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A reclaim store for Lockbox,Lobi and R&D promo ships

jim625jim625 Member Posts: 907 Arc User
not sure if this has been asked before but since we have a reclaim store for the event ships. How about one's for ships from the Lockbox's, Lobi Store and the R&D promo packs so that some of our alts could have these ships
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  • fiberteksyfirfiberteksyfir Member Posts: 1,207 Arc User
    *grabs popcorn*. This will not go well.. im gonna sit this one out.
  • bloodyrizbloodyriz Member Posts: 1,756 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    LOL! Yeah, lockbox and lobi ships have always.been, and will always be one character things. This is how thy help pay to keep the servers running.
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  • sohtohsohtoh Member Posts: 620 Arc User
    While it would be profitable for them to have a c-store item to re-box a lockbox/lobi store/r&d promo pack ship into an account-wide box (account-wide in this case, meaning so you can only give it another character on your account, not making the ship itself an account-wide unlock); it would be more profitable for them to sell more keys to open the lockboxes for the ships and lobi; and sell you more Promotional R&D packs.
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  • luddimusluddimus Member Posts: 133 Arc User
    It's called the Phoenix pack.
  • lopequillopequil Member Posts: 1,226 Arc User
    We're not going to see the ability to rebox ships for storage purposes now we have the dry dock system. As for making them account bound or *gasp* tradable again... no.
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  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,501 Arc User
    It won't happen for free.

    Selling account bound re-boxing, extra character unlocks, and account-wide unlocks has been requested for years now, but either Cryptic has decided they make more money selling multiple copies to big spenders, or CBS won't approve selling unlocks.
  • evilmark444evilmark444 Member Posts: 6,950 Arc User
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  • szimszim Member Posts: 2,503 Arc User
    I've always wondered, are there so many people having the same lockbox ship on multiple alts that making those ships account unlocks would actually lose Cryptic lots of money?

    I own almost every lockbox, doff pack and R&D pack ship in the game. Would I like to have some of those ships on one of my alts? Yes of course! Would I spend the same amount of ressources a second time to get a ship I already own? Absolutely not. But maybe I 'm part of a minority here.
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,867 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    luddimus wrote: »
    It's called the Phoenix pack.

    There's no crossover between lock box/lobi ships and the Phoenix pack.

    szim wrote: »
    I've always wondered, are there so many people having the same lockbox ship on multiple alts that making those ships account unlocks would actually lose Cryptic lots of money?

    I doubt it. I think it's just a question of making these ships as special as possible, both from a statistical point of view and in terms of subjective impressions. Unlock a lock box/lobi ship across an account and it's only one spec seat designation up from being an expensive event ship.
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  • ancientfighterancientfighter Member Posts: 112 Arc User
    szim wrote: »
    But maybe I 'm part of a minority here.

    You not alone, we have so many old gears or ships, and them just stay in our bank for nothing, bound to character when could be still usable for alternative character.

    Now comes the question: would the player pay again for something old or outdated?

    -All lobi gears: should be bound to account, there is no hurt for the game.

    -Lock box ships, well, i prefer not comment about them.

    -Promotion Pack Ships: should be a must to share between account using the dock system, these things currently only increase the price over years. And again... If the character is not using the promo ship, the alternative not could having fun with it?
  • cidjackcidjack Member Posts: 2,017 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    This gets asked for so many times it is not even worth debating it. The capital ships are coming out now, so it might just be a sign.
    Post edited by cidjack on
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  • bwleon7bwleon7 Member Posts: 310 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    I like how Star Wars: The Old Republic does it. You earn something on one character and it goes to your legacy. You can then use Cartel coins (their version of zen) to unlock that item for all characters on your account. It's main thing I spend money on in that game. I get a cool mount or pet or costume and then want all my characters to be able to use it.
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  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,501 Arc User
    bwleon7 wrote: »
    I like how Star Wars: The Old Republic does it. You earn something on one character and it goes to your legacy. You can then use Cartel coins (their version of zen) to unlock that item for all characters on your account. It's main thing I spend money on in that game. I get a cool mount or pet or costume and then want all my characters to be able to use it.

    Except for the ones you can't, like weapon tunings :(
  • jslynjslyn Member Posts: 1,784 Arc User
    I think that a Reclaim would be fine if it were only available for the character that had the special item in the first place. Account Reclaim in quite unlikely to happen.
  • starkaosstarkaos Member Posts: 11,556 Arc User
    There is a reclaim section in the Dilithium Store for Lockbox ship equipment like consoles, warp cores, and weapons and Event equipment like what is available in the Phoenix Prize Pack. The reclaim section just deals with what a specific character has earned and not account wide. So if I earned the Cochrane Shotgun and delete it on my main character, then I am able to reclaim it on only my main character. Adding the Lockbox ships to that section would make sense since it removes the problem of accidentally deleting a Lockbox ship.
  • blazeritterblazeritter Member Posts: 203 Arc User
    bloodyriz wrote: »
    LOL! Yeah, lockbox and lobi ships have always.been, and will always be one character things. This is how thy help pay to keep the servers running.

    I would like to see the data that shows selling multiple ships to the same account is more profitable than selling one ship to an account. In theory, making them only character unlocks results in more sales and hence more profits. It does not acknowledge the lost sales from people who don't see it as a wise investment - lost sales.

    An interesting test Cryptic could run is do one promo/lockbox where the prize is an account unlock - exact same odds and processes, only variable is the character/account unlock. Then compare the average zen purchase, purchase of EC saleable items, and the rate of exchange sales of key items against other like promotions to see if this results in higher overall company profit. The increase in perceived value to the player could prompt more individuals to interact with the promotion, and hence more net profit.

    That's purely speculation since I have only anecdotal evidence of numerous people (including myself) saying they won't spend any zen or more than 200 million EC on something that only unlocks for one character, but would be willing to spend on something for the account. That's why I suggest the test.
  • centersolacecentersolace Member Posts: 11,178 Arc User
    I still think that allowing players to get this stuff across multiple accounts easier would make them sell more.
  • bwleon7bwleon7 Member Posts: 310 Arc User
    I still think that allowing players to get this stuff across multiple accounts easier would make them sell more.

    Agreed. I really wonder how many people actually spend Lobi to get the same ship on more then one character. I highly doubt it is making more money then if we had a relatively cheap option to pay to allow our other characters to use the Lobi ship once one character unlocked it.

    You can have a few hundred people spending a few hundred each in the game but they can never out spend a few thousand people making lots of $10 and $20 purchases.

    Basically it's a fight between ADS (average dollar sale) and overall revenue. Companies love having a high ADS but often they have much lower overall revenue when they focus on ADS because they price things outside of the majority of their customer's budget so they have less overall sale and as such less actual revenue.

    To simplify it. 5 people spending $25 makes you more money then 1 person spending $100



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    Mr. Spock: And the ways our differences combine, to create meaning and beauty.

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  • nikeixnikeix Member Posts: 3,972 Arc User
    I'd really be ok if I could just buy equipment packs (console and ship trait) for ships I own on one captain for my other captains. I'll fly the ship on the character I gave it to, but I'd like to try out the ship trait and consoles in a few more combinations.
  • salazarrazesalazarraze Member Posts: 3,794 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    bwleon7 wrote: »
    I still think that allowing players to get this stuff across multiple accounts easier would make them sell more.

    Agreed. I really wonder how many people actually spend Lobi to get the same ship on more then one character. I highly doubt it is making more money then if we had a relatively cheap option to pay to allow our other characters to use the Lobi ship once one character unlocked it.

    You can have a few hundred people spending a few hundred each in the game but they can never out spend a few thousand people making lots of $10 and $20 purchases.

    Basically it's a fight between ADS (average dollar sale) and overall revenue. Companies love having a high ADS but often they have much lower overall revenue when they focus on ADS because they price things outside of the majority of their customer's budget so they have less overall sale and as such less actual revenue.

    To simplify it. 5 people spending $25 makes you more money then 1 person spending $100
    I think it's more complicated than you are making it. There are people who will spend absolutely nothing on this game no matter what the system is. Then there are people who will spend whatever you allow them to spend on this game. Literally. It's kind of like the difference between the old $15 a month subscription requirement vs F2P with tons of micro transactions. If you give the big spenders more ways to spend their money, they will absolutely spend more money. Whereas the F2P and minimal spending players will not necessarily spend any more than they already spend. So it's in their best interest to maintain the system currently as it is because it brings out the most in all types of players from a spending standpoint. If you make lobi and lockbox ships account wide unlocks, then you'll still have the F2P and broke players spending virtually nothing while the big spenders save money and spend less. That doesn't sound like a good business move to me.
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  • postagepaidpostagepaid Member Posts: 2,899 Arc User
    Account wide might potentially increase the number of people willing to buy into the gamblebox system as if you have multiple characters you have to really consider what one gets the shineys. I have a couple of lockbox ships sitting unused at the moment as I can't decide what character to use them on.

    But account wide would no doubt make the ec price spike and the fancy ships would become even harder for f2pers to get hold of.
  • sovereign010sovereign010 Member Posts: 636 Arc User
    The way I see it, the more characters you have the less likely you are to buy a ship that can only be used on one of them. And I'm not going to re-buy the same ship for multiple toons.

    What I might be more amenable to is the system more like what we have with fleet ships, the difference being that the lockbox unlocks the ship for the toon that opens it and for subsequent toons you have to spend a fleet ship module.

    The odds of this actually happening though are about as high as making dilithium ore and refined dil an account-wide resource, with refining capacity incremented by 8K per level 50 (say) toon. This would do away with some toons (usually KDF) sitting on 6-figure sums of unrefined ore while the fed ones starve.
  • shadowwraith#9264 shadowwraith Member Posts: 379 Arc User
    why not have a system where if you acquire a ship from a lockbox/lobi store or the exchange it unlocks the option for your other characters to buy the ship from the c-store for Zen.

    If cryptic can add an option for certain weapons to be purchasable (spiral wave disruptors, andorian phasers) from the dill store on the purchase or acquisition of the appropriate ship, they can add a script that unlocks the ability to purchase ships for other characters from the c-store once that ship has been acquired.
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  • admiralkogaradmiralkogar Member Posts: 875 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    Hmmm ...

    I have maxed out toons so I can see the appeal of being able to transfer ships back and forth between them. It definitely sounds better than having to gamble for all 50+ of them hoping to get another of the same thing. Also my toons who have been around longer have more stuff that I don't want to lose, but that they don't use as much as a newer toon might.

    I have an idea what I'd like to see happen, which I will get to, but I have to say I don't care for the idea of treating them like event ships for a couple of reasons.

    First, they are not event ships, and so are not bound to a single point in time that newer toons will have missed out on only because they are new. New toons have a chance to get them just like toons who have boldly gone before. Lock boxes come and go, but never entirely disappear from circulation in most cases. It's not like you can't get more lock boxes at almost anytime you chose just by playing pve or shopping the exchange. Also I think the lobi store sells them, but it might be the dilithium store (does anyone remember specifically?). Also doesn't the Infinity or some lock box fix a lot for those who want to find a special ship and don't want to go to browse the exchange? Maybe I am confused on that one ... Anyway, lots of lock boxes to be had.

    Second, event ships are something you the player earns for your account for participating in the event. Lock boxes are earned by a character doing missions/encounters in the regular game. Lock boxes may be swapped within an account, and unlocked with keys bought from account resources (generating revenue for STO to stay online), but they are basically set up to be rewards for a character. All the boosts and other things you can get are pretty clearly intended to benefit a single toon. Some of the rewards can be swapped after the fact, but it doesn't change the items intended focus on a single character. I think it is healthier for the game to have toon specific focus at times. Having an account unlock would run counter to that design,

    Third, I like the feeling of having something more unique for a ship, and lock boxes make a nice tool for separating the event ships from more unusual options. I don't think I'd like it if all my toons could get a Kazon ship just because one of them already had it. The one I gave the Kazon to through my account bank will be that much more unique when cruising the galaxy! I mean I just earned 52 Lukari ships through the actions of a single toon! So 51 of them are 'free'. Disclaimer; I spent some Lobi because real life happened to impact my access to STO right in the middle of the event, but still it was cheap.

    Lock box ships are not cheap for any toon, where as event ships, once unlocked for any toon, are literally free for the rest. This 'cheapness' makes it easier for the 'powers above' to justify messing with them like they did with the Dyson Science Destroyers! Lock box ships are in my opinion safer, and more unique because of how they fit into the game. Also again, it helps keep STO profitable, and we want that.

    What I'd like to see happen ...

    Give us a way to get a 'Title Transfer Voucher' that allows us repack the ship in a special container (not for resale on the exchange, or anywhere) and put it into any bank to be picked up by any other eligible toon. I'd spend lobi for the option, but I'd also be fine with it being yet another lock box item as long as it had a significantly higher drop chance than the ships themselves do. I'd say 40-50 lobi, or every ten boxes for a drop. Both options make it so you are buying keys to unlock boxes, whether for lobi, or the vouchers, and you gain the freedom of moving your old ship to a new toon as it suits you and you can afford it.

    So that is my ramble for this topic. Been to busy to show up for a bit. Nice to be back. :)

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    Post edited by admiralkogar on
  • admiralkogaradmiralkogar Member Posts: 875 Arc User
    starkaos wrote: »
    There is a reclaim section in the Dilithium Store for Lockbox ship equipment like consoles, warp cores, and weapons and Event equipment like what is available in the Phoenix Prize Pack. The reclaim section just deals with what a specific character has earned and not account wide. So if I earned the Cochrane Shotgun and delete it on my main character, then I am able to reclaim it on only my main character. Adding the Lockbox ships to that section would make sense since it removes the problem of accidentally deleting a Lockbox ship.

    That is a good idea! :)

    Qapla'!
  • admiralkogaradmiralkogar Member Posts: 875 Arc User
    edited March 2017
    coolbatman wrote: »
    make a lobi/ lockbox, doff pack and R&D pack R&D promo pack reclaim store and make it cost 500 ZEN to re-claim/unlock for each additional toon.....this way everybody is happy, cryptic gets $$$$$ and players get to unlock lobi/ lockbox, doff pack and R&D pack R&D promo pack ships on additional toons on the same account

    That sounds like something I'd take part in. I'm all for the F2P side of this game, it's why I'm playing STO in the first place, and eventually went for a lifetime sub. I'm also all for STO making money through it's transaction system, which I have never really felt was unfair. Actually, I have felt like whether I spend some money, or grind for something, I have a decent shot at getting what I wanted in time.

    I'd probably rather it was 1000 zen myself, but your idea sounds like a good fit for the existing system. Logical! It's like you are part Vulcan or something ... ;)

    Qapla'!
  • detheaterdetheater Member Posts: 76 Arc User
    This is something I have been advocating for almost as long as I have been playing. I agree that it shouldn't just be a blanket unlock, but I think unlocking them in the zen store for your account for a 500-1000 zen cost for each reclaim would be ideal.

    On my first toon I fell in love with the space barbie portion of the game, but I quickly stopped investing in lobi and lockbox ships. There was no way I was paying the amount it costs for a lobi or lockbox ship for one character. So, I just stopped buying them. On the flip side I own almost all Tier 6 ships in the zen store and a lot of the lower tier ones (I started playing after the introduction of T6 or I would probably have more T5 ships). For the same reason that I wait until I can afford the 12 ship mega packs instead of buying them one at a time or one faction at a time is why I won't buy lobi or lockbox ships anymore. I like a good deal. Lobi and lockbox ships aren't a good deal because spending $60+ on a ship for one toon is ridiculous.

    I would feel fairly confident placing a bet on the idea that they would make more money by doing lobi and lockbox ships this way. Why? Because I think most players (excluding those that just play F2P and the whales) feel the way I do. Dropping that amount of money for a ship only one toon can fly is a little ridiculous. I think those that would pay an additional fee per toon would outweigh and outspend the whales. At least that's my feeling, it could be wrong.

    I know I for one would buy more keys to gamble on a few boxes per cycle for lobi and/or to sell them for the ships/traits I want. Where as it stands right now... I don't worry about lockbox and lobi ships at all and never buy keys to open crates or sell them and I bet I'm not the only one.
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