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Say goodbye to the exchange!
seathemac
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
It's about to go belly up and here's why.
Every single energy credit in every single account originated from selling/discarding unwanted trash or a duty officer assignment reward.
There is no other source of EC in the game.
The vast majority of EC in circulation is from the sale of unwanted Engines, Deflectors, Shields and Warp cores.
Now that these have been devalued so drastically there's going to be far less EC being injected into the system and the paltry increase in the value of weapons with this patch won't take up the slack.
Conversely, the rate of valuable loot drops (stuff that people actually want) has dried up to a trickle.
Anyone that gets that 1 in a million Mk XI purple phaser relay from a Gorn Minefield run wants a lot of EC for it naturally because it's so rare (6 Million EC last time I looked).
So we have rampant inflation due to scarcity and stringent cuts in rates of income.
With every patch and update players are having their EC income throttled and seeing the gear they need to play the game properly become more and more unattainable.
Cryptic are either very short sighted or deliberately trying to kill off EC as an in-game currency.
Either way the exchange is doomed if it continues as it is.
Every single energy credit in every single account originated from selling/discarding unwanted trash or a duty officer assignment reward.
There is no other source of EC in the game.
The vast majority of EC in circulation is from the sale of unwanted Engines, Deflectors, Shields and Warp cores.
Now that these have been devalued so drastically there's going to be far less EC being injected into the system and the paltry increase in the value of weapons with this patch won't take up the slack.
Conversely, the rate of valuable loot drops (stuff that people actually want) has dried up to a trickle.
Anyone that gets that 1 in a million Mk XI purple phaser relay from a Gorn Minefield run wants a lot of EC for it naturally because it's so rare (6 Million EC last time I looked).
So we have rampant inflation due to scarcity and stringent cuts in rates of income.
With every patch and update players are having their EC income throttled and seeing the gear they need to play the game properly become more and more unattainable.
Cryptic are either very short sighted or deliberately trying to kill off EC as an in-game currency.
Either way the exchange is doomed if it continues as it is.
Post edited by seathemac on
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Comments
We can't have nice things.
I also don't worry about the supply parts, with the new R&D system in play. Also, if the Exchange prices normalize for weapon boxes, more and more people will gamble and open then, thus more and more shiny weapons will be for you to buy.
So chill out, and wait for the market to stabilize :cool:
RnD and upgrade needs less RNG. Less lottery. Something has to change.
i.e. You have to sell a Lockbox item to be able to afford a different Lockbox item, and the only way to get a Lockbox items easily and quickly, is to buy Zen with cash ...
Which is just what Cryptic (or more likely PWE) wants. The problem is not that the exchange will fail, as there will always be stuff on their, the problem is going to be a declining player population, because new players will not be able to afford all those shinies, and unless they are "rich kids" they just won't bother.
The new Crafting system will somewhat alleviate this problem, but Cryptic will need to make it way more accessible to new players than it currently is, or watch as new player after new player abandons the game in disgust.
What's needed are EC sinks that are worthwhile, to lower the need for those Lockbox items, such as "Consumed on use" items. For instance a "Plasmonic Leech" that lasts for one hour, or "Hull Regen Nanites" that lasts for one hour. Also things like Photonic Carrier Pets that are viable endgame, purchasable from a vendor for EC.
Cryptic also need to have a good long look at the B2A, BoE and BoP mechanic in game. Many things need to be made Account bound or even Bind on Equip, that are currently Bind on Pickup, most notably ANYTHING that can be crafted should be Bind on Equip.
I'll have to disagree with this statement.
You'll have to wait a long, loooooong time... Ker'rat will be emptier without u, less targets :P
we've broken all our bonds, but life kept going on, what a time, what a time it was..." - Clem Tholet
RnD and upgrade needs less RNG. Less lottery. Something has to change.
Plus, your economic forecast leaves out those of us who have been playing for almost five years now who have vast stores of EC we don't have anything to buy with because we have all the stuff we already want.
I'm not really worried. The prices of more commonly in-demand items will go down due to a lack of newly created EC, and the price of very rare items like lockbox ships will stabilize based on how many are available through old lockbox promotions and the sale of new lockbox sihps.
Also, don't forget that crafting materials will generate demand. Already there is a thriving market for rarer mats and mat packs from doing STFs.
The end is not nigh.
yep, if you're lucky, and get a pack or purple mats, you can nail more than a million for one PvE, or you can sell the whole box if you don't want to gamble.
RnD and upgrade needs less RNG. Less lottery. Something has to change.
Though in reality, I'm not seeing this... Even with the change in prices of common 'Vender Fodder' I'm not seeing any drop of income from turning in Item Drops. Its still easy to make 300K to 500K from the items collected from running just a few STFs... If anything, the game needs more EC sinks to bring more value to it...
Plasmonic Leach consoles STILL going for 29mil+ -_-
that's because key prices are still high. all lockbox and lobi related items will become cheaper in time IF key prices finally start to drop.
RnD and upgrade needs less RNG. Less lottery. Something has to change.
This is the Star Trek universe, think like a Ferengi if you wish to be rich, and think like a Klingon if you wish to be powerful! But thinking like a Star Fleet officer will only leave you poor and open to negotiation! Rofl! :rolleyes:
"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down! Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it! Where an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!" -Lina Inverse
Anyways... Things will settle down. Just give it time.
lolz, I love picking on the uniform people! I never could manage to make the Dilithium thing work for me yet. You have the advantage to me on that one!
http://indieminded.com/wp-content/uploads/scottys-dilithium-crystals.jpg
"Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down! Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it! Where an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!" -Lina Inverse
Back before the last DL explosion, you could get about 100 Zen or so just with a single day's worth of refined DL. As I'm a straight F2P player now... I gotta keep an eye on the DL Exchange if I want the shiny.
I didn't use the exchange much to start with. Since I already have good gear for my characters and ships.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
And you should not generate your entire income from junk, sold to vendors (see ->inflation), there are far more options to earn money (in another thread several options have been listed, like contraband [believe me, contraband wil be a HOT item the next 7.5 days] or the recent lohlunat event, there are many many gaps in the market, waiting for you to take the opportunity)
And i never understood why people still pay ridiculous prices for outdated consoles,like 6 Mil for a MK XI console.
If you don't have a fleet, or a fleet below T1 in Spire/Mine look for a nice fleet with a t3 research spire / mine, ask if you can run a provisions project (21k dilithium and some minor stuff like fleetmarks for TEN requisitions, + some k dilithium / fleetcredits for the final console, thats a full set of 4-5 for less than 10 million (using the dilithium -> zen -> Key conversion, i was able to help a few KDF fellows that way!).
If your fleet does have some own provisions: even better! (T1 operationsSpire and/ Or T1 Mine needed) join the Channel NOP Public Service and ask for a invite to that specific facility, there you have access to all their goodies, but pay with the Requisitions of your Fleet.
And that's another small problem we have, it seems there are some players who are specialized in "scamming the ship right from the box" , after i got my last 2 Lockbox ships (and the corresponding system message) i recieved a number of tells with offers to buy the Ships, usually 20-60% of the exchange value, i became suspicious when i noticed that a few accound handles were the same! As long as these players have a profit margin of several hundred % it doesnt matter to them whether the price of a Key is 2 or 3 million, they will buy them nonethenless. In bulk.
i never vend my trash to the recycler.. we only get a 3rd of an items listed value, using vendors on esd/qonos and we get 1/2 of the items listed value. may not seem like a big difference when you consider a single item, but over time that difference really adds up.
My character Tsin'xing
Honestly, why spend EC early? You'll advance out of the Tier in ten levels anyway. Save the EC for later until you amass enough to get the fleet, reputation, or whatever gear you choose for your character, ship(s), and BOFFs.
God be between you and harm, and all the empty places we must walk.
make sure to keep an eye on askrays fct thread about DOOOOOMMMM!! threads :rolleyes:.
on the matter of the exchange, so far this is the short term. no idea what is around the corner, but when a few months have past you may have a valid point if things have gotten worse by then.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
I think we should get used to the fact that we won't make much ECs in the future with items that have a craftable counterpart. And with the value reduction of space items farming Ker'rat or the Undine Space zone has become much less lucrative. Earlier I usually made 1,1 - 1,4 million EC by selling all the vendor trash in my full inventory. Now I'm usually making around 600k EC.
It seems the only reliable (stable) source of income in the future will be DOFFS, C-store items, lockbox items and maybe very rare crafting materials.
Or Doffs. Really people do you not understand how getting something for nothing, or getting more from less, might be a lucrative thing to pay attention to.
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