zen exchange

stallions12

well, the zen exchange was a problem in the past, the queue of zen only increase and the ppl cant change astral. some time ago the limit was changed to 750ad but this dont solve the problem. why, is easy. if i want spend money in the game for get ad i dont put it in the zen market, because with 1000zen only can get 750ad. i preffer buy 100 preservation with at least 20%discount and sell it for 950k ad(in this moment and rising) i can get more ad. if you want solve this problem, in my opinion the only way is bound to account the preservation and coalescents. yep, i know this is not popular and a lot of ppl dont like it but this game have two tipes of players, pay to win and farmers. this game is based on this interaction. in this moment the farmers dont have ways to farm and the access to zen is restricted to them. a lot of ppl dont like it because is his business. sry for my english, but i think you can understand.

greywynd

1000 zen in the exchange will get you 750000 AD.

namelesshero347

It is hard getting enough 20% coupons to cover the 1000 zen. Can take weeks unless the player has VIP and invoking on many characters. So most people needing 750k AD now will just convert their zen immediately.

exgardian

Changing the topic subject a little, now the ZAX "queue list" is more than 20kk.

So, whats now ? Isn't time to increase the rating exchange to 1000:1 ? Or remove the limiter to players decide their cap ?

xenocide

The problem with increasing the exchange is that the only way to get wards for upgrades is with Zen. Or buy using the ah to purchase them from someone who bought them with Zen.

If you increase the exchange rate the price on wards will go up making it too expensive for new players to upgrade their enchants. Keeping low level players lower for longer.
Basically creating a wall the prevents new players from progressing which is why alot of people lose interest and move on to another game.

greywynd

exgardian said:

Changing the topic subject a little, now the ZAX "queue list" is more than 20kk.

So, whats now ? Isn't time to increase the rating exchange to 1000:1 ? Or remove the limiter to players decide their cap ?

No.

regenerde

As allways on this topic, the ZAX itself isn't the real problem here, rather everything else around it...

- They should start with getting their collective HAMSTER together when it comes to ZEN charge promotions, return the former additional rewards, make them account wide again and ensure that they're claimable in game without any issues.

- Then improve the Wondrous Bazaar with items the player really needs at reasonable prices to create a working "AD sink". Rotate some special items through the bazaar every month to increase the "value" of AD every now and then.

- Last but not least, there needs to be done more against afk'lers/botters that farm rAD 24/7, i mean they brought down the hammer on everyone during "Huntgate", but can't do something really noticeable against those [censored]? That makes no sense to me...

Btw. increasing the exchange rate and/or removing the limit would only kill the game for new and non-bis players.

stallions12

greywynd said:

exgardian said:

Changing the topic subject a little, now the ZAX "queue list" is more than 20kk.

So, whats now ? Isn't time to increase the rating exchange to 1000:1 ? Or remove the limiter to players decide their cap ?

No.

if you increase the rating to 1000:1 you will have the same problem in 3 monds, is not the solution. you need create the need for astral diamonds and cut the business of preservation and coalescence wards.

sandukutupu

I believe the Zax should be a fixed amount, bidding any lower than 750 is pointless at present. Or they should just ditch the Zax altogether and build a much better and realistic AD store. The store we have is pitiful with over priced items. Converting the Auction House to the gold standard would drive the Zax down too. Champions Online the Zax rarely goes much over 400:1 I don't know the current rates in Star Trek, but both games Auctions are set to the gold standards and not the crystal currency.

xenocide

Add wards to the wondrous bazzar. 10k/ea
Add enchanted keys to the wondrous bazzar. 15k/ea
Problem solved

zerappus

The only reason they were able to raise the rate is by nerfing AD generation at the same time. AND then they dropped Legacy Campaign which increased the AD generation again.

Everytime they raise the ceiling, Cryptic lose money, because players who exchange Zen for AD get, say, DOUBLE the AD for the same Zen if they ever double the ceiling.

So if they DOUBLE/raise it to 1500 per zen, players who buy zen will get the same amount of AD by spending HALF money, therefore Cryptic loses money (HALF the intended sale). That's something some players don't seem to understand. And that's why they would be foolish to let the exchange float without any cap.

So when they raised it - suprisingly - from 500 to 750, they also did concurrent AD nerf. Remember 2 or 2 1/2 years ago, the devs said players were generatimg about 2 billion AD a week iirc.

plasticbat

People always has the mis-concept that they raised the cap because they wanted to solve the length of the queue. No, the length of the queue is not an issue for them, at least, not financially. If they said it does, it is more for PR. For the F2P player, they just need to wait. If they don't want to wait, they either quit or use money. There is no disadvantage for them to keep the queue long.

Yes, if the cap is raised, potentially, Cryptic will lose money from the cash player that uses Zax to get AD. However, that is if there are enough cash players that use Zax. With the 500:1, smarter cash player will just bypass the Zax to get AD with extra effort.
Raising to 750 gives some incentive for the cash player to buy AD through Zax. i.e. attract new cash player to give them money.
So, there is a balance between gaining new money (new players to spend money to get AD from Zax) and losing some money (player spend less to get same amount of AD).

callumf

I used to buy Zen with real life money to exchange for AD to buy Refinement Points [via enchants/gems etc].

That was specifically once I hit the "end game" wall.

If there was stuff in the Zen market I needed or wanted I would spend real life money on Zen.

As there isn't, I only spend real life money on Zen to get VIP.

I get VIP for QoL and the Enchanted Keys.

Why not put some BiS stuff in the Zen market and see what transpires?

micky1p00

callumf#9018 said:

Why not put some BiS stuff in the Zen market and see what transpires?

In general you want it the other way, you want the chase items for AD, then people buy ZEN->AD->Item. And ZAX maintains bellow cap equilibrium. Giving both incentive for players to invest time, and others who want to shorten time, invest money.

Selling chase items in ZEN store has two implications, it's creating a P2W perception, and increases the ZAX, as people convert from AD to ZEN to get said items. Worse, with high enough backlog (or no cap), you create a subscription game.
Imagine a "BiS" item that valid for 3 months, when it takes you 3 to get ZEN from backlog. Or in the case of no backlog, high enough price that it takes months to get the amount. For a newer player this is in practice subscription / p2w game.

zimxero

In my opinion, the best balance is struck by variety with a slant towards:

1) Some BiS items are never available on any market and must be obtained by playing.
2) Some BiS items are farmable and sellable on market, but not at an exploitable rate where a farmer can make billions of AD.
3) Some Decent (never BIS) items are available directly for Zen at an affordable value.
4) Some Decent (never BIS) items are available at moderate prices using special currencies.
5) Chests, Lockboxes, and event awards should offer a combination of item types, so that they can not be exploit farmed in a way that turns the economy inside out. These will of course, affect the economy by supply & demand but thats great.. and can be adjusted over time through the eras of neverwinter.

Personally, I convert all of my Zen to AD. It's wasteful, but my time is valuable. If I spend 2 hours in-game converting 5 million AD into 7 million AD via exchanges... I'm making 1,000,000 AD per hour. If I work irl and convert three dollars into ZEN, I make the same amount, plus some real dollars to keep. My concern is with farming. I don't want to hurt the average unemployed player who tries to get 'game rich' by farming. I think it is vital to prevent organized farming on a worldwide market. It completely wrecks games when it is allowed to occur.

Game "gold & gear" selling is a BIG problem to players. It directly degrades the fun of our games and money that designers have to improve them. In many third-world countries it is profitable for individuals to upstart this type of buisness with just a few computers and keep them manned 24 hours a day. They can quickly grow into operations with 100 computers being manned 24 hours a day by children or slaves that may or may not have a choice to work there, but need the job for food & shelter. Even if you never buy items out of game, contributing to this industry, games need to insulate themselves by limiting exploitability. It has to be 'top of mind' in all decisions concerning drop rates, bind classifications, and time bottlenecks or limits.

callumf

micky1p00 said:

callumf#9018 said:

Why not put some BiS stuff in the Zen market and see what transpires?

In general you want it the other way, you want the chase items for AD, then people buy ZEN->AD->Item. And ZAX maintains bellow cap equilibrium. Giving both incentive for players to invest time, and others who want to shorten time, invest money.

Selling chase items in ZEN store has two implications, it's creating a P2W perception, and increases the ZAX, as people convert from AD to ZEN to get said items. Worse, with high enough backlog (or no cap), you create a subscription game.
Imagine a "BiS" item that valid for 3 months, when it takes you 3 to get ZEN from backlog. Or in the case of no backlog, high enough price that it takes months to get the amount. For a newer player this is in practice subscription / p2w game.

I see your point. And I seldom get into debates like this one but...

Imagine a Main Hand Weapon with 5000 power more than current BiS Main Hand that costs $20.

All other stats are the same as BiS.

That extra 5k Power wont be life changing for a player with 180k Power, but there are plenty who would willingly pay $20 for that edge.

And we may be talking at cross-purposes anyhow, as I am talking about how Neverwinter could get more money into its coffers, not so much about the Zen Exchange.

Are you saying that there should be more reason for people to sell Zen for AD?

Because most BiS stuff is Account Bound? Which means it doesn't go on the AH?

NOW if all stuff wasn't account bound, I reckon we would see a massive amount of Zen converted to AD to get those real BiS armour, weapons etc

plasticbat

callumf#9018 said:

micky1p00 said:

callumf#9018 said:

Why not put some BiS stuff in the Zen market and see what transpires?

In general you want it the other way, you want the chase items for AD, then people buy ZEN->AD->Item. And ZAX maintains bellow cap equilibrium. Giving both incentive for players to invest time, and others who want to shorten time, invest money.

Selling chase items in ZEN store has two implications, it's creating a P2W perception, and increases the ZAX, as people convert from AD to ZEN to get said items. Worse, with high enough backlog (or no cap), you create a subscription game.
Imagine a "BiS" item that valid for 3 months, when it takes you 3 to get ZEN from backlog. Or in the case of no backlog, high enough price that it takes months to get the amount. For a newer player this is in practice subscription / p2w game.

I see your point. And I seldom get into debates like this one but...

Imagine a Main Hand Weapon with 5000 power more than current BiS Main Hand that costs $20.

All other stats are the same as BiS.

That extra 5k Power wont be life changing for a player with 180k Power, but there are plenty who would willingly pay $20 for that edge.

And we may be talking at cross-purposes anyhow, as I am talking about how Neverwinter could get more money into its coffers, not so much about the Zen Exchange.

Are you saying that there should be more reason for people to sell Zen for AD?

Because most BiS stuff is Account Bound? Which means it doesn't go on the AH?

NOW if all stuff wasn't account bound, I reckon we would see a massive amount of Zen converted to AD to get those real BiS armour, weapons etc

If "a Main Hand Weapon with 5000 power more than current BiS Main Hand that costs $20", everyone will go for that +5000 power one because this one is the BiS and not the other one.

It will be more than "life changing", it will be "world changing".