I believe the backlog can be dramatically lowered and 3rd party AD sales dramatically impacted in a positive way.
<Snip>
Currently elements of in-game player income, in-game player wealth, and real money value are locked. Income by the RAD limit, wealth by the currency limits, and value by the AD exchange limit. If you remove only one you do not create a "free market", you create a market where the value of real money is allowed to go wild, but in-game player income is still primarily gated by the RAD limit.
Your solution would create massive inflation in the markets for anything gated by in-game drops. Inflation that would likely exceed the rise in zen value, due to players attempting to control the market and the eventual lack of players grinding out surplus as the F2P player-base disappears. Eventually causing remaining players to hit the currency limits and you would once again be in a situation similar to now.
But hey, at least the backlog would be gone?
And if all limits were removed the game would self-destruct as the current discrepancies in player worth and income are WAY TOO HIGH. There are too many players who exploit or game the system with 100s of millions of AD (in actual AD, liquid assets, and/or non-liquid assets) many making a million+ more everyday, versus the newer/more casual players with around a million AD earning significantly less than 100k per day. You have to solve the game mechanics creating these huge discrepancies first, and odds are if you did that the economy would right itself without any other changes.
Oh and your solution wouldn't get rid of the gold spammers, not until there weren't enough players left in the game to make it worth their while anymore, since it does nothing to make their job significantly more difficult. They would just keep adjusting their prices to be around 50% less than the current zen value, as they do now.
Always remember: raising (or removing) exchange cap (currently at 500:1) is to *devalue* Astral Diamonds. This is done because Zen has a permanently fixed value: 100 Zen = $1 U.S. So the more Astral Diamonds you get per Zen ($1) lowers the value of the AD.
This will lessen the price in AH of items for sale through AD, but because the value of AD is is a "blow-out" and falls through the floor, then many, if not most in-game players cannot partake because prices start to skyrocket (less value for the AD so sellers want MORE when they sell) - but yet the INCOME (earning of) AD is FIXED, therefore prices outpace the ability for the economy to refresh supply.
This is called an economic depression. (Over-simple explanation, I know - but point made)
Hence, having a cap, currently at 500:1 may create a backlog, but that backlog is what is protecting the in-game economy. Think of it as a flooded river, the logjam is preventing all that water from flooding the lowlands by slowing down the flow of all that water.
I've said it again and again and again, the only guaranteed solution is patience and time. Eventually the backlog will dissipate, eventually the going rate will drop. However, it is up to Cryptic to come up with the means to do this by creating a WANT for Astral Diamonds and bigger sinks (The Sgt. Knox auction is genius and works toward this end).
Zen holders find the Zen is more valuable than AD right now, so they aren't buying. Prices in the AH must come down (value goes UP for AD) before more Zen holders will buy it.
Well, remember that this coin has two sides. What about the people buying Zen...the people spending real money and therefore the ones keeping the lights on...who see their purchasing power continually devalued as AH prices go up but the amount of AD they get for their dollar remains static? Or don't they matter? Yes, if you can somehow force AH prices down that will accomplish the same thing as increasing the zen:ad ratio...but what makes you think that's possible?
If it is possible, how would you do it?
I know you keep saying all it will take is time and patience...but saying the same thing that isn't necessarily true over and over doesn't make necessarily true. What guarantee do you offer other than saying the same thing again? Historically currencies inflate. That's not dust in the wind, it's a matter of historical fact. Why will AD deflate?
YES, my plan would devalue AD against the real Dollar. It needs to be. An 8 million AD 'chant is worth $160? Is it? Really?
You know these types of threads have been going on ever since the backlog started. First everyone assumed it was because leadership was too good and everyone was cranking out AD. They just wouldn't listen to reason that the refine limit keeps leadership in check and even without leadership you can hit the refine limit easily. I know I have on 10 characters just from salvaging all the BoP <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> that drops.
Then wouldn't you know it, there was a bug just as bad as Caturday which explained the rise that started shortly after Mod 2.
Now that the bug has been closed, the backlog is dropping. It will take some time as undoubtedly there are still tons of exploited AD, probably laundered into wards, enchants and other items.
Right now folks with Zen are content to just sit on it as they can get 500:1 today and undoubtedly for the next few weeks. Once the backlog go under 2M people will probably start to convert Zen back to AD as it won't be as "safe" to sit on anymore.
So just be patient, the backlog is going down and will most likely be gone in a few months.
You know these types of threads have been going on ever since the backlog started. First everyone assumed it was because leadership was too good and everyone was cranking out AD. They just wouldn't listen to reason that the refine limit keeps leadership in check and even without leadership you can hit the refine limit easily. I know I have on 10 characters just from salvaging all the BoP <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> that drops.
Then wouldn't you know it, there was a bug just as bad as Caturday which explained the rise that started shortly after Mod 2.
Now that the bug has been closed, the backlog is dropping. It will take some time as undoubtedly there are still tons of exploited AD, probably laundered into wards, enchants and other items.
Right now folks with Zen are content to just sit on it as they can get 500:1 today and undoubtedly for the next few weeks. Once the backlog go under 2M people will probably start to convert Zen back to AD as it won't be as "safe" to sit on anymore.
So just be patient, the backlog is going down and will most likely be gone in a few months.
Patience and time is quite a limited commodity when it comes to MMO players' loyalty to one particular game. I don't think Cryptic has that much time.
People (and their banks) manipulate the markets by exploiting specific regulations. It's because they don't follow the rules whilst they know everyone else is following them. The hedge against 'barbarism' is what allows this to happen in modern times. No matter how much a market is or isn't regulated, there is gonna be some spikes, some manipulation, and some tears.
How long a problem is allowed to persist is dependent upon the stubbornness of regulators.
One of the biggest current problems:
For everyone one item Cryptic introduces as an AD sink (e.g. Sgt.Knox auction), there are 3 or 4 items introduced in the Zen store to make Zen that much more preferable.
So just be patient, the backlog is going down and will most likely be gone in a few months.
This is a good Buddhist attitude to have and you may be right... there may be enough going on to consume the extra AD.
It's just that there's something to be said for having a system designed in such a way as to not be so vulnerable in the first place. There are weaknesses that still exist. There could be more/better/more accessible AD sinks -- these should have existed long before any exploits made them necessary, anyway -- in other words, the shenanigans should not have wrecked us so badly and for so long.
I mean we got this enormous backlog primarily because everyone wants Zen, right? I've seen people post "ahhhh you don't need zen for anything anyway who cares", but 5 billion or so AD would like to have a word with that attitude. We can't make zen much less attractive, for several obvious reasons, so we've got to make people want AD more than they currently do...
They certainly aren't going to buy out the backorder or get rid of the cap. Likewise they aren't exactly going to make fundamental changes to the game due to the exploited AD. The only solution other than to wait is to buy out the backlog.
They certainly aren't going to buy out the backorder or get rid of the cap. Likewise they aren't exactly going to make fundamental changes to the game due to the exploited AD. The only solution other than to wait is to buy out the backlog.
Perhaps you misunderstand... like what jrfbrunet posted before me.. all those new zen items that keep cropping up just drive the backlog. The game needs more stuff to be AD-centered (an AD sink) rather then Zen-store centered.
A real AD sink is something that is NOT found in the Zen store, but ONLY for ADs from an NPC vendor. There are actually very few things that fit this decription.
Perhaps you misunderstand... like what jrfbrunet posted before me.. all those new zen items that keep cropping up just drive the backlog. The game needs more stuff to be AD-centered (an AD sink) rather then Zen-store centered.
A real AD sink is something that is NOT found in the Zen store, but ONLY for ADs from an NPC vendor. There are actually very few things that fit this decription.
Fair enough, but what I was getting at is that the economy is currently flooded with exploited AD so creating AD sinks and fewer Zen items might be good as things stand now but that would be a reaction to an economy flooded with exploited AD. Perhaps short term they should make all these new items AD only, but once the market becomes healthy again, go back to introducing Zen only items.
Sadly, I just don't see them caring at all. This backlog is probably good for Zen sales.
Sadly, I just don't see them caring at all. This backlog is probably good for Zen sales.
This has been posted by a LOT of people before on these forums. I don't buy it. I think this backlog being around for so long and being so huge is egg on Cryptic's face. I think they are worried about taking major leaps for fear of things ending up worse than they are, but the cautiousness after so long does not serve them well.
Time to <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> or get off the pot, as they say.
* Bind some more items in Zen store, or just BOA the whole dang thing
* Introduce real AD sinks (that last more than 1 auction) that people are going to want
* Make some of the more <ahem> "vulnerable" items in the zen store available on the WB
* no more "free" AD from prayer/leadership to discourage botting/armies of leadership toons
And those are just a few of the more feasible steps they could try. We've talked about crazier stuff they could do in other threads.
This has been posted by a LOT of people before on these forums. I don't buy it. I think this backlog being around for so long and being so huge is egg on Cryptic's face. I think they are worried about taking major leaps for fear of things ending up worse than they are, but the cautiousness after so long does not serve them well.
Time to <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> or get off the pot, as they say.
* Bind some more items in Zen store, or just BOA the whole dang thing
* Introduce real AD sinks (that last more than 1 auction) that people are going to want
* Make some of the more <ahem> "vulnerable" items in the zen store available on the WB
* no more "free" AD from prayer/leadership to discourage botting/armies of leadership toons
And those are just a few of the more feasible steps they could try. We've talked about crazier stuff they could do in other threads.
None of those other than AD sinks will help.
Binding Zen shop items will just create even more demand for Zen
Leadership has nothing to do with this. You can easily create a RAD backlog of months. I know I have on all my characters due to all the BoP stuff I have to salvage.
But again, this is reactionary to the current situation. If it's raining every day this week do you go out and buy 1000 umbrellas?
If it's raining every day this week do you go out and buy 1000 umbrellas?
No, but I make sure enough people have umbrellas to go around. I don't let a 50 person backlog build up, and expect 1 umbrella to be enough for all of them.
As for the theoretical ZS binding making demand go up: the demand is what it is. There are a finite amount of end users for any zen store item, and this is ultimately where the demand comes from. What binding does is cut out any possible middlemen between the end user and the sale. I shall speak no more of this
As this has turned into nothing more than conspiracy theories and backhanded attempts to discuss forum moderation, it's no longer serving a productive purpose. I'm shutting this down.
ROLL TIDE ROLL
Great Weapon Fighter: Because when is today not a good day to die?
PC and PS4 player. Proud Guildmaster for PS4 Team Fencebane. Rank 5 Officer for PC Team Fencebane. Visit us at http://fencebane.shivtr.com
Comments
Currently elements of in-game player income, in-game player wealth, and real money value are locked. Income by the RAD limit, wealth by the currency limits, and value by the AD exchange limit. If you remove only one you do not create a "free market", you create a market where the value of real money is allowed to go wild, but in-game player income is still primarily gated by the RAD limit.
Your solution would create massive inflation in the markets for anything gated by in-game drops. Inflation that would likely exceed the rise in zen value, due to players attempting to control the market and the eventual lack of players grinding out surplus as the F2P player-base disappears. Eventually causing remaining players to hit the currency limits and you would once again be in a situation similar to now.
But hey, at least the backlog would be gone?
And if all limits were removed the game would self-destruct as the current discrepancies in player worth and income are WAY TOO HIGH. There are too many players who exploit or game the system with 100s of millions of AD (in actual AD, liquid assets, and/or non-liquid assets) many making a million+ more everyday, versus the newer/more casual players with around a million AD earning significantly less than 100k per day. You have to solve the game mechanics creating these huge discrepancies first, and odds are if you did that the economy would right itself without any other changes.
Oh and your solution wouldn't get rid of the gold spammers, not until there weren't enough players left in the game to make it worth their while anymore, since it does nothing to make their job significantly more difficult. They would just keep adjusting their prices to be around 50% less than the current zen value, as they do now.
Okay, Panic.
Well, remember that this coin has two sides. What about the people buying Zen...the people spending real money and therefore the ones keeping the lights on...who see their purchasing power continually devalued as AH prices go up but the amount of AD they get for their dollar remains static? Or don't they matter? Yes, if you can somehow force AH prices down that will accomplish the same thing as increasing the zen:ad ratio...but what makes you think that's possible?
If it is possible, how would you do it?
I know you keep saying all it will take is time and patience...but saying the same thing that isn't necessarily true over and over doesn't make necessarily true. What guarantee do you offer other than saying the same thing again? Historically currencies inflate. That's not dust in the wind, it's a matter of historical fact. Why will AD deflate?
YES, my plan would devalue AD against the real Dollar. It needs to be. An 8 million AD 'chant is worth $160? Is it? Really?
Then wouldn't you know it, there was a bug just as bad as Caturday which explained the rise that started shortly after Mod 2.
Now that the bug has been closed, the backlog is dropping. It will take some time as undoubtedly there are still tons of exploited AD, probably laundered into wards, enchants and other items.
Right now folks with Zen are content to just sit on it as they can get 500:1 today and undoubtedly for the next few weeks. Once the backlog go under 2M people will probably start to convert Zen back to AD as it won't be as "safe" to sit on anymore.
So just be patient, the backlog is going down and will most likely be gone in a few months.
I'm not getting into this again...
<"It's a trap" meme removed>
People (and their banks) manipulate the markets by exploiting specific regulations. It's because they don't follow the rules whilst they know everyone else is following them. The hedge against 'barbarism' is what allows this to happen in modern times. No matter how much a market is or isn't regulated, there is gonna be some spikes, some manipulation, and some tears.
How long a problem is allowed to persist is dependent upon the stubbornness of regulators.
One of the biggest current problems:
For everyone one item Cryptic introduces as an AD sink (e.g. Sgt.Knox auction), there are 3 or 4 items introduced in the Zen store to make Zen that much more preferable.
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This is a good Buddhist attitude to have and you may be right... there may be enough going on to consume the extra AD.
It's just that there's something to be said for having a system designed in such a way as to not be so vulnerable in the first place. There are weaknesses that still exist. There could be more/better/more accessible AD sinks -- these should have existed long before any exploits made them necessary, anyway -- in other words, the shenanigans should not have wrecked us so badly and for so long.
I mean we got this enormous backlog primarily because everyone wants Zen, right? I've seen people post "ahhhh you don't need zen for anything anyway who cares", but 5 billion or so AD would like to have a word with that attitude. We can't make zen much less attractive, for several obvious reasons, so we've got to make people want AD more than they currently do...
Perhaps you misunderstand... like what jrfbrunet posted before me.. all those new zen items that keep cropping up just drive the backlog. The game needs more stuff to be AD-centered (an AD sink) rather then Zen-store centered.
A real AD sink is something that is NOT found in the Zen store, but ONLY for ADs from an NPC vendor. There are actually very few things that fit this decription.
Fair enough, but what I was getting at is that the economy is currently flooded with exploited AD so creating AD sinks and fewer Zen items might be good as things stand now but that would be a reaction to an economy flooded with exploited AD. Perhaps short term they should make all these new items AD only, but once the market becomes healthy again, go back to introducing Zen only items.
Sadly, I just don't see them caring at all. This backlog is probably good for Zen sales.
This has been posted by a LOT of people before on these forums. I don't buy it. I think this backlog being around for so long and being so huge is egg on Cryptic's face. I think they are worried about taking major leaps for fear of things ending up worse than they are, but the cautiousness after so long does not serve them well.
Time to <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> or get off the pot, as they say.
* Bind some more items in Zen store, or just BOA the whole dang thing
* Introduce real AD sinks (that last more than 1 auction) that people are going to want
* Make some of the more <ahem> "vulnerable" items in the zen store available on the WB
* no more "free" AD from prayer/leadership to discourage botting/armies of leadership toons
And those are just a few of the more feasible steps they could try. We've talked about crazier stuff they could do in other threads.
None of those other than AD sinks will help.
Binding Zen shop items will just create even more demand for Zen
Leadership has nothing to do with this. You can easily create a RAD backlog of months. I know I have on all my characters due to all the BoP stuff I have to salvage.
But again, this is reactionary to the current situation. If it's raining every day this week do you go out and buy 1000 umbrellas?
No, but I make sure enough people have umbrellas to go around. I don't let a 50 person backlog build up, and expect 1 umbrella to be enough for all of them.
As for the theoretical ZS binding making demand go up: the demand is what it is. There are a finite amount of end users for any zen store item, and this is ultimately where the demand comes from. What binding does is cut out any possible middlemen between the end user and the sale. I shall speak no more of this
Great Weapon Fighter: Because when is today not a good day to die?
PC and PS4 player. Proud Guildmaster for PS4 Team Fencebane. Rank 5 Officer for PC Team Fencebane. Visit us at http://fencebane.shivtr.com