the 2 main issues that I saw and heard of lately are the Zen Exchange store and VIP
the main solution for the ZAX and I know this is controversial but to remove it all together Neverwinter is not a game that is meant for
this form of system having 2 separate currencies was never compatible with how the game works having Astral diamonds as the main currency
is actually enough a player should be able to buy astral diamonds directly and the Zen shop should just be a regular shop with AD as the
main currency which also creates an AD sink which is what both the developers and the game market actually require to keep the game going
now bear with me I know this is not the most popular decision but it's better than 90% of the solutions suggested that just solve the issue
temporarily but then it just has to be addressed again later so by doing this a player can buy directly items from the store with or without discounts depending on the vision of the developers and the project manager.
Essentially this will create 2 things:
An AD sink which will reduce the very high amount of AD in the game which will make the resources easier to manage for the creators.
It gives the Devs a Price regulator role which was needed a small proof is (the very high cost of preservation wards which became a black market and i am doing it myself so I am admitting that I myself am making resources from the black market where players just have to abide by whatever price the people with Zen place which is just currently too much) so this system is not revolutionary in the game because it already exists in the Wonderous Bazaar where you can purchase marks of potency with AD and the prices are always within the range of the wonderous bazar prices which makes it extremely hard for a black market to be created.
As for VIP it also must be removed and the creators have been mentioning it and it was considered by some as basically a mistake it was
too good for what it offers since removing the ZAX (Zen Exchange store) creates a very large AD sink it actually makes it possible to
remove the 10% AH cut without having to worry too much so it does give more control to the creators so it's not a great deal for the
players but it can help create a market that is foreseeable and stable so no more gigantic profits or miniature rewards for a lot of time spent
Remarks:
these are drastic measures and will make me one of the most hated players in Neverwinter but they have a good chance to work.
these problems were problems way before and I doubt keeping a system that is basically uncontrollable and a market that is prone to a black market where there is no competition and a certain group of players simply agrees on a certain price and the community suffers a bit
it opens a possibility to introduce whatever the creators want since the market is AD based and 1 currency so less trouble and prices can be regulated through the AD shop (EX Zen shop) so nobody can over price so this way AH has to always be under the price of AD shop.
Thank you for reading this even if it was a little long.
Aozen Dreyar (Ur).
3
Comments
My suggestion is this.
Make EVERY Zen market item tradable via auction house or p2p trades.
VIP should be a token when purchased via Zen market that you could use or sell.
Enchanted keys should be sell/ tradable.
Account wide mounts.
Everything on the Zen market should be tradable, this would reduce the demand on the zax and may help with the backlog.
This would make items like vip available to all players without having to wait the 87 days and counting,. And you guys at cryptic still get paid because someone bought that item with Zen.
In fact, maybe they bought 2 this time, one to use and one to sell, or give to a friend.
There is no other way to create Zen (which can be passed around players after a player paid $$$). Zen can only be purchased using $$$. That ensure the company gets $$$.
There are other ways to get/create AD. The existence of the Zen currency is to ensure the company get $$$, the full pie, not only a portion of it.
Anyone can farm (as creation) AD, which can be infinity, within the game. Nobody can farm (as creation) $$$ and Zen within the game.
There are many things AD can't buy such as VIP, character slots, lockbox key, bank slot, race packs, Zen mount, Zen companion, ....
You do not find them in AH.
Zen is where the company earn real money.
No idea why you said Zax will not last much longer. When I started, the wait time was over 6 months.
The current system is not broken for the company. It helps them to earn money. They have been 'changing' it so that they can earn more money. Did you notice they intentionally keep on adding more easy AD to the game? The longer the wait time, the better their bottom line.
https://pideeco.be/articles/aml-money-laundering-and-video-games/#:~:text=Multiple methods co-exist to,use of convertible virtual currencies.
A criminal may download a free online game on their PC, phone, or tablet, then proceed to create a character or an avatar. Alternatively, they can also hack an already existing account to further protect their identity.
The criminal will then channel the proceeds of their illegal activity or stolen credit cards into the game and convert the money to the game’s currency. Inside the game, they will buy rare weapons or power-up their characters through microtransactions, then sell their characters or their stash of in-game virtual currency at a discounted price on grey secondary market websites such as eBay, PlayerAuctions, G2G, or iGVault.
Most online games only allow the player to acquire items through microtransactions, meaning that most currencies, skins, or weapons can be bought with fees that are below $200. This allows criminals to cover their traces easily and not drawn attention to themselves.
2-to tchefi that is not an issue now? you think none selling stuff for irl money right now? there are many examples of people doing this behavior and it does not require in game items specifically anyway bro this is the least of our worried because this is already happening ( don't bring me into this discussion here) but if you think there is anyway to stop people from making real money from free to play games or even pay to play games you seriously don't know how the internet works
VIP currently is their cash cow. It is popular. VIP user need to keep on buying it. Many want it. Many can't play without it. Many pay real money just to have it. Why will Crypt not want VIP anymore? No business removes their cash cow. They all want the cash cow to grow bigger.
Nothing else in the zen shop even comes close. Removing VIP would remove most of Cryptic's revenue.
It is simple. Zen store is where they earn money from this game.
You remove the best seller from Zen store (and you considered the other stuff are not good).
Where can they make money to cover the lose revenue of VIP?
The logic of removing the best stuff from Zen store to make other stuff looks 'good' does not make any sense.
You go to a store which is famous for (say) vanilla ice cream and nothing else every week. One day, they remove vanilla ice cream from the menu. Will you go back there to buy something else every week? I know I will not go to that store, period.
The missing link, is that items that are bought on the ex-ZEN store or now extended wonderous bazaar (eg. wards & VIP as the OP is proposing)...this AD is removed from the game...so whilst in the short-term, it would reduce the income of real $$$ buying ZEN...it's not like the AD where the AD goes back in to the game and only a little is removed by the posting fee...
...I would possibly suggest that vip could be bought directly with $$$ as under this proposed system, there's less incentive to spend real money
Also, it would probably be a good idea to have a caveat that you can't buy VIP until yours has expired and there's nothing greater than a 3-month pack available
PS: my solution can even be a temporary one and they can bring back ZEN later for all i care it's their company in the end but without having a stable market with resources that they can at least keep track of the game won't survive for long it's not only about the ZEN back log what about the absurd prices on the AH when will that ever be addressed? my solution also handles the internal black market which has lead to some items selling constantly for prices way above their actual value which have not dropped for over 6 months ( if you need proof go see how much 99 preservation wards are costing) they are up to 1.4 ---> 1.5 million AD when they cost people with Zen no more than 525 k till 600k depending on the Zen coupon or discount event so it is in the 130% to 140% profit on an item which is almost a necessity for upgrading almost everything we use) I know some people are enjoying these profits but honestly as a community players are suffering this is what I am trying to solve if players can level up more they will spend more and play more and probably eventually BUY stuff to support the game.
Cryptic will never give up ZEn, otherwise it would run out of revenue. However, if I told the players to offer a higher value than the exchange rate, making it a free market, I could, for example, offer 1,000 AD instead of 750 AD, thus drastically reducing transaction times.
Although the team has admitted to manipulating the Zen market over in that game after a disastrous launch, kind of makes you wonder doesn't it?