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How mount exclusivity has backfired - reducing the market for third-party sellers
beckylunatic
Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
Did the presence of epic mounts in lockboxes when NW launched mean that Cryptic sold fewer epic mounts in the Zen store? I should think not, as anyone would tell you that it was a far smarter decision to buy an account mount from Cryptic. If you absolutely could not live without a Stag or Nightmare or Owlbear to ride, then you could buy them for vanity's sake, but with the understanding that you were paying a lot just for looks. The quality of life provided by a mount was in the speed, and top speed was available to anyone who was willing to invest as little as 2500 Zen (1.25m AD with max exchange). By all appearances, the system worked.
When the very first legendary mount debuted, the initial announcement that they'd be faster than epic mounts was met with huge public outcry, mostly due to there being no account-wide counterpart available. The speed was edited to 110% without any comment from Cryptic as to whether they were changing the item in reaction or had made an error. And the game proceeded with minimal ripple as legendary mounts were nothing more than an expensive vanity item... for now.
Mounts were eventually granted equipment powers, and while some have been criticized (or praised) for being so game-changingly powerful that they are must-have items, for the most part, the design has been viewed as fair. The combat powers on legendary mounts are likewise a feature that players can accept as nice to have but not mandatory outside of PvP (where we dare not speak of the thing that rhymes with slay-to-spin).
With the addition of the stable and insignias, it makes more sense than ever to buy lots of mounts (even the slow ones if you like their aesthetics) instead of just budgeting for one and calling it good. Clever, and a monetization scheme that most of us aren't going to complain about because you can work within the system even without buying a thing. Additionally, the stable improved the game for both mount cosmetics and equip and combat powers. You can ride any mount at any speed you own, using any powers you own. And there's the rub.
Legendary mounts finally received that suspected speed upgrade to 140%, at around the same time that NW's game design came to involve ever-increasing travel across giant expanses of map and then returning (thank the gods for VIP signpost). But they're not any easier to get, despite inclusion in events, which most players have to view as a whole lot of tease with no payoff.
My husband bought a Runeclad Manticore for one character when it was "only" 10m AD (20000 Zen with max exchange). He likes having it, but says that playing his other characters is now painful because he can't get around as quickly. I routinely play on alts of every class. Even though I could afford to buy a legendary mount for a couple of them, I get irritated just thinking about choosing which ones.
When I looked the other day, the cheapest available legendary mount cost 17m AD (34000 Zen blah blah). It's not really relevant to this thread whether or not anyone is buying legendary mounts for whatever the AH asking prices are. The posted price is a fact. It is also an undeniable fact that goldsellers advertise the most wanted legendary mounts - therefore NOT the ones that are cheapest on the AH - for a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest ones if bought legitimately. Cryptic, this is a monster that you created. If you think it's somehow good for the game to have a significant quality of life improvement tied to a super-exclusive item, you have no right to be po-faced when those same items help sustain the black market you claim to be fighting.
They're just pixels, and have no inherent value beyond what we attach to them, and no production cost after you've finished designing them. How many players would buy a bare-bones legendary account-wide mount just for the convenience, with little or no care what it looked like or what the other bonuses were? Would it have any impact on the desire for lockbox mounts provided they continued to have really cool designs and animations and kickbackside powers?
I really don't see how it would be any different from the days when you bought a Clydesdale for convenience or a Nightmare to show off how rich you were.
When the very first legendary mount debuted, the initial announcement that they'd be faster than epic mounts was met with huge public outcry, mostly due to there being no account-wide counterpart available. The speed was edited to 110% without any comment from Cryptic as to whether they were changing the item in reaction or had made an error. And the game proceeded with minimal ripple as legendary mounts were nothing more than an expensive vanity item... for now.
Mounts were eventually granted equipment powers, and while some have been criticized (or praised) for being so game-changingly powerful that they are must-have items, for the most part, the design has been viewed as fair. The combat powers on legendary mounts are likewise a feature that players can accept as nice to have but not mandatory outside of PvP (where we dare not speak of the thing that rhymes with slay-to-spin).
With the addition of the stable and insignias, it makes more sense than ever to buy lots of mounts (even the slow ones if you like their aesthetics) instead of just budgeting for one and calling it good. Clever, and a monetization scheme that most of us aren't going to complain about because you can work within the system even without buying a thing. Additionally, the stable improved the game for both mount cosmetics and equip and combat powers. You can ride any mount at any speed you own, using any powers you own. And there's the rub.
Legendary mounts finally received that suspected speed upgrade to 140%, at around the same time that NW's game design came to involve ever-increasing travel across giant expanses of map and then returning (thank the gods for VIP signpost). But they're not any easier to get, despite inclusion in events, which most players have to view as a whole lot of tease with no payoff.
My husband bought a Runeclad Manticore for one character when it was "only" 10m AD (20000 Zen with max exchange). He likes having it, but says that playing his other characters is now painful because he can't get around as quickly. I routinely play on alts of every class. Even though I could afford to buy a legendary mount for a couple of them, I get irritated just thinking about choosing which ones.
When I looked the other day, the cheapest available legendary mount cost 17m AD (34000 Zen blah blah). It's not really relevant to this thread whether or not anyone is buying legendary mounts for whatever the AH asking prices are. The posted price is a fact. It is also an undeniable fact that goldsellers advertise the most wanted legendary mounts - therefore NOT the ones that are cheapest on the AH - for a fraction of the cost of even the cheapest ones if bought legitimately. Cryptic, this is a monster that you created. If you think it's somehow good for the game to have a significant quality of life improvement tied to a super-exclusive item, you have no right to be po-faced when those same items help sustain the black market you claim to be fighting.
They're just pixels, and have no inherent value beyond what we attach to them, and no production cost after you've finished designing them. How many players would buy a bare-bones legendary account-wide mount just for the convenience, with little or no care what it looked like or what the other bonuses were? Would it have any impact on the desire for lockbox mounts provided they continued to have really cool designs and animations and kickbackside powers?
I really don't see how it would be any different from the days when you bought a Clydesdale for convenience or a Nightmare to show off how rich you were.
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Comments
I wouldn't even mind it if they were a joke. Maybe +4000 regen and a combat power that buffs companion damage. Whatever.
That might be the right compromise from a financial standpoint too. You don't want to devalue the fancy rare mounts too much, so leave them with desirable powers and bonuses.
If you really want a legendary mount... just play for 300 days as vip. Collect and save all keys. Then open 300 lockboxes at the same time...
Takes patience, and endurance.... but that's the best way
Buy vip once... then use Astral exchange to maintain vip. Problem solved.
Ah.. and just play 1 character...
I'd buy it, and I already have a legendary mounts on my main ...
Pretty much nobody opens lockboxes just to get the speed from a 140% mount, I mean we kept opening lockboxes even back when the max mount speed was 110% and Epic mounts were readily available in the Zen-store.
People open lockboxes either for a specific mount/item or just for the "gambling" fun of it, that won't change even if they start selling a Legendary mount in the Zen-store...
I would spend some $$ for account wide 140% mounts (even if they had subpar combat powers and bonuses) because it would be you know umm account wide....
It does baffle me as to why there is not an account wide version....
Anything to please make this game a little more "ALT" friendly...
Nicely done Becky. Preach on sister!
Crytpic should also while they are at it, lower the costs of most zen items and make it so their accountwide legendary mount is the only item sold for 200 dollars(honestly, less than 200 dollars would be smarter). There is no reason for outdated packs and other less valuble things to be sold for as much as they are and even the items peopel actually want are overpriced and turn people off. They should sell almost everything for way less but add a lot more new items to the zen market and add more every mod. People are reluctant and often refuse to spend a ton of money at once on 1 overpriced item, but they will happily buy a lot of items over time.
PVP Rogue,
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(And I really, really want a BI Warhorse or Astral Wind, NOW!)
I would love to see a 140% account-wide speed unlock as a Zen market option (and perhaps as an incredibly rare loot item in the currently hardest dungeon).
Sci-fi author: The Gods We Make, The Gods We Seek, and Ji-min
As a PvE player I have never felt the need to use a legendary mount and have got 3 from boxes which all got sold.
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For a long time (on Xbox) there was no 140% speed or Combat Power on Legendaries, just a different skin, but people wanted them anyway, and that won't change even if they start selling a Legendary mount in the Zen-store.
It could have a run of the mill Combat Power like many of the Legendaries, as in just swoop in and slap some enemies around a bit, and a pretty neutral 2000 Power & 2000 Defense equip bonus or something like that...
Nothing overpowered or BiS, just a great, versatile Legendary mount that sooooo many, many players would buy instantly.
@nitocris83 @mimicking#6533
Just my 2 cents
If some players generated large quantities of AD by... creative... means (e.g. Leadership armies of old) and traded it for Zen, that Zen was purchased by someone for real money.
Sci-fi author: The Gods We Make, The Gods We Seek, and Ji-min
But yeah legendary is almost a must now in any effective BiS build and 17 to 26 million is ouch! I think maybe if I sold all my gear enchants runes I would barely make 15 mill AD.Not to mention after opening 10k plus lock boxes I have never gotten one .
I prob have 5,983 purple marks,2865 genies gifts ,15980 trade bars and 978 purple companion xp books from boxes but no legendary mounts .... hell even epic mounts maybe only 10 from all those boxes.
<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> RNG luck or a hoax on a bigger scale than Area 51 aliens ...I'll let you decide.