Cross-sever influence transfer?
By
13th_Stranger,
Posted on: 2007-03-08 09:32 in The Market and Inventions
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Ok, so I've seen lots of posts about people that discuss using the new consignment shop to transfer large amounts of influence between high and low level characters, but the impression I got from them was that they were talking about characters that were on the same server.
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We were, until we heard that it was cross-server. Now it's inf for your alts anywhere in the CoX-verse! Yaaaaay!
That is unless someone hijacks your trade. 
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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Ok, so I've seen lots of posts about people that discuss using the new consignment shop to transfer large amounts of influence between high and low level characters, but the impression I got from them was that they were talking about characters that were on the same server.
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We were, until we heard that it was cross-server. Now it's inf for your alts anywhere in the CoX-verse! Yaaaaay!
That is unless someone hijacks your trade.
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You know, if they're going to put in a system where it's possible to do this -- both transfer inf across servers, and hijack such transfers -- and they know both things are possible, why not just make a plain old cross-server inf transfer possible as well? Charge the same rate (5%) as for a sale, and remove the possibility of griefing.
If they know it can be done, they can assume it will be done -- so why not make it jerk-proof? I'd even pay a higher rate, as much as 7%, to be able to do the transfers without worrying where the inf might be going.
~Wyrm
My postings to this forum are not to be used as data in any research study without my express written consent.
They could still prevent this entirely by preventing any purchase between two toons on the same account.
But I agree with you, if they're going to let it happen via WW, they might as well put in an official way to do it.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
I don't see how you can be griefed if someone intercepts the auction.
I mean, the only way to transfer influence to a lowbie on another server is for the lowbie to list something simple, like a lvl 10 TO at 2 mil infl.
Then you get on your rich guy on another server a buy it, thus giving the lowbie the 2 mil -%7.
If I step in and buy that 2 mil TO before your alt does, did I not in essence just give your lowbie 2 mil for nothing?
You can't put up an auction for infl.
What I mean by that is, you can't say, I am selling 2 mil infl for 30 infl, thats just stupid.
The only griefing that could happen is you listing something expensive like an HO to get to an alt on another server for say 2 mil infl and someone else buys it, but then that is your fault for having the list price so low.
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I don't see how you can be griefed if someone intercepts the auction.
I mean, the only way to transfer influence to a lowbie on another server is for the lowbie to list something simple, like a lvl 10 TO at 2 mil infl.
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The lowbie would have to have 200,000 inf to put this up, but I'll grant you that.
I see a lvl 10 TO for sale, I quickly buy one and post it for 10 inf. You try to buy it and I get your money, if, as we assume, the sale always goes to the lowest price. Remember that you definitely won't see the asking price, and you may not even see the sales listed individually; you'll just know that one or more lvl 10 TOs are for sale and the last 10 prices they went for.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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I don't see how you can be griefed if someone intercepts the auction.
I mean, the only way to transfer influence to a lowbie on another server is for the lowbie to list something simple, like a lvl 10 TO at 2 mil infl.
Then you get on your rich guy on another server a buy it, thus giving the lowbie the 2 mil -%7.
If I step in and buy that 2 mil TO before your alt does, did I not in essence just give your lowbie 2 mil for nothing?
You can't put up an auction for infl.
What I mean by that is, you can't say, I am selling 2 mil infl for 30 infl, thats just stupid.
The only griefing that could happen is you listing something expensive like an HO to get to an alt on another server for say 2 mil infl and someone else buys it, but then that is your fault for having the list price so low.
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Thank you.
Someone in another thread explained quite well how hijacks could happen. It worked in part under the assumption that you cannot see who is actually selling what you want to buy. Player A lists a lvl 1 TO with a lowbie toon, then proceeds to swap toons to their lvl 50. While they are swapping, player B notices the lvl 1 TO for sale, and places a similar lvl 1 TO up for sale. Depending on how the system decides which lvl 1 TO is sold to the 50, the transfer can effectively be intercepted. Or player B buys the TO themselves and immediately relists it, again intercepting the transfer.
There's quite an element of luck on the part of the person trying to do the intercepting, but the person describing it was saying that, when he visited Wentworths, if he happened to have a lvl 3 Flight TO on him, then he would check if anyone else was currently listing a lvl 3 flight TO for sale. If someone was listing such a worthless TO, the chances are good that it is a transfer in progress, and he would immediately list his own lvl 3 Flight TO at a 1 Inf price to try to intercept. If he misses, he's only out that one Inf. But if he hits, he hits big.
This is how it's being discussed to potentially intercept transfers.
A little more secure way to do such transfers is via Buy requests. Because (we beleive) you cannot see anyone else's buy requests. Figure out what odd-ball TO/DO your lowbie posesses, and have the high level place a Buy request for that TO at a large price. Then swap over to the lowbie and list the TO, which should sell at once to the invisible buy-order from the high level toon. Still not 100% without risk, but a lot better than the sell-first strategy.
MA Arc - Gnomish Madness - #30204 - A short, silly little story.
Ms. Tempest - Lvl 50 Storm/Elec Def (577 badges)
Maiden Dark - Lvl 50 Dark/Dark Corr
Moonlight Maiden - Lvl 50 Warshade
Sister Leortha - Lvl 50 Emp/Rad Def
Puffball - Lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank
Triumph Server
I am not saying that I am or am not on test atm, but I would 'believe' you can see the person listing the item and how much for in a screen that may or may not be labeled 'Advanced'.
You could 'possibly' also see multiple listings of the same item but only choose the item from the name of your alt.
Ah, well then transfer away my good Villain! 
The lives of my alts just got a whole lot easier.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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I am not saying that I am or am not on test atm, but I would 'believe' you can see the person listing the item and how much for in a screen that may or may not be labeled 'Advanced'.
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Hey wait! This doesn't jibe with what Positron's been saying in the interviews. Are you telling me the Devs lied?
Or when you were quoting everything you really meant it, and you aren't on Test.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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I am not saying that I am or am not on test atm, but I would 'believe' you can see the person listing the item and how much for in a screen that may or may not be labeled 'Advanced'.
You could 'possibly' also see multiple listings of the same item but only choose the item from the name of your alt.
'Hypothetically'
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If all that turns out to be true, then, while intercepts are not impossible, they drop into the realm of being able to be avoided by anyone careful enough to make sure they are buying from the correct toon. Which should become standard practice in such situations.
MA Arc - Gnomish Madness - #30204 - A short, silly little story.
Ms. Tempest - Lvl 50 Storm/Elec Def (577 badges)
Maiden Dark - Lvl 50 Dark/Dark Corr
Moonlight Maiden - Lvl 50 Warshade
Sister Leortha - Lvl 50 Emp/Rad Def
Puffball - Lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank
Triumph Server
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Hey wait! This doesn't jibe with what Positron's been saying in the intreviews. Are you telling me the Devs lied?
Or when you were quoting everything you really meant it, and you aren't on Test.
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Or the devs read the discussions about how to intercept transfers, and changed things up to help protect players from the sharks.
MA Arc - Gnomish Madness - #30204 - A short, silly little story.
Ms. Tempest - Lvl 50 Storm/Elec Def (577 badges)
Maiden Dark - Lvl 50 Dark/Dark Corr
Moonlight Maiden - Lvl 50 Warshade
Sister Leortha - Lvl 50 Emp/Rad Def
Puffball - Lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank
Triumph Server
I 'would' venture the last statement was 'possibly' more correct.
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Hey wait! This doesn't jibe with what Positron's been saying in the intreviews. Are you telling me the Devs lied?
Or when you were quoting everything you really meant it, and you aren't on Test.
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Or the devs read the discussions about how to intercept transfers, and changed things up to help protect players from the sharks.
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Yeah, but it also means that n00bz who don't know what stuff costs will have their sales plucked and relisted, whereas under the "original" system they had a chance of getting a windfall even if they posted a stupid low price.
I guess I should be happy the inf transfers will be relatively easy now.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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I 'would' venture the last statement was 'possibly' more correct.
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LOL
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, but it also means that n00bz who don't know what stuff costs will have their sales plucked and relisted, whereas under the "original" system they had a chance of getting a windfall even if they posted a stupid low price.
I guess I should be happy the inf transfers will be relatively easy now.
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Except you don't really have extra inf to be transferring around until you are in the mid to high 30s. Hopefully the player isn't really a noob by that point.
I look at this as the devs are giving us the tools we need to protect ourselves. Whether we use those tools or not is up to us. If we don't, it's our risk. Very similar to base storage racks. The tools are there to protect SGs from having their rack raided. Not the best of tools, but they are there. If an SG chooses to not protect themselves, and gets cleaned out... their problem.
MA Arc - Gnomish Madness - #30204 - A short, silly little story.
Ms. Tempest - Lvl 50 Storm/Elec Def (577 badges)
Maiden Dark - Lvl 50 Dark/Dark Corr
Moonlight Maiden - Lvl 50 Warshade
Sister Leortha - Lvl 50 Emp/Rad Def
Puffball - Lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank
Triumph Server
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Yeah, but it also means that n00bz who don't know what stuff costs will have their sales plucked and relisted, whereas under the "original" system they had a chance of getting a windfall even if they posted a stupid low price.
I guess I should be happy the inf transfers will be relatively easy now.
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Except you don't really have extra inf to be transferring around until you are in the mid to high 30s. Hopefully the player isn't really a noob by that point.
I look at this as the devs are giving us the tools we need to protect ourselves. Whether we use those tools or not is up to us. If we don't, it's our risk. Very similar to base storage racks. The tools are there to protect SGs from having their rack raided. Not the best of tools, but they are there. If an SG chooses to not protect themselves, and gets cleaned out... their problem.
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Truth
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I don't see how you can be griefed if someone intercepts the auction.
I mean, the only way to transfer influence to a lowbie on another server is for the lowbie to list something simple, like a lvl 10 TO at 2 mil infl.
Then you get on your rich guy on another server a buy it, thus giving the lowbie the 2 mil -%7.
If I step in and buy that 2 mil TO before your alt does, did I not in essence just give your lowbie 2 mil for nothing?
You can't put up an auction for infl.
What I mean by that is, you can't say, I am selling 2 mil infl for 30 infl, thats just stupid.
The only griefing that could happen is you listing something expensive like an HO to get to an alt on another server for say 2 mil infl and someone else buys it, but then that is your fault for having the list price so low.
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Here's a scenario.
You're lobie puts up a TO up for 5M.
Somebody else is also doing the same thing, and puts the same TO up for 4M.
You get on your high level, and you go and buy the TO, you say, I'll pay 5M up to 5M. Well, you get the cheaper one. Or if you're really unlucky the other guy put one up for the same price. And you buy his, instead of your own. Bam, you just lost 5m.
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I don't see how you can be griefed if someone intercepts the auction.
I mean, the only way to transfer influence to a lowbie on another server is for the lowbie to list something simple, like a lvl 10 TO at 2 mil infl.
Then you get on your rich guy on another server a buy it, thus giving the lowbie the 2 mil -%7.
If I step in and buy that 2 mil TO before your alt does, did I not in essence just give your lowbie 2 mil for nothing?
You can't put up an auction for infl.
What I mean by that is, you can't say, I am selling 2 mil infl for 30 infl, thats just stupid.
The only griefing that could happen is you listing something expensive like an HO to get to an alt on another server for say 2 mil infl and someone else buys it, but then that is your fault for having the list price so low.
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Here's a scenario.
You're lobie puts up a TO up for 5M.
Somebody else is also doing the same thing, and puts the same TO up for 4M.
You get on your high level, and you go and buy the TO, you say, I'll pay 5M up to 5M. Well, you get the cheaper one. Or if you're really unlucky the other guy put one up for the same price. And you buy his, instead of your own. Bam, you just lost 5m.
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If what Villain says is true this isn't a possible scenario any more. You get a listing for each sale, and the seller and price are both listed.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
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If what Villain says is true this isn't a possible scenario any more. You get a listing for each sale, and the seller and price are both listed.
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Anonymous and hidden price sales had some definite benefits for the seller, but it looks like the potential for abuse was just too high, as far as the devs were concerned. When we have not even seen the system, and people are already posting solid methods to use the secrecy to rob other players, it's time to change up the game-plan.
MA Arc - Gnomish Madness - #30204 - A short, silly little story.
Ms. Tempest - Lvl 50 Storm/Elec Def (577 badges)
Maiden Dark - Lvl 50 Dark/Dark Corr
Moonlight Maiden - Lvl 50 Warshade
Sister Leortha - Lvl 50 Emp/Rad Def
Puffball - Lvl 50 Inv/SS Tank
Triumph Server
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If what Villain says is true this isn't a possible scenario any more. You get a listing for each sale, and the seller and price are both listed.
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Anonymous and hidden price sales had some definite benefits for the seller, but it looks like the potential for abuse was just too high, as far as the devs were concerned. When we have not even seen the system, and people are already posting solid methods to use the secrecy to rob other players, it's time to change up the game-plan.
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I don't have a problem with that. It just seems that the Dev team should have thought of this before they went live with any details. They need to hire a real MMO 'sploiter, and have them go over all new systems to check for potential abuses. 
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
What makes you think that isn't what is happening right now?
How do you know the closed beta isnt mostly for that reason? eh? eh?
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What makes you think that isn't what is happening right now?
How do you know the closed beta isnt mostly for that reason? eh? eh?
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The "grabbing the n00bz transfer inf" was so obvious it should have been figured out before the closed beta. Of course, a lot of the schemes were based on speculations on the working of the consignment system, so maybe it wouldn't be that easy... but still, if they made the change I think it would have at least been possible, which means they didn't do their homework.
Agua Man lvl 48 Water/Electric Blaster
"To die hating NCSoft for shutting down City of Heroes, that was Freedom."
Touche'
Ok, so I've seen lots of posts about people that discuss using the new consignment shop to transfer large amounts of influence between high and low level characters, but the impression I got from them was that they were talking about characters that were on the same server. Since AFAIK the trade limit is actually going to be raised sometime "soon" then that part will be moot, but in this interview with gamespot Positron says clearly that consignment stuff will be cross-server.
So I would assume we could use this to transfer infuence from one character on one server to a character on a different server (of course you have the same problems/difficulties as were listed in the other threads about using the consignment house for influence transfers, but hey! This would be awesome news for those of us like me who have a pretty severe case of Alt-itis to the point that we can't fit all our characters on one server.