The dillema

[Bless]

AL's economy is going down in the drain, see how much gold is already in game? The prices of a single elite set is over 500k, why! Because people think they can! This gets people to buy the item (usually plat brought gold) and others to list the item for same price, the whole cycle is repeated until cs is totally inflated.

My suggestion: Change the plat to gold rates similar to PL (which is ridiculous but atleast its economy didnt dent fast!).

Constructive critism and feedback is appriciated! :D

Ps. Titlefaillikeabaws!

[Deadbite]

It's how they get $$$ cause there's no thrashers and the Elix that do exist suck....

[PL Playa]

To me it seems that many people are reflecting the PL economy which has inflated almost as much as earths has

[Astrocat]

Vamos a la playa! <3

[Energizeric]

Me thinks players have no idea what they want.

When STS makes the best items rare, prices go way up and people complain such as in this thread.

When STS makes the best items common, then they become very cheap and everyone has the same items (i.e. forgotten bows in PL) and everyone complains that all players are walking around wearing the same exact gear.


What I think players want is for the items to be cheap for them to acquire, but also very rare. Sorry, but this is impossible and nothing STS can do will cause this to happen. It's just basic rules of economics.

[TEOKILLO]

The dilemma is i never see miraclebird on PL

[akfury]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

[Vystirch]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

i agree

[j3peaz]

If they removed the plat for gold, th economy would stabilize, but that wont happen.

They dont want the best items being bought by plat but that is essentially what is happening. Buy plat>buy gold> buy high $items.

They could put a lower cap on cs forcing poplee to sell manually for highh $items but at best that would only slow the problem. There is no easy solution without rmoving plat4gold

[Energizeric]

Just make the plat for gold a bit less attractive than it is currently. Maybe cut the amount of gold for each package in half.

[Astrocat]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

True.. =/ but I like that Plat to Gold system. :,0

[Rare]

Economy is fine. Loot your gear instead of buying it

[Astrocat]

Economy is fine. Loot your gear instead of buying it

After weeks of farming =/ well for me -_- even if no pinks. -.-

[Eviljack]

Here's my perspective. I'm a level 16 player with average gear, and I have a lot of fun playing AL. I may not have the best gear, but so what? I don't feel like I need it. I can run the Hauntlet without a problem and play the Elite maps when I want a challenge.

If 1% of players can afford the best gear and want to spend that kind of money, then that's fine with me. I'll just be in the 99% and continue having fun regardless.

This gear situation might cause a problem when player-vs-player becomes available, but let's save that discussion for when it happens. Maybe STS will find a fair way to balance things for player-vs-player.

If I were going to complain about the AL economy, my concern would be about the lower end items. The majority of items in the game are junk that isn't even worth selling in the CS. In the game's current state, why do white items even exist? I think they should rebalance things by making white items more common and everything else harder to find. Green items are supposed to be "rare", but that's a joke right now. If green+blue items were harder to find, then I'd feel more motivated to actually use the CS. I think the entire "economy" would be more fun that way.

[Astrocat]

Here's my perspective. I'm a level 16 player with average gear, and I have a lot of fun playing AL. I may not have the best gear, but so what? I don't feel like I need it. I can run the Hauntlet without a problem and play the Elite maps when I want a challenge.

If 1% of players can afford the best gear and want to spend that kind of money, then that's fine with me. I'll just be in the 99% and continue having fun regardless.

This gear situation might cause a problem when player-vs-player becomes available, but let's save that discussion for when it happens. Maybe STS will find a fair way to balance things for player-vs-player.

If I were going to complain about the AL economy, my concern would be about the lower end items. The majority of items in the game are junk that isn't even worth selling in the CS. In the game's current state, why do white items even exist? I think they should rebalance things by making white items more common and everything else harder to find. Green items are supposed to be "rare", but that's a joke right now. If green+blue items were harder to find, then I'd feel more motivated to actually use the CS. I think the entire "economy" would be more fun that way.

Got a point I see. :)

[Energizeric]

If I were going to complain about the AL economy, my concern would be about the lower end items. The majority of items in the game are junk that isn't even worth selling in the CS. In the game's current state, why do white items even exist? I think they should rebalance things by making white items more common and everything else harder to find. Green items are supposed to be "rare", but that's a joke right now. If green+blue items were harder to find, then I'd feel more motivated to actually use the CS. I think the entire "economy" would be more fun that way.

I agree. At least have purple items (I think they are purple, not blue LOL) be a little more rare. They seem to drop constantly, and are so low in price they aren't even worth selling in the CS.

[Aeroflame]

Unless you can somehow go into everyone's account and remove as much gold as you see fit, stop complaining. There's threads whining about how there isn't as much gold, and there's threads whining about there being too much gold. It's turning into an annoying fad. How do you think they make the gold? cuz it sure isnt any other way besides plat. And if that's how it is, oh well, devs cant do anything about it. Btw just because the price is that high doesn't mean it will sell. It only inflates when EVERYONE has a ton of money, and I can assure you there is a significant amount of people out there under 50k, not to mention there will probably be another gold sink in the future.


Well I'll also admit eviljack has a point, there really isnt a high demand for the best items, because there's no pvp for people to test each other skills with. If there's already this much of a complaint going on when its unnecessary, i feel bad about what'll happen once people start fighting each other (OOOH Founders helm is sooooo OP) and crap like that.

[Montanabro]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

I've seen this claim a lot but haven't seen proof. Would you mind sharing where STS said plat wouldn't be used to improve characters in AL?

[Aeroflame]

Would you mind sharing where STS said plat wouldn't be used to improve characters in AL?


would be an awesome wonka theme

[DontNerfMeBro]

AL's economy is going down in the drain, see how much gold is already in game? The prices of a single elite set is over 500k, why! Because people think they can! This gets people to buy the item (usually plat brought gold) and others to list the item for same price, the whole cycle is repeated until cs is totally inflated.

My suggestion: Change the plat to gold rates similar to PL (which is ridiculous but atleast its economy didnt dent fast!).

Constructive critism and feedback is appriciated! :D

Ps. Titlefaillikeabaws!

I'd tell you to just farm your own gear but then you'd complain you didn't have enough free time to farm. so in an attempt to solve all this complaining maybe STS should just let you pick whatever gear you want. After all, that's the only real solution.

Just because you can't afford to buy gear from other players doesn't mean there's a problem.

[Bless]

Me thinks players have no idea what they want.

When STS makes the best items rare, prices go way up and people complain such as in this thread.

When STS makes the best items common, then they become very cheap and everyone has the same items (i.e. forgotten bows in PL) and everyone complains that all players are walking around wearing the same exact gear.


What I think players want is for the items to be cheap for them to acquire, but also very rare. Sorry, but this is impossible and nothing STS can do will cause this to happen. It's just basic rules of economics. im talking about plat to gold rate.

O.o


Economy is fine. Loot your gear instead of buying it wow everyones goin off topic here, im not buying anything, thats my point, because people buy gold by plat, they automatically just buy their elite - this is not much different than buying elite plat items lol.

[Akaee]

Just dont buy the overpriced gears. When the cap has arrived all will go down the drain and the circus starts over again. Farm or accept " lesser gear" with which it is very playable.

[Rot]

A bit off-topic but..
Where to you farm Trollbane?

P.S - I just capped lol. :D

[Energizeric]

Right now I would guess that 90% of the plat purchases that STS is getting is from buying gold. If they eliminate that, they have to come up with something else that will fill the gap or else the game won't be profitable.

In PL most of the plat is spent on elixirs, but in AL the elixirs are weak and not many folks are spending much on them. A 25% luck elixir does very little to help you, and not much plat is being spent on these.

Just selling vanity items and pets for plat is not going to make them enough money to make the game profitable. Most players will not spend plat unless it significantly improves their characters, not just in looks, but in actual gameplay. So there lies the problem. You would prefer that plat does not improve gameplay, but not many folks would spend plat otherwise.

The only solution would be to charge everyone a monthly fee to play the game, like WOW or other similar games. Then everyone pays the fee and is on a level playing field. I would actually prefer this, but since most of the folks playing here are kids, I'm guessing they would not.

[DataPunk]

I really wonder where all the freeloaders go when we stop buying plat. I'm getting sickfrom these complaints, money needs to come from some where.

[j3peaz]

They make money other ways than just plat purchases

[Astrocat]

They make money other ways than just plat purchases

Sure, but platinum purchase is the main way, I guess.

[Worship]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

I agree.. I made 100k in 2 minutes off of that. Just found an offer for 100k+ plat, did it, traded it in for gold. and BAM! Thats all it takes

[Deadbite]

A bit off-topic but..
Where to you farm Trollbane?

P.S - I just capped lol. :D

Trollbane is practically useless.... They buffed everything BUT IT effectively making the value plummet... Just buy a vorpal or the forerunner bundle sword.

[Astrocat]

Trollbane is practically useless.... They buffed everything BUT IT effectively making the value plummet... Just buy a vorpal or the forerunner bundle sword.

True, il a raison! So yeah, vorpal ftw!

[Energizeric]

I think sts should remove plat for gold option... They said at the beginning plat was gonna be for non game boosting stuff, and for stuff like character slot and renames and vanities :/

This would cut their revenue by 90%+. As someone who spends a decent amount of plat, I can tell you how it works. In PL I've probably spent around 4k plat in the past year. Around 500-600 of it was for vanities, and the rest was for "game boosting" stuff like elxirs, items that give stat bonus (dragon pets for dragon sets), and access to plat turnstyle dungeons (where you get better drops).

People don't want to spend plat unless it does boost their character in some meaningful way. Yes, once in a while I may be a vanity cap or something, but I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars doing so. These games are supported mainly by players who spend hundreds of dollars on plat. Nobody is going to do that just to buy some vanities or extra character slots.

[Rare]

im talking about plat to gold rate.

O.o

wow everyones goin off topic here, im not buying anything, thats my point, because people buy gold by plat, they automatically just buy their elite - this is not much different than buying elite plat items lol.

I get what you're saying now, but I, as well as others, interpreted it differently. When you read it, it really sounds like another thread complaining about the price of gear.

I see what you're saying, but removing plat for gold isn't a solution unless you have something to replace it with. If you think STS is going to develop this game for free... I have an invisible trollbane to sell you.

[DontNerfMeBro]

Right now I would guess that 90% of the plat purchases that STS is getting is from buying gold. If they eliminate that, they have to come up with something else that will fill the gap or else the game won't be profitable.

In PL most of the plat is spent on elixirs, but in AL the elixirs are weak and not many folks are spending much on them. A 25% luck elixir does very little to help you, and not much plat is being spent on these.

Just selling vanity items and pets for plat is not going to make them enough money to make the game profitable. Most players will not spend plat unless it significantly improves their characters, not just in looks, but in actual gameplay. So there lies the problem. You would prefer that plat does not improve gameplay, but not many folks would spend plat otherwise.

The only solution would be to charge everyone a monthly fee to play the game, like WOW or other similar games. Then everyone pays the fee and is on a level playing field. I would actually prefer this, but since most of the folks playing here are kids, I'm guessing they would not.

This entire post is speculative.

[Bless]

AL's economy is going down in the drain, see how much gold is already in game? The prices of a single elite set is over 500k, why! Because people think they can! This gets people to buy the item (usually plat brought gold) and others to list the item for same price, the whole cycle is repeated until cs is totally inflated.

My suggestion: Change the plat to gold rates similar to PL (which is ridiculous but atleast its economy didnt dent fast!).

Constructive critism and feedback is appriciated! :D

Ps. Titlefaillikeabaws!

I'd tell you to just farm your own gear but then you'd complain you didn't have enough free time to farm. so in an attempt to solve all this complaining maybe STS should just let you pick whatever gear you want. After all, that's the only real solution.

Just because you can't afford to buy gear from other players doesn't mean there's a problem. i aint poor but i aint rich either. This isnt about me, im sayin that plat to gold rate should be like pl. Wake up, gear was an example.

[DontNerfMeBro]

i aint poor but i aint rich either. This isnt about me, im sayin that plat to gold rate should be like pl. Wake up, gear was an example.

To serve what purpose? Making things affordable to you, that's what.

[Rare]

i aint poor but i aint rich either. This isnt about me, im sayin that plat to gold rate should be like pl. Wake up, gear was an example.

If they did that, nobody would buy it. Like nobody buys it in PL. What's your alternative for STS to encourage plat spending?

[Tree Dude]

I agree drop rates on everything but legendarys are broken. Commons, rare, and epics all drop at what appears to be the same rate. There are only a few epic pendants and rings that are actually worth anything in the CS. This should not be the case.

Everything else IMO is fine. Top end gear should have a high price, otherwise everyone would have it.

[Rot]

Trollbane is practically useless.... They buffed everything BUT IT effectively making the value plummet... Just buy a vorpal or the forerunner bundle sword.

I farm them to sell them. :)
Where to farm Vorpal swords then? :O

[Energizeric]

This entire post is speculative.

Yes, but I'd bet very close to the truth. I can tell you for certain that my assumptions about PL plat spending are the truth. I know tons of big plat spenders in PL, and all of them spend most of it on elixirs and entry fees to plat dungeons. None of them spend most of their plat on vanities. In fact, even if you bought all the "items" in the PL plat store, you couldn't spend more than maybe 3k plat. The big plat spenders who keep these games profitable spend that much on a monthly basis.

Let's consider the pay-per-month model... How much do they charge per month? $20-30? That is per player, per month. Now with this "free" model, you still have to raise the same amount of cash ($20-30 per month, per player). So how do you do that when so many players don't pay anything? You need some players who spend $100+ per month. And I can tell you that nobody is going to spend $100+ per month (2k+ plat per month) on buying vanity items, elixirs that cost 2 plat each, or new character/inventory slots which all cost minimal plat. Now on the other hand, shelling out 500 plat for 500k gold is where the money is.

They need players to be spending hundreds of plat at a time, not 2 plat at a time. And nobody is going to spend hundreds of plat at a time unless it offers them significant improvements/advantages in gameplay. You can sell them elixirs that offer big advantages (like shamus elixir in PL which gives 100% luck boost). You could charge an entry fee to enter the elite dungeons where the good items drop. Or you could just sell gold for plat. I don't like this solution any more than the rest of you, but it is a necessary evil. Personally I'd rather just pay $20/month.

[akfury]

Monthly fee sounds good to me (: more on the lines of 15$ though... Most pc mmos don't even charge 20$

[Crystalite]

Yes, but I'd bet very close to the truth. I can tell you for certain that my assumptions about PL plat spending are the truth. I know tons of big plat spenders in PL, and all of them spend most of it on elixirs and entry fees to plat dungeons. None of them spend most of their plat on vanities. In fact, even if you bought all the "items" in the PL plat store, you couldn't spend more than maybe 3k plat. The big plat spenders who keep these games profitable spend that much on a monthly basis.

Let's consider the pay-per-month model... How much do they charge per month? $20-30? That is per player, per month. Now with this "free" model, you still have to raise the same amount of cash ($20-30 per month, per player). So how do you do that when so many players don't pay anything? You need some players who spend $100+ per month. And I can tell you that nobody is going to spend $100+ per month (2k+ plat per month) on buying vanity items, elixirs that cost 2 plat each, or new character/inventory slots which all cost minimal plat. Now on the other hand, shelling out 500 plat for 500k gold is where the money is.

They need players to be spending hundreds of plat at a time, not 2 plat at a time. And nobody is going to spend hundreds of plat at a time unless it offers them significant improvements/advantages in gameplay. You can sell them elixirs that offer big advantages (like shamus elixir in PL which gives 100% luck boost). You could charge an entry fee to enter the elite dungeons where the good items drop. Or you could just sell gold for plat. I don't like this solution any more than the rest of you, but it is a necessary evil. Personally I'd rather just pay $20/month.

I agree with this view. Developing games do not come cheap, and especially not on the mobile platform, where you get lots of competition from new apps every week. There have been articles written on this: about how the freemium+iap model appears the most plausible way out for such app developers, as opposed to the more traditional and (archaic) pay-per-month from the WoW era.

In any MMO, we get players who are interested in the game for various specific reasons. Among these one common reasons stands out: and that is the desire to 'be powerful', especially when compared to others. There is actually nothing wrong with this, pure simple psychology at work here. We all need time to let off steam, recharge or simply make ourselves feel better. As one browses these forums, one gets to witness many animated personalities, for example, players who feel the need to be recognized as the strongest or best player of their class, etc. In AL we get leaderboards to further encourage this type of mentality, as well as encourage player spending on items, respec, elixirs, etc.

As such, the original poster probably started this thread because he/she wanted to acquire certain top-end gear but felt the plat for gold feature was making it difficult for him/her to do so. With all due respect, and since in cases like this very few are willing to stand out and proclaim themselves as willing plat spenders who do make use of such a feature, I would like to ask those who feel opposed to this plat for gold concept to consider what they are really asking: assuming they are small or even non-plat spenders, why complain about other players who are spending money so that you can continue to enjoy this game for free?

At the same time, what you want and what they want are the same: both parties want to acquire top endgame gear. By complaining about this feature, is it not selfish in a way to deprive others of a chance to achieve their ingame objectives, which happen, ultimately, to be the same as yours. You may have no money, but more time to farm. They may have less time to play, but willing to spend. Sounds like a fair trade-off for both parties, and the plus side is we all get to enjoy this game, whether we pay or not. :)

I am sure STS and many freemium+iap models out there on the app market would be interested in any possible alternative solutions as well. Ultimately, as mentioned before me, selling plat for gold, or any other iap that actually grants the player a realistic benefit is regrettable, but a necessary evil. :( Moreover, if one reads the STS interview in e other thread, where they expressed the need to avoid a pay-to-win situation while still maintaining a free-to-pay model, would you not feel like AL has so far been quite fair where acquisition of top end gear is concerned?

Someone mentioned plat for gold felt too similar to buying plat items from store, but the difference is distinct: in the former, access to top gear is free for all, but not so for the latter. If you feel someone is spending too much for a piece of gear, you can always farm yours on your own. Likewise, should you ever get an extra piece of gear, would you be willing to sell it for way less than the market price? I think we have to be honest with ourselves: selfishness is regrettable, but one has got to be practical. :)