Blue_Centurion

Sniff, I love you guys. Seriously though, I love the guy that is like "It's impossible to corner the market on something, wild conspiracy theories." I thought the wall of lol was really appropriate after that.

To the snarky post about my build. I already know it's flaws, and thanks. I play my toons my way, build them for my reasons, and if you are nice I will say why. You ain't nice. GL, and cyas in the cities.

P.S., today I will be composing my letter to the management and development staff of the game. Any input (even negative) is appreciated.

It has become abundantly clear why some items cost 2 Billion per enhancer. It is a trick outlawed on Wall Street. It is called cornering the market. Take corn for instance. Buy up all the corn, or corn futures, that will arrive on Wall Street for the year. Then set your own price as to the selling price corn we be for that year. This is especially easy to do in the game with items that are limited drops. (like PvP I/Os, purps, etc.)

When 1-5% of your player base (completely guessing here) has manipulated the market prices so that only that 1-5% can afford certain rare items in the game you are effectively allowing that portion of the game content to be removed from use for the other 95% of your customers. Not only are your customers unable to afford/use these items, the entire market becomes driven by these higher prices. This is especially true in a small closed market. That means that the vast majority of your clients are using the in-game system and stores for the bulk of their purchases. The only players who design/build from equipment available on the black market have to 1) farm long periods to hopefully get a lucky drop to cover some black market purchases 2) manipulate a corner of the market themselves to ensure they have this type of funds 3) try to convince a friend to farm for them and give them billions in funds.

If you have designed your game so that market manipulation is supposed to be part of it, then I suppose I am wasting my time writing this. However, I cannot see the business sense that this makes. There is a reason that this is outlawed on Wall Street. Beyond the ethical reasons that could be argued that allowing market manipulation kills the fun for a great percentage of your customers, at least when it comes to upgrading their characters.

i19 should bring prime examples of this, due to a new class of rare and desired salvage for level 50 characters. I believe this market will immediately fall subject not to suplly and demand, but to extreme market manipulation and prices for many items will immediately go to the billions.

Please help to stop the abuse that is ruining one area of your game. Thank you.

So, it has become abundantly clear why some items cost 2 Billion per enhancer. It is a trick outlawed on Wall Street. It is called cornering the market. Take corn for instance. Buy up all the corn, or corn futures, that will arrive on Wall Street for the year. Then set your own price as to the selling price corn we be for that year. THis is especially easy to do in the game with items that are limited drops. (like PvP I/Os, purps, etc.)

So, I now know exactly how to approach the Devs to complain about who exactly is ruining play for their consumers, and exactly how they are doing it. Wish me luck.

If you read my posts, and you did not, you would see that I have a set of 6 Purps valued at 1.5 bill, and fully purpling a toon at 7.5 bill. Would you like me to reference the OP and break out the math for you?

I've got way global rech on persistence. seriously. neat post with all the powers layed out though. But seriously, I made no lies, tried not to troll, and tried not to make straw man arguments. I take real pride in my debates. Okay, thanks to everyone for the input. I'm letting it die. (which means it will prob still be around in January) again, thanks for the input, including the insults (but seriously, step those up, it felt like the mickey mouse club was trying to put me down, embarassing), the market tips (vague but tantalizing) and the real comments about the Devs possible motives and how it all evolved.

What i hear you saying is, to make money in this game, stop playing the game, and go to the market.

what i am saying is this. Shouldnt people that play the game get the most rewards for time in game? Seriously. I am not kidding, I actually believe this. I am not trolling.

it is my belief that running a toon in the game should earn you better stuff than someone standing around the market. Especially if you do it consistently for years. I understand that is not how it works. I am not trolling. I am saying I cannot believe game designers made it so that the market is better than the game. It seems like the dumbest marketing ploy in the world.

Hey! Come play our game. you can stand around a market and really make a ton of imaginary cash. It will be so much cooler than going on missions and running a character. We know your time is limited, so just stand right there and flip recipes. Don't let a second go to waste off adventuring.

Okay, you guys have stopped swearing and are now tempting me into going off topic asking about things like 600 mil a day marketing. Not gonna do it. ask that is, I believe you make that much, and i'm curious, but lets stay true to the post)


there have been some interesting posts made about long term rewards, rarity, etc. Now we are getting to it. I feel, that after nearly 42 months in city, if I brought all my cash to one toon (which I did) I should be able to get just about anything the game has crammed onto it. I definitely understand that feeling is not echoed by this crowd.

But seriously, from a marketing perspective I am wondering how the Devs can justify this to themselves. Come play this game, and after 42 months, you still cannot even completely pimp out one character. Even if you strip everything else in the game. That is what they are offering. It does not make sense to me. I have yet to hear one solid line of reasoning, taken from point A to point Z, that justifies this as a development strategy.

Actually, I am not trolling. And seriously, i set out to rebuild my main this weekend, a purp'd out Dark/Invul Brute. I was gonna replace the heal sets I have in two powers (55 rech each bonus0, with PvP heal sets (7.5% bonus) Many of the enhancers 9like half) are going for 2 bill each.

Still no logical reason why the current system works for the average gamer. The fact that you do not need anything but SOs is not really a logical answer. If the toys are in the game, the Devs should make the toys available to average gamers, at least over the period of years. seriously, I am not asking (Though a few people have stated that I have asked) for a 50 automatically, with all the PvP and Purp that are available, immediately. I am simply saying that after a few years it should be reasonable to expect to have at least one toon (with all wealth except SOs concentrated to one build) reasonably pimped out with the best stuff. Seriously, I would be amazed I have to make this point. of course I am in a room of farmers and marketeers. But seriously, no one can even admit that this is reasonable from a game design standpoint? Nice.

Still waiting for that thoughtful, or even off the cuff, reason why the current system is attractive to the casual gamer and therefore the City of franchise.

I heard you Chaos. thank you for your honesty. I think the Devs should hear you too. And the marketing people. I think your post should be e-mailed to them.

I do realize i am in the Lion's den as far as marketeering goes. As far as not being willing to work for what I get, that is very easy for people like Bill Z to post. I can be very dedicated to a task/goal. Bil Z Bubba does not know me, and I promise you, would never say anything like that to my face. The joys of on-line flaming are many. Enjoy.

But let's leave behind whether I am a fat lazy ignoramus. Let's leave behind whether marketeering is truly the only way to get ahead fairly in the currently written game.

My point is simple. This is a on-line super powered game. Most people who partake in it want to, mostly, run super-powered characters through super-powered content.

Notice I have never said make it so one person can fully I/O a toon with purps and PvP I/o in 3 months. Not even close. My most extreme statement along these lines were that in a reasonable amount of gaming over 3 months any person, running non farming 50s, could get the equivalent of 6 high end recipes. To put it plainly, one Purp or PvP recipe every 40 hours of standard high end gaming. To those who cry this is lazy, I hear you. To those who say "But my marketeering empire will crumble', trust me, I hear you.

My reason for saying this is a good idea for the game, is that I honestly believe it would make it more fun, for the average player. While you insult me, or my ideas, I simply ask you. Why do you think the way it is currently running makes the game attractive to new and casual players?

I did not realize this game was called "City of Marketeers'. My bad, gonna need to find a heroes game somewhere.

Wow. You guys are really addicted to the fact that market prices need to be 2 billion, and that playing the market is how to make money.

Let me clue you in to a little fact. Most people who get this game want to create and run characters. Most of the people who play this game want to earn rewards with their characters.

Think about it. Think about marketing a game. It is a game, remember. Stay with me now. A game is supposed to be fun. You remember fun, right?

couple of easy peasy fixes to the market.

A)Cap all market prices at 250 million. the only people who will cry about this are 1) Farmers 2) China Farmers 3) Farming China Farmers

B) Set it so that in an average 3 month playing at 50 content ( 20 hours per week let's call it, so 240 hours at 50 ) there is a 90% likelihood of getting 6 high end enhancers, purple or Pvp.

This will not crush the game system, and I can tell you why. As has been previously stated, It is a law of extremely diminishing returns. the more you throw of these high end things on one toon, the less you get back. even if 2/3 of 50s were purp'd and Pvp'd out, it would make little diff to content.

this will make your average gamer extremely happy. How nice for some 12 year old to get there first 50, a week later get a purp, sell it for 200 mil, and finance SOs for there next 25 alts for a year. Or be able to build a really nice toon in 6 months, by their own effort, without spending 60 hours a week running the same boring farm. wow, almost sounds fun. wait, i made it fun, danged, sorry Devs, I know you hate that.

Okay, kill fun. Make it even harder to get these things, cut the drop rate by half, and triple the merit costs for them, and please raise the market cap to 5 billion per sale. and the cap for cash on hand to 20 billion. You will make 14 people out there soooo happy. The rest of us can go pound sand.