Discussion: Purchasable Character Respecs
By
Acemace,
Posted on: 2008-07-31 10:40 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
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Great idea, but the price is bit out of whack. $10 is simply too much for this.
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Agree. I always appreciate new stuff, but they price seems a bit steep for what can be obtained for free in the game.
I understand the need to keep credit card transactions above a certain amount so that you don't get pinched at the margins.
3 for $10 seems more in line with my internal pricing sense.
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I've been playing for over four years, and I've used precisely two respecs (both of them freespecs). Given that all (or nearly all) of my toons have a freespec and several vet respecs, I can't see myself needing to purchase a respec with real cash money.
However, I do recall reading a number of people asking for other ways to get a respec recipe after they've used their freespecs and gone through all of the respec trials.
I would hope that freespecs will continue to be given out with major issue changes, and that respec recipes continue to drop (however rarely that may be), but I don't really see any problem here. People are obviously willing to pay for a respec, so NC^2 is obliging.
This is a great thing to have for people who have extra cash in real life, but not the time to build up the (last I checked) ~15 million inf for a respec recipe on the market.
I probably won't use it myself, but I still think it's a good idea to have the option.
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The Price Point was probably set that high specifically to prevent it from being used casually. As many have pointed out there are a number of ways to gain a Respec in-game. BUT.. and this must be considered.. the almost-ADD "I want it NOW!!!!" mentality is a huge presence in the MMO population- and this caters to that just fine. This also undercuts the RMT groups since instead of dropping $30+ to get 200 million influence you can just drop a ten and be done.
And, if its something most naysayers will never use, why complain about it? Even the arguement about "development time better spent" is flawed. I'm guessing most of the coding was done on the NCSoft financial server side- Posi & crew were likely minimally involed. (IE Posi, where is the code bit regarding Respec Recipes? Thankies- now to plug that into the existing "store" formula ala GvE pack...)
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Why cant you guys use developer resources for something we really need like email transfer of items/inf? That to me would have made more sense than this. The only times I ever got respec recipes were on characters that didnt need them anyways but the ones that did were on another server. That would have helped me alot more than this.
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Umm... probably because what you're asking for would require dozens of hours of coding, QA, etc., while this probably took maybe 30 minutes to pop out. This is all PlayNC side with a tiny amount of interaction with the server using code that's already there, whereas what you're talking about is an entirely new feature that would have to be coded from scratch, tested to make sure it's not gamebreaking and interacts nicely with every other piece of code, etc.
Honestly, you people. I swear.
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While I don't agree with Ryu, who cares if something takes a bajillion hours if it improves this game? It's a copout answer as far as I am concerned. Especially considering that our development team has grown quite a bit lately.
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That has nothing to do with it. Even if they spent all 30 minutes they used coding this on his weird email thing... it still wouldn't be near enough time. So instead they did this.
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Well that would be 30 minutes less time they would have to spend working on the email system that would be still infinitely more useful than this $10 respec thing.
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Useful to you.
Unfortunately, the devs don't sit around at their meetings going "What can we do to please EvilRyu today?"
Instead it's more like "What can we do to please a large chunk of the population for a low cost in manpower while we're busy coding I13?"
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I understand why they'll make this option available but still, why do this when you can earn it easily in the game?
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I doubt I will use the feature (I don't respec very often at all, period) but if that was the only consideration, then at least for me I earn ten bucks in the real world much faster than I can earn enough inf to buy a respec recipe in the game. I'm sure there are lots of casual players with personal incomes high enough to consider buying a respec for a character a non-issue in terms of the cash, while increasing their entertainment level with a character they would rather not grind the influence to purchase a respec recipe for.
Heck, if Positron decides to start renting out his in-game avatar as a sidekick for a day for ten bucks, I'd do it just to complete that Justiciar badge that keeps mocking me.
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Disappointing.. Another step towards CoX developing a "Cash Shop" that developes more have and have nots.
Very disappointing to say the least.
-Kiri
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?!?!?!?
Yeah, because being able to respec makes you uber... 
Lame
I agree with the "doubt I'll ever exercise the option," but nice for people who screw up their builds so badly that 3 earned respecs can't cover them until they get a vet respec.....
Edit: whoah, first post after a redname!
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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.
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Wouldn't have expected any less Posi, thanks!
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What I find funny/sad is how fast adding in something optional to the game automatically gets interpreted as removing something else...
Thanks for clearing that up Posi
- Now my opinions:
1) I really doubt I will use this service (after 4 years, I have tons of veteran respecs, along with earned & freespecs)
2) Price seems high, but even if it was $2.00...see number one above
3) I am also quite certain some people will use this feature no matter the price
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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.
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Then this is just cool all around! 
(Glad I didn't decide to try to flip Rescpec Recipes, though... 
)
And so CoX moves one step closer to the F2P with cash shop model. Subscription based games are going the way of the dodo, mark my words.
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So if respec recipes are 30mil inf, and a respec from the store is $9.99, will this affect the prices advertised by RMT spammers
OMG! The CoX market and real world market are on a collision course!
But seriously, isn't it a dangerous practice to sell items for real money that are available in game for inf? Doesn't this encourage people to (illegally) purchase inf for cash at a better exchange rate and then buy the recipes? Should respec recipe drops be stopped altogether to prevent this from happening?
We don' need no stinkin' signatures!
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Is buying levels, or badges next? 
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I've purchased three badges already: VIP< Destined One, And Pocket D VIP Member.
(of course, they came with the CoH Collector's Edition and GvE box, but what's your point?)
Is a respec really worth $10 bucks? I know that the demand is moderate to high but taking advantage of that demand at that kind of a price seems like something the oil companies would cook up.
Why not increase the drop rate of the recipe drops or even charging a lower price?
If I ever use this, over transferring a toon or unlocking a slot or getting an entire pack of something... heck, even starting new accounts for my G/F or son (with multiple slots and potential freespecs); I couldn't imagine using it more than once or for more than one toon at that price point.
If it were $3.50 (or an inexpensive bundle of respecs for $X), then I would be more tempted to use it on multiple alts and possibly multiple times; and in the end, if demand based income is what this game is turning to, bargains will attract more prospective buyers and/or transactions in both the short and long terms.
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Why cant you guys use developer resources for something we really need like email transfer of items/inf? That to me would have made more sense than this. The only times I ever got respec recipes were on characters that didnt need them anyways but the ones that did were on another server. That would have helped me alot more than this.
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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 ]What about a way to email the respec recipes you got on your other toons to the ones that actually need it????
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You'd think a member of the Cartel would know someone that could help him take care of this.
I'm not disagreeing with you per se, I just don't see where the fire is. Can you put down your pitchfork now? It's scaring the kids.
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Is a respec really worth $10 bucks? I know that the demand is moderate to high but taking advantage of that demand at that kind of a price seems like something the oil companies would cook up.
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Does a respec for a level 20 character provide the same intrinsic value as a respec for a level 50 character? Or should we be charged $0.20/level for a respec? 
Heck, if you have enough cash, you can buy enough respecs to pull all your purple IOs out of your obsolete lvl 50 under this plan.
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I totally agree with Yogi_Bare. I have a tank from way back whom has used up all his freespecs, vet respecs, and respecs from the trials. I think I've even used a couple respec recipes on him. But now I'm considering taking all his IO's off him (which he's loaded with nothing but purps, IO sets, and HO's).
Now all I'm saying is if this service was $3.50 or even $4.99 a pop I'd easily be tempted to spend $10-15 to get some of my enhancements off him. But it being $10 for one respec really puts me off to the whole idea. I just think in the long run you'd make more money by lowering the cost, seriously. I guarantee you I won't be purchasing one respec for $10.
Hell, if it was $2 a respec I guarantee you I'd buy 5 right now to get all the enhancements off my tank.
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Just one guys opinion:
I think this is a bad idea, but for a reason I don't think I've seen before in the thread. Selling respec's discourages people from playing the game.
The hero respec trial is a complete joke, as long as the team is sensibly assembled level-wise. I often see the Freak respec's advertised as a farming mission in certain chat channels.
The villain trial, meanwhile, has a real have/have-not factor to it. I'm stunned as I sometimes see coalition mates or people in broadcast complain about failing the trial, or needing Warburg nukes or shivans to finish the mission. My regular group often accomplishes the trial without any difficulty, and when we bring someone new they often say something like "Wow, you make it seem so easy, I've never completed the trial before." It seems to me that there is a real barrier that has grown regarding much of the content in the game.
Offering an easy payment option for a respec just lowers the overall skill of the playerbase.
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There are some pretty low values of "can play" out there.
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I think it's a good idea. I just had a discussion about respecs with my brother who recently restarted his sub. new players dont have the several vet specs available to many of the readers of this forum, and it is nice that the option is available. Long gone are the days where terribly unsatisfactory builds have to suffer through until they can run the respec trial in the 20's.
on a side note, please move lupin to a lower lvl friendly zone. A lvl 1 character can run and see the hero contact. Yes I know, why would you need to, but the degree of seperation between the ease of use with hero vs villain on this is pretty extreme. Can we get Lupin moved to port oakes or something?
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Why would a level 1 character even need to respec?
As for this announcement, I am all for it. Options are good. I have burned respecs on some toons and saved em on others. I might buy one if I want it right away and dont feel like burning off 10 million plus influence that I can use on other things in game that I cannot click "purchase now" with like Set IO's and such.
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Just one guys opinion:
I think this is a bad idea, but for a reason I don't think I've seen before in the thread. Selling respec's discourages people from playing the game.
The hero respec trial is a complete joke, as long as the team is sensibly assembled level-wise. I often see the Freak respec's advertised as a farming mission in certain chat channels.
The villain trial, meanwhile, has a real have/have-not factor to it. I'm stunned as I sometimes see coalition mates or people in broadcast complain about failing the trial, or needing Warburg nukes or shivans to finish the mission. My regular group often accomplishes the trial without any difficulty, and when we bring someone new they often say something like "Wow, you make it seem so easy, I've never completed the trial before." It seems to me that there is a real barrier that has grown regarding much of the content in the game.
Offering an easy payment option for a respec just lowers the overall skill of the playerbase.
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My VG runs the 3rd respec in 15 minutes. It's easy.
While a bit higher-priced than I would personally care for ($4.99-5.99 would suit me better), I simply applaud this. Thank you.
If you guys even allow NCCoins to be used for transactions, that would make me quite happy. It would be great to buy NC game cards and use them as prizes/gifts, letting the recipient decide between gametime or NC Coins for use with all of COH's for-sale offerings (transfers, respecs, slots, etc).
FYI - for my SG's anniversary party three 30-day time cards were given away in lucky-number/drawing along with influence, enhancements, etc. So I'm not talking a hypothetical "people might" type thing. I've done it, and I'll do it again
I play my old characters and dont respec often since I have over my years gain much more respecs than I need on one character...
So I am not sure but did they take the respec options out of the trials once you complete each once ?
If not do a trial.... If so then I say wtf......
So seeing this makes me wonder if they did or did not take out the respec choice option from the trials once you have done each once if in case it was in mind later to do this ploy ?
If I do a trial and look and see no choice for respec next time then that be another reason for me to call it quits....
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Is buying levels, or badges next?
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Already done. I purchased the VIP package where I have the VIP Badge and the teleport to Pocket D. That was $9.99 / account. Wasn't there a wedding package that was just released for sale not too long ago for Mantacor & Sister's wedding? I didn't purchase that one, but you got stuff there too.
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I spent more than $10 on lunch today. On lunch. And three hours later I was hungry again. Kinda seems like a waste huh?
My point is that $10 really is nothing for those of us that have a job. For those folks that don't, the free time that they do have should allow them to do whatever they do to earn the inf to purchase the respec recipe.
It seems to me that this goes a little way towards balancing the Hardcore vs Casual players situation.
Oh, and those of you that think this is just horrible. That NCSoft wants to "soak us for money, boo hoo" or words to that effect, let me just say that last I heard NCSoft is a business. And their business is making money. If they don't make money then they can't pay their people, they can't hire more people, etc. Those of you that are criticizing them for adding this option are essentially criticizing Wal-Mart when they add new items to their stock. More things to sell to their customers means more choices for their customers and more money for the company. Please allow me to welcome you to the Real World(TM), where everything runs not on gasoline or electricity, but on money.
Of course if you don't want to pay $10 for a respec please remember that no one will hold an Assault Rifle to your head and force you to do so.
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City of Heroes has expanded their suite of available purchasable services to include Maxed Level Characters.
Optional Maxed Level Purchase is available via the in-game store found at the character select screen for the per transaction price of $49.99 USD.
There are already multiple in-game methods that players can obtain achieve max level. Now, if the convenience of purchasing a Maximun Level is desired, it is available. Having a purchasable option has been an often heard desire from the game's customers.
Once players purchase a Maxed Level, they must then visit a Trainer Contact in-game to use it, in the same manner as your currently hard earned powers are acquired. The Trainers include: Back Alley Brawler in Galaxy City and Arbiter Diaz in Mercy Island.
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Hay Smitty.... I have the same issue.
I have 4 years of respects available to every character I make right off the back. There are costume changes and respects sitting there in my badges for vet rewards. Then I get 3 more when running the trials. Then every so often they grant one free for releases or power changes or stuff.
Personally, if it takes that many changes to get a character working for you... well........
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Question/concern...Not sure if this has been brought up.
When a respec is purchased, does it go straight to the character, or are you given a respec recipe?
If it is a recipe, could people sell it on the market? This sounds like it could lead to a RMT type deal. Buy a respec, sell it at the market, get in-game money.
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Since you have to go to a respec trainer to cash it in, it can't be a recipe. Recipes craft freespecs, which can be used with /respec. Also, the language of the purchasable respec on the store makes no mention of recipes.
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Thanks HG, that makes sense.