+ equals to 0 help!
There is a ton of things I could list what needs to be improved, for example, the thing I was fighting the most to be fixed, but was not supported enough is old items bonus edit. It's impossibly stupid that level 40 and level 140 hats or whatever piece of equipment would have almost the same amount of skills, that's first. Second, why attribute points went without the change? Third, why the damn $40k gun in gunsmith doesn't have any skill bonus? Fourth, Why animals in general store have no bonus except speed? Fifth and the most important, why this game has no realism at all except the time you need to achieve anything? You can ride fish, clouds, birds... go in a fort fight with teddy bear, water colors, a damn Christmas bag! Yet a damn 1% log in bonus gives you more exp than you can dig in a week! To explain what I mean in the simplest way, why do we need the same amount of time to achieve something in a game like we do in a real life? You have to dedicate half of your daily life if you want to have something, and that's NOT how games should work. A day in a game is not supposed to last 24 hours. I play for a decade now and I know exactly how stupid the system is.