So if the AD cost of upgrading were significantly decreased then more people would actually spend money purchasing the companions from the Zen shop?
Perhaps you can also quote the paragraph which led you to ask this question.
If prices would drop to a competitive level, people will buy less from shop and upgrade more but spending money they will do just the same.
So if the AD cost of upgrading were significantly decreased then more people would actually spend money purchasing the companions from the Zen shop?
Yes, because not everyone is at endgame or hasn't been playing for a long time. There are many players that barely have enough AD yet to get the gear they need in the AH. If the price was actually low enough to attract players to upgrade, then all those non-endgame players would need to purchase Zen and convert to AD in order to utilize the upgrade offer. It's an overlooked opportunity.
Perhaps you can also quote the paragraph which led you to ask this question.
If prices would drop to a competitive level, people will buy less from shop and upgrade more but spending money they will do just the same.
Whereas right now they are both spending money and purchasing from the shop. You have no hard numbers to back up that the loss of sales in the shop will be made up for by people spending more whereas PW knows exactly what is being spent and likely what the impact of a swing in pricing would cause.
Again, I'm not saying that I wouldn't be happy to see a decrease in upgrade pricing - I'm just not expecting it.
0
ironzerg79Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,942Arc User
edited March 2014
I would expect it...they did a massive drop to the prices of all their companions a few weeks ago. I would imagine that a drop in the upgrade prices would follow.
Whereas right now they are both spending money and purchasing from the shop. You have no hard numbers to back up that the loss of sales in the shop will be made up for by people spending more whereas PW knows exactly what is being spent and likely what the impact of a swing in pricing would cause.
Again, I'm not saying that I wouldn't be happy to see a decrease in upgrade pricing - I'm just not expecting it.
The problem is nobody has hard numbers yet, because they've never tried that scenario yet. It would be interesting to know if the current upgrade sales are exceeding their expectations though. If they are happy with current sales, they will have less motivation to try something new.
Whereas right now they are both spending money and purchasing from the shop. You have no hard numbers to back up that the loss of sales in the shop will be made up for by people spending more whereas PW knows exactly what is being spent and likely what the impact of a swing in pricing would cause.
This isn't about numbers, it's about a players NEED/DESIRE for an epic companion, this won't change(or decrease) if there are MORE options available. And if i want an epic companion and buy Zen with real money to get it, then PWE doesn't care if i use that Zen to buy one from shop or converted to AD and upgraded one i already have, they already got the money.
I would expect it...they did a massive drop to the prices of all their companions a few weeks ago. I would imagine that a drop in the upgrade prices would follow.
There is only one companion I'd upgrade because I paid for it.
BUT, I have always felt the cost was out of line with the level(white to green, etc.) Most of us don't have the AD built up by the time white is ready for green. After all I'm trying build ME into a monster character, not the tagalong that agros for no reason, can't climb steps, falls off bridges with no help, etc.
250K>500K>750K is my suggestion and doable for the majority of the NW population that don't have "deep pockets".
NW is FUN! Fun is also about having a "wallet" with enough to order a pizza and liter of soda while playing NW, and not the "wallet" that will leave you with an empty feeling in more ways than one.
"When You Attack, You Must Vanquish"
"When You Defend, You Need Merely Survive"
Master Po to Kwai Chang Caine
Bonhomme Richard DC L 60 PVE Heal Build
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
0
mrsukebeMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 5Arc User
For those voting 'no,' are you honestly fine with upgrading to purple being more expensive than buying a purple companion outright?
If so, why?
I'm honestly puzzled and curious.
It seems you didnt read my post, as I answered this question already. Here is my answer yet again:
1: 1.55m is not that much when you look at the cost of level 10 enchants or even some of the really good gear.
2: The epic level pets in the zen store do not interest me even a little. They do not provide the benefits I want. The uncommon and rare quality pets in this game however do have stats and abilities I want. Sure I can pay less to get an epic companion from the store, but why would I when it isnt what I feel my character is most helped by?
For those voting 'no,' are you honestly fine with upgrading to purple being more expensive than buying a purple companion outright?
If so, why?
I'm honestly puzzled and curious.
The poll question is: Is it too high for what you get, and no it is not too high for what you get.
So to answer your question:
1) Yes
2) No one is forcing me to upgrade, If I want an epic companion I can buy one from the zen store or I can upgrade the ones I have due to personal attachment or preferred play characteristisc for more.
0
mrsukebeMember, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 5Arc User
edited March 2014
Just realized that the pole question is about upgrading white to green (at least that is what it appears to be). I would have to say common to uncommon upgrades are indeed too expensive for many people (especially since many who would do it are mid to low level players). I personally have not done this upgrade as 300k seems a bit excessive. The rest of the upgrades however, seem pretty fair.
The whites from the Emporium aren't meant or useful enough to be upgraded in the first place. Except maybe the cleric. The free green ones.. meh. Not sure they are worth the extra active bonus to be upgraded either. A few maybe, if you had the AD to spare. Ioun stones and cats however.. now those are worth it. Expensive, but totally worth it. So my answer is No. it's only too expensive if you're doing it wrong. And good things should take some work.
I'd recommend 99% of players to not recommend their blue stones or cats, that is unless money is no object. There are better things to buy though.
I think white to green should be dirt cheap, because (a) it's not hard to get green companions for free from various things, and (b) green companions still suck.
Green to blue and blue to purple, it makes more sense to be expensive.
The whites from the Emporium aren't meant or useful enough to be upgraded in the first place. Except maybe the cleric. The free green ones.. meh. Not sure they are worth the extra active bonus to be upgraded either. A few maybe, if you had the AD to spare. Ioun stones and cats however.. now those are worth it. Expensive, but totally worth it. So my answer is No. it's only too expensive if you're doing it wrong. And good things should take some work.
The basic cleric is hugely expensive to max out, but boy, oh boy, does it help. It's not just the 300 regen you get when she is active; at rank 30 my cleric has over 20k HP and can take a lot of punishment. Having her around is a mixed bag in certain dungeons, but in others she is a real life-saver as long as there is enough space in the boss room for her to keep out of trouble. She doesn't do much damage so the other party members tend to aggro mobs away from her, and she can weather quite a bit of AoE before going down.
Harper Chronicles: Cap Snatchers (RELEASED) - NW-DPUTABC6X Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
The poll question is: Is it too high for what you get, and no it is not too high for what you get.
So to answer your question:
1) Yes
2) No one is forcing me to upgrade, If I want an epic companion I can buy one from the zen store or I can upgrade the ones I have due to personal attachment or preferred play characteristisc for more.
It seems, then, that you are being charged a lot more for personal attachment or preferred play than other people.
Personally that would really bother me, but I guess enough people disagree.
Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
0
ulkaurMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
1) They are that expensive in order to encourage you to purchase a Zen Store Pet with Real Life Money.
2) People upgrade them for the Active Companion Bounus which is highest with White to Purple conversions (+300 to, say, Regen or another hard to upgrade stat.).
If what you say were true, there would be no green or blue pets in the store. I'm not interested in wasting money as a prerequisite to waste more money. SCA and active pet bonuses Do not provide $37 worth of benefit, and do not deserve to have it paid as a result. All of the improvements are trickle-down, so something that claims to give you a 75% bonus doesn't really do it, and 2500 stat bonus is not correctly better than 2000. This deception in improvement is just one more way spending money in this game is not worthwhile. Add to that that I have opened over 200 lockboxes and have yet to see a mount or other epic reward, and I want to bother with lockboxes even less now. So no money spent for keys.
The purple active bonus is not sufficient enough of a reason to pay ungodly amounts of money.
Until Cryptic sees the game for the cash cow it could be and stops limiting their vision this will not change. I have 5 characters I invoke daily on. Why? because the work of 5 benefits my one character I want to build up. If they lowered the price I could actively play any of my five characters, and have interest in buying extra slots for new classes that come out, at any time that I wanted because I would not have to pick and choose which character gets my support. This is the main reason I have not sunk any real world money into the game since June of last year, with the exception of the $10 for the account-wide pet (still green!) I'm learning my views can be as unrealistic as theirs, and it's OK.
0
adinosiiMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,294Arc User
The purple active bonus is not sufficient enough of a reason to pay ungodly amounts of money.
Depends on the bonus, and how much money you have to play with. I have upgraded a few companions to purple . the white cleric (I *really* like that +300 regen bonus), the Green mercenary (+165 Power and +165 CritStrike) and the new Ioun Stone of Radiance (I liked the active bonus more than the active bonus for the stone of allure).
So, for me, it was worth it, but I admit that for most people it probably is not.
The point is upgrade costs should be comparable to zen store. Now they definitely aren't.
A white to green costs 300k, and it is roughly in line with 800Z the zen store asks for a green companion.
A white to blue costs 300k+500k (some 2000Z) and it is pretty much twice the zen store price of 1200Z for a blue companion
A white to purple costs 300k+500k+750k (1550k or some 4000Z), almost twice the standard cost of 2500Z for a purple companion
Prices definitely need to go down.
Since there are no sales (unlike zen store), there could be a rare item ingame that cuts your upgrade cost by 20% for a single use... that would be nice!
As an alternative, let us pay upgrade costs (buy upgrade tokens in zen store?) with ZEN, so if I buy a "Purple companion training token" for 2500AD i can apply it to whatever companion I want (regardless of color), and upgrade it to purple. Maximum freedom of choice for players, at absolutely no economic loss to Cryptic!
0
adinosiiMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,294Arc User
The point is upgrade costs should be comparable to zen store. Now they definitely aren't.
You are assuming that the upgraded companions are equivalent to the Zen store companions, but that is not necessarily the case.
Take the Defender companions for example. The Galeb Duhr is a fairly good purple Zen store companion. It can be really, really useful when leveling up a "squishy" class, like a DC. However, the active bonus is...well, <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>....at least for those who really need a defender companion. I would much rather recommend a Frost Mimic or even a Shieldmaiden (for their +300 Defense or Deflection bonuses), but upgrading those to purple quality is more expensive ... but again - you get what you pay for.
Hoping for improvements...
0
crask12Member, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited March 2014
I'm ok with the prices, the zen cost to upgrade is not out of line with some other free to play games i've played. I've upgraded 2 from green to purple & I've only played a month. I enjoy the game, I have a job, I can justify the price. Would cheaper be nice, sure, but currently I'm ok with it. Let's not forget you're also paying to have something not everyone else has with the upgrade cost & their are plenty of purple pets in the AH right now that would cost you more than 25$ when you convert the AD cost yet no ones complaining about that.
I concur and voted "no opinion" pertly because of the phrasing of the question. If you'd have not used the word "WAY" I might have voted 'yes'.
I believe the companion upgrade pricing is slightly too high, but not "WAY too high". It's just as others above me have said: you get what you pay for and often an upgraded companion is more valuable than a Z-Store Companion. However, in the end, no one is twisting your arm to upgrade your companions.
A proper poll would have asked "Are Companion upgrade costs too expensive for you?" - because what may be too expensive for you based on the value you place on it may be very much be worth the cost to me. The problem with all these "It's too expensive" threads for Mounts, Companions, and every darned thing else is that every comment and the original poster are *always* stating their own personal value-to-worth ratio is the correct one. Guess what: You're all wrong.
The simple fact of the matter is this: If it's not worth it to you to upgrade your companion at the costs it takes then don't upgrade your companion. I, on the other hand, might have the exact same companion that you don't want to upgrade and believe it is valuable enough to me that I am willing to pay that cost.
Always remember: your perspective and opinion is your own. You have a right to it, but never ever believe it is the "right" one, because it isn't and never will be. And this be truth that targets us all.
I concur and voted "no opinion" pertly because of the phrasing of the question. If you'd have not used the word "WAY" I might have voted 'yes'.
I believe the companion upgrade pricing is slightly too high, but not "WAY too high". It's just as others above me have said: you get what you pay for and often an upgraded companion is more valuable than a Z-Store Companion. However, in the end, no one is twisting your arm to upgrade your companions.
A proper poll would have asked "Are Companion upgrade costs too expensive for you?" - because what may be too expensive for you based on the value you place on it may be very much be worth the cost to me. The problem with all these "It's too expensive" threads for Mounts, Companions, and every darned thing else is that every comment and the original poster are *always* stating their own personal value-to-worth ratio is the correct one. Guess what: You're all wrong.
The simple fact of the matter is this: If it's not worth it to you to upgrade your companion at the costs it takes then don't upgrade your companion. I, on the other hand, might have the exact same companion that you don't want to upgrade and believe it is valuable enough to me that I am willing to pay that cost.
Always remember: your perspective and opinion is your own. You have a right to it, but never ever believe it is the "right" one, because it isn't and never will be. And this be truth that targets us all.
...and, yup, that is your opinion, but you are sure welcome to it
I'm ok with the prices, the zen cost to upgrade is not out of line with some other free to play games i've played. I've upgraded 2 from green to purple & I've only played a month. I enjoy the game, I have a job, I can justify the price. Would cheaper be nice, sure, but currently I'm ok with it. Let's not forget you're also paying to have something not everyone else has with the upgrade cost & their are plenty of purple pets in the AH right now that would cost you more than 25$ when you convert the AD cost yet no ones complaining about that.
Well, _players_ trying to sell things at absurd prices is just the market. It's when it's bolted into the system that I (and others) have a problem.
I mean, $25 works out roughly to one million AD, at current prices.
There are several purple companions in the 300-550 k range, which is significantly cheaper than zen store items, but that's what people are willing to sell them for.
Again, personally, if there were zen upgrade tokens that were fixed so that 'upgrade white to purple' and 'buy a purple' were equal, I'd be content with the $25 pricing.
Campaign: The Fenwick Cycle NWS-DKR9GB7KH
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
You are assuming that the upgraded companions are equivalent to the Zen store companions, but that is not necessarily the case.
Take the Defender companions for example. The Galeb Duhr is a fairly good purple Zen store companion. It can be really, really useful when leveling up a "squishy" class, like a DC. However, the active bonus is...well, <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>....at least for those who really need a defender companion. I would much rather recommend a Frost Mimic or even a Shieldmaiden (for their +300 Defense or Deflection bonuses), but upgrading those to purple quality is more expensive ... but again - you get what you pay for.
This is a common misconception in the game, mostly because Neverwinter advertising even now supports this summation. While it might be an important point to look at with companion ownership, its far from the only thing to consider, and for most people is should not be the most important. The return investment on these "bonuses" is horrible. Let's look at defense for example, I believe it has the highest return rate per point invested, and even at 300 points, its only worth about 5% reduction in damage. So if you still think 1550AD(4000Z) is worth the cost to mitigate 5% of damage, then this deal still holds some value for you...but for most players, this is definitely not the best investment, and with this much spent, you could find much more efficient ways to improve your character stats.
Honestly, I think steering new players down this deceptive path of returns is a little bit of a dangerous game for Neverwinter to play, because if the invested player eventually calculates that they wasted too much money on something, it could cause irreparable harm to their game relationship and trust. Which is bad for all of us.
In summary, 1550AD(4000Z) is an awful lot to spend on any improvement, and that each player should carefully weigh ALL their options before making any huge investments. While a nice companion can be a fine choice for many players, it might not be the best choice for others.
^^ all that being said, I will contradict myself later today, lol. Stay tuned for that post.
Comments
Perhaps you can also quote the paragraph which led you to ask this question.
If prices would drop to a competitive level, people will buy less from shop and upgrade more but spending money they will do just the same.
Yes, because not everyone is at endgame or hasn't been playing for a long time. There are many players that barely have enough AD yet to get the gear they need in the AH. If the price was actually low enough to attract players to upgrade, then all those non-endgame players would need to purchase Zen and convert to AD in order to utilize the upgrade offer. It's an overlooked opportunity.
Whereas right now they are both spending money and purchasing from the shop. You have no hard numbers to back up that the loss of sales in the shop will be made up for by people spending more whereas PW knows exactly what is being spent and likely what the impact of a swing in pricing would cause.
Again, I'm not saying that I wouldn't be happy to see a decrease in upgrade pricing - I'm just not expecting it.
http://community.arcgames.com/en/news/neverwinter/detail/3027513-companion-prices-reduced-permanently
It would make sense that they'd drop the upgrade prices accordingly.
The problem is nobody has hard numbers yet, because they've never tried that scenario yet. It would be interesting to know if the current upgrade sales are exceeding their expectations though. If they are happy with current sales, they will have less motivation to try something new.
This isn't about numbers, it's about a players NEED/DESIRE for an epic companion, this won't change(or decrease) if there are MORE options available. And if i want an epic companion and buy Zen with real money to get it, then PWE doesn't care if i use that Zen to buy one from shop or converted to AD and upgraded one i already have, they already got the money.
Interesting, didn't know about this and i see the old price is 3500 Zen for an epic companion, which matches the value of the current upgrade.
BUT, I have always felt the cost was out of line with the level(white to green, etc.) Most of us don't have the AD built up by the time white is ready for green. After all I'm trying build ME into a monster character, not the tagalong that agros for no reason, can't climb steps, falls off bridges with no help, etc.
250K>500K>750K is my suggestion and doable for the majority of the NW population that don't have "deep pockets".
NW is FUN! Fun is also about having a "wallet" with enough to order a pizza and liter of soda while playing NW, and not the "wallet" that will leave you with an empty feeling in more ways than one.
"When You Defend, You Need Merely Survive"
Master Po to Kwai Chang Caine
Bonhomme Richard DC L 60 PVE Heal Build
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
It seems you didnt read my post, as I answered this question already. Here is my answer yet again:
1: 1.55m is not that much when you look at the cost of level 10 enchants or even some of the really good gear.
2: The epic level pets in the zen store do not interest me even a little. They do not provide the benefits I want. The uncommon and rare quality pets in this game however do have stats and abilities I want. Sure I can pay less to get an epic companion from the store, but why would I when it isnt what I feel my character is most helped by?
The poll question is: Is it too high for what you get, and no it is not too high for what you get.
So to answer your question:
1) Yes
2) No one is forcing me to upgrade, If I want an epic companion I can buy one from the zen store or I can upgrade the ones I have due to personal attachment or preferred play characteristisc for more.
Green to blue and blue to purple, it makes more sense to be expensive.
The basic cleric is hugely expensive to max out, but boy, oh boy, does it help. It's not just the 300 regen you get when she is active; at rank 30 my cleric has over 20k HP and can take a lot of punishment. Having her around is a mixed bag in certain dungeons, but in others she is a real life-saver as long as there is enough space in the boss room for her to keep out of trouble. She doesn't do much damage so the other party members tend to aggro mobs away from her, and she can weather quite a bit of AoE before going down.
Blood Magic (RELEASED) - NW-DUU2P7HCO
Children of the Fey (RELEASED) - NW-DKSSAPFPF
Buried Under Blacklake (WIP) - NW-DEDV2PAEP
The Redcap Rebels (WIP) - NW-DO23AFHFH
My Foundry playthrough channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Ruskaga/featured
It seems, then, that you are being charged a lot more for personal attachment or preferred play than other people.
Personally that would really bother me, but I guess enough people disagree.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
If what you say were true, there would be no green or blue pets in the store. I'm not interested in wasting money as a prerequisite to waste more money. SCA and active pet bonuses Do not provide $37 worth of benefit, and do not deserve to have it paid as a result. All of the improvements are trickle-down, so something that claims to give you a 75% bonus doesn't really do it, and 2500 stat bonus is not correctly better than 2000. This deception in improvement is just one more way spending money in this game is not worthwhile. Add to that that I have opened over 200 lockboxes and have yet to see a mount or other epic reward, and I want to bother with lockboxes even less now. So no money spent for keys.
The purple active bonus is not sufficient enough of a reason to pay ungodly amounts of money.
Until Cryptic sees the game for the cash cow it could be and stops limiting their vision this will not change. I have 5 characters I invoke daily on. Why? because the work of 5 benefits my one character I want to build up. If they lowered the price I could actively play any of my five characters, and have interest in buying extra slots for new classes that come out, at any time that I wanted because I would not have to pick and choose which character gets my support. This is the main reason I have not sunk any real world money into the game since June of last year, with the exception of the $10 for the account-wide pet (still green!) I'm learning my views can be as unrealistic as theirs, and it's OK.
Depends on the bonus, and how much money you have to play with. I have upgraded a few companions to purple . the white cleric (I *really* like that +300 regen bonus), the Green mercenary (+165 Power and +165 CritStrike) and the new Ioun Stone of Radiance (I liked the active bonus more than the active bonus for the stone of allure).
So, for me, it was worth it, but I admit that for most people it probably is not.
A white to green costs 300k, and it is roughly in line with 800Z the zen store asks for a green companion.
A white to blue costs 300k+500k (some 2000Z) and it is pretty much twice the zen store price of 1200Z for a blue companion
A white to purple costs 300k+500k+750k (1550k or some 4000Z), almost twice the standard cost of 2500Z for a purple companion
Prices definitely need to go down.
Since there are no sales (unlike zen store), there could be a rare item ingame that cuts your upgrade cost by 20% for a single use... that would be nice!
As an alternative, let us pay upgrade costs (buy upgrade tokens in zen store?) with ZEN, so if I buy a "Purple companion training token" for 2500AD i can apply it to whatever companion I want (regardless of color), and upgrade it to purple. Maximum freedom of choice for players, at absolutely no economic loss to Cryptic!
You are assuming that the upgraded companions are equivalent to the Zen store companions, but that is not necessarily the case.
Take the Defender companions for example. The Galeb Duhr is a fairly good purple Zen store companion. It can be really, really useful when leveling up a "squishy" class, like a DC. However, the active bonus is...well, <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>....at least for those who really need a defender companion. I would much rather recommend a Frost Mimic or even a Shieldmaiden (for their +300 Defense or Deflection bonuses), but upgrading those to purple quality is more expensive ... but again - you get what you pay for.
I believe the companion upgrade pricing is slightly too high, but not "WAY too high". It's just as others above me have said: you get what you pay for and often an upgraded companion is more valuable than a Z-Store Companion. However, in the end, no one is twisting your arm to upgrade your companions.
A proper poll would have asked "Are Companion upgrade costs too expensive for you?" - because what may be too expensive for you based on the value you place on it may be very much be worth the cost to me. The problem with all these "It's too expensive" threads for Mounts, Companions, and every darned thing else is that every comment and the original poster are *always* stating their own personal value-to-worth ratio is the correct one. Guess what: You're all wrong.
The simple fact of the matter is this: If it's not worth it to you to upgrade your companion at the costs it takes then don't upgrade your companion. I, on the other hand, might have the exact same companion that you don't want to upgrade and believe it is valuable enough to me that I am willing to pay that cost.
Always remember: your perspective and opinion is your own. You have a right to it, but never ever believe it is the "right" one, because it isn't and never will be. And this be truth that targets us all.
...and, yup, that is your opinion, but you are sure welcome to it
LOL! Precisely.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
Well, _players_ trying to sell things at absurd prices is just the market. It's when it's bolted into the system that I (and others) have a problem.
I mean, $25 works out roughly to one million AD, at current prices.
There are several purple companions in the 300-550 k range, which is significantly cheaper than zen store items, but that's what people are willing to sell them for.
Again, personally, if there were zen upgrade tokens that were fixed so that 'upgrade white to purple' and 'buy a purple' were equal, I'd be content with the $25 pricing.
Wicks and Things: NW-DI4FMZRR4 : The Fenwick merchant family has lost a caravan! Can you help?
Beggar's Hollow: NW-DR6YG4J2L : Someone, or something, has stolen away many of the Fenwicks' children! Can you find out what happened to them?
Into the Fen Wood: NW-DL89DRG7B : Enter the heart of the forest. Can you discover the secret of the Fen Wood?
This is a common misconception in the game, mostly because Neverwinter advertising even now supports this summation. While it might be an important point to look at with companion ownership, its far from the only thing to consider, and for most people is should not be the most important. The return investment on these "bonuses" is horrible. Let's look at defense for example, I believe it has the highest return rate per point invested, and even at 300 points, its only worth about 5% reduction in damage. So if you still think 1550AD(4000Z) is worth the cost to mitigate 5% of damage, then this deal still holds some value for you...but for most players, this is definitely not the best investment, and with this much spent, you could find much more efficient ways to improve your character stats.
Honestly, I think steering new players down this deceptive path of returns is a little bit of a dangerous game for Neverwinter to play, because if the invested player eventually calculates that they wasted too much money on something, it could cause irreparable harm to their game relationship and trust. Which is bad for all of us.
In summary, 1550AD(4000Z) is an awful lot to spend on any improvement, and that each player should carefully weigh ALL their options before making any huge investments. While a nice companion can be a fine choice for many players, it might not be the best choice for others.
^^ all that being said, I will contradict myself later today, lol. Stay tuned for that post.