More basic toys and such I would approve of, more Zen stipend I do not!!!
500 per month + dilithium grinding to be sold on exchange, and any RL $ spent should suffice ANY LTS easily!
I agree giving a ship or some other item fine but raising the stipend could and would end up loosing cryptic a lot more money then it will bring in.
I receive 500zen every month but if I want to buy a big thing I have 3 choices.
1. keep playing and saving stipend zen until I have enough saved, this is good for the game as the more people who play the game even if they are not spending money is good for other players who do spend money.
2. convert dilithium to zen, well this links with the above statement as I have to play to get the dilithium but also if I buy zen that someone else has spent money to buy this is also good for the game.
3. spend some extra money myself to get the game item I want and naturally this is also good for the game.
if all of a sudden I had 1000zen coming in every month I would need to do far less of 1 and I would not ever have to even consider doing 2 or 3 unless I was buying a very large item like a mega ship pack or some such so overall the game would suffer as a consequence.
I believe 500zen is just the right amount, its just enough so a I feel that I am getting a tangible monthly reward for being a lifetime buyer but at the same time the game will not suffer to any great extent on a month by month basis in potential loss of revenue.
sure it might bring in say a dozen or so lifetime subscription purchases over the course of a year but any revenue gained from them will quickly be lost in the extra stipend that is being paid to anyone who has a LTS even more so if many of these subs are bought during a sale period as they likely will.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
some of the players here claim dilithium is easy to get. I agree to a point. 8k per day is a sad excuse for dilithium gain. but using the dilithium exchange you can transfer dilithium to you main character in no time at all. and the best source of dilithium is the voth battlezone. I think its obvious fact that not every one wants to run 10 characters threw that zone. a lot of players are happy with just running their main character and not worrying about powering up those 10 character just so they can speed run threw that voth battlezone. STO is gear base, meaning that the game has a lot of focus on the gear your character and ship has. to power up all those characters and ships just to run STF for marks to get reputation gear to handle the battlezone eats up a lot of time. as for me I take it slow and focus on my main character because the more stuff cryptic adds to the game the more players get attracted to those new stuff and then they end up doing all the math to see how they can power up their ship to handle the new and old battlezones. I know I may sound lazy but I'm a very casual player and I intend to go my own pace so I can learn as much about the game as I can. players cant argue about what I do and how I do it. as long as it gets done in my own time there is nothing to complain about. my issue is that the items that I want costs quite a lot to get to. and I have a large reputation across many online games for barely making any money at all. and I cant seem to comprehend the auction house in many online games. every thing has a price and I'm going for what would sell fast in that auction house.
if any one thinks less of me for trying to be a decent and honest player then so be it. meanwhile ill just make suggestions like these that can help players like my self pick up the pace a bit and all the best selling stuff costs more than I make and they come from lucky boxes and the upgrading on the R&D system. like I said.. the RNG system does not like me. so I waste more money improving things than selling them for more EC. and STO's economy is all about the RNG system.
Been a user of Perfect World Entertainment since 2009.
I also like to point out that not every is like me. I can spend all day and all night playing star trek online but they call my group no lifer's meaning we spend all our time playing video games to make us feel alive. and lets be honest that group is fairly small. and so a lot of players have other things to think about. meaning they spend like.. ooh 3 or 5 hours playing STO before moving to something more interesting for them. such as having a job and worrying about their kids at home or other places. plus the game can be very repetitive when it comes to doing areas that give decent amount of income. if cryptic wants to bring back a lot of players they need to add new farming zones that's just as good as the voth battle zone. or change the old battle zones into something amazing. like make them bigger or add random content in the zones for some extra currency.
Been a user of Perfect World Entertainment since 2009.
All these threads, calling for a fix for inflation for currencies: EC, dil...
What we really need is for generation of those currencies to be hit with a giant NERF bat, or for new desirable ways to spend them in large quantities.
The latter is what we really need, and I don't mean some god-awful toll bridge system as seen in Champions Online when one wants to undo all their powers. I mean something that people will see as a reward. Here's a few ideas:
A T6 ship costing some huge number like 750,000,000 or so EC. It should be a single-character purchase, not be an account-wide unlock. It should be unique as an EC-only purchase, and the starship trait should be desirable. Bonus points for making a science vessel, an escort, and a cruiser each with a different set console/item/etc usable on any ship to really encourage those 1%ers to part with their EC.
Special per-character tailor unlocks that cost a hefty amount of EC. These unlocks should be attention-getting, and can be either uniform pieces or starship textures--a shiny solid gold texture for ships would be awesome. These kinds of things give people something to show off.
Some (expensive, of course) way to permanently "learn" special appearance features from certain ship shields, engines, deflectors, etc so those visuals can be used regardless of gear. These visuals could then be applied to override existing visuals, even if the gear (like the Reman shield) isn't even equipped.
I could keep going, but you get the idea.
Here's the current problem: Right now, EC is almost entirely an auction currency. There's trivial costs for rep projects, which is not the best place to have an EC sink since it taxes the little guy rather than the big guy. For the most part though, that's all people use it for--buying and selling on the exchange. What this means is that EC keeps coming into the game as players earn it, however the game does little to remove it. Hence inflation.
So again, this game needs more ways to remove EC from circulation, and in a way that hits the maxed-out veterans arguably harder than it hits the little guys leveling up.
- - -
Edit: No extra zen per month though. That'd be silly.
I don't know that there's really much for Cryptic to gain (and let's face it -- they want to gain something -- namely our money) from giving a larger stipend to Lifetime Subs. At least, not -only- LTS.
Now, if you change that a bit to giving a larger stipend to all Gold Memberships -- that could be of benefit to both PWE and the consumer. (They sweeten the deal for subscribing as well for getting the LTS, so encourage more people to sub in any way, shape or form.)
Honestly, it's not at all out of line, looking at other games on the market. ESO is leading the pack, as far as I can tell -- they actually offer the FULL VALUE of your subscription in their 'crown' currency for subscribers. Meaning if you spend $15 on a one-month sub, you get a full $15 worth of currency to spend in their shop. Bumping the Zen here up to 750 or even 1000 per month would not seem too crazy, IMO.
All these threads, calling for a fix for inflation for currencies: EC, dil...
What we really need is for generation of those currencies to be hit with a giant NERF bat, or for new desirable ways to spend them in large quantities.
The latter is what we really need, and I don't mean some god-awful toll bridge system as seen in Champions Online when one wants to undo all their powers. I mean something that people will see as a reward. Here's a few ideas:
A T6 ship costing some huge number like 750,000,000 or so EC. It should be a single-character purchase, not be an account-wide unlock. It should be unique as an EC-only purchase, and the starship trait should be desirable. Bonus points for making a science vessel, an escort, and a cruiser each with a different set console/item/etc usable on any ship to really encourage those 1%ers to part with their EC.
Special per-character tailor unlocks that cost a hefty amount of EC. These unlocks should be attention-getting, and can be either uniform pieces or starship textures--a shiny solid gold texture for ships would be awesome. These kinds of things give people something to show off.
Some (expensive, of course) way to permanently "learn" special appearance features from certain ship shields, engines, deflectors, etc so those visuals can be used regardless of gear. These visuals could then be applied to override existing visuals, even if the gear (like the Reman shield) isn't even equipped.
I could keep going, but you get the idea.
Here's the current problem: Right now, EC is almost entirely an auction currency. There's trivial costs for rep projects, which is not the best place to have an EC sink since it taxes the little guy rather than the big guy. For the most part though, that's all people use it for--buying and selling on the exchange. What this means is that EC keeps coming into the game as players earn it, however the game does little to remove it. Hence inflation.
So again, this game needs more ways to remove EC from circulation, and in a way that hits the maxed-out veterans arguably harder than it hits the little guys leveling up.
- - -
Edit: No extra zen per month though. That'd be silly.
Um, no to all of that ^^^^^
You want absurd pricing structures for single character unlocks? What you're asking for would kill any alts that people would want. Yes, I am aware of how easy it is to earn EC in this game, but not on that scale. Doing that only encourages EC"gold" sellers. Frankly, the route you seem to be heading with this, is one of that game whose name I won't speak. You know the one. We seem to hear about some absurd war every month that gets started and people lose millions of dollars on digital garbage.
I don't know that there's really much for Cryptic to gain (and let's face it -- they want to gain something -- namely our money) from giving a larger stipend to Lifetime Subs. At least, not -only- LTS.
Now, if you change that a bit to giving a larger stipend to all Gold Memberships -- that could be of benefit to both PWE and the consumer. (They sweeten the deal for subscribing as well for getting the LTS, so encourage more people to sub in any way, shape or form.)
Honestly, it's not at all out of line, looking at other games on the market. ESO is leading the pack, as far as I can tell -- they actually offer the FULL VALUE of your subscription in their 'crown' currency for subscribers. Meaning if you spend $15 on a one-month sub, you get a full $15 worth of currency to spend in their shop. Bumping the Zen here up to 750 or even 1000 per month would not seem too crazy, IMO.
thing is, ESO is the ONLY one doing that ( as far as i know anyway), and ESO is a failure of a game on every level, not exactly the best example of a game that should be copied (to put it in comparison, ZOS, creators of ESO, make Cryptic look like Saints)
Um, no to all of that ^^^^^
You want absurd pricing structures for single character unlocks? What you're asking for would kill any alts that people would want. Yes, I am aware of how easy it is to earn EC in this game, but not on that scale. Doing that only encourages EC"gold" sellers. Frankly, the route you seem to be heading with this, is one of that game whose name I won't speak. You know the one. We seem to hear about some absurd war every month that gets started and people lose millions of dollars on digital garbage.
1) As someone with a lot of alts no, it wouldn't "kill alts." Aside from the ship, basically everything I proposed is vanity TRIBBLE. Some could argue that even the ships would count as vanity gear. You wouldn't need them to play any more than you need an Annorax, Jem'hadar Attack Ship, or any of those other high-ticket ships. You really don't need any of it to play this game competitively. Someone with EC to burn may decide to unlock solid gold hull plating or whatever for their main character, and that's fine. As someone who would likely be unable to afford such things, I could still play just fine without it.
2) I say per-character so it can be more of an evergreen EC sink. If you make all the EC sinks account-wide unlocks, then people may eat them up and it would soak up a lot of EC at first, but after awhile, the sinks are no longer relevant because everyone with tons of money has already bought them. Per-character means that every new character may become important enough to a player to warrant removing more EC from the economy. This is what we need.
3) Comparing it to EVE Online is stupid, because in STO, you don't permanently lose anything when you die, rofl.
4) The alternative for EC sinks are things nobody wants, as they'd only toxify the gameplay experience. You know, disgusting stuff like frequent gear repairs, paying level-scaling EC costs to train bridge officers instead of the funny money that is Expertise. Nasty stuff like that.
I'll tell you what, go play Champions Online with a freeform character. Level it to 40 and decide you want to switch out some of your early powers, such as the first travel power your received way back when you finished the tutorial. It costs a fortune in CO's equivalent of EC--it's so bad that newer, poorer players are almost better off just rerolling.
Oh, and if Cryptic really cared about dealing with EC sellers, they'd fix the damned bug that lets new accounts bypass the whisper restrictions by sending a friend request, then whispering you before you can decline it.
Either way, STO currently generates far more EC without really removing any of it in a meaningful way. If you have better ideas, feel free to share them.
The best idea for an ec sink has already been floating around out there.
1b ec for a device that causes nearby players to turn and salute your character.
Only people with the device are unaffected by it.
Pure solid gold.
I can see the room for abuse in that item.. as in using it for annoying every one around you by spamming it or simply used for trolling during STF missions...
Been a user of Perfect World Entertainment since 2009.
The best idea for an ec sink has already been floating around out there.
1b ec for a device that causes nearby players to turn and salute your character.
Only people with the device are unaffected by it.
Pure solid gold.
I can see the room for abuse in that item.. as in using it for annoying every one around you by spamming it or simply used for trolling during STF missions...
No more abusive then the Party Amplifiers, really. Peole might get annoyed when their character makes an emote that thye didn't set themselves, but you can still run away, shoot guns and what not. So it has no actual impact. (And it wouldn't be overloaded with SFX.)
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Um, no to all of that ^^^^^
You want absurd pricing structures for single character unlocks? What you're asking for would kill any alts that people would want. Yes, I am aware of how easy it is to earn EC in this game, but not on that scale. Doing that only encourages EC"gold" sellers. Frankly, the route you seem to be heading with this, is one of that game whose name I won't speak. You know the one. We seem to hear about some absurd war every month that gets started and people lose millions of dollars on digital garbage.
1) As someone with a lot of alts no, it wouldn't "kill alts." Aside from the ship, basically everything I proposed is vanity TRIBBLE. Some could argue that even the ships would count as vanity gear. You wouldn't need them to play any more than you need an Annorax, Jem'hadar Attack Ship, or any of those other high-ticket ships. You really don't need any of it to play this game competitively. Someone with EC to burn may decide to unlock solid gold hull plating or whatever for their main character, and that's fine. As someone who would likely be unable to afford such things, I could still play just fine without it.
2) I say per-character so it can be more of an evergreen EC sink. If you make all the EC sinks account-wide unlocks, then people may eat them up and it would soak up a lot of EC at first, but after awhile, the sinks are no longer relevant because everyone with tons of money has already bought them. Per-character means that every new character may become important enough to a player to warrant removing more EC from the economy. This is what we need.
3) Comparing it to EVE Online is stupid, because in STO, you don't permanently lose anything when you die, rofl.
4) The alternative for EC sinks are things nobody wants, as they'd only toxify the gameplay experience. You know, disgusting stuff like frequent gear repairs, paying level-scaling EC costs to train bridge officers instead of the funny money that is Expertise. Nasty stuff like that.
I'll tell you what, go play Champions Online with a freeform character. Level it to 40 and decide you want to switch out some of your early powers, such as the first travel power your received way back when you finished the tutorial. It costs a fortune in CO's equivalent of EC--it's so bad that newer, poorer players are almost better off just rerolling.
Oh, and if Cryptic really cared about dealing with EC sellers, they'd fix the damned bug that lets new accounts bypass the whisper restrictions by sending a friend request, then whispering you before you can decline it.
Either way, STO currently generates far more EC without really removing any of it in a meaningful way. If you have better ideas, feel free to share them.
An ec sink tatt is only onee per character is not really a sink.
@aesica
Then we both seem to be misunderstanding one another. I have no issue with fluff items being available for using EC. I have issue with another grind on top of grind on top of grind. Also, it is your price point that you are talking about that is going toward that game. Not the item loss issue. So with the large amounts of Dil for personal upgrades and for those that are still upgrading fleets, you want to add EC to the growing list of stuff to grind for? Say otherwise if it is not please. If fluff items are all you are wanting for the EC sink you speak of, then that will be up to whomever IF they add it. But not at absurd prices that leave people scrounging for it. Which IMO, Dil currently does right now. Would I like to see fluff items added for using EC, yes. I would rather see a more practical use for EC to offset other costs in the game.
Gold sinks can't cure a hyperinflation spiral. At best, they're a short-term panacea. At worse, they promote farming and devalue the game currency even further.
You're looking at an endemic MMO economic conundrum: a fiat currency that can be "printed" in unlimited quantities by every player, which is enforced as the sole means of exchange and has no direct legal conversion to the harder currencies of dilithium and zen.
There are solutions to hyperinflation, but none of them are very palatable and nearly all of them disproportionately impact the players least able to absorb the hit -- average to casual players with modest reserves of energy credits and no particular hand in creating the problem.
At some point, the "solution" may be to divide all EC prices, rewards and stockpiles by 1000. It doesn't really address the root problem in any way, shape or form, but it's easier to read and might prevent variable type errors in the code.
I'd love it...just so can get more Zen...but it wont happen...there is no benefit cryptic would get from raising the zen stipend.
Which is why I said I can see this for NEW lifers...then there is something for cryptic in the form of more new lifers.
yeah, and then the game will die as the MANY old lifers leave after being screwed over.
How are we being screwed? We could be screwed if this game lasts another 4+ years...but really, do you expect that? Okay, so I suppose if you got your lifer a year ago, maybe more of an issue. Bah...never mind then.
this is a video game, many people play it looking for opportunities to say they were SLAP in the FACE.
Did you see the shameful behavior people displayed because lapsed players were offered spec points and a free galaxy to come give the game another shot?
The "but MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME MINE MINE MINE MINE " is strong all across the internet.
STO is a mature game now, its been out 5 years. As a LTS for many years now, I personally wouldnt mind new folks getting some new inducements, even if I didnt.
The game is better for everyone if more people play and pay, so even if i didnt get more zen, I'd get to enjoy a game with even more active players, as well as the benefits that purchase would add to the development.
people buying LTS should not need any more inducements, there was plenty of inducement when I bought my LTS on sale and now they have added 3 T6 ships and a few other goodies to the package its even better value for money even at the full price and that's before you even factor in the 500zen stipend we get every month.
to be honest buying a LTS even at the full price is the best value for money buy you could ever make in the game and if you buy it on sale its a steal.
its the only purchase that keeps on giving.
only an exceptionally greedy person would want more.
It's hard to say really.
200 or 300 bucks is a lot of money for a video game. fallout 4 was less than 60 bucks, so was MGS5, the two probably biggest games this year. ark survival evolved is like 20 bucks, gta5 was 60 bucks.
And, sto is completely free to play, someone can get all the best stuff in the game without spending any money.
So, to induce someone to pay 200 dollars for something that is otherwise free, it's hard, its a balancing act. Cryptic has done a fantastic job so far, its one thing they've never gotten wrong.
If a little bit more rewards for new folks are what it takes to get new folks to sign up, I dont mind. Sure some more zen would be cool, but its not the end of the world. At the end of the day STO is a leisure time activity like any other game.
its not hard to say at all, the rewards I got when I bought LTS on sale were easily worth $200 alone, since then they have added 3 T6 ships + a few other items to the bundle this puts the rewards value closer to the full price of LTS so if you get it during a sale you are actually getting $300 worth of stuff for $200 and on top of this they are giving you $60 worth of zen every year.
this is why there has never been a better time to buy a LTS even at full price its good value as it pays for itself on day one, during a sale your getting a genuine bargain.
this is why I say people buying LTS should not need any more inducements and only an exceptionally greedy person would want more.
sure you can play the game for free and most things in the game can eventually be gained from extended play but some of the LTS rewards are unique and cannot be gained without buying a LTS or subscribing for 1000 days.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
@aesica
Then we both seem to be misunderstanding one another. I have no issue with fluff items being available for using EC. I have issue with another grind on top of grind on top of grind. Also, it is your price point that you are talking about that is going toward that game. Not the item loss issue. So with the large amounts of Dil for personal upgrades and for those that are still upgrading fleets, you want to add EC to the growing list of stuff to grind for? Say otherwise if it is not please. If fluff items are all you are wanting for the EC sink you speak of, then that will be up to whomever IF they add it. But not at absurd prices that leave people scrounging for it. Which IMO, Dil currently does right now. Would I like to see fluff items added for using EC, yes. I would rather see a more practical use for EC to offset other costs in the game.
In as few words as I can manage:
1) I want expensive fluff/vanity items for rich people to spend money on.
2) I do not want EC to be an even more agonizing grind than it currently is for average players.
An ec sink tatt is only onee per character is not really a sink.
It is if you have multiple characters, several of which you really do like. Let's say you have tons of money, so you bought the gold hull plating on your main. Later, still with plenty of EC to burn, you decide to make a Ferengi character that you really grow to like. You think to yourself, "this guy is a Ferengi--if anyone should have something like golden hull plating, it's him!" So you buy it on that character, too.
Once per account is only a one-time sink, but once per character has the chance to be relevant until the day comes when people stop making characters.
Gold sinks can't cure a hyperinflation spiral. At best, they're a short-term panacea. At worse, they promote farming and devalue the game currency even further.
You're looking at an endemic MMO economic conundrum: a fiat currency that can be "printed" in unlimited quantities by every player, which is enforced as the sole means of exchange and has no direct legal conversion to the harder currencies of dilithium and zen.
There are solutions to hyperinflation, but none of them are very palatable and nearly all of them disproportionately impact the players least able to absorb the hit -- average to casual players with modest reserves of energy credits and no particular hand in creating the problem.
At some point, the "solution" may be to divide all EC prices, rewards and stockpiles by 1000. It doesn't really address the root problem in any way, shape or form, but it's easier to read and might prevent variable type errors in the code.
With the current EC cap at 1 billion, they're still well below hitting any integer ceilings:
32-bit signed int: 2,147,483,647
64-bit signed int: 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 (!)
Hopefully, Cryptic was smart and used a 64-bit int for EC values, but even if they didn't, they'll never even come close to hitting the ceiling as long as EC can't rise past 1 billion.
Dividing all EC values by 1000 would work in most cases to reduce the big numbers, but it would cause problems with the less expensive items, such as food, consumables, etc. Assuming a minimal cost of 1 for anything < 1000, should a 20-stack of food really have the same pricetag as a warp core? Dividing by 100 may be more reasonable.
Anyway the hyperinflation we're seeing is the result of what you said--player-printable money being brought into the system, but it's made worse due to there being literally no meaningful way to take it back out. I'm against goldsink systems such as repairs, or the kinds of god-awful recustomization costs seen in Champions Online because they are indeed punishing mechanics that are going to hit the poorer and newer players hard without doing anything meaningful to the 1%.
The Clubwear tailoring unlocks released awhile ago could've actually been a semi-decent sink had Cryptic not limited it to zones like ESD and had they not give it away for free in the beginning.
Comments
I agree giving a ship or some other item fine but raising the stipend could and would end up loosing cryptic a lot more money then it will bring in.
I receive 500zen every month but if I want to buy a big thing I have 3 choices.
1. keep playing and saving stipend zen until I have enough saved, this is good for the game as the more people who play the game even if they are not spending money is good for other players who do spend money.
2. convert dilithium to zen, well this links with the above statement as I have to play to get the dilithium but also if I buy zen that someone else has spent money to buy this is also good for the game.
3. spend some extra money myself to get the game item I want and naturally this is also good for the game.
if all of a sudden I had 1000zen coming in every month I would need to do far less of 1 and I would not ever have to even consider doing 2 or 3 unless I was buying a very large item like a mega ship pack or some such so overall the game would suffer as a consequence.
I believe 500zen is just the right amount, its just enough so a I feel that I am getting a tangible monthly reward for being a lifetime buyer but at the same time the game will not suffer to any great extent on a month by month basis in potential loss of revenue.
sure it might bring in say a dozen or so lifetime subscription purchases over the course of a year but any revenue gained from them will quickly be lost in the extra stipend that is being paid to anyone who has a LTS even more so if many of these subs are bought during a sale period as they likely will.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
if any one thinks less of me for trying to be a decent and honest player then so be it. meanwhile ill just make suggestions like these that can help players like my self pick up the pace a bit and all the best selling stuff costs more than I make and they come from lucky boxes and the upgrading on the R&D system. like I said.. the RNG system does not like me. so I waste more money improving things than selling them for more EC. and STO's economy is all about the RNG system.
I could keep going, but you get the idea.
Here's the current problem: Right now, EC is almost entirely an auction currency. There's trivial costs for rep projects, which is not the best place to have an EC sink since it taxes the little guy rather than the big guy. For the most part though, that's all people use it for--buying and selling on the exchange. What this means is that EC keeps coming into the game as players earn it, however the game does little to remove it. Hence inflation.
So again, this game needs more ways to remove EC from circulation, and in a way that hits the maxed-out veterans arguably harder than it hits the little guys leveling up.
- - -
Edit: No extra zen per month though. That'd be silly.
Now, if you change that a bit to giving a larger stipend to all Gold Memberships -- that could be of benefit to both PWE and the consumer. (They sweeten the deal for subscribing as well for getting the LTS, so encourage more people to sub in any way, shape or form.)
Honestly, it's not at all out of line, looking at other games on the market. ESO is leading the pack, as far as I can tell -- they actually offer the FULL VALUE of your subscription in their 'crown' currency for subscribers. Meaning if you spend $15 on a one-month sub, you get a full $15 worth of currency to spend in their shop. Bumping the Zen here up to 750 or even 1000 per month would not seem too crazy, IMO.
Um, no to all of that ^^^^^
You want absurd pricing structures for single character unlocks? What you're asking for would kill any alts that people would want. Yes, I am aware of how easy it is to earn EC in this game, but not on that scale. Doing that only encourages EC"gold" sellers. Frankly, the route you seem to be heading with this, is one of that game whose name I won't speak. You know the one. We seem to hear about some absurd war every month that gets started and people lose millions of dollars on digital garbage.
thing is, ESO is the ONLY one doing that ( as far as i know anyway), and ESO is a failure of a game on every level, not exactly the best example of a game that should be copied (to put it in comparison, ZOS, creators of ESO, make Cryptic look like Saints)
2) I say per-character so it can be more of an evergreen EC sink. If you make all the EC sinks account-wide unlocks, then people may eat them up and it would soak up a lot of EC at first, but after awhile, the sinks are no longer relevant because everyone with tons of money has already bought them. Per-character means that every new character may become important enough to a player to warrant removing more EC from the economy. This is what we need.
3) Comparing it to EVE Online is stupid, because in STO, you don't permanently lose anything when you die, rofl.
4) The alternative for EC sinks are things nobody wants, as they'd only toxify the gameplay experience. You know, disgusting stuff like frequent gear repairs, paying level-scaling EC costs to train bridge officers instead of the funny money that is Expertise. Nasty stuff like that.
I'll tell you what, go play Champions Online with a freeform character. Level it to 40 and decide you want to switch out some of your early powers, such as the first travel power your received way back when you finished the tutorial. It costs a fortune in CO's equivalent of EC--it's so bad that newer, poorer players are almost better off just rerolling.
Oh, and if Cryptic really cared about dealing with EC sellers, they'd fix the damned bug that lets new accounts bypass the whisper restrictions by sending a friend request, then whispering you before you can decline it.
Either way, STO currently generates far more EC without really removing any of it in a meaningful way. If you have better ideas, feel free to share them.
I can see the room for abuse in that item.. as in using it for annoying every one around you by spamming it or simply used for trolling during STF missions...
An ec sink tatt is only onee per character is not really a sink.
Then we both seem to be misunderstanding one another. I have no issue with fluff items being available for using EC. I have issue with another grind on top of grind on top of grind. Also, it is your price point that you are talking about that is going toward that game. Not the item loss issue. So with the large amounts of Dil for personal upgrades and for those that are still upgrading fleets, you want to add EC to the growing list of stuff to grind for? Say otherwise if it is not please. If fluff items are all you are wanting for the EC sink you speak of, then that will be up to whomever IF they add it. But not at absurd prices that leave people scrounging for it. Which IMO, Dil currently does right now. Would I like to see fluff items added for using EC, yes. I would rather see a more practical use for EC to offset other costs in the game.
You're looking at an endemic MMO economic conundrum: a fiat currency that can be "printed" in unlimited quantities by every player, which is enforced as the sole means of exchange and has no direct legal conversion to the harder currencies of dilithium and zen.
There are solutions to hyperinflation, but none of them are very palatable and nearly all of them disproportionately impact the players least able to absorb the hit -- average to casual players with modest reserves of energy credits and no particular hand in creating the problem.
At some point, the "solution" may be to divide all EC prices, rewards and stockpiles by 1000. It doesn't really address the root problem in any way, shape or form, but it's easier to read and might prevent variable type errors in the code.
its not hard to say at all, the rewards I got when I bought LTS on sale were easily worth $200 alone, since then they have added 3 T6 ships + a few other items to the bundle this puts the rewards value closer to the full price of LTS so if you get it during a sale you are actually getting $300 worth of stuff for $200 and on top of this they are giving you $60 worth of zen every year.
this is why there has never been a better time to buy a LTS even at full price its good value as it pays for itself on day one, during a sale your getting a genuine bargain.
this is why I say people buying LTS should not need any more inducements and only an exceptionally greedy person would want more.
sure you can play the game for free and most things in the game can eventually be gained from extended play but some of the LTS rewards are unique and cannot be gained without buying a LTS or subscribing for 1000 days.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
1) I want expensive fluff/vanity items for rich people to spend money on.
2) I do not want EC to be an even more agonizing grind than it currently is for average players.
It is if you have multiple characters, several of which you really do like. Let's say you have tons of money, so you bought the gold hull plating on your main. Later, still with plenty of EC to burn, you decide to make a Ferengi character that you really grow to like. You think to yourself, "this guy is a Ferengi--if anyone should have something like golden hull plating, it's him!" So you buy it on that character, too.
Once per account is only a one-time sink, but once per character has the chance to be relevant until the day comes when people stop making characters.
With the current EC cap at 1 billion, they're still well below hitting any integer ceilings:
32-bit signed int: 2,147,483,647
64-bit signed int: 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 (!)
Hopefully, Cryptic was smart and used a 64-bit int for EC values, but even if they didn't, they'll never even come close to hitting the ceiling as long as EC can't rise past 1 billion.
Dividing all EC values by 1000 would work in most cases to reduce the big numbers, but it would cause problems with the less expensive items, such as food, consumables, etc. Assuming a minimal cost of 1 for anything < 1000, should a 20-stack of food really have the same pricetag as a warp core? Dividing by 100 may be more reasonable.
Anyway the hyperinflation we're seeing is the result of what you said--player-printable money being brought into the system, but it's made worse due to there being literally no meaningful way to take it back out. I'm against goldsink systems such as repairs, or the kinds of god-awful recustomization costs seen in Champions Online because they are indeed punishing mechanics that are going to hit the poorer and newer players hard without doing anything meaningful to the 1%.
The Clubwear tailoring unlocks released awhile ago could've actually been a semi-decent sink had Cryptic not limited it to zones like ESD and had they not give it away for free in the beginning.