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Auras Now Available on the C-Store
dwightmc
Posts: 95 Arc User
Hey Champions, we?re excited to announce customizable Auras, a brand-new feature, is now available on the C-Store! Personalize your hero's look with effects like the Snowflake Cloud and Krackle Aura!
Read more about the Aura System here: http://co.perfectworld.com/news/?p=1058101
Read more about the Aura System here: http://co.perfectworld.com/news/?p=1058101
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Yeah. Whoo. Exciting.
Looks like you've created the Champions Online cash grab to end all Champions Online cash grabs. Good job.
If your a subscriber you can get one of those aura packs a month pretty much free of charge by using your stipend
Nope. It's 600 zen or $6 to unlock the extra slots. So it's only semi-the Champions Online cash grab to end all Champions Online cash grabs. Given that the game needs to make money to convince the company to invest resources in it, rather than in the more profitable STO and NWO, they'll probably find more ways to monetize that you won't like.
There are much better ways to produce a profit from a game than cheap money grabbing.
EvE charges (or once charged) $60 US for a monocle. One that only you would ever see, when looking at your character portrait. And one that had absolutely no effect on gameplay whatsoever. (At least we can show off our auras to other players!)
In some games, there have been items that have sold for thousands of dollars.
Twelve bucks to get eight frigging aura slots (which would look terrible, by the way) sounds pretty trivial in comparison...
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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Both aura slot packs unlock both always on AND in-combat aura slots. The three pack unlocks three of each. You don't have to purchase the always-on and in-combat slots separately.
@brainstem
I believe this is one of the bigger cash sinks introduced into the game since the in-game store was originally opened.
Things can only escalate from here. I have to say I'm a bit surprised at the level of complacency that people exhibit when it comes to things like this.
I would be fine if the aura slots were 125 and the aura sets were 300 Zen and I would by two copies of each. But for the price of a costume set that is useable on all my characters? They would have gotten all that zen for each aura pack from me but now I'm not spending anything.
They either make it so those packs unlock the options for all my characters like a proper costume option or I'm not buying in. Legacy Auras on the other hand are good.
IMO, aura parts should have been sold piece meal for 50 zen each if they wanted repeat purchases. This is outright greedy. But its completely unreasonable to expect Cryptic to not screw everything up in some way or another.
In my case it is not complacency. I actually like the implementation and pricing. I understand how those with more of a tendency to play alts might feel differently, but does every character need the extra options ?
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
Aura storage prices are a good deal cheaper than bank slots (and extremely cheaper than shared storage slots).
The one stickler, IMO, is the prices of the aura packs themselves. Considering that costume packs can be used by all toons at once while aura items themselves can only be used by one toon at a time, I do agree they should be 100-200 Zen cheaper.
However, I'm also a player that probably would have a variety of different toons anwyays...
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Well, if Champions Online had actual RAIDS and other ENDGAME and a more class based power progression for characters instead of "free-for-all woohoo I got chainsaw and mental powers with my power armor miniguns" bullcrap then more people would probably play. heck if it had actual structured classes and ENDGAME CONTENT like their former creation (City of Heroes) had then this game would be way more profitable than currently.
And I still hope for the day when this dream might come true bc I love CO almost as much as I loved CoH.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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City of Heroes had tons more players than this game does anymore.
I'm sorry, which one is still around?
Honestly, I'm with Buxom and Zero on this one. While it's nice to see new systems implimented(and the 1st test of CN to see if they abandon this for the next shiny like old Cryptic), I find myself more impressed with the removal of the aura effects than most of the potential additions. I, too, play the alt game as I would guess a large percentage of the Gold/LTS do since new toons are the majority of the "end game."
It's not just the aura delivery system...I have too many toons to consider almost any "per toon" option to be viable and I daresay I am not alone in this. Account slots and multi-claim BoP auras would, IMO, have justified a pricepoint on par with costume sets. Heck, I've been known to buy a travel power for 1-2 toons in the past but in that example I have the options, at the drop of a hat, to use it on any toon I have or will make in the future.
Also, using examples like the monocle in Eve or the mounts in WoW/NW are somewhat in the extreme bracket but even if they weren't....this is none of those game. This is Champions Online and, IMO, the design/pricing/delivery system must be designed with this game's tendancies in mind. In my brief time in STO, for example, some people have 2 toons...some have 3. Some of my friends in NW have 4-5 toons. Some of my friends in CO have 20-50+ and that's not as extreme as some might think in all honesty.
Also, I sadly have to agree with Zero on something here. Yes, Cryptic has sucked boulders through a paper straw in the past in reguards to the potential of this game. Yes, Cryptic North(in it's brief time on the scene) is making a very, IMO, positive impact on this game. The problem here is US. Our standards have been dragged through the mud so much that "We're going to take some time to focus on bugs" got people singing in the streets with joy. Now don't get me wrong I am appreciative of CN for the bug repairs and the majority of what they do BUT bug repairs in a MMO? This is more of CN picking up the ball that Cryptic couldn't figure out how to pick up in the 1st place. Ongoing bug repairs should be MMO 101 and should not be praiseworthy or some major event. That it is, and rightfully so for this time and place, so praiseworthy is both a testament to how low Cryptic let this game get and how starved we vets are for something positive to hold onto.
TT said before that CO makes profit in reguards to some of the doomies crying out that the plug was going to be pulled on this game(and this was BEFORE CN). That's great. I am glad a company can make money on a product I enjoy playing but all these blind "goodwill gestures" and "complacency" that basically come accross as, "Maybe if I keep giving them money they will suddenly notice us and we'll get the content this game so richly deserves?" Buying the Z-Store Costume sets because you want them and are happy to be able to buy something in this game is one thing but I know people who didn't even like the costume sets who bought them just to encourage the possibility that more may come. IMO the product sells itself on it's own merits. I bought all the new Z-Store Costume sets and you know what....I used them. I own them because I want to own them. I use them because I had use for them. This is a company...not a charity. I own their products because their products appeal to me plain and simple. I also don't own a single one of the Z-Store Emblem Sets because, to be quite frank, they're hideous and IMO are multiple steps down when compared to the emblems I get to use for free when I do use emblems.
We may very well be turning the corner. We may very well be putting the bad behind us. Cryptic North might possibly be the Messiahs of CO. If so, that's great. As a player of this game the better it gets the happier I am about it. I'm not like some(not all) of these X-CoX bitter disgruntled wannabe doom makers who track Massively articles just so they can wax poetically about how their "superior" game died(newsflash: IT DIED) and how CO somehow doesn't deserve to succeed because of this little detail. Even a "superior" corpse is still a corpse.
Honestly, I just ask that the vets(many of whom I consider friends) take a moment to pick themselves up by their coat tails, brush off, and be objectional about this. If the product is good...BUY IT. Do not charity drive and accept substandard design/pricing models in the hopes of a better tomorrow. We either get a better tomorrow or we don't. We got Cryptic North and they seem to have the manpower to make things happen. I say we give them the space to run with it. I say this is one of the 1st stumbling steps in that otherwise positive looking process when the trends of a large(whom I do not speak for mind you) playerbase does not gel with the model.
Now if you happen to like this model/setup like Ashen then more power to you. I'm glad you're glad...I simply disagree. For me I see this whole thing as the removal of effects I didn't particularly care for(for concept, not appearance) with the options to replace a few if I choose to do so. I do not like the "per toon" options. I do not like the "single claim" options. If I want a toon with a sparkly head then I'll open my Z-Store tab and claim an [Inborn Tenacity] since I have UNLIMITED Multi-claim copies of that. If I want glowing eyes I'll either use the Cursed/Scourge Eyes or buy some Heirloom. Glowing Hands....Takofanes/Cursed/Scourge. Glowing Feet....the same. I have multi-toon options. Heck, if I want Krackle...it comes on Power Flight in two forms. Those who like this have their options and those, like myself, who do not have their options. The difference is very simple....my options are mostly free(Power Flight is 525Z) and therefore money I will not be giving to Cryptic at this time. Money that could have been made in a model which better follows the trends and styles of this game IMO.
Ok, lots of words. If you read this then thanks. I honestly, without any proof at all mind you, suspect that the models and such are too late to be changed and that Lordgar and Cryptic North lack the rank to be able to make such changes. I suspect these changes decisions were made on a higher level and that level will not be venturing to these forums to listen to what myself and others have to say on the subject. They'll just check a spreadsheet, see sales, and move on. The Power in this situation is that spreadsheet so if you like this then make your mark. If you don't, like me, then make your mark on the spreadsheet by not showing up on it.
Join Date: Aug 2009 | Title: Devslayer
I'm also puzzled by people who refer to Cryptic as "money-grubbing" in chats. Of course they're money-grubbing. They're a for-profit corporation. Were you under the impression this was a charitable operation or something?
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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According to the quarterly reports from ncsoft CoH was plenty profitable for a F2P game. They pulled the plug on it bc "it wasn't in line with the company's new direction"or some nonsense. You know damn well it got wrongfully killed for some reason and one of the few reasons that this game is still floating is CO inherited some of CoHs former players. Temporarily anyways until like me found out what low standards for repeatable endgame group play there is. Sorry for my standards on what I think a MMO should be, based on plenty of other MMOs I have played in the past.
YEs I've noticed the people who immediately started complaining that it isn't like THEIR game. Who want it chnaged to be like their game.
Also the advertisers for the various follow on games both in-game and on the forums.
The first one is in alpha testing right now, hopefully you are helping to test since you prefer that type of game.
Lets see
Why aren't their classes?
Why can't silvers have FF?
Why aren't their more group missions?
When are you getting your next update?
when are you getting your next power sets?
why isn't this TP like it was in COX?
whyisn't this power COX, it was better there?
Yesterday.
"all missions in CO should be instanced like in COX"
and the answer is
Because it is a different game and was written for a different style of play. Solo, the journey , not the end.
as for repeateable end game play.. why did I leave other games.. that would be apart from elitist jerks. BORING gear grind, endgame.
GO on NW & STO, end game is all they get apparently.You whizz through to max level and then start the grind.
Comment from someone on chat about updates in STO. "If you don't like PvP and gear grind end game. shut up and go stand over there."
NW updates, more end game.
but anyway, topic at hand.
I am an alt-aholic, 2 accounts worth. I agree with Crosschan, i see absolutely NO reason to buy single use , effectively , costumes, even if they can be swapped between characters.
I got my Ego form aura working after some hints on which settings to change.
I have to put it on Medium FX quality then click the colour tab. Sometimes it turns off when I go to or from alerts.I just click the tab again. I tried high but the power effects were way too bright for me.
Why the heck would I want to put MORE birght lights on my character to make it even HARDER to see anything.
IN the alert I ran with it on High, I had to stand away from people to be able to see anything. That was at max veiw distance.
babbling again,
The more profitable STO &NW.
NW every update has an attached 'founders' pack, they have z store sales each WEEK to try and get people to buy things.
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No, it was rightfully killed. Rightfully because the people who owned it made the decision to cancel. If you want the current owner of a product to not have the right to cancel you just need to cough up enough money to buy the product, at which point you have the right to decide to not cancel it. Keep in mind that they have the right to choose to not sell.
I am not the CEO, or chairman of the board, or whatever of NCSoft but I expect that if COH was making WoW money it would not have been cancelled. Profitable does not necessarily mean profitable enough to avoid the axe.
If product A is returning $1.10 for every dollar invested in it, but the company has reason to believe that product B might return $1.25 per dollar invested then the company may very well decide to pull the plug on A to invest more heavily in B. This can happen even if A was profitable.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
Precisely.
Agreed.
Well stated as usual Ashen.
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amazing isn't it, the difference when you compare a game which had a stream of updates with a game which got none.
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Lightning and Fire Auras are on the test server, so I expect those will be released relatively soon.
From fairly early on in the player knowledge phase of CO's conversion to FtP my concern had been about the (then) C-Store. I worried that it was insufficiently robust to really support the game. I commented that the C-Store would need very frequent updates of highly desirable content such as costume pieces/sets and/or addition of highly desirable content with a reasonably high repeat purchase value.
With the addition of a subscriber stipend, something added after player outcry, I worried that the pattern of relatively slow C-Store addition would be insufficient to prevent stipend stockpiles. I thought that this could lead to relatively low actual cash infusion into the game when particularly desirable items were added to the store. A big part of my concern was that FtP players would be able to buy those few things in the store that they actually cared about and be faced with little or no incentive to continue buying, while subscribers similarly reached a point where they had little to buy.
I like the idea of the current implementation of the auras because it seems like it has the potential to provide a means for subscribers and silvers alike to visit the store more often with the expectation that there will be more of value for them to buy.
Now, I fully admit to not being much of an altist and so the impact of per character rather than per account purchases does not hit me to the degree it does others. Reflection on that aspect of the situation, particularly in light of Crosschan's comments about per character purchases working against CO's primary endgame (creating alts) did give me a sense that some degree of accommodation of a playstyle that has been encouraged since day one might be a good idea for this system.
Like I said, I like this implementation. It works for me. It is one step in addressing my concerns about the C-Store (too little, too late remains to be seen). But I completely understand that it does not work well for others, particularly those who have been playing the game more as designed than have I. I think its possible to accommodate both views.
'Caine, miss you bud. Fly high.
There is one Legacy aura that I have on two different toons, because in both cases a metallic shell is one of the most remarkable things about their appearances and so the gleam of Invulnerability makes a nice substitute for polish - but that's the only one I reused.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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I don't delete many characters, but I do occasionally- and if it's a high-level toon, going through each object in the inventory and making sure that it's not an account-bound object can be difficult, especially since some of the icons are very similar.
One fix for this would be to automatically drop a deleted character's account-bound object into the overflow bag of the next character you play. Another option would be to have them revert back to the C-Store "claim" area.
That said, I still don't like auras being treated as physical objects, and I won't be buying any until their made account-wide across all characters.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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Looks to me like you need a hideout bank!
Other than that, thanks so much for making auras available. Some of us had all but given up hope that it would ever happen, and then you guys pull through. You rock, and I mean that.
-Meldrith
Or did i allready wrote that?
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
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