Originally Posted by
Drevar
Structures built after the patch will give you resources back on dismantling. Structures built before the patch didn't have the ability to "remember" what materials went into them.
-edit Seems I may be wrong based on Raguel's response below. I hear a lot of "i didnt get any mats back" from people dismantling old structures though.
Blades, bats, etc. being rare kind of relegates weaponcrafting to medium handles and nails (spiked clubs) for any means to level up.
If the resources stay as is then I don't think a skill cap would be warranted, as your ability to make "everything" will be severly limited to the logistics of hundreds of items which you don't have ready access to. The ability to make all sorts of items will be dependent on actual gameplay (travelling to scavenge or trading with others) not just digging through your tons of pre-sorted mats in your baskets. The ability to make a set of items with a specific bonus is going to be a real chore and the items will have real value above and beyond the work it took to spam 10000 spiked clubs, etc.
The balance pendelum has swung all the way back to favor tribes again. A homesteader without exhorbitant amounts of free time is going to find it very difficult to gather up a decent amount of the various rares needed or wanted to make many "good" items.