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Why not put lockbox ships in the Lobi Store?
husnock1
Member Posts: 90 Arc User
Just a thought, and I'm not sure if anyone has suggested this yet.
But seriously, why not? And I'm not saying right now, either. For each "grand prize" lockbox/random-draw ship (i.e. the Bugship, Galor, D'kora, Tuffli, Orb Weaver, Wells, and Korath; oh, and the MU ships), why not just wait for a few months after the corresponding lockboxes are taken out of the loot tables, and after a time just put them in the Lobi Store?
They remain a one-time unlock, you STILL have to open lockboxes to get them (to get the Crystals to buy them with), they're still hard to get (as per CBS' wishes), and they aren't anymore damaging to the IP then they were before; after all, we ALREADY HAVE Ferengi, Tholian, and Future ships in the LS, so what's the difference?
Yet they'll still be around after the boxes stop flowing for those who don't have a bazillion EC for the Exchange ones, and you don't have to open a million lockboxes without ever seeing one. Waiting for a period of time after their corresponding lockboxes are patched-out means there's still incentive to open the current ones to get the ship (not to mention the Lobi to get previous ships). AND, the unfair randomness that has inspired so much nerd-rage this past year will at least go down a little.
Really, it's the next logical move, especially considering the fact that they booted the similarly unfair randomness of the STF drop system for the Omega Rep system. Granted, they're both grinds, but it's better than wasting money for absolutely no gain whatsoever.
What do you think, devs?
P.S. Cryptic, since all the previous lockboxes had corresponding weapons in the Lobi Store (Energy Whip, Tholian Sword, and the Future Phasers), but the Cardassian Lockbox doesn't, can we please maybe get a Cardassian Rifle in the Lobi Store?
P.P.S. Yes, I mentioned the Omega Rep system, which is basically a live grenade on these forums right now. But to my fellow trekkies, please, please, PLEASE don't turn this thread into another war over that system. There's enough of those threads as it is, so PLEASE don't let this thread spiral into another one just because I cited it as an example, k?
But seriously, why not? And I'm not saying right now, either. For each "grand prize" lockbox/random-draw ship (i.e. the Bugship, Galor, D'kora, Tuffli, Orb Weaver, Wells, and Korath; oh, and the MU ships), why not just wait for a few months after the corresponding lockboxes are taken out of the loot tables, and after a time just put them in the Lobi Store?
They remain a one-time unlock, you STILL have to open lockboxes to get them (to get the Crystals to buy them with), they're still hard to get (as per CBS' wishes), and they aren't anymore damaging to the IP then they were before; after all, we ALREADY HAVE Ferengi, Tholian, and Future ships in the LS, so what's the difference?
Yet they'll still be around after the boxes stop flowing for those who don't have a bazillion EC for the Exchange ones, and you don't have to open a million lockboxes without ever seeing one. Waiting for a period of time after their corresponding lockboxes are patched-out means there's still incentive to open the current ones to get the ship (not to mention the Lobi to get previous ships). AND, the unfair randomness that has inspired so much nerd-rage this past year will at least go down a little.
Really, it's the next logical move, especially considering the fact that they booted the similarly unfair randomness of the STF drop system for the Omega Rep system. Granted, they're both grinds, but it's better than wasting money for absolutely no gain whatsoever.
What do you think, devs?
P.S. Cryptic, since all the previous lockboxes had corresponding weapons in the Lobi Store (Energy Whip, Tholian Sword, and the Future Phasers), but the Cardassian Lockbox doesn't, can we please maybe get a Cardassian Rifle in the Lobi Store?
P.P.S. Yes, I mentioned the Omega Rep system, which is basically a live grenade on these forums right now. But to my fellow trekkies, please, please, PLEASE don't turn this thread into another war over that system. There's enough of those threads as it is, so PLEASE don't let this thread spiral into another one just because I cited it as an example, k?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by husnock1 on
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Comments
I kid of course. :P
But honestly, I see no issue with it. If somebody wants a specific ship, they can chance at getting it with each lockbox they open, and if they open a lot without getting the ship, but have the lobi, they can still buy it.
Why would such items, cheaper than a common doff, be in the Lobi store? Or C-store? Or anywhere at all?
I want to point out that six months ago, $300 would get you just one of these ships, on average.
Now, I have no problem with this change in the player's benefit because it brings the ships closer to their price on the exchange, if you were buying keys. The existing change makes opening boxes worth it.
However, I'll add that as it stands, the Lobi ships are not fully comparable to the lockbox ships.
They're all roughly Fleet Tier ships. But the lockbox ships are, on average, a bit better.
I think the one lockbox ship where there's a strong case for it is the Galor. Because the Galor is the one lockbox ship arguably worse than the others, maybe a bit worse than the fleet tier of ships. The main perk it offers is store access to spiral waves... and I think you'd probably see better results for Cryptic if they just put the Galor and spiral wave energy weapons of all types (DHCs included) on the Lobi store as separate entries.
I'm sure he is talking about the actual big-prize lockbox ships, the jem hadar escort, the D'kora, the Wells. No one who understands basic math would spend 1.4mil EC to unlock a lock box to maybe get a 100k EC MU ship.
Having it a chance thing... people will open more boxes... I've heard horror stories on the number of boxes people have opened...
The bottom line, if it only requires say 200 (assuming 4 Lobi per box), then Cryptic could potentially lose revenue. Seeing that some people are willing to open 300 + boxes for the ship.
Thats pretty much why... If you watch the screen on how often those "so and so got a blah blah ship", and consider the odds of getting that ship from a box... Imagine how many boxes were opened that didn't get that ship... and how many more are being opened as we talk.
Star Trek Online, Now with out the Trek....
It wouldn't be nearly as satisfying just buying the bug outright as it would be to open a gift box from the Winter Festival and have a bug magically appear in my cargo.
Also, any other supporters for the Cardassian Spiral-Wave Disrupter Rifle ground weapon? I'd buy it...
Well... take the Jem-Bug for example... they can always bring back the ship from a previous lockbox, and offer it again in a new box or reward pack, etc... They'll bring back the lockbox ships in some form(eveidently in October's Ask Cryptic, the bug is due to resurface sometime in the near future) , charge more for the chance (this exactly happened with the Bug)... people pay through the nose, then they disappear again.
Star Trek Online, Now with out the Trek....
Yeah but law of averages, Cryptic makes the same money per ship.
Cryptic never really gets more or less than $250 for a lockbox ship, NEVER, even when some guy spends $5000. The only thing that influences Cryptic's cut are sales on ZEN or lockbox keys. Because it comes down to sample sizes. They have the biggest sample size as the distributor and therefore have no streaky runs.
The ship is a 0.5% drop. You might get it in one try or never get it in 5000 but Cryptic is giving one out for every 200 lockboxes at $1.25 a box. Their revenue per ship is consistent and wouldn't diminish if you paid 1100 Lobi for the same ship.
I'm sure there is a number that qould balance it out (to what they make today)... but I think part of the draw today is also the rarity of the ship.... something not everyone can get... if all ships were available for purchase (Z-Mart) or Lobi... rarity drops... when rarity drops, so does demand and value.
People will pay more for something that not everyone can get...
Star Trek Online, Now with out the Trek....
At 1100, it means you aren't getting the other Lobi rewards.
But I'll toss this out there:
At 1000 Lobi, say you get a box guaranteed to contain ONE of the lockbox ships. Even odds of each one. (This also means reduced odds of each one as they add more since the loot table is an even split. This creates urgency.)
It preserves the mystique. Cryptic is making its money when you allow for the lack of Lobi prizes.
See... this is a good idea... they make money, and players have a better chance at their coveted lockbox ship. Now, if we only owned Cryptic
Seriously, this is a workable idea.
Star Trek Online, Now with out the Trek....
If they do that then they might as well just add it to the Z-Store...... They need to REMOVE all ships from the LOBI store once its lockbox to done, the whole point of lockbox ships were because they were a way to offer ships CBS DOES NOT want to see Federation or Klingon Captains flying. By leaving them in the LOBI store, everyone could end up have one.
so cardi's now, next lock box it moves up to ferengi and so on