I think time sink is only logical answer, since back then it was subscription base. They wanted people to spend hours and hours to achieve 1 thing, and it would keep their monthly payments coming in. However, I still think its completely stupid to require a recipe when you already permanently know the recipe.
With this pay2win/pay4scam casino system they have now, NCscam would lose more $$ if they went back to monthly subs.
I feel kinda bad for you kids who have been crafting for 15 years lol. Glad I never invested a lot of time into a crafter, just enough to make my own shots and other random stuff.
How many years have you crafters been complaining on drop rates, and NCscam doesn't listen? I see regular players even complaining about drop rates too, it's clearly obvious the developers should do something.