SoE will now be allowing RMT and micro payment for ingame items in EQ and EQ2. What say you? This disgusts me personally.

Its a HUGE thread in EQ2 forums, and on EQ2flames, of people pissed about it. Bet the same is found in EQ1 forums.

Most of the posters are probably hypocrites.

Meaning?

Far more people participate in both sides of RMT than will ever admit it.

So sick of the ilk that ruins games economies, gold/item farmers etc etc.

I've never sold or bought anything in game that involved any real life monies/transactions.

I did at one time consider selling Fandros, aprox 4 years ago, when EW broke up but couldn't bring myself to do it.

the thought of the company supporting Buying potions and armor makes me sick to my stomach - all I envision are power leveling companies buying XP potions so that they can advertise faster leveling and AA grinding for an added expense!

Just another way for Sony to get some money and ruin the balance of the game.


/puke

As I posted in another thread, this is enough to make me not want to play any SoE game. Rather than combat the problem they are joining them. What is the point in playing a game where you don't just suspect or wonder if that person paid their way to their gear and level but now you have every reason to assume it? No thanks. At least WAR posts their banhammer tallies and they give you little messages every time they ban a gold seller!

Warhammer has made it quite a bit of sport to get the gold spammers. Hell they made it damn easy to report them /rg and it fills in the blanks for you.

Poof goes the farmer/spammer.

As I posted in another thread, this is enough to make me not want to play any SoE game. Rather than combat the problem they are joining them. What is the point in playing a game where you don't just suspect or wonder if that person paid their way to their gear and level but now you have every reason to assume it? No thanks. At least WAR posts their banhammer tallies and they give you little messages every time they ban a gold seller!

I used to have that attitude too.

At some point while I was playing WoW, I decided it was nonsensically arbitrary. What's the difference if someone with more money can afford several computers to play several accounts simultaneously and get ahead? Or, if they can afford to work less and play more?

In the end, it's like complaining that it's not fair for someone with a better golf club to hit the ball farther than your K-Mart special does.

Let them dump all the money they want to into their hobby, then point at them and laugh. It doesn't cheapen your accomplishments unless you let it.

Good point San, of course I could never box worth a damn so I've always been a one computer gamer.

I must admit, somewhat sheepishly but not much, that when we were first farming Qvic gear I bought some gold to pay for the armor combo needs and also helped out some others in the guild. Having to put out something like 10k plat for each combine was too much of a bottle neck for many, and it was my little thumbing of the nose at SOE getting it speeded up.

When I finally decided I was done with the game, I was asked if I was going to sell my toon(s) and strangely enough that had never occurred to me; I still don't see that as an option. How do you put a price on something you spent seven years building?

The problem is only slightly gold sales, since its something you can't really combat well and most games who have tried have failed (though there really is no reason to have trade-able coin in Everquest anymore since there is a broker system and all that, maybe just trade-able on shared accounts or so). And with No-Trade loot and so forth, coin is somewhat low in value in most instances of both games.

I worry about Sony adding items not obtainable in game that would have an impact in the game. When people stop buying pretty cloaks and fuzzy bunnies that follow them around, maybe they will start to add items that have in-game value like teleportation abilities previously limited to druids and wizards or tradeskill recipes or weapons and armor - items that would have to be as good, if not better, than easily obtainable items in game.

What if it gets to the point where you *need* to spend money to be competitive, like if Sony started selling epic weapons or some items equal in power. CotH is already no longer a mage /conjurer ability, you can buy it in Legends of Norrath and that has barely been out a year.

Until recently I've been an ardent collector of LoN cards and I can't think of one loot card that CoH's for ya.

I might have missed something in the last release however

And there in lies the rub. There are items in the LoN decks that specificlly give you toons advantages others don't. That is something Smedly PROMISED would not happen. He is a liar and a chode. I called for his resignation in the main thread. Got some humerus responses. God I loathe TCG in an MMO...

Oh yeah, those LoN loot cards are all powerful ;P

I have one that constantly shrinks group members ( for those guildies who like to act as though the raid instruction to shrink doesn't apply to them ).

I have a few that allow me illusions, mind you I already had some from VT years ago).

I have one that grants lev, bah now I have perfected lev AA, hps , almost 30k now what's 400 hps and mana ....ditto.

They're really just flavor items from LoN tbh and almost worthless unless you are soloing.

Well, with a nod to Palarran they are also....CLICKIES!! Yes even I love to have my clickies!

I have a cloak that gives 5% hit increase with your weapons...

Oh yeah, those LoN loot cards are all powerful ;P

I have one that constantly shrinks group members ( for those guildies who like to act as though the raid instruction to shrink doesn't apply to them ).

I have a few that allow me illusions, mind you I already had some from VT years ago).

I have one that grants lev, bah now I have perfected lev AA, hps , almost 30k now what's 400 hps and mana ....ditto.

They're really just flavor items from LoN tbh and almost worthless unless you are soloing.

Well, with a nod to Palarran they are also....CLICKIES!! Yes even I love to have my clickies!


Well, casters having the availability through LoN of a clickie that refills their mana once every 20 hours IS huge. It IS game breaking, and it IS something that hugely differentiates between casters in parses. Add that with 7th year vet aa, and I've seen some very very very large parses (what wouldn't be quite obtainable without the Kiss of Marr).


I've bought some LoN packs and some tournament packs. I've sold plat a couple times when I 'retired' (didn't sell my 3 million plat this time). I've never bought anything (outside of said LoN packs), and I'd never sell my toon.

All that said, I hate this idea. Nothing that's part of station cash right now is game breaking, but the precedence this sets is awful. One thing that always set EQ apart from other games was the sheer amount of work/time it took to become 'powerful.' Now that time has been cut in half for anyone willing to buy some potions from SOE, and SOE has legitimized it.

The CotH card is in EQ2.

Druid Portals: http://www.lonloot.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=66
Reverse CotH: http://www.lonloot.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=329
Permanent Reverse CotH: http://www.lonloot.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_41&products_id=331
Rings with Stats Unavailable in Game: http://www.lonloot.com/images/ring-of-the-oathbreaker.jpg

Ahhh my bad Kelraz, thought we were discussing EQ. I haven't played EQ2 for a long time now.

But the existence of these items, especially one that gives full mana to a caster (wow!), shows how they aren't afraid of changing their "not affecting gameplay" motto.

I love my naggy familiar :D

I have a Naggy but had to quit using it. As a ranger I use up every dern buff slot nowdays ;(

Get the Tiny Ogre familiar from Tosk quests. I like having a fat little buddy following me around.

More on topic. People want to waste cash on in game items, have at it. I get more satisfaction out of completing tasks in game and getting items that way. If people are taking town top raid content with items they are paying cash for with /merchant...then at that point Sony made a mistake. I dont see that the case though.

I have to agree with Sanchek, it becomes fairly apparent who has earned their gear in game and who has bought it. The experience shows.

The problem is only slightly gold sales, since its something you can't really combat well and most games who have tried have failed (though there really is no reason to have trade-able coin in Everquest anymore since there is a broker system and all that, maybe just trade-able on shared accounts or so). And with No-Trade loot and so forth, coin is somewhat low in value in most instances of both games.

I'm curious to see what will happen with the first game that lets you buy a fairly limited (but significant) amount of game currency for real money in a given time frame. This would prevent runaway cash-buying, but would also totally kill what I imagine to be the majority of the farmer's business.

How many people actually buy huge amounts of game currency versus just enough to get them a flashy mount or item turn in? In WoW terms I'm sure limiting it to say, 5000g a month is well beneath any motivated player's in game earning potential but certainly enough to make all the people that want fast mounts buy solely from the game itself and not third parties.

Well to be honest, these games aren't as primitive as Everquest was. Or even worse, back when you wanted to do a trade in The Realm you needed to have a "middle man" hold the money / items and swap them in case the person you were selling to wouldn't give you the coin after you gave the item. They have a broker system now where you can trade item for money, or service for money. There really is no need to be able to trade money, which then will eliminate the means to sell money.

Or you can devalue money, kinda like how Warhammer did. You can have money, all the money in the world really ... but you can't buy item X unless you have reached a certain faction or done certain quests or what have you. Same as grinding the cash, only its not transferable.

And that is just with me thinking about it for 5 minutes. I'm sure better ideas exist out there somewhere.

That assumes that they want to eliminate RMT.

They're running a business. The optimal scenario for them is to make examples of just enough of the supply side that it appeases the purists, allow casuals to buy enough progress that they don't cancel, and limiting the influx just enough that the economy doesn't fall apart.

That's true. They want to eliminate gold farming, because it costs them a ton of money in charge back fees and so forth. I'm sure if they were doing the gold creation for $$ that would benefit them a great deal.

That's true. They want to eliminate gold farming, because it costs them a ton of money in charge back fees and so forth. I'm sure if they were doing the gold creation for $$ that would benefit them a great deal.

Just curious, but how does it cost them money in charge back fees? If you are refering to players being hacked or scammed in efforts to obtain the wealth of or ownership of another character, that will still occur under this newly implemented system.

I was under the impression the foremost reason Sony did this was to make additional profits off of the RMT as opposed to IGE making the profit. :club

Things in EQ that cost PP to the player these days are mostly with SOF expansion and coring/regearing armor with raid or group dropped cores. Can get pretty costly as well as type 3 augs for 12k each that cannot be removed only destroyed.

4-5 years ago PP was easily farmed, not so much anymore. Itemization is a lot differen't these days, not to mention no more 5 day camps for 1 named that drops decent loot (Zek in Kael for instance). Named mobs are all over the place, can buy armor and weapons with in game currancy ..like Chronos (currancy given for tasks completed..easy to get).

Just curious, but how does it cost them money in charge back fees? If you are refering to players being hacked or scammed in efforts to obtain the wealth of or ownership of another character, that will still occur under this newly implemented system.

I was under the impression the foremost reason Sony did this was to make additional profits off of the RMT as opposed to IGE making the profit. :club

Basically the farmers will they use a credit card and charge a three to six month fee on it, play on that account for a few months then contact their credit card company saying the services weren't delivered or they didn't order them, and "charge back" the fees. So then Sony (or Blizzard or whomever) have to pay back the money for the game purchase, for the subscription, plus the fee the credit card company charges (2% of the purchase price or something like that).

It's unlikely that's a long term problem. When there's a pattern like that good luck getting a chargeback. You're more likely to be charged with fraud yourself.