# Crafting Cost Calculator MCP > Crafting Cost Calculator analyzes production costs, profit margins, and ingredient sourcing strategies for crafting-based games. It gives you hard numbers on whether a recipe is worth your time and money. Stop guessing if an item will pay off; start building with data. ## Overview - **Category:** gaming - **Price:** Free - **Tags:** crafting, profit-margin, recipe-analysis, sourcing, gameplay-efficiency ## Description Running a successful crafting economy means knowing the math behind every piece of gear or potion. This MCP analyzes the full lifecycle cost of any in-game product, from raw materials to final market sale. It handles ingredient sourcing—figuring out if it’s cheaper to farm 10 units yourself or buy them pre-processed. Need to know how much effort a player has to put in? It calculates that too. You connect your agent via Vinkius and instantly get deep economic insights without opening five different spreadsheets. It turns raw data about materials into concrete, actionable strategies for making money and progressing faster. ## Tools ### estimate_level_up_effort Calculates how many items a user must craft to advance their profession level. ### get_recipe_cost_analysis Determines the production cost and potential profit for any given crafted item. ### optimize_ingredient_sourcing Identifies the least expensive way to gather required materials, combining farming and buying options. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` Is it profitable to craft 'Iron Sword' if the market price is 500 gold? ``` **Response:** ``` The total production cost for an Iron Sword is 420 gold, resulting in a profit of 80 gold and a margin of 16%. It is currently profitable. ``` **Prompt:** ``` What is the best way to source ingredients for 'Health Potion'? ``` **Response:** ``` The optimal strategy for Health Potion is a hybrid approach: farm Herbs and buy Glass Bottles to minimize your total cost to 15 gold. ``` **Prompt:** ``` How many 'Steel Plate' crafts do I need to reach level 20 from level 15? ``` **Response:** ``` You will need to perform 45 more crafts of Steel Plate, which is estimated to take approximately 135 minutes. ``` ## Capabilities ### Determine Profitability Calculates the exact cost to produce an item against its potential market value. ### Find Best Ingredient Mixes Compares farming yields versus purchasing rates to locate the cheapest way to acquire materials. ### Plan Progression Milestones Estimates the production volume required for a player character to reach a specific skill level. ## Use Cases ### The 'Is this worth it?' Check A client wants to add a new Legendary weapon. Instead of just making it cool, they run the recipe through `get_recipe_cost_analysis`. The tool shows that even with high market prices, the production cost eats up 80% of the profit, flagging the design for necessary adjustments. ### The Resource Scarcity Problem A designer needs a rare material but has two sources: farming (slow) or buying from an NPC vendor (expensive). They run `optimize_ingredient_sourcing` to get a hybrid solution, telling them they only need to farm 3 units and buy the rest. ### The Progression Plateau A player hits a skill wall. Instead of manually guessing how much work is left, they use `estimate_level_up_effort` to see they only need 45 more crafts, giving them a clear goal and timeline. ## Benefits - Pinpoint profitability instantly: Use `get_recipe_cost_analysis` to see if an item will make a reliable profit, preventing the introduction of 'trash' recipes that break the economy. - Cut down material costs immediately: The `optimize_ingredient_sourcing` tool tells you exactly whether buying components or farming them is cheaper for your current build. - Balance progression curves: Never leave a player stuck. Use `estimate_level_up_effort` to ensure skill growth feels achievable and predictable. - Avoid inflation spikes: By modeling costs, you can predict if adding new materials will devalue existing crafting recipes before the code even compiles. - Improve data fidelity: Instead of manual spreadsheets, your agent reads all current market rates and applies them automatically to every calculation. ## How It Works The bottom line is: you feed it parameters, and it spits out an economically sound plan for your in-game economy. 1. Start by entering the recipe name and desired output quantity into your agent. 2. The MCP runs three analyses: checking profit potential, finding optimal ingredient mixes, and estimating total required effort for progression goals. 3. You receive a concise report detailing net profit margins, specific sourcing instructions (e.g., 'Farm X, Buy Y'), or the exact number of items needed to level up. ## Frequently Asked Questions **How do I use the `get_recipe_cost_analysis` tool?** You ask your agent for a cost analysis on a specific recipe and provide the market price. It calculates the total production expense, showing you exactly what profit or loss that item generates. **Does `optimize_ingredient_sourcing` only look at farming?** No, it compares everything. It analyzes whether buying ingredients from vendors is cheaper than gathering them through in-game farming, giving you a hybrid sourcing plan. **What if I want to know my crafting level progress? How do I use `estimate_level_up_effort`?** You simply tell the MCP your current level and target level. It then calculates the specific volume of crafts you must complete, giving you a concrete goal. **Can the Crafting Cost Calculator handle multiple materials?** Yes. The system handles complex ingredient lists automatically, calculating costs for everything from basic wood to rare enchanted components in one run. **If I run `get_recipe_cost_analysis` with ingredient prices that aren't available, how does it handle missing data?** It prompts you to fill in the blanks. The MCP flags any required price input and waits for you to provide a manual estimate before calculating the final profit margin. **Are there rate limits when I use `optimize_ingredient_sourcing` repeatedly?** No, the system handles frequent requests efficiently. You typically won't hit any usage limit unless you send dozens of complex sourcing calculations within a single minute. **What specific information must I provide to successfully use `estimate_level_up_effort`?** You need three pieces of data: the current profession level, the desired target level, and the name of the material you're crafting. This ensures an accurate projection. **When I use `get_recipe_cost_analysis` and get a negative profit margin, what does that tell me?** It means your current recipe is losing money at today's market rates. You need to change the ingredients or find ways to raise the selling price.