Disconnect from Reality in the AH Mount-pocalypse

kemnimtarkas

So, on the AH there are Legendary mounts going for 50 million AD.

I have also noticed that the AD cap on an account has been quietly raised to 100 million AD...

So clearly Cryptic knows about this weird alternate reality economy and is tacitly approving of whatever skullduggery is going on to create it.

How on Earth do they plan to make the AH ever work again for 'normal' players (like me)?

Maybe I just need to accept that there are 3 player groups - the Free to Play hard core folks (my sincerest admiration for your patience and tenacity!), the casual gamers like me who fork out occasional $$$, and the uber players / botters who need a AD cap increase to bleeping 100 million to accomodate their massive bankrolls.

demonmonger

100,000,000 cap?
Good to know...

(Starts to sell zen)

sockmunkey

Its been 100 mill from the very beginning, and its per character not account. It has always been this way, there have been no changes to this.

lewstelamon01

Yeah, no conspiracies going on here. Cap has always been 100M AD, only the refining cap has ever been increased since launch. Also, legendary mounts are about as scarce as snowflakes in the Nine Hecks (sanitized, I know, *grumbles at word filter*), so....yeah, they're going to be insanely expensive. Economics 101.

You don't tell Lamborghini to lower the prices of their cars because your budget can only afford a Fiat.

demonmonger

Nope instead you customize your Honda to be faster than the lambo!!!!

sm0ld3r

lewstelamon01 said:

You don't tell Lamborghini to lower the prices of their cars because your budget can only afford a Fiat.

Likewise, you don't try to sell Lamborghini's in 3rd world countries either. There shouldn't be many/any people left (post exploit eras) that still have that kind of AD to spend on a single mount that will be bound to a single character that will most likely get nerfed.

plasticbat

People posts a price. If you don't like it, don't buy it. It is a free market.

kreatyve

The mounts may be listed for 50 million, but are they actually selling for that price? Probably very rarely. If you sort the AH by buyout, most of the mounts are under 20 million. Still quite a large chunk of change, however, given both the rarity of them and the combat powers, I do believe they are worth it.

micky1p00

I'm selling tinfoil hats, 1 mil per one. Very high quality, custom made, will even fit dragonborn. Guilds can have a discount for large orders.
The hats have armor enchant slots for the ultimate protection and refinable to mythic quality !

*Armor enchants not included.
*Specific tinfoil RP must be used, sold separately.

lewstelamon01

Lessee....let's do a little bit of math here. Let's suppose someone used about....say, 400 keys before they got a mount. Without going into the real money aspect of the matter (and yes, that's quite a bit) that translates to 50,000 ZEN.

Now, let's look at how many AD that means. That's 25 million AD, assuming that ZEN is at the 500 AD cap per ZEN. And I'm pretty sure that 400 is quite a conservative estimate. Some people have undoubtedly burned far more. Even with the free key from VIP, too, that's a long time. And....time is money as well.

What a person put into getting that legendary mount is, be it in what they value their time at or what they actually put in ZEN for it as it translates into AD value, at the very least the minimum they're going to want back, and that's not counting posting fees (if any) and the AH cut (which VIP doesn't remove).

So, 25 million becomes at least 27.5 million...except that the cut on that amount is higher, and gets higher no matter what you eventually sell for. Scarcity also matters, as does demand for said mount.

The bottom line is that people are going to sell for what they honestly think they can get for that mount, and usually are not willing to go below what they put into getting that mount. Because of that, your "average Joe" is hardly going to be able to afford such a mount themselves. Sorry....but that's just the way the world works. People aren't going to lessen the value of their investment because one wishes them to or they can't afford that premium.

urabask

lewstelamon01 said:

Lessee....let's do a little bit of math here. Let's suppose someone used about....say, 400 keys before they got a mount. Without going into the real money aspect of the matter (and yes, that's quite a bit) that translates to 50,000 ZEN.

Now, let's look at how many AD that means. That's 25 million AD, assuming that ZEN is at the 500 AD cap per ZEN. And I'm pretty sure that 400 is quite a conservative estimate. Some people have undoubtedly burned far more. Even with the free key from VIP, too, that's a long time. And....time is money as well.

What a person put into getting that legendary mount is, be it in what they value their time at or what they actually put in ZEN for it as it translates into AD value, at the very least the minimum they're going to want back, and that's not counting posting fees (if any) and the AH cut (which VIP doesn't remove).

So, 25 million becomes at least 27.5 million...except that the cut on that amount is higher, and gets higher no matter what you eventually sell for. Scarcity also matters, as does demand for said mount.

The bottom line is that people are going to sell for what they honestly think they can get for that mount, and usually are not willing to go below what they put into getting that mount. Because of that, your "average Joe" is hardly going to be able to afford such a mount themselves. Sorry....but that's just the way the world works. People aren't going to lessen the value of their investment because one wishes them to or they can't afford that premium.

Legendary mounts drop 1 per about 2000 lockboxes. The price is high because they're scarce and there's demand for them.

mamalion1234

lewstelamon01 said:

Lessee....let's do a little bit of math here. Let's suppose someone used about....say, 400 keys before they got a mount. Without going into the real money aspect of the matter (and yes, that's quite a bit) that translates to 50,000 ZEN.

Now, let's look at how many AD that means. That's 25 million AD, assuming that ZEN is at the 500 AD cap per ZEN. And I'm pretty sure that 400 is quite a conservative estimate. Some people have undoubtedly burned far more. Even with the free key from VIP, too, that's a long time. And....time is money as well.

What a person put into getting that legendary mount is, be it in what they value their time at or what they actually put in ZEN for it as it translates into AD value, at the very least the minimum they're going to want back, and that's not counting posting fees (if any) and the AH cut (which VIP doesn't remove).

So, 25 million becomes at least 27.5 million...except that the cut on that amount is higher, and gets higher no matter what you eventually sell for. Scarcity also matters, as does demand for said mount.

The bottom line is that people are going to sell for what they honestly think they can get for that mount, and usually are not willing to go below what they put into getting that mount. Because of that, your "average Joe" is hardly going to be able to afford such a mount themselves. Sorry....but that's just the way the world works. People aren't going to lessen the value of their investment because one wishes them to or they can't afford that premium.

THE argument gave 25 m ad to get the zen is not accurate. IF the players open the gloriosu resurance box TO GET A LEGEND mount to sell then they waste their ad and no will not give the amount they ask. Glorious box make sense to open it to keep the mount for yourself since the other loot is outdated to get at least your ad back or and more in case you fail to loot the pack.

urabask

mamalion1234 said:

lewstelamon01 said:

Lessee....let's do a little bit of math here. Let's suppose someone used about....say, 400 keys before they got a mount. Without going into the real money aspect of the matter (and yes, that's quite a bit) that translates to 50,000 ZEN.

Now, let's look at how many AD that means. That's 25 million AD, assuming that ZEN is at the 500 AD cap per ZEN. And I'm pretty sure that 400 is quite a conservative estimate. Some people have undoubtedly burned far more. Even with the free key from VIP, too, that's a long time. And....time is money as well.

What a person put into getting that legendary mount is, be it in what they value their time at or what they actually put in ZEN for it as it translates into AD value, at the very least the minimum they're going to want back, and that's not counting posting fees (if any) and the AH cut (which VIP doesn't remove).

So, 25 million becomes at least 27.5 million...except that the cut on that amount is higher, and gets higher no matter what you eventually sell for. Scarcity also matters, as does demand for said mount.

The bottom line is that people are going to sell for what they honestly think they can get for that mount, and usually are not willing to go below what they put into getting that mount. Because of that, your "average Joe" is hardly going to be able to afford such a mount themselves. Sorry....but that's just the way the world works. People aren't going to lessen the value of their investment because one wishes them to or they can't afford that premium.

THE argument gave 25 m ad to get the zen is not accurate. IF the players open the gloriosu resurance box TO GET A LEGEND mount to sell then they waste their ad and no will not give the amount they ask. Glorious box make sense to open it to keep the mount for yourself since the other loot is outdated to get at least your ad back or and more in case you fail to loot the pack.

It's not accurate because it costs around 100 million AD to open enough lockboxes to get a legendary mount.

You'll net around 40 million from junk drops and another few million from epic drops. So after the AH cut you're looking at something like 40 million returned so if anything legendary mounts are being undervalued because of competition to sell them.

ironzerg79

urabask said:

So after the AH cut you're looking at something like 40 million returned so if anything legendary mounts are being undervalued because of competition to sell them.

Cost doesn't impact price the price people are willing to buy at, only the price people are willing to sell at.

zibadawa

ironzerg79 said:

Cost doesn't impact price the price people are willing to buy at, only the price people are willing to sell at.

The interplay between the two is actually quite complex in reality, as humans have lots of psychological factors that complicate everything.

eldritchx

Also, VIP keys reduce the cost figure quite significantly.

yokki1

please do not do math without having data. please just don't.
and fyi legendary mounts have been 1/6000 chance for a looooong time. so 1/400 is wayyyy off.

asterotg

sm0ld3r said:

lewstelamon01 said:

You don't tell Lamborghini to lower the prices of their cars because your budget can only afford a Fiat.

Likewise, you don't try to sell Lamborghini's in 3rd world countries either. There shouldn't be many/any people left (post exploit eras) that still have that kind of AD to spend on a single mount that will be bound to a single character that will most likely get nerfed.

Most ppl with that kind of AD get it by playing the AH or stockpiling stuff. For example: HP or HV gear went for 4-6k AD a piece and sells now for 1.5kk+ AD. Blue fire archon went for 40k and sells for 400k now. Ppl who spent hours searching the AH and trade chat make millions of AD a day.

lewstelamon01

yokki1 said:

please do not do math without having data. please just don't.
and fyi legendary mounts have been 1/6000 chance for a looooong time. so 1/400 is wayyyy off.

Actual data isn't required to prove a rather simple mathematical point. The numbers were deliberately simplified to illustrate a point. I did state in the post that 400 was quite the conservative number, but the math still shows that even with a lowball estimate it's easy for the price to climb into the tens of millions.

In all honesty, it should illustrate that even with the actual numbers in place the price can get ridiculously high and fast.

urlord283

I want things just like everyone else...

I also want AD

So I buy what I can afford and sell things fro as much as I can get

That is what an auction is all about

zepherax

kemnimtarkas said:

So, on the AH there are Legendary mounts going for 50 million AD.
I have also noticed that the AD cap on an account has been quietly raised to 100 million AD...
So clearly Cryptic knows about this weird alternate reality economy and is tacitly approving of whatever skullduggery is going on to create it.

How on Earth do they plan to make the AH ever work again for 'normal' players (like me)?

Maybe I just need to accept that there are 3 player groups - the Free to Play hard core folks (my sincerest admiration for your patience and tenacity!), the casual gamers like me who fork out occasional $$$, and the uber players / botters who need a AD cap increase to bleeping 100 million to accomodate their massive bankrolls.

Well said ! Exactly the point, IMO this is nothing more than a money grab offering extremely low chances of winning something that only a handful of people will get. I read that the Odds of winning a gold Mount is 1 in 6000! the current cash dollar cost to buy a mount is around 16.5 Million AD which if my math is correct that's over 300 DOLLARS ! Winners IMO are selected by developers by name or very rarely a lucky person will get one. What blows me away someone will win one spending only a few keys to get it.. and others like me blowing HUNDREDS of keys and don't get squat. Some people contend that some people 'Packet hack' to get the big wins in many cases. I have no idea if that's true.

In fairness I loved the T-Bar prizes coal wards and green wards that we used to be able to get off vender but no longer. Now we have a bunch of stuff most no longer want or need.
Ive been a loyal Cryptic / Neverwinter / STO member for 3 years.

I'M DONE FEEDING THE MACHINE. I WILL NO LONGER BE BUYING ANY KEYS WITH MY CASH until things change.

jugger71

This is a scam and the most annoying thing about the game.

Is a D&D based MMO the product here or is it gambling?

vinceent1

welcome to neverwinter online, only game where things are getting several times more costly over time, instead of the normal opposite flow. wake up cryptic already

zibadawa

zepherax said:

Well said ! Exactly the point, IMO this is nothing more than a money grab offering extremely low chances of winning something that only a handful of people will get. I read that the Odds of winning a gold Mount is 1 in 6000! the current cash dollar cost to buy a mount is around 16.5 Million AD which if my math is correct that's over 300 DOLLARS ! Winners IMO are selected by developers by name or very rarely a lucky person will get one. What blows me away someone will win one spending only a few keys to get it.. and others like me blowing HUNDREDS of keys and don't get squat. Some people contend that some people 'Packet hack' to get the big wins in many cases. I have no idea if that's true.

In fairness I loved the T-Bar prizes coal wards and green wards that we used to be able to get off vender but no longer. Now we have a bunch of stuff most no longer want or need.
Ive been a loyal Cryptic / Neverwinter / STO member for 3 years.

I'M DONE FEEDING THE MACHINE. I WILL NO LONGER BE BUYING ANY KEYS WITH MY CASH until things change.

There's a much easier way to calculate the cash value of those mounts. Just go into PE and watch the spammers in zone chat. They tend to give dollar figures on the mounts.