RogueChoi
Active Member
I want to discuss and hopefully bring some change to the inconsistent or questionable pricing of credit items in the Marketplace. I am mostly a free to play player, so I know my opinion is not very high with how little I'm able to donate, but I do believe everyone, including the ArcheRage admins, could benefit from price or inventory adjustments. I've played ArcheRage since Sept '18, and have played Archeage since summer 2014, so I'm pretty passionate about the game and have a pretty good basis of how credits and the marketplace plays its part in the game and community. Please keep in mind, cosmetic content is a huge portion of MMORPG endgame, especially for a game like Archeage.
I want to preface this with the understanding that the admins do not control the gold cost/supply of credits or interfere with player economy. However, given the age of the game, the size of our population, and the amount of swipers we actually have, I hope that they could re-evaluate their previous pricing schemes and how they handle pricing in the future.
I know the justification is 'well people can and do pay the prices' but I would like to offer this aspect that they may not consider and may be beneficial to do so. I've been meaning to make this thread for a while, but after seeing many people in my circle of friends get frustrated over the cash shop and it echoing my own frustration with yet again pricing issues with the Valentines stuff, I believe we're at a breaking point. Today our update included the Topiary Flowerbed and Topiary Flowerpot, 450 and 550 credits respectively. Roughly $2.25/2.75, or in gold terms, 765g/935g. Now take into account that these are little decorations that most people would want multiple of, because they're small, and typically, you put a lot of flower pots and beds on a house. Ideally, myself and a couple others I spoke with, this is something you'd want at least a couple to a few of each to put a cute setup on your porch or yard. However, at that credit or gold price, its hard to justify a couple thousand credits for a few rather small simple items, but ones that were apart of free events/holidays on the live servers. Months ago, when the credit price were lower, I bought 2 Topiary pots, and wasn't happy that I could only justify 2 for 1000 credits. Now the pots and the beds are back, and I can't even justify getting any more. In something like this, its all or nothing, because certain things just don't look good in singular or small quantities on their own. Now say they were 1/4 of that price. Now that $5 or 1700g gets me 8 pieces of decor to fill up a porch or garden. Now instead of $0, admins get $5. That's small, sure, but that only accounts for one item for one person. Imagine all the people who do not bother swiping because they don't feel their small donations can get them enough. I know I'm not alone, and I'd rather not namedrop unless they come to vote or comment in this thread themselves, but many players like myself who play for carebear/cosmetic/house/costume content are starting to feel left behind and sometimes struggle to keep up with all the cash shop content they want.
I want to do a quick run-through of my personal opinions on pricing in rotating and permanent inventory, and I would like to hear others opinions to maybe get some statement on the matter. I think this would be healthy on all sides of the community and beneficial for the admins to optimize their donation income and keep community morale high by making it feel like our money is not only appreciated, but holds value at all donation amounts.
*Weekly RNG Boxes - 100 Credits: I don't really find issue in the RNG boxes themselves, nor the pricing, gambling is gambling. So I don't believe this to be the right thread to discuss this.
*Weekly Costume Rotations - 1200 Credits: I would say I'd like these to be an even 1000 credits, but 1200 is rather fair. My issue here is the questionable timing and choice of which costumes appear. Holiday costumes either show up the week of, or we get swimsuits in the winter. Right now it's Valentines, so we should be seeing dresses, suits, pink yatas, the Eternal Wish Raiment, wedding garb, etc... Instead we have Bloodmaw, Dragon Cultist, and the Golden Dawn the only one that makes thematic sense.
*Weekly Rotation of Yata/Greenman Masks - 150 Credits: These are very repetitive and aren't exciting. I would suggest these actually just be added to permanent Custom/Cosmetic tab to always be available. They really don't warrant a spot and all the fanfare of being in the rotation.
*Weekly Rotation of Gilt/Glass Statues and Trophies- 200-600 credits: The statues themselves seem a bit steep for things that are somewhat obtainable ingame in different variants, and while I do like them and have bought a couple, I think their credit price might be a bit steep for the tiny gilt/glass ones. I think the gilt/glass statues could be lowered to a more palatable price point such as 150 credits and added to the permanent House tab. The trophies, such as the golden cup, soccer trophy, artist trophy, etc could pop up in rotation, but since they're a decoration and not a bragging point or accomplishment on ArcheRage, I think they should get a lower price point and put in the Housing tab as well.
*Weekly Rotation of Event or Seasonal Related Decor : While it's nice to see a Yata Lantern, Cherry Blossom Tree, or some other ingame event decoration pop up in the cash shop when its been a while since the event ran, the problem is the questionable prices for either such a small item obtainable by ingame means but rather price gouged for being out of season. 250 credits for a tiny as hell little pink tree that you can get 20 of in the span of the event seems a bit excessive, and why not offer both sizes at once to give someone the option. Same with things like the yata lanterns, the prices were insane, and it would randomly be a small orange, then a large green the next week. It all feels too random and irregular and overpriced, and that deters spending on any event item. Also please stop putting craftable shit like the Airain Rock furniture for 200 credits lmao
*Weekly Rotation of Posters/Pictures from art/screenshot contests - 350 credits: Steep, could be lowered and put in permanent housing category or even put in mirage like all the other displayed frames and still sold for a 100 credit bundle like those.
*Custom Implemented Stuff like Lantern/Fish Lantern Arches - 400 credits: I don't have much of a problem with these for two reasons: 1. We asked for them. 2. They're huge and unique, so 300-400 credits is justifiable. I just wish they lasted a bit longer in the shop to snatch up since its a unique first ever of its kind thing. And seriously, thank you for this.
Now onto the static inventory, tab by tab.
*General Tab - Charm pricing is bizarre, not sure if anyone would want to purchase these even in a pinch. Sup Yellow for 500 credits is maybe pushing it a bit. Super weapon tempers could be lowered a bit now that they are the 2nd lowest of 4 tiers now and have the highest RNG. Scrolls and other convenience items are priced to a point that you wouldn't even want to use them out of desperation. This whole tab needs an overhaul. Potions, consumables, buffs, etc need to be worthy of actually being bought. I'd like to see some buff packages of sets of xp buffs, loot buffs, farm related buffs, etc. Snowflakes could be lowered, due to the high amounts we need and unfortunately they're 60 (down to 50 would be ideal) credits which is an inefficient amount that people don't want to sell.Same with 30 credit Building Titles, making them 20 credits would make them efficient since they are usually bought in large multiples.
*Travel - Overpriced gliders and glider skins that are bland and often no better than the free one we get at level 35 or have plenty of other options in general to craft for less than 1-2k credits that look and perform decently. These would be nice to get new players in the game or as optional skins if they were a really low credit price. Same with the mounts and vanity pets. Low and underperforming functions, with terrible pricing. Once upon a time, Brown Reindeer was our best option on ArcheRage to get a cheap fast mount for 600 credits, but now the market is so diluted. Same as before, I'd like to see this all overhauled and make sense for slow mounts just for collection purposes at reasonable prices that even newbs can grab to get going. Travel consumables like the vehicle upgrades could possibly get a look at.
*Housing - Not much here. Frames cost a lot. The chests are cheaper to craft than the credit costs these days. The pricing scheme between a 400 and 600 credit chest is kinda silly. I'd like to see more stuff widely available, frames and crest block items to be cheaper, etc. Make this a valid option for premium, always available, housing stuff to fill in with our Mirage stuff but competitively priced in credits please!
*Costumes - Needs a revamp all together in pricing and inventory. Add some basic costumes and image items, optimize the pricing, etc.
And lastly the award tab...... Loyalty and merit shops are long overdue for a total overhaul regarding pricing schemes and what's available. Sometimes costumes pop up for 400-600 loyalty that pop up for 1200 credits the week after someone buys them. That's overpriced and a shitty tactic given the disparity in credit to gold to loyalty value.
TLDR: I rambled but I do it because I care about monetized and cosmetic content and the health of the community/economy. Also because I'm a Barbie Dress-Up & Home Sim player.
I want to preface this with the understanding that the admins do not control the gold cost/supply of credits or interfere with player economy. However, given the age of the game, the size of our population, and the amount of swipers we actually have, I hope that they could re-evaluate their previous pricing schemes and how they handle pricing in the future.
I know the justification is 'well people can and do pay the prices' but I would like to offer this aspect that they may not consider and may be beneficial to do so. I've been meaning to make this thread for a while, but after seeing many people in my circle of friends get frustrated over the cash shop and it echoing my own frustration with yet again pricing issues with the Valentines stuff, I believe we're at a breaking point. Today our update included the Topiary Flowerbed and Topiary Flowerpot, 450 and 550 credits respectively. Roughly $2.25/2.75, or in gold terms, 765g/935g. Now take into account that these are little decorations that most people would want multiple of, because they're small, and typically, you put a lot of flower pots and beds on a house. Ideally, myself and a couple others I spoke with, this is something you'd want at least a couple to a few of each to put a cute setup on your porch or yard. However, at that credit or gold price, its hard to justify a couple thousand credits for a few rather small simple items, but ones that were apart of free events/holidays on the live servers. Months ago, when the credit price were lower, I bought 2 Topiary pots, and wasn't happy that I could only justify 2 for 1000 credits. Now the pots and the beds are back, and I can't even justify getting any more. In something like this, its all or nothing, because certain things just don't look good in singular or small quantities on their own. Now say they were 1/4 of that price. Now that $5 or 1700g gets me 8 pieces of decor to fill up a porch or garden. Now instead of $0, admins get $5. That's small, sure, but that only accounts for one item for one person. Imagine all the people who do not bother swiping because they don't feel their small donations can get them enough. I know I'm not alone, and I'd rather not namedrop unless they come to vote or comment in this thread themselves, but many players like myself who play for carebear/cosmetic/house/costume content are starting to feel left behind and sometimes struggle to keep up with all the cash shop content they want.
I want to do a quick run-through of my personal opinions on pricing in rotating and permanent inventory, and I would like to hear others opinions to maybe get some statement on the matter. I think this would be healthy on all sides of the community and beneficial for the admins to optimize their donation income and keep community morale high by making it feel like our money is not only appreciated, but holds value at all donation amounts.
*Weekly RNG Boxes - 100 Credits: I don't really find issue in the RNG boxes themselves, nor the pricing, gambling is gambling. So I don't believe this to be the right thread to discuss this.
*Weekly Costume Rotations - 1200 Credits: I would say I'd like these to be an even 1000 credits, but 1200 is rather fair. My issue here is the questionable timing and choice of which costumes appear. Holiday costumes either show up the week of, or we get swimsuits in the winter. Right now it's Valentines, so we should be seeing dresses, suits, pink yatas, the Eternal Wish Raiment, wedding garb, etc... Instead we have Bloodmaw, Dragon Cultist, and the Golden Dawn the only one that makes thematic sense.
*Weekly Rotation of Yata/Greenman Masks - 150 Credits: These are very repetitive and aren't exciting. I would suggest these actually just be added to permanent Custom/Cosmetic tab to always be available. They really don't warrant a spot and all the fanfare of being in the rotation.
*Weekly Rotation of Gilt/Glass Statues and Trophies- 200-600 credits: The statues themselves seem a bit steep for things that are somewhat obtainable ingame in different variants, and while I do like them and have bought a couple, I think their credit price might be a bit steep for the tiny gilt/glass ones. I think the gilt/glass statues could be lowered to a more palatable price point such as 150 credits and added to the permanent House tab. The trophies, such as the golden cup, soccer trophy, artist trophy, etc could pop up in rotation, but since they're a decoration and not a bragging point or accomplishment on ArcheRage, I think they should get a lower price point and put in the Housing tab as well.
*Weekly Rotation of Event or Seasonal Related Decor : While it's nice to see a Yata Lantern, Cherry Blossom Tree, or some other ingame event decoration pop up in the cash shop when its been a while since the event ran, the problem is the questionable prices for either such a small item obtainable by ingame means but rather price gouged for being out of season. 250 credits for a tiny as hell little pink tree that you can get 20 of in the span of the event seems a bit excessive, and why not offer both sizes at once to give someone the option. Same with things like the yata lanterns, the prices were insane, and it would randomly be a small orange, then a large green the next week. It all feels too random and irregular and overpriced, and that deters spending on any event item. Also please stop putting craftable shit like the Airain Rock furniture for 200 credits lmao
*Weekly Rotation of Posters/Pictures from art/screenshot contests - 350 credits: Steep, could be lowered and put in permanent housing category or even put in mirage like all the other displayed frames and still sold for a 100 credit bundle like those.
*Custom Implemented Stuff like Lantern/Fish Lantern Arches - 400 credits: I don't have much of a problem with these for two reasons: 1. We asked for them. 2. They're huge and unique, so 300-400 credits is justifiable. I just wish they lasted a bit longer in the shop to snatch up since its a unique first ever of its kind thing. And seriously, thank you for this.
Now onto the static inventory, tab by tab.
*General Tab - Charm pricing is bizarre, not sure if anyone would want to purchase these even in a pinch. Sup Yellow for 500 credits is maybe pushing it a bit. Super weapon tempers could be lowered a bit now that they are the 2nd lowest of 4 tiers now and have the highest RNG. Scrolls and other convenience items are priced to a point that you wouldn't even want to use them out of desperation. This whole tab needs an overhaul. Potions, consumables, buffs, etc need to be worthy of actually being bought. I'd like to see some buff packages of sets of xp buffs, loot buffs, farm related buffs, etc. Snowflakes could be lowered, due to the high amounts we need and unfortunately they're 60 (down to 50 would be ideal) credits which is an inefficient amount that people don't want to sell.Same with 30 credit Building Titles, making them 20 credits would make them efficient since they are usually bought in large multiples.
*Travel - Overpriced gliders and glider skins that are bland and often no better than the free one we get at level 35 or have plenty of other options in general to craft for less than 1-2k credits that look and perform decently. These would be nice to get new players in the game or as optional skins if they were a really low credit price. Same with the mounts and vanity pets. Low and underperforming functions, with terrible pricing. Once upon a time, Brown Reindeer was our best option on ArcheRage to get a cheap fast mount for 600 credits, but now the market is so diluted. Same as before, I'd like to see this all overhauled and make sense for slow mounts just for collection purposes at reasonable prices that even newbs can grab to get going. Travel consumables like the vehicle upgrades could possibly get a look at.
*Housing - Not much here. Frames cost a lot. The chests are cheaper to craft than the credit costs these days. The pricing scheme between a 400 and 600 credit chest is kinda silly. I'd like to see more stuff widely available, frames and crest block items to be cheaper, etc. Make this a valid option for premium, always available, housing stuff to fill in with our Mirage stuff but competitively priced in credits please!
*Costumes - Needs a revamp all together in pricing and inventory. Add some basic costumes and image items, optimize the pricing, etc.
And lastly the award tab...... Loyalty and merit shops are long overdue for a total overhaul regarding pricing schemes and what's available. Sometimes costumes pop up for 400-600 loyalty that pop up for 1200 credits the week after someone buys them. That's overpriced and a shitty tactic given the disparity in credit to gold to loyalty value.
TLDR: I rambled but I do it because I care about monetized and cosmetic content and the health of the community/economy. Also because I'm a Barbie Dress-Up & Home Sim player.
