The whole point of Lobi and Lockboxes are too make money. They'd make less money if all this stuff was an account wide unlock.
That said, what if these items were an account wide unlock, but only for lifetimers? Gold subscribers could get a discount on other toons once an item is unlocked.
(Ducks from flames)
Your suggestion would have been much more likely to draw positive attention, if it hadn been as obviously self-serving as it was.
OF CAUSE it should count for all Gold members if such a thing was ever implemented... We are NOT worth more than monthly subs... If anything we are worth less.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
are you kidding? I'd buy enough boxes to get a JHDC and Recluse.
what I would LIKE to see instead of account wide is account BOUND. that way if I want to use the Recluse with my tac I don't have to waste a ship slot, just get it from a 4-5 ship "drydock" slot.
The whole point of Lobi and Lockboxes are too make money. They'd make less money if all this stuff was an account wide unlock.
That said, what if these items were an account wide unlock, but only for lifetimers? Gold subscribers could get a discount on other toons once an item is unlocked.
(Ducks from flames)
Your argument is limited, you only see the very obvious drop in sales because you need less items. But you don't check the larger picture.
For example, mine. I only bought a single ship on the store. I never bought any costume or anything tailor related. I would have done that if it was account wide. The only reason I'm not buying tailor unlock is because it's character lock.
I understand ships and gear is character lock. But I don't think they would loose money if the tailor unlock was account wide.
As much as I dont really like lockboxes and the cost associated with them. Account wide unlock on lobi stuff could maybe get me to buy them on a more regular bases. As for right now Ive purchased the 10 pack twice since the introductory of the lobi system to just sell on the ah when I found myself needing a bit of folding money on new toons.
As for which way would make more money I have no idea I can see how it would make more money with account wide unlocks bringing in new money that would not have been spent otherwise like myself. I can also see how it would be a hit to profits if a good bit of the people that use lobi regularly double up on items from the store.
Realistically, account bound makes more sense than an account-wide unlock, on most ground items, consoles, space weaponry, and consumables.
Costumes should be an account-wide unlock.
But it will never happen. The gamble boxes are a big bread winner for Cryptic/PWE.
Yeah, account wide unlocks are problematic on the big ticket items like ships.
Costumes though are a different story, I imagine they might actually pick up more trade if they allowed that.
The grey area is space sets.
They are relatively pricey, and I don't want to buy lots of Tachyokinetic convertors at 200 lobi a pop for all my toons.
However, if space items (not ships) got a permanent 33% reduction on price, clothing items and ground weapons became account wide, and everything else got left the same.....I think they'd see more eager purchasers than they have today.
Yeah, account wide unlocks are problematic on the big ticket items like ships.
Costumes though are a different story, I imagine they might actually pick up more trade if they allowed that.
Also, IIRC, part of the reason they were allowed to add the alien ships in the game in the first place is that they have to be rare. It sounded like they wouldn't be able to make the Lobi ships more easily acquired or used, even if they wanted to.
Costumes are another matter entirely. Friends don't let friends use per-character real money vanity unlocks. I might buy some of them if they were account-wide, though. I certainly have a large pile of Lobi I could spend on them at this point.
I fail to see how account wide unlocks for any lockbox TRIBBLE (including lobi obviously) is an issue, even if you have 500 characters on an account you can only ever play one of those characters at a time.
That said, the OP asked if I would buy "more", given that I have maybe 2 lobi items that I actually payed for with lobi, I would say yes, the fact that I need to buy each item on every character turns me off, it'd rather do without then spend 20 bucks on clothes or 100 bucks on a dam shuttle. It's still a hard sell for the more expensive lobi items given the crazy costs (ships are much cheaper on the Exchange), but for the smaller stuff I might consider it.
Please reconsider ARC. Please make it optional, at the least. PLEASE.
It seems the vast majority of your most active players (forum regulars) hate the idea... and while that's a small subset of the playerbase, I think it's an important constituency.
THE PLAYERS DO NOT WANT THIS.
No. I need particular things for particular purposes. Making it account-wide doesn't help if I need two of the same thing in different places.
"Great War! / And I cannot take more! / Great tour! / I keep on marching on / I play the great score / There will be no encore / Great War! / The War to End All Wars"
— Sabaton, "Great War"
I've read posts about the lottery boxes saying don't open them for the prizes. You will just be angry and disappointed. Open them for the lobi and if you do win a prize, all the better. So I thought, ok, there are some big prizes I would like to get, but also some lobi stuff I want, so I will try this approach.
What happens when I break open a 10 pack of keys? 4 lobi - 4 lobi - 4 lobi - 4 lobi - 4 lobi... Ok, so a second mortgage later, maybe I can finally make that purchase.
Fact: getting any of the LCC ships, from a clean start, is expensive. I was talking with an acquaintance about this and crunched the numbers:
required: 800 lobi crystals
number of keys needed, assuming minimum drop (4 crystals) from all boxes: 200
20 10-key packs: 22,500Z
Which, given the ration of 100Z to the US dollar, translates into US$225.00. Most players, I suspect, would balk at dropping that kind of money for this purpose; between that and the asking prices on the Exchange, it's no wonder some... shall we say, enterprising persons... are in fact putting down that kind of money, and making brisk business reselling the things for a lot less (one such group is offering TDDs for US$46).
Would you buy more of the lobi stuff if it was ACCOUNT WIDE?
100% YES!
"...'With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured...the first thought forbidden...the first freedom denied--chains us all irrevocably.' ... The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today--"
- (TNG) Picard, quoting Judge Aaron Satie
No. I'd actually buy some more stuff now as is if I had more than 1 way to get lobi. But its like cryptic doesn't want you to buy any of it. Either that or they think people who play this game have money to blow.
I just want to know why the Lobi consoles aren't Bind on Equip. There's an Energy Credits market for Lobi ships which helps push up demand for Lobi (and thus lockboxes, and thus Zen).
Ships I could see as character bound along with consoles, but ground equipment like specific weapons like the elachi pistol, those should be account bound.
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I don't think all of it should be account wide, necessarily.
I do think that costumes should be account-wide unlocks, at the very least.
But what do I know about how they should make their money? I don't get to sit in on their sales reports.
For all I know, it's a large source of recurring revenue and they'd be foolish to reduce sales for what might only be a short term benefit.
If repeat buys are rare, then maybe they could stimulate sales by putting more account wide stuff in the Lobi store. But if buying the same item over for multiple characters is fairly common, then it's sub-optimal for them unless they're trying to get more players to buy in to the Lobi store.
They might be better off tinkering with the prices, instead. That might be another way to get me to part with my hoarded Lobi crystals. I took advantage of the last Lobi store sale.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
I have yet to spend a single Lobi, partly because there is no account-wide unlock. It takes so long to accumulate enough Lobi for just 1 ship, let alone the console sets, that it's a hard decision to commit such a high value to a single character. Of course, many veteran players have now built up their fleets with Lobi ships over a period of years, but a little over 6 months on STO, I'm still not ready to pull the trigger...
This ^. I've been playing since FTP and have yet to buy a thing in the lobi store. I'm saving for a ship, but I know that even when I get to 800 lobi (at about 550 right now) I'm still not sure that I'd pull the trigger. I love the Romulan timeship warbird, but since it doesn't use singularity powers it seems like a stupid purchase. I have also thought about buying consoles, but honestly thats a waste since PvE isn't all that hard and the rep and fleet consoles work well enough. But it will be a while before I can even make a decision, since I have never and will never buy a lock box.
The only thing I have ever purchased from the Lobi Store was the EV Suit upgrade. While I appreciate all the people financially supporting this game through Key purchases I have no desire to do so myself - though the Xindi Lockbox might change my mind.
I have no issues with the "gambling" aspect of Lockboxes some people like to throw around as some type of moral badge. I am all for people spending their recreational money however they wish to spend it. I probably spend more per summer on golfing then most people have spent on STO over the last 4.5 years. I simply have no desire to justify $200.00 ships and whatnot - and making them account-wide would not change that for me. As long as I can buy items from the C-Store and Exchange I am content to do so.
From a financial standpoint Cryptic gains nothing by making Lobi Store items account-wide. The important thing to keep in mind is that every time someone asks Cryptic to stop making money on X item that person needs to provide an alternative to balance out the lost revenues. Cryptic cannot just eat losing $50,000.00 per month on Lobi Store items, as an example. To lose $50,000.00 on one thing means they need to replace it with something else that makes them $50,000.00+.
People are constantly asking for things to cost less, or to get more benefit for less expense, but without the cost there is no income. Without the income there is no game. We cannot have it both ways: less cost but Cryptic makes more. It is not possible.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
Comments
Your suggestion would have been much more likely to draw positive attention, if it hadn been as obviously self-serving as it was.
OF CAUSE it should count for all Gold members if such a thing was ever implemented... We are NOT worth more than monthly subs... If anything we are worth less.
are you kidding? I'd buy enough boxes to get a JHDC and Recluse.
what I would LIKE to see instead of account wide is account BOUND. that way if I want to use the Recluse with my tac I don't have to waste a ship slot, just get it from a 4-5 ship "drydock" slot.
I would!
For example, mine. I only bought a single ship on the store. I never bought any costume or anything tailor related. I would have done that if it was account wide. The only reason I'm not buying tailor unlock is because it's character lock.
I understand ships and gear is character lock. But I don't think they would loose money if the tailor unlock was account wide.
But it never will happpen. Because? MONEY!
Costumes should be an account-wide unlock.
But it will never happen. The gamble boxes are a big bread winner for Cryptic/PWE.
As for which way would make more money I have no idea I can see how it would make more money with account wide unlocks bringing in new money that would not have been spent otherwise like myself. I can also see how it would be a hit to profits if a good bit of the people that use lobi regularly double up on items from the store.
Yeah, account wide unlocks are problematic on the big ticket items like ships.
Costumes though are a different story, I imagine they might actually pick up more trade if they allowed that.
The grey area is space sets.
They are relatively pricey, and I don't want to buy lots of Tachyokinetic convertors at 200 lobi a pop for all my toons.
However, if space items (not ships) got a permanent 33% reduction on price, clothing items and ground weapons became account wide, and everything else got left the same.....I think they'd see more eager purchasers than they have today.
Also, IIRC, part of the reason they were allowed to add the alien ships in the game in the first place is that they have to be rare. It sounded like they wouldn't be able to make the Lobi ships more easily acquired or used, even if they wanted to.
Costumes are another matter entirely. Friends don't let friends use per-character real money vanity unlocks. I might buy some of them if they were account-wide, though. I certainly have a large pile of Lobi I could spend on them at this point.
That said, the OP asked if I would buy "more", given that I have maybe 2 lobi items that I actually payed for with lobi, I would say yes, the fact that I need to buy each item on every character turns me off, it'd rather do without then spend 20 bucks on clothes or 100 bucks on a dam shuttle. It's still a hard sell for the more expensive lobi items given the crazy costs (ships are much cheaper on the Exchange), but for the smaller stuff I might consider it.
It seems the vast majority of your most active players (forum regulars) hate the idea... and while that's a small subset of the playerbase, I think it's an important constituency.
THE PLAYERS DO NOT WANT THIS.
Costumes: absolutely. Costumes should always be account unlocks, unless you have to earn them (like the VA coats).
Consoles: maybe? I wouldn't complain if my TK converters were suddenly account bound, but Cryptic might.
YES!
— Sabaton, "Great War"
Check out https://unitedfederationofpla.net/s/
Which, given the ration of 100Z to the US dollar, translates into US$225.00. Most players, I suspect, would balk at dropping that kind of money for this purpose; between that and the asking prices on the Exchange, it's no wonder some... shall we say, enterprising persons... are in fact putting down that kind of money, and making brisk business reselling the things for a lot less (one such group is offering TDDs for US$46).
100% YES!
I'd also get DOFF roster, ship slot, and inventory/bank expansions if they came in account unlock versions.
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Same here, 200 lobi for 1 console is to much. 200 lobi = 40 keys = +/- $40
Tachyokinetic and bio-circuits consoles on 6 toons
...#LLAP...
Star Trek Battles member. Want to roll with a good group of people regardless of fleets and not have to worry about DPS while doing STFs? Come join the channel and join in the fun!
http://forum.arcgames.com/startrekonline/discussion/1145998/star-trek-battles-channel-got-canon/p1
I don't think all of it should be account wide, necessarily.
I do think that costumes should be account-wide unlocks, at the very least.
But what do I know about how they should make their money? I don't get to sit in on their sales reports.
For all I know, it's a large source of recurring revenue and they'd be foolish to reduce sales for what might only be a short term benefit.
If repeat buys are rare, then maybe they could stimulate sales by putting more account wide stuff in the Lobi store. But if buying the same item over for multiple characters is fairly common, then it's sub-optimal for them unless they're trying to get more players to buy in to the Lobi store.
They might be better off tinkering with the prices, instead. That might be another way to get me to part with my hoarded Lobi crystals. I took advantage of the last Lobi store sale.
Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
This ^. I've been playing since FTP and have yet to buy a thing in the lobi store. I'm saving for a ship, but I know that even when I get to 800 lobi (at about 550 right now) I'm still not sure that I'd pull the trigger. I love the Romulan timeship warbird, but since it doesn't use singularity powers it seems like a stupid purchase. I have also thought about buying consoles, but honestly thats a waste since PvE isn't all that hard and the rep and fleet consoles work well enough. But it will be a while before I can even make a decision, since I have never and will never buy a lock box.
That would be nice wouldn't it.
I have no issues with the "gambling" aspect of Lockboxes some people like to throw around as some type of moral badge. I am all for people spending their recreational money however they wish to spend it. I probably spend more per summer on golfing then most people have spent on STO over the last 4.5 years. I simply have no desire to justify $200.00 ships and whatnot - and making them account-wide would not change that for me. As long as I can buy items from the C-Store and Exchange I am content to do so.
From a financial standpoint Cryptic gains nothing by making Lobi Store items account-wide. The important thing to keep in mind is that every time someone asks Cryptic to stop making money on X item that person needs to provide an alternative to balance out the lost revenues. Cryptic cannot just eat losing $50,000.00 per month on Lobi Store items, as an example. To lose $50,000.00 on one thing means they need to replace it with something else that makes them $50,000.00+.
People are constantly asking for things to cost less, or to get more benefit for less expense, but without the cost there is no income. Without the income there is no game. We cannot have it both ways: less cost but Cryptic makes more. It is not possible.