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Lockbox Key Addiction
usernumber999
Member Posts: 135 Bounty Hunter
It's disappointing to see peoples obsession with keys and how the game company feeds this behavior and capitalizes on it (and glamorizes it by the on screen messages of winners).
I think they should be removed from the game, or at the very least, the odds of getting an item should be clearly stated (like they are at a casino). They should also be bound to player when purchased, as they have now become a form of currency that takes advantage of uninformed new (and more then a few old) players.
And no, I have never opened a box.
I think they should be removed from the game, or at the very least, the odds of getting an item should be clearly stated (like they are at a casino). They should also be bound to player when purchased, as they have now become a form of currency that takes advantage of uninformed new (and more then a few old) players.
And no, I have never opened a box.
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Kaylee Krankenwagen, level 60 GF | Tavandruil Wayfinder, level 49 GWF | Aldith Langley, level 51 HR
It's not deceptive at all. You are basically scratching a cheap lotto ticket. The one thing you fail to note is accountability. Every single human is accountable for there choices, not the company that puts out a product. As far as 'addictive behavior' that is simply a cop out, an excuse, used by people who don't want to say no. You can say no, you can simply quit the game and be done with all of it.
The point is, and please let this soak in, NO ONE FORCES YOU TO USE THESE SERVICES IN ANY MANNER. You choose to play the game, you choose to pay for services and items, you choose to whine about it because you don't feel it is worth it. Well plenty of us do put in the money in because it is fun and worth it us. That is OUR choice.
Accountability, potent stuff.
it's enabling and taking advantage of the gambling addicted personalities for sure.
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It's been going on for years though, and while I'm not saying that makes it okay, I'm saying the businesses have figured out exactly how to do things like that and not get into trouble with it. Still...
It's not taking advantage of or enabling anyone. That some people can't control their behaviour is hardly the fault of those that provide a chance based product or service. If the seller of a product had to take responsibility for the nature of the purchaser of it, nothing could be sold any more, because every example of poor self-control is an addiction these days, rather than a lack of personal responsibility or self-restraint by some individuals.
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I think it only abuses/takes advantage of stupid people. They would be the same people who go into a casino thinking that they are about to win big. Those who use the lockbox keys wisely, will be the same ones who go into a casino with money they are prepared to lose.
How you get all this AD? Pls explain...
Umm you do realize gambling addiction is an mental illness right? So saying someone has a choice when the game makes gambling so easy is stupid. It's like putting people with OCD in a room full of light switches and hand soap dispensers and wonder why they can't stop turning on and off the light and constantly washing hands and saying they can stop or have a choice. I know a girl with this and she had to have EVERYTHING neat and in order and if you moved something, she would spend the whole next hour rearranging everything.
And I know another person that play this game he said he couldn't stop until he spent every dime he had on lockboxes, or he said he only stopped because he spent all his money. He said he lost count after 300 boxes and this is sad.
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And that is aside from the sell, recover diamonds, convert to zen, get more keys perpetual motion machine. The high prices for several of the rewards keep the losses small.
However its all about what you want. Out of probably 500 boxes, I have 1 horse, about 8 birds, 4 or 5 heroes (some of those from putting blue guys in a blender), millions of AD worth of enchantments, 7 green ioun stone pets, and a ton of other stuff. All of which entertained me more than anything on cable tv (which I do not have).
Some years ago, Asian based MMOs discovered they could earn more money by encouraging gambling addiction, as people are more likely to pay up for a chance to win something rather than a guarantee of receiving something. Its a business model based on encouraging/enabling addiction.
This.
I paid for a Founder's Pack and bought a little zen since launch. I don't begrudge them money for a game I'm playing. However Cryptic will never earn a penny from me for a gambling related business model and I will not buy lockbox keys under any circumstances. I personally think its a very scummy way to do business.
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If opening a lockboxes with keys purchased with money is not gambling then I don't know what is. I have opened maybe 300 lockboxes and I DO know it is gambling. When I'm bored I will gamble.
The OP is stating that odds need to be given as this is gambling. Obviously data "suggests" that Nightmare drops are 1%. I believe I got 2 nightmare opening 200+ lock boxes. Chances could be as low as 0.5%, doubt it would be any lower than this. But I think chances need to be stated!!!
Someone stated that you given bars which you can trade for wards and the smart player should recoup 90% of the cost. This is what casinos do to keep gamblers playing. They give them "credit" for gambling so their losses don't seem so much. I don't know about you but my rate of return on the lock boxes is closer to 50%.
You have a pretty ignorant view. I wish I knew you in real life. I would trade you $5 dollar bills for hundreds every day and just tell you 'look you are getting something right? so you're not losing anything.'.
Try to understand that even with virtual items there is a value associated with them. If you don't think so then why don't you trade your T2 equipment for white equipment? Why don't you trade keys for a few healing potions? Why do you buy anything with AD if there is no value?
An actual gambling addiction is. However, people are far too quick to apply the addiction label these days, so it is often misapplied to or by individuals that don't have addictions but can't be bothered to be responsible. It's such a popular practice these days that claims of addiction are often used as a 'get out of personal responsibility free' card.
OCD relates more to compulsion rather than addiction.
Could the person have stopped before spending all his money on lockboxes? It's hard to say whether his claim is actually true or an excuse for his actions without knowing the person. You may be in a position to judge that, depending how well you know him, but since I do not I couldn't say one way or the other. I can say that I don't accept claims of addiction simply because they are made, due to the increasingly popular improper use of the term I mentioned above.
Sure, the lockboxes are a type of gambling. Kind of like a slot machine that takes $5 from you every pull and spits out 50 cents most of the time, and spews a big pile of cash once a year (usually to a disguised casino employee who knows when the machine is due to pay out within a few hundred pulls, or they were once gamed this way when the machines were mechanical). So what? Again, I compare it to people that spend 50 to 100 to more money on other forms of entertainment each month. This game is entertainment. Spending $20 or $50 or whatever on it once a month across 50+ hours of time enjoied is some of the cheapest entertainment going. Again, I spend less in a month on the game than many spend on a 2 hour movie. I claim my money went farther as far as entertainment goes.
You're quite right here. Each of the virtual items in a lock box will have a value associated to them by the one opening it, and these personal values will vary from person to person.
As such it is quite easy for someone to feel loss when opening a box if the item(s) contained within have less value from his personal point of view than the resources he expended to be able to open the box, even if he gets other things from the box that can be sold to make up the cost of opening the box.
Value judgments are personal judgments that are not always based with clockwork precision on perfect logic.
This only applies if the individual is getting something of value to that individual.
Not that I care much, but as a comparison..Cigarette pack labels are required to say they are dangerous and somewhat what is in them and that its harmful, and in some placed depict graphic labels of what can happen if you use, and fast food companies are required to list their "nutritional values", casino's post odds and even cheap scratch off tickets give you "odds"
in the end, people are still responsible for their decisions. imo
but an "informed" decision
Cigarettes include physically addictive substances which sets them apart from the other things you mention. Those addicted to substances often have skewed perceptions and needs, making logical choices about them difficult no matter how well informed the person is. Of course, this is more pronounced with substances that are more addictive.