Super Packs on the PMarket 2/14/12
By
Acroyear2,
Posted on: 2012-02-13 18:35 in CoH and CoV General Discussions
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But where does that confidence arise from? What's the business incentive for Paragon Studios to ungate the costume pieces when they can profit from players shelling out 11,000 Points to get them?|
Originally Posted by Thor's Assassin
I am sure that later down the road they will have an option where you can buy the set outright in which case people like me who just shelled out 11k Points for packs are going to be the ones complaining.
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For the present, Zwillinger has said only that they don't have plans to offer a secondary option for purchasing the Super Pack-exclusive costumes in "the immediate future". That's not even "soon".
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It's a rare drop.
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Originally Posted by Mr. DJ
*tries to find the world's smallest violin to play*
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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These people often are |
Originally Posted by Aura_Familia
Okay that's a little bit extreme . . .
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@Golden Girl
City of Heroes comics and artwork
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Eh, if you really want to caricature the opposing argument, there are more suitable images:|
Originally Posted by DumpleBerry
ZWILLINGER IS HERE RIGHT NOW, HE HAS A GUN, HE SAYS I HAVE TO BUY ONE BILLION COSTUME PACKS. PLEASE HELP!
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"The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother. I call him Gamblor."
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That's not what I was responding to, and I rather thought I was perfectly clear about it.|
Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
Eh, if you really want to caricature the opposing argument, there are more suitable images:
"The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother. I call him Gamblor." |
If you would like me to address your post, however, I can do that. It won't be hard, self-control is very easy.
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
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Same incentive they had for putting the packs in the market for a lower price or the veterans tiers available for a price. It's all money. When they have used this avenue up they will try another way you'll see. It's smart business.|
Originally Posted by TrueGentleman
But where does that confidence arise from? What's the business incentive for Paragon Studios to ungate the costume pieces when they can profit from players shelling out 11,000 Points to get them?
For the present, Zwillinger has said only that they don't have plans to offer a secondary option for purchasing the Super Pack-exclusive costumes in "the immediate future". That's not even "soon". |
Same goes for the T9 VIP rewards, we are all paying to get em now, they will be out in another way in the future. It's just how it goes. Cov becoming free? Going Rogue part of VIP? Yeah don't get me started lol. I paid for everything up front. The games, the packs, the add ons, the costume codes I got from the hero cons and they are all available either to purchase or free with VIP or free period.
But you have every right to complain so please, continue...
There are no words for what this community, and the friends I have made here mean to me. Please know that I care for all of you, yes, even you. If you Twitter, I'm MrThan. If you're Unleashed, I'm dumps. I'll try and get registered on the Titan Forums as well. Peace, and thanks for the best nine years anyone could ever ask for.
CoH is neither the first MMO nor the first Superhero MMO to try the "trading card pack" approach to selling gear. It's a proven virtual currency sink, so I'd expect to see more Super Packs in the future rather than fewer.
So far, the reports I'm seeing are that compiling a complete costume costs somewhere in the ballpark of what a similar costume bundle would cost in the market, so I can't see that it's some kind of awful gouge by Paragon Studios. If you feel a need to chase a wolf pet, well, just be aware that you're chasing a prestige item and that prestige items cost a lot of points.
Frankly, considering the way that similar packs work in some other games I know of, I'd say that these are pretty consumer friendly. Of course, it helps that our costumes are divorced from our character stats, so we don't have the added complication of paying for gear and then out-leveling it.
I'd be more interested in the packs if they featured more temp powers, though I suppose there's something to be said for ability to effectively buy merits. A casual player could get a lot of benefit from that, actually.
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I try to be, but some days I fail. |
Originally Posted by Darth_Khasei
Zyphoid, you are a stable dude, I am waiting for the unstable amongst us.
 |
I went ahead and sold a bunch of my ATIOs today. I made right at 2 billion inf on them today, because I sold this morning.
It seemed like I got less Scrapper and Brute IOs than anything else. Now, that may just be my perception because those were the ones I wanted.
Types of Swords
My Portfolio
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I misplaced it and now I can't find it.
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Originally Posted by Mr. DJ
*tries to find the world's smallest violin to play*
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Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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I know, right? |
Originally Posted by Silver Gale
If we complain about the Super Pack-only costume as soon as we learn about it, it's "too early to make a fuss, wait for more details".
If we complain while it's on Beta, it's "still on Beta, they may change it yet". If we complain when it comes out and the alternate was of getting it is *still* not here, it's "well it's not exactly new information, it's too late to complain now". |
Let's see - here's all the things that the pack contains that I don't want:
-Fancy inspirations. I barely ever use even the normal ones, I'm not about to pay to obtain a better version.
-Enhancement unslotters. My builds are fine the way they are, I have no desire to remove any of the enhancements I have in them.
-Experienced power and XP boosters. My characters are level 50.
-Reward merits. What am I going to spend them on, since as I said my builds are already complete?
-Windfall power. What goes for reward merits goes for inf just as much.
-AT enhancements. Again, my builds are fine and work great as they are. It's too much trouble to adjust them to work as I want them to after I slot in a new set with different bonuses, and I don't need the inf I would gain from selling them.
-Restore and Revive powers. Don't need em, they're just more clutter in my powers window/inbox.
-Black wolf pet.
So yeah, the Elemental order costume parts are the only thing here that I even want, but I can't have them without spending money on masses of things that I would rather not have - I tested this on Beta, it's frustrating and feels like a giant "No, you can't have these pretty things you want!" middle finger to me.
Nice job, devs - you've finally made something I hate even now that it's ingame. Even the new Rewards system/conversion to freemium didn't go that far. Call me crazy, but forcing customers to buy a load of junk they don't want in order to receive what they do want seems like a bad business model.
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For me, it ended up being a bit more expensive. I burned through about 1500 points trying to get the whole Elemental Order set unlocked. Those pesky pants didn't want to drop.
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Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
So far, the reports I'm seeing are that compiling a complete costume costs somewhere in the ballpark of what a similar costume bundle would cost in the market, so I can't see that it's some kind of awful gouge by Paragon Studios.
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On Liberty:
Aardwolf - level 50 claws/invulnerability scrapper
Anchor - level 50 level gravity/forcefield controller
Dr. Dusk - level 50 mercenaries/dark miasma mastermind
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Oh I've said these words many times...
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Originally Posted by Anchor
Those pesky pants didn't want to drop.
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@Quasadu
"We must prepare for DOOM and hope for FREEM." - SirFrederick
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Originally Posted by FlashToo
I know, right?
Let's see - here's all the things that the pack contains that I don't want: -Fancy inspirations. I barely ever use even the normal ones, I'm not about to pay to obtain a better version. -Enhancement unslotters. My builds are fine the way they are, I have no desire to remove any of the enhancements I have in them. -Experienced power and XP boosters. My characters are level 50. -Reward merits. What am I going to spend them on, since as I said my builds are already complete? -Windfall power. What goes for reward merits goes for inf just as much. -AT enhancements. Again, my builds are fine and work great as they are. It's too much trouble to adjust them to work as I want them to after I slot in a new set with different bonuses, and I don't need the inf I would gain from selling them. -Restore and Revive powers. Don't need em, they're just more clutter in my powers window/inbox. -Black wolf pet. So yeah, the Elemental order costume parts are the only thing here that I even want, but I can't have them without spending money on masses of things that I would rather not have - I tested this on Beta, it's frustrating and feels like a giant "No, you can't have these pretty things you want!" middle finger to me. Nice job, devs - you've finally made something I hate even now that it's ingame. Even the new Rewards system/conversion to freemium didn't go that far. Call me crazy, but forcing customers to buy a load of junk they don't want in order to receive what they do want seems like a bad business model. |
So you are a VIP, wait 3 months, save the points, buy a 24 pack with the free points, get the costume parts and trash the rest. Solved.
You will then have a free costume set. Gratz!
@Quasadu
"We must prepare for DOOM and hope for FREEM." - SirFrederick
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lol!!!!! :d
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Originally Posted by truegentleman
eh, if you really want to caricature the opposing argument, there are more suitable images:
"the only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother. I call him gamblor." |
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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That's what she said.
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Originally Posted by Anchor
For me, it ended up being a bit more expensive. I burned through about 1500 points trying to get the whole Elemental Order set unlocked. Those pesky pants didn't want to drop.
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Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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I'm one of those people who refuses to spend money on rando-packs, but I did have some spare points sitting around and wanted the Elemental Order jacket for Mei... so I caved a little and used those to buy six packs.|
Originally Posted by Captain-Electric
I got a good chunk of the Elemental Order costume, three pieces, with my first buck.
I bought several packs. In my opinion, they're worth it, as an occasional treat. Just don't go overboard, if you know you shouldn't. Spend responsibly. |
I ended up getting three costume pieces out of those six pulls... the jacket, sleeves and gloves... So, not *great* odds on those exactly, since it only worked out to one bit every second pack, but not horrible either, I guess. Especially since two of those three were the bits I was actually after.
What floored me was getting the wolf on pack #4.
It took me so many tries to get that thing on beta that I had pretty much written off my odds of getting it completely. So, yeah. Nice surprise there, since it suits Whisper so well... But I'm going to feel like a bit of a heel running around with him. Given how rotten my RNG luck always is, no one is going to believe I got him so cheaply. o_0
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
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Originally Posted by Bright
I'm one of those people who refuses to spend money on rando-packs, but I did have some spare points sitting around and wanted the Elemental Order jacket for Mei... so I caved a little and used those to buy six packs.
I ended up getting three costume pieces out of those six pulls... the jacket, sleeves and gloves... So, not *great* odds on those exactly, since it only worked out to one bit every second pack, but not horrible either, I guess. Especially since two of those three were the bits I was actually after. What floored me was getting the wolf on pack #4. It took me so many tries to get that thing on beta that I had pretty much written off my odds of getting it completely. So, yeah. Nice surprise there, since it suits Whisper so well... But I'm going to feel like a bit of a heel running around with him. Given how rotten my RNG luck always is, no one is going to believe I got him so cheaply. o_0 |
AWESOME! Congrats, that is very cool. I tried with probably 300 packs on Beta to get the wolf and it never showed up for me. Good to hear ya got it so early and that the odds work like that.
Of course you know you are ruining these complaint posts with that right?
@Brightfires - @Talisander
That chick what plays the bird-things...
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Damn right, there's no reason we should accept any business practice we don't like.|
Originally Posted by rsclark
If I'm allowed to hate the people who do that, I see no reason not to extend it to practices like this. Profitable doesn't automatically equate to acceptable.
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Did you know they charge money for food. How can they do that?!? Don't they know people need food to live?!? Just because it's profitable doesn't mean it's acceptable!
Main Hero: Mazey - level 50 + 1 fire/fire/fire blaster.
Main Villain: Chained Bot - level 50 + 1 Robot/FF Mastermind.
BattleEngine - "And the prize for the most level headed response ever goes to Mazey"
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The problem is that there's no fixed schedule for this any more than there's a set number of tries players get at the Super Packs before they receive the items they want. If the devs had told us up front that the Elemental Order set will be gated for X months before being recycled as a Veterans Reward or put on sale at the regular Paragon Market, it would be a lot more encouraging. As it stands, the Super Packs are cash cows, except we're the ones getting milked.|
Originally Posted by Thor's Assassin
Same incentive they had for putting the packs in the market for a lower price or the veterans tiers available for a price.
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Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
CoH is neither the first MMO nor the first Superhero MMO to try the "trading card pack" approach to selling gear. It's a proven virtual currency sink, so I'd expect to see more Super Packs in the future rather than fewer.
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Originally Posted by Bright
What floored me was getting the wolf on pack #4.
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Originally Posted by Thor's Assassin
AWESOME! Congrats, that is very cool. I tried with probably 300 packs on Beta to get the wolf and it never showed up for me. Good to hear ya got it so early and that the odds work like that.
Of course you know you are ruining these complaint posts with that right? |
Loth 50 Fire/Rad Controller [1392 Badges] [300 non-AE Souvenirs]
Ryver 50 Ele� Blaster [1392 Badges]
Silandra 50 Peacebringer [1138 Badges] [No Redside Badges]
--{=====> Virtue ♀
Wow...just checked my account (hadn't looked there or in the store for a while) and I have 2210 points stored up. I could see perhaps opening a few packs sometime.
Suggestions:
Super Packs Done Right
Influence Sink: IO Level Mod/Recrafting
Random Merit Rolls: Scale cost by Toon Level
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Originally Posted by Mazey
Damn right, there's no reason we should accept any business practice we don't like.
Did you know they charge money for food. How can they do that?!? Don't they know people need food to live?!? Just because it's profitable doesn't mean it's acceptable! |
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
Honestly the reward merits, which can be easily converted in Hero Merits/Villain Merits seem to be the most appealing thing in the packs to me.
The costumes I can just wait for the year 20sometime whenever when they are on sale outright.
Blazara Aura LVL 50 Fire/Psi Dom (with 125% recharge)
Flameboxer Aura LVL 50 SS/Fire Brute
Ice 'Em Aura LVL 50 Ice Tank
Darq Widow Fortune LVL 50 Fortunata (200% rech/Night Widow 192.5% rech)--thanks issue 19!
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No, they are not.
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Originally Posted by Vanden
Aren't Super Packs going to drop rarely off of bosses, too?
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Triumph: White Succubus: 50 Ill/Emp/PF Snow Globe: 50 Ice/FF/Ice Strobe: 50 PB Shi Otomi: 50 Ninja/Ninjistu/GW Stalker My other characters
I am sorry to see people are upset about this. For me, I can and will use every single thing I have gotten from the packs that I bought. I think it's a great way to market the game and to bring more money in for the production of more content.
I will say that in no way did I ever feel pressured to purchase these and it was no where near a 'cold call and granny grab your checkbook" type of scenario. I understand the frustration of having costumes and very rare items gated behind this but how is that forcing anyone to buy anything? Sure if you are a completist like me then you will wanna have it but if thats the case. If you love the game, love the costume pieces, have altitis, want everything the game has to offer, play the game all the time and want new things in the game, then why the hell wouldn't you just anti up and buy some packs?
The only way this is a gamble is if you are after a certain item and if thats the case this isn't for you. I am sure that later down the road they will have an option where you can buy the set outright in which case people like me who just shelled out 11k Points for packs are going to be the ones complaining. (I mean how messed up would that be?).
Bottom line is that I had been saving for these packs because I love surprises, love new things, love the AT specific IO's and love the game as a whole. It is the only game I play and am happy to support the game going further.
I liked the pet so much I made a new character around it:
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