With the value of enchantments, greater marks of potency, and other items fluctuating wildly due to changes in fixed prices and rules, perhaps it's time for NWO to consider the value of buyback programs.
A buyback program is essentially what it sounds like: players are able to exchange certain specific enchantments for other resources that are of equal(ish) value prior to a given rules change. For instance, GMOPs could be exchanged for 75,000 AD each (since high level VIPers can get them for that cost), up until the final price gets reduced (at which point obviously the exchange would NOT be viable, because hello infinite AD, which is not the intention). If at some point in the future, certain armor enchantments were to be nerfed, Cryptic could offer a buyback program in which players could trade the enchantment for another enchantment of the same tier (lesser, greater, etc).
Maintaining game balance is the purpose to rules changes, but it's definitely true that volatility of asset prices adds uncertainty to the market. Buyback programs allow for players to swallow changes without too much angsting.
For whatever it's worth, no, I don't have a truckload of GMOPs I want to be refunded for.
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I feel like "ha ha, we're in ur inventory lowerin' your asset prices" is a bit of a backhanded approach to managing the economy but, to be fair-
-why the heck would anyone stock up on GMOPs anyway?
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Sci-fi author: The Gods We Make, The Gods We Seek, and Ji-min
I'm affected by the change: like many others I made good use of dbl-RP weekend, and upgraded 3 artifacts to legendary, perfect terror to pure terror, lots of rank 8s and 9s. I even have a couple GMoPs left over in my shared bank from buying a small stack off the AH.
But I bought those GMoPs with AD that was at least partly from leadership, so it was inflated currency. Going forward, I estimate my income will be cut by 50-70%, so having GMoP prices cut by 75 - 50% works out for me.
And as for people who have a big stash of GMoPs they were using for trade, I have no sympathy. Doing that was going around the AH and expected gameplay, as surely as when lockbox keys were unbound.
Like I said, a much better case can be made for the armor/weapon/utility enchants than for the GMOPs, but the GMOP is the "current" case.
Actually, scratch that. there's 0 cost to listing items, so there's no reason NOT to put them at higher rates. You can just keep lowering the price gradually, or ultimately end up using them.
Going around the ah is not playing as expected..lol are you <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>...why do you think a trade channel exists
Everyone using this pseudo-currency knew it was probably a bad idea and they knew why they were doing it.
Item/class/skill buffs/nerfs have been around since I've been playing. Just never this intense.
There is always influx and there is always a mod around the corner to wipe out everything else if the interim nerfs didn't get it.
With the new changes the "grey market" trading just became easier as we now have two different value coins to use: SMoPs and GMoPs. So players will continue to trade that way but they will adjust for the new values and perhaps learn not to hoard as many. I don't consider there to be any problem with it either. Players are trading stuff for other stuff at a prices they are both happy with.
As for buybacks, good luck with that. I can't see it ever happening. Prices change in these games. I hung onto several sets of T2 armour for ages. Then along came Mod 5 and the value plummeted to pretty much the salvage value. It happens, you move on.
"Adventurer Retirement program" they could call it.
The SMOP will be 85K in AH (like GMoP before). 85K x 4 = 340K.
However, if someone wants to pay 75K AD now, yes, the GMoP holders should unload them now.
Sci-fi author: The Gods We Make, The Gods We Seek, and Ji-min
Buy back the zen out of NW and drop it to arc account so we can use it in a game we might actually like instead of this frustration-fest. I'm more than ready to play some other game and just dump this POS, but doing so would lose my current zen balance or all the others I've dumped in (wasted).
Just let my zen balance leave NW for another game, all that I've wasted so far will be chalked up as a lesson learned and I can move on. >.<