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Any way to change how items like promo ship pac (lobi or ship in pack) is tied to zen purchaces?

On the last R&D pack sale, we had a chance to get a Promo pack that had lobi or a ship in it. It worked out to 200 (sale price 4 pack) or 250 (no sale price) zen per promo box. Can we change the mechanics of how we get the box so it would give us a promo box on how much zen is spent per total purchases or at minimum a single purchase instead of tied to just one item in the c-store?
For example instead of spending 10k zen on R&D packs (50 promo packs at 200 zen each), we use the same 10k zen to buy stuff like ship packs and other items offered on c-store and get 50 promo packs. The end result of gaining 50 promo packs is the same but I would just ask if we could have more control on what items we use the same 10k zen spent on instead of just R&D packs or more zen spent/packs gained while the Promo pack bonus event is still active. Please see if this possible. Thanks.

Comments

  • nccmarknccmark Member Posts: 1,083 Arc User
    Can we? Sure
    Will they? No
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    So in other words you are asking PWE to decrease the amount of money they can earn from the C-Store... Perhaps if you are successful in convincing PWE employees to work for free one month out of the year PWE may do so.

  • davefenestratordavefenestrator Member Posts: 10,501 Arc User
    How about no?

    PWE is a business. Lock box and R&D pack sales are a major part of how they earn the money needed to keep STO running.

    Gamble boxes are a major part of the income for most MMOs these days, often the most important part. People opened their wallets to gamble boxes more than they did for $10-15 a month subscription fees.

    "Sorry Marge, the mob has spoken."
  • arionisaarionisa Member Posts: 1,421 Arc User
    So basically you are asking them to just flat out give you another 10K zen worth of stuff just because you spent 10K zen ? Cryptic is quite generous with giving away stuff that costs zen, but they give it to everyone, or at least everyone that watches the news feed so they can log in and claim it. I don't see them suddenly doing a zen for zen match giveaway, especially not giving away the stuff that nets them the biggest profits.
    LTS and loving it.
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  • redspecter23redspecter23 Member Posts: 26 Arc User
    edited August 2017
    I think we're lucky here that there are multiple ways to acquire these ships already. Some people will spend money to buy zen for the boxes. Some will convert in game dilithium to zen to buy the boxes and others will use in game EC to buy them from the exchange. Sure you have to be fairly game rich to do that, but it is an alternative to spending hundreds of dollars on R&D packs if you don't really want the materials from them anyway.

    There are other games that release items in lockboxes that are bound to character or account on acquire so to get them you have to buy them yourself. If you're looking for other ways to spend zen to get the R&D promo ships, you could buy keys, sell the keys, then use the EC to buy your ship. You could calculate out almost exactly how much it would cost ahead of time as well so you reduce the RNG to a minimum.
  • jiwakjiwak Member Posts: 3 Arc User
    I don't mind spending the same amount of zen but just I would prefer to buy other items besides the R&D pack. You would obtain the same amount of promo boxes that you would get by just getting R&D packs at the same price of zen equivalent. They have the same amount of zen spent either way and do not give out anything else that would not already be given. All I am asking is just more choices in c-store to get the promo packs. Sometimes you never get an answer until you ask it.
  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    edited September 2017
    I believe they have tried Promo Duty Officer Packs maybe once or twice. But I suppose Doff Packs do not really sell very well even with a promo ship attached to it.

    On the other hand, R&D Packs are very useful especially since they contain upgrade accelerators. Attaching promo ships to the R&D packs actually benefits everyone who wants to upgrade gear because during Promo R&D Pack events people buy a lot of these packs and flood the market with the accelerators and drives the price. I buy a large number of technology and quality accelerators during these types of events. I easily buy several hundreds of them and in many cases thousands of them as long as the price is good.
  • jiwakjiwak Member Posts: 3 Arc User
    This the last info I can offer. If you don't care for my question that is fine too.
    For example I buy the 4 pack R&D that was 800 zen on sale and it comes with 4 promo boxes (lobi or ship chance). Now instead of buying that one item I buy a different item is priced at 800 zen instead and I would still only get the same 4 promo boxes if they allowed on zen total purchase cost. How they value the the promo box is the dev's discretion. It would work like a coupon would you get that deal if you spend x value. If the dev's don't care for the idea that is fine too.
  • redspecter23redspecter23 Member Posts: 26 Arc User
    jiwak wrote: »
    This the last info I can offer. If you don't care for my question that is fine too.
    For example I buy the 4 pack R&D that was 800 zen on sale and it comes with 4 promo boxes (lobi or ship chance). Now instead of buying that one item I buy a different item is priced at 800 zen instead and I would still only get the same 4 promo boxes if they allowed on zen total purchase cost. How they value the the promo box is the dev's discretion. It would work like a coupon would you get that deal if you spend x value. If the dev's don't care for the idea that is fine too.

    I think the issue with that is that the R&D pack without the promo is a chump buy. Nobody in their right mind would ever buy it for the listed price. That's a problem with the R&D pack itself. It's a complete rip off if you don't get the bonus lobi and chance at a ship. What could work is if you find some other rip off item that is nowhere near the price it's listed at, then occasionally offer a promotion that would include 10 lobi/ship with it from time to time. Maybe some of the boosters could have a bonus pack attached. As mentioned above, maybe they could explore duty officer packs with a bonus again sometime. If you're adamant about spending your zen on any item of choice and having the bonus included, I doubt you'll find much support on that idea, especially with those in charge of monetizing the game.

  • jaguarskxjaguarskx Member Posts: 5,945 Arc User
    Cryptic had a promotion that was somewhat similar to what you are describing. It was for a very limited time during winter 2016 I think... maybe it was winter 2015.

    Depending on how much Zen you purchased with real money you get a certain number of points to redeem for items from the Arc Store. I think purchasing something like $300 worth of Zen during the promotion allowed people to select a free T6 ship from a limited selection. I spent $50 to buy Zen and I was able to claim 4 free R&D pack (no promo ship), a tabby cat, and Holo Leeta. These points needed to be redeemed within a specific time period otherwise they would expire and disappear.
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 10,238 Community Moderator
    Oi, y'all quit trolling the guy. :smirk:
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  • ltminnsltminns Member Posts: 12,569 Arc User
    Baddmoon, some on these Forums bring to mind this modern fable:

    'A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river. The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both drown. Considering this, the frog agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. When the frog asks the scorpion why, the scorpion replies that it was in its nature to do so.' :)
    'But to be logical is not to be right', and 'nothing' on God's earth could ever 'make it' right!'
    Judge Dan Haywood
    'As l speak now, the words are forming in my head.
    l don't know.
    l really don't know what l'm about to say, except l have a feeling about it.
    That l must repeat the words that come without my knowledge.'
    Lt. Philip J. Minns
  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 10,238 Community Moderator
    LOL. Thing is, I think I understand what he's suggesting. He's not asking for anything free. He's asking for the promo rewards to not be restricted to certain items in the C-Store, and rather linked to how much Zen one spends in the C-Store. As it is, if a promo runs linked to R&D, the promo reward is essentially the cost of an R&D pack, because it comes with the R&D pack. Doing it the way he's suggesting, if they ran a C-Store promo, then say for every 500 Zen spent in the C-Store, one would receive 1 promo box that had a chance to win X prize for whatever the promo was.
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  • baddmoonrizinbaddmoonrizin Member Posts: 10,238 Community Moderator
    edited September 2017
    coldnapalm wrote: »
    LOL. Thing is, I think I understand what he's suggesting. He's not asking for anything free. He's asking for the promo rewards to not be restricted to certain items in the C-Store, and rather linked to how much Zen one spends in the C-Store. As it is, if a promo runs linked to R&D, the promo reward is essentially the cost of an R&D pack, because it comes with the R&D pack. Doing it the way he's suggesting, if they ran a C-Store promo, then say for every 500 Zen spent in the C-Store, one would receive 1 promo box that had a chance to win X prize for whatever the promo was.

    We ALL get that. What we all are poking fun at him for is the fact that it makes no buisness sense. The other stuff already sells WITHOUT the extra promo. Why give away something for things that already sells. The point of the promo is to push items that don't sell. That is what the OP is utterly failing to understand.

    Agreed. While his idea is a nice idea, it is, as you said, the whole point of the promo to sell items that don't sell as well in the C-Store.
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  • crimeonadime#2645 crimeonadime Member Posts: 24 Arc User
    Oi, y'all quit trolling the guy. :smirk:

    Thank you for calling it out for what it actually is: trolling.
  • potentialbff#9168 potentialbff Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    Great Idea, Mate!
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