Master Key Limit

templarheinrich

I think if the FTP market is going to have any chance of unlocking any of the lockboxes that is flooding their inventory we need to deal with the pricing of the Zen keys in the exchange.

If a FTP character is limited to 15,000,000 EC, and many of the keys are priced at 7-10 million EC, they are going to be quite demotivated to harvest the EC for their character because they are spending 50-66% of their max allowance for the chance of opening a box in the lockbox. I want to offer a compromise that may make the market easier.

Set the individual Master key price to 5,000,000 EC max.

If this was implemented, you would have FTP players using their savings to unlock content from the overused angel wake boxes in their inventory and more individuals buying keys to essentially transfer their zen into EC.

It would also help fight against the EC farming companies not endorsed by ARC because people would buy zen and sell their keys instead of using third party companies to get their EC.

I would like to hear other opinions from anybody who agrees or disagrees.

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templarheinrich

Because at the rate that the Exchange keys are at right now (7-8 million credits) that is approximately 1.5 boxes unlocked every three weeks within an average gameplay of 2-4 hours a day. Also the dilithium exchange with zen at the moment is ridiculous because of the 24 hour period where you have to refine dilithium and wait to grab enough dilithium to obtain enough zen to acquire the keys in the first place. The dilithium exchange for zen at the current rate is 434 dilithium REFINED for 1 zen. So I would have to grab 54,250 refined dilithium just to buy 1 key which takes roughly a week to conjure up 1 key.

Edit: You can get 16,000 dilithium refined a day and getting a key would be shorter, but that is irrelevant because even with the time reduced for dilithium being refined, the dilithium/zen exchange can increase or decrease on a whim and not guaranteed.

Sidenote: You have to remember to manually refine your dilithium because if you do not, you miss a day. You can also refine an additional 500 dilithium if you are part of a fleet, even if you do manage to complete that task, you still have to be part of a fleet.

That is just for the dilithium exchange, for EC, your daily endeavors have a chance of potentially giving you EC credits, but are not guaranteed. This week I got a significant amount of R&D parts I probably did not need, but selling them is out of the question because every attempt I make selling them even at an 80% discount gets ignored. Sometimes I get lucky unboxing something that makes a significant profit at the exchange, but I find out that it is significantly worth more than 15,000,000 EC and selling it would be a steal for individuals looking for it.

Limit the keys to 5,000,000 EC for each one and you will see an increase of lockbox purchases.

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templarheinrich

westmetals wrote: »

You're completely ignoring my point, though. That your proposal is based on a flawed understanding of the Exchange and can't be done without fundamentally changing that.

The prices on the Exchange are not set by the game staff; they float based on supply and demand. What you see are literally prices made up by players, and the cheapest one for sale is because nobody has bought it yet.

It's actually exactly like the dilithium exchange that you also referred to.

Also FYI the dilithium refining "use it or lose it" goes away if you have a lifetime subscription. (Yes, I know that's expensive, but...) For LS players, it will refine automatically for the quota for the skipped days (but not the current day) when you log in.

You do know you can buy an increase to the EC cap, right? And that it costs roughly the zen equivalent of four keys?

I saw your point, and I would argue it is flawed in the fact that letting players set a price for zen keys in EC is seriously flawed. Zen keys should be accessible at a lower price rather than at an exploitable price.

They can easily program an item to being a set price. It is not hard to change it. Also what the heck is wrong with change? Change is not always bad and while it may be uncomfortable for others, it is inevitable. Rom significantly changed the policies on Fereginar and now we have awesome playable Ferengi for the Federation. It was unpopular in their culture, but it was necessary for allowing their society to advance.

Here is a list of benefits if Zen keys were affordable for 5,000,000 EC

Reputation grinds would ease your EC limit (I am farming 3 with the 20 hour daily)

Lock boxes would be opened and not sitting in your inventory (yes you could toss them, but is that make zen keys pointless?)

FTP players would be motivated to continue collecting angel wake boxes (or purchase lock boxes with the zen they can acquire)

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