Idea: make all the "specialty" beam weapons universal Dil purchase, free for 'owners'

thetrekspert

Idea: maybe next time they need to do a Dil realignment, make the Advanced Phaser/Disruptor Arrays, the Spiral Wave series, the Andorian series, etc. universally able to be purchased for Dil, but if you own the ships - Leg Donnie/Disco D7, T5 Galor/Cardie Intel, Andorian Pilot line… - they are free to reclaim.

So if folks want to do an Andorian-themed or Cardie-themed build but aren't big into pilot or intel ships, they can but for a price.

Seems - at least on the surface - like a win/win - Dil gets dumped into the weapons, causing deflation, and also potentially drives Zen Store purchases.

rattler2

Well... they're ALREADY available if you own the ships, so there's technically already incentive to get them. Making them available without owning the ship though, means less draw to get the ships, especially the Disco D7/Connie. Don't even have to fly the ships. Just owning them gives you access.

You also forgot the Dewan Plasma and Lethean Disruptors. And the Andorian Phasers can be unlocked with the T5s as well as the T6s.

I honestly don't see how this is a win/win. While in theory it sounds plausible, its also dependant on the number of people who WANT to do theme builds. And making them free for those who own the ships is also kinda counter intuitive because then you got FREE access to variant weapons for a SINGLE purchase of a ship that unlocks them (most of the time a full Account Unlock) vs the need to spend for each weapon each time after acquiring the required ship. So it sounds more like a lose to me in the long run.

meimeitoo

It's very simple: everytime someone suggest Cryptic offer them a way/unlock/whatever, without having to buy the often expensive ship first, you can be almost assured they won't do it.

Possibly, all those peeps now buying Advanced Phasers, without owning a proper ship, will offset the loss of aforementioned incentive to get said ships. But why take the risk? (And, in the meantime, slightly devaluate the ships of those who now already own such ships for a bit of exclusivity).

davefenestrator

Seems - at least on the surface - like a win/win - Dil gets dumped into the weapons, causing deflation, and also potentially drives Zen Store purchases.

Selling ships for zen earns Cryptic real-world cash monies.

Selling gear for dil that's free from reputations, admiralty, events, endeavors, TFOs earns Cryptic the thanks of the players.

Thanks don't pay the salaries, server bills, or the voice actors. So, nope. Not gonna happen.

darkbladejk

thetrekspert wrote: »

Idea: maybe next time they need to do a Dil realignment, make the Advanced Phaser/Disruptor Arrays, the Spiral Wave series, the Andorian series, etc. universally able to be purchased for Dil, but if you own the ships - Leg Donnie/Disco D7, T5 Galor/Cardie Intel, Andorian Pilot line… - they are free to reclaim.

So if folks want to do an Andorian-themed or Cardie-themed build but aren't big into pilot or intel ships, they can but for a price.

Seems - at least on the surface - like a win/win - Dil gets dumped into the weapons, causing deflation, and also potentially drives Zen Store purchases.

it's not going to happen dude. While I would love to be able to reclaim infinite spiral waves for free or advanced phasers since I own the ships, they won't do it. It actually does help pull some dilithium out of the game. Not only this but it would take alot of value away from the already existing ships. Spiral Waves only require any of the cardassian cstore ships at a minimum or at least did last I looked. I don't see $30 for spiral wave access as unreasonable. I also don't see it as unreasonable to tie the advanced phasers/disruptors to the promo ship either.

This comes off to me as wanting the "premium" weapons without wanting to do very much to acquire them, or fork over the cash. You also severely underestimate how systemic the inflation is in game right now, and the value of those weapons. They are not required to succeed in game.

foxrockssocks

Spending dil translates to spending zen. That's the whole point of the dil/zen exchange. Many people buy dilithium for fleet projects or whatever else, and this would be another way to get people to buy dil, and thus buy zen.

At least right now these premium weapons are super expensive in dilithium. If you want 8 advanced disruptors instead of advanced phasers you're looking at about 400k dilithium, if I recall correctly. I don't think its unreasonable to make them even higher priced if you don't have the ship that unlocks them in the first place.

If people can start buying these, then some are invariably going to use zen to get that dilithium. It could be a big dil sink for people who really want to have certain weapons and are willing to pay the premium for it. And again, a big dil sink translates to zen purchases. It might also affect the exchange prices as dil becomes rarer, which means people have to spend more zen to get the same amount of dil.

There's no question Cryptic wants people to buy the ship to get access, but trying to get blood from a stone doesn't work. The premium price on a box ship is very far from being able to drop $10 on zen now and then. For many people, getting the box ship is never going to be an option, especially when they only unlock on one character, and that means Cryptic is leaving money on the table if these people would be willing to buy a little zen to fund some higher end weapons on their existing ships.

evilmark444

darkbladejk wrote: »

While I would love to be able to reclaim infinite spiral waves for free or advanced phasers since I own the ships, they won't do it.

Actually if you have the Legendary Disco Connie you already CAN reclaim an infinite number of advanced phasers, just dismiss the ship and claim it again.

postagepaid

They certainly need to sort the prices on the unlockable store weapon types like andorian phaser and spiralwave disruptors which are markedly different in cost per weapon.

rattler2

That... is true. There is a pricing difference between the two.