Yeah, I agree. I Kind of wish they just charged Zen or sold different level upgrade tokens for Zen. They could charge like 500-1000-1500 or something. I would love to upgrade my companions but as it stands right now, I don't find it worth the cost.
As a young boy chasing Dragons with your wooden sword so mighty, You're St. George or you're David and you always killed the beast
Times change very quickly And you had to grow up early. A house in smoking ruins and the bodies at your feet ~Iron Maiden
Companions need to be made account-bound and less completely useless in end-game content before I will entertain the idea that they are a fair and reasonable investment when bought from the Z-store.
Once that happens, we can revisit the cost of upgrading non-store pets and how it compares to the Z-store price.
Companion upgrades are only useful in general for the stat bonuses and these are meant to be an additional AD sink for extremely rich players. (Upgrading from Blue to Purple gives more stat points per AD than going form rank 9 to 10 enchantments)
For the folks that want to play totally for free, there is an avenue. For the folks that want to spend a little cash, there's a "less expensive" route. Absolutely nothing wrong with a little incentive to get folks to invest in the game.
It's a process that not wholly necessary and there is a way to go about it without spending any money if you like.
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silvergryphMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 740Arc User
edited February 2014
I agree that the price of upgrading should be more in line with the ZEN price. But, I do think it needs to stay a little more expensive on average to rank up than to buy a purple outright in order to keep from adversely affecting ZEN companion sales. There should be incentives for financially supporting the game. You also have time to earn the difference while you level the companion to the next rank point.
So, I propose basing the cost on the highest AD/ZEN exchange rate of 500 AD per ZEN. 2500 * 500 = 1,250,000 total to go from White to Purple (almost 20% less than current). This is still approximately $37 at the OP's current quoted exchange rate, but is actually not bad considering it is paid in three "installments". Call it a finance fee.
I would further suggest dividing the tiers in such a way that it is cheaper to get started with upgrading to motivate players to at least spend a little to try it:
White to Green 200,000 AD (33% less than current)
Green to Blue 400,000 AD
Blue to Purple 650,000 AD
That makes the three installments out to be less than $6, $12, and $20 respectively at the quoted current exchange rate.
Total White to Blue would only be 600,000 AD (25% less than current). This is an important price point because it unlocks all equipment and rune slots. For only 600k AD, I think most players would certainly rank up every companion they intend to actually summon to at least this point. I believe that there would be a net gain in revenue generation because of the increase in the number of companions being upgraded to Blue. Which also promotes gameplay (even more revenue) to gear them up.
I agree that the price of upgrading should be more in line with the ZEN price. But, I do think it needs to stay a little more expensive on average to rank up than to buy a purple outright in order to keep from adversely affecting ZEN companion sales. There should be incentives for financially supporting the game. You also have time to earn the difference while you level the companion to the next rank point.
So, I propose basing the cost on the highest AD/ZEN exchange rate of 500 AD per ZEN. 2500 * 500 = 1,250,000 total to go from White to Purple (almost 20% less than current). This is still approximately $37 at the OP's current quoted exchange rate, but is actually not bad considering it is paid in three "installments". Call it a finance fee.
I would further suggest dividing the tiers in such a way that it is cheaper to get started with upgrading to motivate players to at least spend a little to try it:
White to Green 200,000 AD (33% less than current)
Green to Blue 400,000 AD
Blue to Purple 650,000 AD
That makes the three installments out to be less than $6, $12, and $20 respectively at the quoted current exchange rate.
Total White to Blue would only be 600,000 AD (25% less than current). This is an important price point because it unlocks all equipment and rune slots. For only 600k AD, I think most players would certainly rank up every companion they intend to actually summon to at least this point. I believe that there would be a net gain in revenue generation because of the increase in the number of companions being upgraded to Blue. Which also promotes gameplay (even more revenue) to gear them up.
So lemme ask you this then. How/where do I buy a purple Ioun Stone of Allure or a purple Hawk?
I have no issue spending cash on this game. I still think the cost to upgrade companions and mounts are crazy high.
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bioshrikeMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 4,729Arc User
edited February 2014
It needs to be looked at through the lens of what a companion of each rank costs to buy outright. The cost to upgrade should be somewhat on par with what it would cost (total) to buy that companion at the desired rank. For instance, if a green companion costs $8, then that's what it should cost to upgrade a white to a green, (since whites don't cost Zen). From green to blue should cost roughly 400 Zen. From blue to purple should cost about 1300 Zen/$13.
<::::::::::::::)xxxo <::::::::::::::)xxxo <::::::::::::)xxxxxxxx(:::::::::::> oxxx(::::::::::::::> oxxx(::::::::::::::> "Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
It needs to be looked at through the lens of what a companion of each rank costs to buy outright. The cost to upgrade should be somewhat on par with what it would cost (total) to buy that companion at the desired rank. For instance, if a green companion costs $8, then that's what it should cost to upgrade a white to a green, (since whites don't cost Zen). From green to blue should cost roughly 400 Zen. From blue to purple should cost about 1300 Zen/$13.
accurate pricing. This should be perfect and what we need.
It needs to be looked at through the lens of what a companion of each rank costs to buy outright. The cost to upgrade should be somewhat on par with what it would cost (total) to buy that companion at the desired rank. For instance, if a green companion costs $8, then that's what it should cost to upgrade a white to a green, (since whites don't cost Zen). From green to blue should cost roughly 400 Zen. From blue to purple should cost about 1300 Zen/$13.
This hits the nail on the head. Shoot the main reason I even want to upgrade is to run higher levels in Swordcoast Adventures. After that it is all about a cooler looking companion.
We should never talk about it, that ways the devs will know how important it is to the playerbase.
Rather than constantly starting a new thread on this, just do a forum search for the topic and post there. That is just as (in)effective as constantly making a new thread about it.
No thread necro required, there was just a thread about this last week. After 30 days then you have necro'd a thread.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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sean99999Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited February 2014
Agreed. Way too expensive.
Even worse, only augments are useful. Companions actually HINDER end game progress due to the horrible AI and the way they aggro enemies.
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zebularMember, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 15,270Community Moderator
edited February 2014
. . . I do agree, companion upgrading (and mount) is way too expensive. The only companion I felt partially worth it was the Ioun Stone of Allure. Still, that was a lot of AD and I probably won't upgrade another on my alts. It's just too expensive and most of the final bonuses or powers the companions have just aren't worth the outrageous price. I doubt I'll upgrade any more unless the price is drastically reduced. More does not sell more, less sells more. Lower cost would equate to more upgrading, meaning the intended AD-sink would be improved.
. . . More does not sell more, less sells more. Lower cost would equate to more upgrading, meaning the intended AD-sink would be improved.
Pretty much, yeah. I'd upgrade some of mine, if it felt like remotely worth the AD. As it is you are better of spending the AD and pretty much everything else, meaning it's essentially a non-feature or even worse, a trap for new players.
It's too rich for my blood. That's for sure. The mounts and companions are still too expensive to collect and upgrade overall. If things were more reasonable I would be more inclined to buy character slots and roll more alts.
I got to thinking about this a bit more as I tried to select a party of companions with SCA in mind.
I would still like to see the upgrade costs brought within the realm of reason. For one it's a progression system that could make collecting companions a lot more interesting. For another, each companion has slightly different abilities. It would be fun to take even a white tier companion and eventually level them to purple tier having powerful abilities. And finally, for the purposes and sake of "RPG" it is fun to grow a companion purely for the story of our adventuring journey.
The more that can reasonably be invested in our characters and companions the deeper the attachment. I hope Cryptic and PWE can see that as an opportunity to build a quality community and to make money rather than rely on big up front numbers for purchases.
Companion and Mount upgrade costs are simply ridicolous (expecially mounts). I have no problem to spend my money on the game but this AD prices are simply ridicolous. IMHO.
I and i think i speak for all think that should listen more to this complains, one thing i love in the game is the companions system. I for sure whould spend more money if the prices got lower, like, 2200 zen = 18€ for a purple companion... i can buy complet games for less... or pay a subscription por some games with full acess to the content... and yeah 1.6mil AD to get one white to purple... that´s a bit expensive, just to finish, if Cryptic lower the prices of almost all things i bet that more players would come and sepend their money in the game because this is a good game the only prob i see is the prices of the stuff. Thank You for reading.
I'd point out that they have added companion active effects that make upgrading companions quite worth it. Especial considering that the white and green pets whom give stats as an active bonus give those stats as "feature" stats, thus increasing your gear-score when upgrading them.
As for the high price, you must also consider that even if you are unwilling to pay it, there are people whom are, and this is _very_ good for you. The game's economy is based on what most closely resembles a "silver standard." This means there is a "fixed" amount of silver (AD) at any one time to trade. However, you could, as a person, just go out in the world and mine (do AD daily quests) to "find" more silver (AD). Yet, unlike the real world where actually mining silver is difficult, in Neverwinter everyone can do it easily, should they choose.
Every day each character can add 24k AD to the economy. If this was allowed unchecked, the total amount of AD to trade between players would simple continue to increase making each individual buying power of 1 AD reduced. I.E. massive inflation in what you have to pay even for simple items.
By having very high priced (yet desirable) upgrades for AD, each time one of those is purchased, a massive amount of AD is removed from the economy, thus keeping inflation in check. Likewise those who buy Zen with AD to get store items remove massive amounts of AD from the economy.
I agree that the horse upgrades are too high, and would be more effective at removing AD if they were in a price that more people would buy, but in general, the high upgrade costs of some things in the game is very necessary. If you want lower upgrade costs, the only other option is to lower the amount of AD that can be refined per day, which would probably annoy more people than it would sooth those seeking cheaper upgrades.
they are over exagerated cost indeed for something that are totaly usesless/worthless i still dont get it why its that outrageous cost on them the only reason i upgraded couple of them cuz i like how they look thats the only reason others upgrade some.... they attack very very slow and those who attack faster like 1.5/2 sec cd on skill do 200 dmg <_< i mean wtf u do with a 200 dmg companion
All upgrades are way too expensive. Mounts,Companions hell even transmutation and thats not even technically an upgrade( Unless you want to count it as a visual upgrade)
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flambridgeMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 191Arc User
edited February 2014
I believe part of the cost could be paid in Gold.
For my game experience (all these months), I realized that Gold is much more difficult to attach which AD. Despite Gold currently being used for little else. Despite being given the Gold "killing monsters", not all characters can "kill" in bulk easily.
If Gold was used for more practical things (like farm AD, upgrade companion mont upgrade, manufacture of items / rare armor etc), many of the financial problems would be solved Neverwinter.
In D & D book (and Neverwinter Nights) Gold was used until to activate certain spells and rituals.
Then we would have basically three types of player.
1) that invests in Zen
** (using real moneyby not having time)
2) that invests in AD
** (have a little more time / patience and can meet all the rules for 24k Daily AD)
3) that invests in gold
*** (have much time and can spend hours killing monsters)
Use Gold for enchantments was the first step, and I liked the idea. The Gold should be used for more things, primarily exclusive.
or add epic versions for all companions for zen, atm epic companions are trash, and best companions come in white or green like sellsword, skeleton, blink dog
Comments
Times change very quickly And you had to grow up early. A house in smoking ruins and the bodies at your feet ~Iron Maiden
Once that happens, we can revisit the cost of upgrading non-store pets and how it compares to the Z-store price.
It's a process that not wholly necessary and there is a way to go about it without spending any money if you like.
So, I propose basing the cost on the highest AD/ZEN exchange rate of 500 AD per ZEN. 2500 * 500 = 1,250,000 total to go from White to Purple (almost 20% less than current). This is still approximately $37 at the OP's current quoted exchange rate, but is actually not bad considering it is paid in three "installments". Call it a finance fee.
I would further suggest dividing the tiers in such a way that it is cheaper to get started with upgrading to motivate players to at least spend a little to try it:
White to Green 200,000 AD (33% less than current)
Green to Blue 400,000 AD
Blue to Purple 650,000 AD
That makes the three installments out to be less than $6, $12, and $20 respectively at the quoted current exchange rate.
Total White to Blue would only be 600,000 AD (25% less than current). This is an important price point because it unlocks all equipment and rune slots. For only 600k AD, I think most players would certainly rank up every companion they intend to actually summon to at least this point. I believe that there would be a net gain in revenue generation because of the increase in the number of companions being upgraded to Blue. Which also promotes gameplay (even more revenue) to gear them up.
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So lemme ask you this then. How/where do I buy a purple Ioun Stone of Allure or a purple Hawk?
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
Official NW_Legit_Community Forums
accurate pricing. This should be perfect and what we need.
Even worse, only augments are useful. Companions actually HINDER end game progress due to the horrible AI and the way they aggro enemies.
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Pretty much, yeah. I'd upgrade some of mine, if it felt like remotely worth the AD. As it is you are better of spending the AD and pretty much everything else, meaning it's essentially a non-feature or even worse, a trap for new players.
What the hell are you two on about : 02-07-2014, 06:23 AM
The first post in this thread took place on Feb 7 2014... Today is the 9th...... EH? Two days does not make a necro....
I would still like to see the upgrade costs brought within the realm of reason. For one it's a progression system that could make collecting companions a lot more interesting. For another, each companion has slightly different abilities. It would be fun to take even a white tier companion and eventually level them to purple tier having powerful abilities. And finally, for the purposes and sake of "RPG" it is fun to grow a companion purely for the story of our adventuring journey.
The more that can reasonably be invested in our characters and companions the deeper the attachment. I hope Cryptic and PWE can see that as an opportunity to build a quality community and to make money rather than rely on big up front numbers for purchases.
As for the high price, you must also consider that even if you are unwilling to pay it, there are people whom are, and this is _very_ good for you. The game's economy is based on what most closely resembles a "silver standard." This means there is a "fixed" amount of silver (AD) at any one time to trade. However, you could, as a person, just go out in the world and mine (do AD daily quests) to "find" more silver (AD). Yet, unlike the real world where actually mining silver is difficult, in Neverwinter everyone can do it easily, should they choose.
Every day each character can add 24k AD to the economy. If this was allowed unchecked, the total amount of AD to trade between players would simple continue to increase making each individual buying power of 1 AD reduced. I.E. massive inflation in what you have to pay even for simple items.
By having very high priced (yet desirable) upgrades for AD, each time one of those is purchased, a massive amount of AD is removed from the economy, thus keeping inflation in check. Likewise those who buy Zen with AD to get store items remove massive amounts of AD from the economy.
I agree that the horse upgrades are too high, and would be more effective at removing AD if they were in a price that more people would buy, but in general, the high upgrade costs of some things in the game is very necessary. If you want lower upgrade costs, the only other option is to lower the amount of AD that can be refined per day, which would probably annoy more people than it would sooth those seeking cheaper upgrades.
For my game experience (all these months), I realized that Gold is much more difficult to attach which AD. Despite Gold currently being used for little else. Despite being given the Gold "killing monsters", not all characters can "kill" in bulk easily.
If Gold was used for more practical things (like farm AD, upgrade companion mont upgrade, manufacture of items / rare armor etc), many of the financial problems would be solved Neverwinter.
In D & D book (and Neverwinter Nights) Gold was used until to activate certain spells and rituals.
Then we would have basically three types of player.
1) that invests in Zen
** (using real moneyby not having time)
2) that invests in AD
** (have a little more time / patience and can meet all the rules for 24k Daily AD)
3) that invests in gold
*** (have much time and can spend hours killing monsters)
Use Gold for enchantments was the first step, and I liked the idea. The Gold should be used for more things, primarily exclusive.