Discussion: Purchasable Character Respecs
By
Acemace,
Posted on: 2008-07-31 10:40 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
So close, yet so far. I know someone else has probably already said it, but I can't read the whole thread right now so I'll just post it for my edification:
This is my personal opinion, but 9.99 is a bit too much for a respec. I probably *Would* pay that though if I could switch primary/secondaries....
After discussion among friends (and being told to "calm down") here are my thoughts with some points refined from discussion on Purchasable Respecs:
1. Overpriced Pt. 1: $10 seems a lot to pay for an in-game item. By comparison, Character Name Changes and Server Transfers are not available in game. For an in-game item, this should be cheaper.
2. Overpriced Pt. 2 Also by comparison, players can ([u]unethically and in violation of the EULA[u]) buy currency at an astounding monetary rate (from dirty, rotten scoundrels) and then buy several respec recipes from Wentworths/Black Market. This makes no sense, don't give them encouragement to do so, lower the price and encourage people to use this service.
3. Convenience: For those out of Trial Respecs and Vet Respecs with no Freespec or Vetspec in sight, no high level character to earn currency, noone in game to give them currency, or no desire to use Wentworths/Black Market this will be a convenience.
4. Convenience Pt. 2 In the Immediate short term this is particularly true as there are likely players who will want a Respec any way they can get it to get Gaussian unique IOs out of their builds before the current build on Test goes live. (The pricing and supply/demand of Respec recipes at Wentworths/Black Market will probably be nastily skewed for awhile)
5. Freespecs Is this the end of them? I will be forthright: I was disheartened that there was no Freespec for all the power tweaks and changes lately, in particular when there were changes to 4 of 9 Energy Melee powers. I felt that merited a Freespec, I'm sure others had their own pet power changes they felt the same. There has been a lot of balancing lately and we've been left to use whatever methods of Respec we have left - and now to pay for them. So, are Freespecs dead?
Edit-Add/PS: The billing server has been timing out on me for the last 2 weeks when I've been trying to buy extra character slots . All the players I've talked to says "It's down and been down" and I've been assured that it is working. That's worth checking because if it doesn't work for me, for whom else is it not working?
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
[ QUOTE ]
3. Convenience: For those out of Trial Respecs and Vet Respecs with no Freespec or Vetspec in sight, no high level character to earn currency, noone in game to give them currency, or no desire to use Wentworths/Black Market this will be a convenience.
[/ QUOTE ]
How in the world are you out of respecifications? I think I have used all of 5 total across 60+ characters since the game went live.
Freespecs
Posi already answered this above. Freespecs are going no where.
::Sheesh::
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
[ QUOTE ]
5. Freespecs Is this the end of them? I will be forthright: I was disheartened that there was no Freespec for all the power tweaks and changes lately, in particular when there were changes to 4 of 9 Energy Melee powers. I felt that merited a Freespec, I'm sure others had their own pet power changes they felt the same. There has been a lot of balancing lately and we've been left to use whatever methods of Respec we have left - and now to pay for them. So, are Freespecs dead?
[/ QUOTE ]
Positron indicated in a previous post that freespecs will continue to be available, as long as there are power changes of sufficient magnitude to warrant one.
As for my own personal thoughts on this service, I don't see myself using it in the foreseeable future, since $10 in my opinion is quite steep. But I suppose that for those who want to take advantage of it and have no other means of changing a character build (maybe they've blown all their previous respecs), it's nice to have.
[ QUOTE ]
So, are Freespecs dead?
[/ QUOTE ]
Check the dev tracker. Positron has already posted to the effect that all normal avenues for a respec, including freespecs, will remain available.
The specific reason that was given for not offering a freespec about the Gaussian thing is that there were about 1000 CHARACTERS, not accounts, that were affected. Consider how alt-happy some folks are, that could easily amount to only a few hundred players out of some 135,000.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
5. Freespecs Is this the end of them? I will be forthright: I was disheartened that there was no Freespec for all the power tweaks and changes lately, in particular when there were changes to 4 of 9 Energy Melee powers. I felt that merited a Freespec, I'm sure others had their own pet power changes they felt the same. There has been a lot of balancing lately and we've been left to use whatever methods of Respec we have left - and now to pay for them. So, are Freespecs dead?
[/ QUOTE ]
Positron indicated in a previous post that freespecs will continue to be available, as long as there are power changes of sufficient magnitude to warrant one.
As for my own personal thoughts on this service, I don't see myself using it in the foreseeable future, since $10 in my opinion is quite steep. But I suppose that for those who want to take advantage of it and have no other means of changing a character build (maybe they've blown all their previous respecs), it's nice to have.
[/ QUOTE ]
Glad to hear they aren't going away. I somehow missed Posi's post.
I have no intention of using the service either. I'll freely pay $10 for a special game expansion like the Wedding Pack, but not for something I can get in game. It's just one of those things with me, sort of like not paying for influence.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
3. Convenience: For those out of Trial Respecs and Vet Respecs with no Freespec or Vetspec in sight, no high level character to earn currency, noone in game to give them currency, or no desire to use Wentworths/Black Market this will be a convenience.
[/ QUOTE ]
How in the world are you out of respecifications? I think I have used all of 5 total across 60+ characters since the game went live.
Freespecs
Posi already answered this above. Freespecs are going no where.
::Sheesh::
[/ QUOTE ]
Just because you have not used yours to balance a character or felt the need to not want to waste IO's or Hami's doesn't mean others don't use there respec.
I'm glad to see they are still going to award the freerespec, but how often can we expect to get it plus you can only have 1 freerespec available at a time, three respec from the TF trial, and then your Vet rewards.
My math = 4 respec plus any Vetspec you may have earned if you havent used any on that character. Not sure how many Vetspecs their are but probably not more than 10.
I wouldn't buy a respec unless I had no other option and then I still might not.
AV
Quote:
|
by Star Ranger 4 WIN LOSE OR DRAW, WE WILL FIGHT. WE ARE HEROES This is what we DO! |
Decide that this will be another day in which you Walk The Talk.
MA #14724 Operation: Discredit @American Valor
Sentinel Of Liberty SG
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So, are Freespecs dead?
[/ QUOTE ]
Check the dev tracker. Positron has already posted to the effect that all normal avenues for a respec, including freespecs, will remain available.
The specific reason that was given for not offering a freespec about the Gaussian thing is that there were about 1000 CHARACTERS, not accounts, that were affected. Consider how alt-happy some folks are, that could easily amount to only a few hundred players out of some 135,000.
[/ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
That patch could go live tomorrow before a lot of people hear or even know of the problem.
This is bad communication and a bit of punishment. I'm sure some of them were "That's supposed to be unique? But it's always allowed slotting multiple times. I thought it was just a bad description."
Because that never happens...
Still here, even after all this time!
[ QUOTE ]
Glad to hear they aren't going away. I somehow missed Posi's post.
I have no intention of using the service either. I'll freely pay $10 for a special game expansion like the Wedding Pack, but not for something I can get in game. It's just one of those things with me, sort of like not paying for influence.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think what is confusing people is that they are thinking of this as a money making project. Instead it was supplying something the customer has been asking for but at a price to discourage buying it. ie. They don't actually want to sell a lot of respec's.
I know that confuses people because they are used to businesses working to make money. But in the case of renames, transfers, and respec's these things are all priced high to discourage their use. If they wanted to make money off of them they are well aware that they would all sell like hot cakes at 3 - 5 dollars each.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So, are Freespecs dead?
[/ QUOTE ]
Check the dev tracker. Positron has already posted to the effect that all normal avenues for a respec, including freespecs, will remain available.
The specific reason that was given for not offering a freespec about the Gaussian thing is that there were about 1000 CHARACTERS, not accounts, that were affected. Consider how alt-happy some folks are, that could easily amount to only a few hundred players out of some 135,000.
[/ QUOTE ]
Or 750, or 500, but whatever... a few hundred players is a lot of unhappy players, actually. Posting advance notice of the effect that this patch will have (Lighthouse's post) and putting up the Freespec purchase button shows that they are aware of this. Advance warning and the ability for players to do something about it is a lot better than the storm of "It was a unique, tough doody!" and cancelled accounts.
And for the record, no, I'm pretty sure I don't even have a Gaussian's unique on any of my characters.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
[ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
[/ QUOTE ]
They had warnings. The IO's are labled unique so anyone who slotted multiple copies pretty much had to know that they where using an exploit that would go away. Fortunately the devs are being nice and warning players about it rather than just rolling it live like they do for the typical exploit fix.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
[/ QUOTE ]
They had warnings. The IO's are labled unique so anyone who slotted multiple copies pretty much had to know that they where using an exploit that would go away. Fortunately the devs are being nice and warning players about it rather than just rolling it live like they do for the typical exploit fix.
[/ QUOTE ]
Previous fixes did not delete IOs, they left them in situ, but with no effect, for the player to later remove with a respec.
Together we entered a city of strangers, we made it a city of friends, and we leave it a City of Heroes. - Sweet_Sarah
BOYCOTT NCSoft (on Facebook)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/517513781597443/
Governments have fallen to the power of social media. Gaming companies can too.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Glad to hear they aren't going away. I somehow missed Posi's post.
I have no intention of using the service either. I'll freely pay $10 for a special game expansion like the Wedding Pack, but not for something I can get in game. It's just one of those things with me, sort of like not paying for influence.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think what is confusing people is that they are thinking of this as a money making project. Instead it was supplying something the customer has been asking for but at a price to discourage buying it. ie. They don't actually want to sell a lot of respec's.
I know that confuses people because they are used to businesses working to make money. But in the case of renames, transfers, and respec's these things are all priced high to discourage their use. If they wanted to make money off of them they are well aware that they would all sell like hot cakes at 3 - 5 dollars each.
[/ QUOTE ]
Not that they could just make the Respec Recipes drop slightly more often so the price becomes slightly sane.
I see no good reason that this has to be purchased with real life money at $10. Slightly cheaper or 2 for $10... seems more palatable.
This does not add a 'new value' to the game.
I'll probably use buying slots (eventually) or a server transfer. Those do things I didn't have by other means. Or additional costume and emotes/temp powers. Those are dang nice and useful.
Respecs done this way... just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and worries into the future.
Still here, even after all this time!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
[/ QUOTE ]
They had warnings. The IO's are labled unique so anyone who slotted multiple copies pretty much had to know that they where using an exploit that would go away. Fortunately the devs are being nice and warning players about it rather than just rolling it live like they do for the typical exploit fix.
[/ QUOTE ]
And you conveniently ignored that players would just read that, see that you could slot it and shrug "must be labeled wrong like some other powers and stuff."
Still here, even after all this time!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
[/ QUOTE ]
They had warnings. The IO's are labled unique so anyone who slotted multiple copies pretty much had to know that they where using an exploit that would go away. Fortunately the devs are being nice and warning players about it rather than just rolling it live like they do for the typical exploit fix.
[/ QUOTE ]
And you conveniently ignored that players would just read that, see that you could slot it and shrug "must be labeled wrong like some other powers and stuff."
[/ QUOTE ]
It was their choice to assume that it was an error.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because pissing off 100 to 600 players for something the develops had left broken without any early warnings is a good thing?
[/ QUOTE ]
They had warnings. The IO's are labled unique so anyone who slotted multiple copies pretty much had to know that they where using an exploit that would go away. Fortunately the devs are being nice and warning players about it rather than just rolling it live like they do for the typical exploit fix.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes they alwys fix ingame versus forum Text so that players are aware that an ingame item works as intended.
Vet reward Black staff and Nemesis Staff description matchs the text exactly Hmm lets check shall we. It doesn't so if I slot a unique twice and it works I should believe what, ingame box text is wrong and its a bug, or the no forum listing until the patch fix comes about and I get nailed.
I think I have maybe two uniques on my main character and they aren't even the same. This doesn't affect me but that doesn't mean better communication isn't needed. Thats my point.
AV
Quote:
|
by Star Ranger 4 WIN LOSE OR DRAW, WE WILL FIGHT. WE ARE HEROES This is what we DO! |
Decide that this will be another day in which you Walk The Talk.
MA #14724 Operation: Discredit @American Valor
Sentinel Of Liberty SG
[ QUOTE ]
American_Valor
I wouldn't buy a respec unless I had no other option and then I still might not.
[/ QUOTE ]
I think there is a fundamental confusion here. I said that before but it doesn't hurt to emphasise it again.
Pretty much about this is the target audience to buy respecifications. Again pretty much no one you will find posting in this thread or on the boards is the target audience. Oh some are but in the main the posters here are not.
Then you ask who is the target audience?
Well I'm glad you asked. The target audience is two fold.
<ul type="square">[*]First PVPers who want to tweak builds and have plenty of cash to do so with. They are group one and the smaller of the groups. They already would have been buying either inf or craftable respecifications from RMTers so this simply cuts that off and gets some of that market.
[*]Second that category of OCD player who must have it now. Ie they again have cash and want something now. For them dropping $10.00 for a respec is nothing. They regularly spend that kind of cash without blinking as a casual exercise. These folk make up the vast majority of the target audience. Again it was being served by the RMTers and now that business is being cut off at the knees.[/list]
It isn't really there for the general player who burned through their respec's either taking bad advice or for what ever reason. Oh it offers an out if they are trapped but it isn't being offered for them.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides
[ QUOTE ]
Just a quick follow up:
We have no plans of getting rid of freespecs. Each Issue that brings with it major power changes (which is pretty much every single one, eh?) will bring a freespec with it.
We have no plans of getting rid of the respec trials.
We have no plans of getting rid of the dropped Respec Recipes.
We have no plans of getting rid of the Veteran Respecs that your account earns.
This is simply another way to get a Respec onto your character.
[/ QUOTE ]
First off im all for finding ways to generate income. My one real issue with this respec for purchase idea is that I like the respec TFs. IMO there fun to run. But finding a team to run one now, especially at my normal play hours gets tough. When alot of players are sitting on like 5 vet rewards ones by the time there worried about doing it, plus the free ones, the recipes etc. There really is not much point in running the actual TF anymore.
This just seems like it would make it more so. If NC Soft is really wanting to find a way to generate income, i think things like the wedding package is a better idea. Halloween is coming up what if you introduced a costume package at a purchasable temp power. For X dollars you can buy all the costumes that you can get from the event without tricks and treats each costume with like a 1 hour timer on activation. I would probably pay 10 bucks for that.
Or new costume options would be another good one. Like a sims expansion, more base and costume decorations for a set price for download. I would just rather the purchasable content be a worthy value, but not impact game play in a negative way. I think selling things with thebenefit of a resepc is a bad idea. However now i type that, why not sell the ability to get a new "earned" respec by doing the TF again. Done all three earned, no other options by a new earned tf that opens the reward option again at the end of the TF not just a click it and get it from the server?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Just a quick follow up:
We have no plans of getting rid of freespecs. Each Issue that brings with it major power changes (which is pretty much every single one, eh?) will bring a freespec with it.
We have no plans of getting rid of the respec trials.
We have no plans of getting rid of the dropped Respec Recipes.
We have no plans of getting rid of the Veteran Respecs that your account earns.
This is simply another way to get a Respec onto your character.
[/ QUOTE ]
First off im all for finding ways to generate income. My one real issue with this respec for purchase idea is that I like the respec TFs. IMO there fun to run. But finding a team to run one now, especially at my normal play hours gets tough. When alot of players are sitting on like 5 vet rewards ones by the time there worried about doing it, plus the free ones, the recipes etc. There really is not much point in running the actual TF anymore.
This just seems like it would make it more so. If NC Soft is really wanting to find a way to generate income, i think things like the wedding package is a better idea. Halloween is coming up what if you introduced a costume package at a purchasable temp power. For X dollars you can buy all the costumes that you can get from the event without tricks and treats each costume with like a 1 hour timer on activation. I would probably pay 10 bucks for that.
Or new costume options would be another good one. Like a sims expansion, more base and costume decorations for a set price for download. I would just rather the purchasable content be a worthy value, but not impact game play in a negative way. I think selling things with thebenefit of a resepc is a bad idea. However now i type that, why not sell the ability to get a new "earned" respec by doing the TF again. Done all three earned, no other options by a new earned tf that opens the reward option again at the end of the TF not just a click it and get it from the server?
[/ QUOTE ]
The trials remain as a challenge for new players who do not have vetspecs or lots of inf, and who probably aren't invested enough to buy Inf from Spammers or Respecs from NCSoft.
It's boring for vets, but challenging for newbs with weak builds.
Wavicle, Energy/Energy Blaster, dinged 50 in Issue 4, summer of 2005.
@Wavicle, mostly on the Justice server.
This is probably going to be drowned out amongst the needless whines in here but I'd just like to thank the development team for all the work they continually do to improve my gaming experience. You guys are the best.
[ QUOTE ]
As of right now I own 459M Infamy, after market fees, worth of Respec Recipes. I will let you know how much these are worth in two weeks.
I like this move a lot. However, it butchered my schemes.
[/ QUOTE ]
I don't always agree with you Smurphy but I love your honesty! Can you tell us what your scheme was?
Anyway- cool- but I don't think this is going to generate near as much money as they think and I'm just boggled why they went with this.
But more options- YAY!!
"I'm not scared of anyone or anything Angie. Isn't that the way life should be?"
Jack Hawksmoor, The Authority.
I'll chime in again to note that while I will never use this as it is, if they had an option to purchase the ability to change my primary and/or secondary powerset, it would be quite tempting in a couple of cases, especially if there were no in-game possibility of doing so.
As to the purchasing of influence/infamy direct from NCSoft, I know it was mentioned tongue in cheek but it did make me wonder if I would buy. My first reaction is of course not, but then I thought it might depend on how much. If they did offer 1 billion, would I buy to trick out a character with IOs from the market? Of course if they did this market prices would inflate through the roof... but then I would also think they would undercut the RMT spammers so bad that they would essentially be out of business and quit filling my email with junk... Anyway, just some thoughts.
[ QUOTE ]
But it being $10 for one respec really puts me off to the whole idea.
[/ QUOTE ]
I really have to wonder what kind of jobs people have that ten bucks seems like a big deal. Or are they approaching this from the "Damn I'd like to respec six times a month, and that's way too much?" position?
Like all luxuries (and this IS a luxury), it's worth what people will pay for it. And if it doesn't seem like a good value, then you can skip it.
Simple economics. If you can't afford the Jaguar, you live with your Ford. Writing Jaguar to ask them to bring their prices down won't do a bit of good.
I give a hesitant round of applause to this new option. Why hesitant? Because of fear.
I have this fear that if respecs can be purchased, then the freespecs that NC so often hands out after a new issue will simply disappear. That would be the capitalist thing to do, after all: stop giving away things that you can charge money for.
It's probably a completely baseless fear, I know, but there it is.
[ QUOTE ]
*edit* Just to be completely unsubtle here - Yes, I am suggesting that NCSoft deliberately priced it "high" to try and discourage you from buying it. If you really, really, really, really have to have one, there it is. Otherwise, find a way to get it for free in the game. At least if you DO break down and buy it, you're paying NCSoft instead of a RMT'er.
[/ QUOTE ]
And SlickRiptide wins the thread in one.
The above is so true. Oh and I have no idea but I keep wanting to read your name as slickreptile.
But it's MY sadistic mechanical monster and I'm here to make sure it knows it. - Girl Genius
List of Invention Guides