Discussion: Purchasable Character Respecs
By
Acemace,
Posted on: 2008-07-31 10:40 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
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Well, I see you completely ignored the fact that I was talking about the decisions the company makes going forward. So this doesn't address my point at all.
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I didn't ignore anything. I'm pointing out that nothing they have done so far would indicate that your dystopian future will ever come about. Every system, item, or doodad that you can get with extra cash is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL and in no way hinders gameplay. In many fundamentally important ways, this is the same game it was five issues ago.
I'm not sure how else to address baseless speculation, except to say "there is no evidence that this would ever happen."
It was fun.
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Merchants will price something high in order to imbue it with more perceived value, which may or may not be going on here at COH, but no one ever prices anything to discourage people buying it. If you want to discourage people buying it then you don't offer it.
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They don't want to discourage it. But they don't want it to be trite and effortless, either.
It was fun.
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Merchants will price something high in order to imbue it with more perceived value, which may or may not be going on here at COH, but no one ever prices anything to discourage people buying it. If you want to discourage people buying it then you don't offer it.
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They don't want to discourage it. But they don't want it to be trite and effortless, either.
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Possibly. I can see it, anyway.
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They don't want to discourage it. But they don't want it to be trite and effortless, either.
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Possibly. I can see it, anyway.
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It fits the general respec MO. Think about it: you can only "earn" three (or four) respecs through grinding. They hand out free costume changes like candy in vet rewards, but you only get one respec per year. And the recipes are SUPER rare. They obviously want the notion of respeccing to be something you work for... or at least have it be something more notable than a 10 minute stop at Icon.
It was fun.
So what's next? Charge real money at Icon or to ride the tram? Maybe hit up the players' credit cards for real money to pay base rent? Maybe a surcharge to post at the forums?
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So what's next? Charge real money at Icon or to ride the tram? Maybe hit up the players' credit cards for real money to pay base rent? Maybe a surcharge to post at the forums?
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Maybe you should read a little closer.
It was fun.
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Merchants will price something high in order to imbue it with more perceived value, which may or may not be going on here at COH, but no one ever prices anything to discourage people buying it. If you want to discourage people buying it then you don't offer it.
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Microsoft does this with Windows. Get it with a new computer or buy it retail for hundreds of dollars. They make it available stand-alone so those who simply must have a copy without getting new hardware (or want to get the upgrade) pay a hefty sum, making getting a new computer more attractive (which their various OEM partners no doubt appreciate).
NCSoft sells their games online for the same, if not more, than retail or other online stores. If you must have it? Its there. But it makes buying their games from other places more attractive from a price perspective, and I'm sure their retail partners appreciate it.
You can buy a case of soda from Costco pretty darn cheap. You can also buy soda from a convenience store or vending machine for a lot more. Same drink, different price.
Its a convenience/impatience tax, really. If you have to have it *now* and the other options aren't immediately available, viable or desirable for whatever reason, there you go.
While I have no problem with purchasable features (i.e. character slots good, costume options good), selling respecs is not a move I support.
Why Blasters? Empathy Sucks.
So, you want to be Mental?
What the hell? Let's buff defenders.
Tactics are for those who do not have a big enough hammer. Wisdom is knowing how big your hammer is.
Hmm, not sure I agree with offering bought Respecs. Wouldn't use it myself, but I won't complain about the service except to say for the price and the fact you have to buy it, I'd offer a full Power Respec as well. Even if they offered that as well for 10$ I wouldn't use it but it would sound more a fair value.
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Is buying levels, or badges next? 
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perma jump is ---> /up 1
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They don't want to discourage it. But they don't want it to be trite and effortless, either.
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Possibly. I can see it, anyway.
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It fits the general respec MO. Think about it: you can only "earn" three (or four) respecs through grinding. They hand out free costume changes like candy in vet rewards, but you only get one respec per year. And the recipes are SUPER rare. They obviously want the notion of respeccing to be something you work for... or at least have it be something more notable than a 10 minute stop at Icon.
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I just keep thinking of the clueness newbies who see the $10 'Redo' on the signup page and think, "Whoa, that's good to have around because I have no idea what I'm doing. It's pricey so it must be worth it." Only to find out later they could earn one. But of course NC Soft isn't responsible for someone making an impulse buy without researching it first...
But if someone's motive for pricing high to imbue more value is usually to sell more. But this is an MMO and there are more things to consider, like the integrity of the game...so yeah, I can see what you're saying.
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Its a convenience/impatience tax, really. If you have to have it *now* and the other options aren't immediately available, viable or desirable for whatever reason, there you go.
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Good point.
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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.
[/ QUOTE ]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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This is why the new forum rules need a "no lobbying" clause.
Player suggestions ---->
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Nice if someone really wants a respec and does not have the time to grind for the cost of the recipe and used up all the ones from the trials.
Finally, a pay option I can resist 
I do hope there is some money to be made here, as that can only help, so kudos to those willing to put some green behind this. However, just wanted to note that even though I take most every opportunity to give CoH my money, this one is not at all tempting 
Still, I will agree that having the option is nice, and opens the way to other things being able to take advantage of micro transactions.
Wow. . . No wonder why I rarely post on these forums. . .
The absurdity of people complaining about a completely "optional" feature that in no way impacts them or their gaming experience is beyond me. Some of you remind me of the parent who calls me to complain because their child came home from camp "hot." Well, it is an outdoor camp, it is the end of July, we do live in the south, and it has been 90+ degrees all week. . I give you a big DUH!
Great work devs. Keep adding to the game I love and sorry for my snarkiness. . . I am just annoyed with people this week who complain about silly things. . .
firstly, I KNOW you are not the person to ask about this. however your post made me remember and I always forget when I am out of game and I'm not sure if it's handled by in game staff.
whenever I try to purchase something, anything, from the character screen; the interface tells me it timed out connecting to the server or that my password isn't valid (it is, my account renews regularly and I can log into my account info)
I simply have no idea who to contact to look into this, can you point me in the right direction?
thanks in advance, I know you're busy and I'm sorry to bother you with trivial stuff such as this.. just didn't know who to turn to
someone plz
/e slap bob from accounting as he is stuck on the idea of everything in game is 9.99$$$$ for 1 use or 1 slot or 1 whatever tell him maybe 3 fer 10 or what ever but 10 for 1 never
and if your going to sell something 10$ for 1 make it 10$ for 1 billion influence (says that while pointing little finger at lip doc evil style ) or something
Same price as a server move, or a character rename? A little high, don't you think? Perhaps half the price and it's a more viable option. $10 is a little too high for a purchasable respec.
And I think people meant a purchasable respec in-game with in-game money. Not just the ones on the market.
ATs to 50 - TA/A Def, Nrg/Nrg Blaster, EM/EA Brute, WS,ELM/ELA Stalker
$9.99 is a little outrageous a price for something so small. Now, if it gave ALL of your toons on a specific server a respec, sure. Though, just one? Other packs worth $9.99 (like the Wedding Pack or the Justice/Sinister pack) unlocked entire costume sets and emotes for every current toon and every future toon in your account.
Now if it was $1.99, then it would be a different story.
If people want it, go for it. I won't buy this. I'm tempted for my Fortunata, who I went through 2 VET and 1 free respec to get a build I STILL don't like. Though, in the end, $9.99 is just a little too expensive for something so trivial.
This also raises the question: are they going to start selling off VET rewards? $9.99 for samurai armor? angel/demon wings? Arachnos helmets? Or special event outfits like the Greek outfit (laurel crown, sandals, toga)?
This idea I won't mind spending $9.99 on. I've played this game for 24 months, and it sucks that I've got to wait another 30 before I can have the Arachnos helmets (got the crab spider helmet, but I never use it). Allowing players to purchase certain VET rewards is a better way of getting players to spend more money.
We Americans don't like to wait. We want everything right now, right away (one-hour dry cleaning and instant popcorn for you). And we're not afraid of spending a little doe in order to get it.
how about this for 29.95 you get to purchase the full set of IO,like for example posi blast at lvl 50, why spend lots of hours working for a set when a click of the mouse and a CC you can have every one of your char maxed out and really UBER?, or special powersets only obtainable witha 19.95 CC purchase
Fluffy Bunny 1 Person SG
Rabid Bunny 1 Person VG
Both on Pinnacle
Hobbit's Hole 1 Person SG
Spider's Web 1 Person VG
Both on Freedom
I went to talk to my Moral Outrage about this change to CoH/V. He went, "You've got a stack of respecs already available to you and freespecs come out frequently. I'm trying really hard here, but ... meh."
It's an option if you really need it. If you don't, you don't need to spend the cash.
Also:
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You know what I would love paying for, though?
Character Reset. The ability to bring a character to level 1, re-select powersets, and keep all badges, perhaps even change AT. Admittedly, badges would be the reason to do that, to begin with. There are many onetime only badges I will never get again in some toons I don't truly enjoy, that I would love to have. Like my Stone/Ice tanker, that I would love to reroll as a Elec/Elec tanker once the option becomes available, but wont because I don't want to loose badges.
But since now they are adding ways to pay for earnable in game things, how about to give us a task force that will reward us with payable things like server transfers or renames?
A Portal Corps TF that would allow you to go to another server!!!!
or a simple Identity Crisis that allows you to rename yourself at the end! 
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Genius!
/QFT, all of it.
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/signed
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As soon as Dual Pistols comes out for Blasters, OMGYES. I'm happy to pay to recreate my character in the way I've always wanted. Let me keep the name, the levels and the badges and change everything else. Here's $50. Thank you.
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how about this for 29.95 you get to purchase the full set of IO,like for example posi blast at lvl 50, why spend lots of hours working for a set when a click of the mouse and a CC you can have every one of your char maxed out and really UBER?, or special powersets only obtainable witha 19.95 CC purchase
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I agree with this idea.
As a side effect, it would also drive RMT spam out of the game.
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For some reason, I find it very amusing that there are players who think that the demand for respecs is so high that NCNC set the pricepoint for maximum profit and are actually expecting to earn a significant profit from selling respecs.
I'm no mind reader, but my crystal ball is telling me that $10 is a price that is just high enough that you'll think twice about buying it; that is, it discourages you from doing so. This fits with the goal of "earn it by playing the game" rather more nicely than it fits with the goal of "scam the players out of a bunch of money".
If you just have no other options or simply cannot wait, then $10 is still priced low enough that you can rationalize it once. "I'll brownbag it for lunch a couple of times."
Seriously, the idea that NCSoft is hoping to turn respecs into a profit center is pretty ridiculous, given that the available supply of them increases the longer you play.
I'm not even going to touch the idea that they'd take respecs out of the game and make them available ONLY by purchasing them.
*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.
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Smart look at it....
Freedom Bound!!!
What? No it doesn't...at least not the way he said it:
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*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.
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In the history of the world, has any merchant EVER priced something high to discourage people from buying it? Does that even make sense? No.
Merchants will price something high in order to imbue it with more perceived value, which may or may not be going on here at COH, but no one ever prices anything to discourage people buying it. If you want to discourage people buying it then you don't offer it.