Eh, who cares. As long as SOE doesn't create items or PP it won't effect the average player unless their only PP income is coin loot or npc vendor trash. Items will sell for more PP to players who buy PP, but you'll sell the items you get for more PP too.

As for levels and flags? (I realize it is moot) Again who cares? It takes me about 1 week played time to PL a character to 65. What do you care whether I spend a few weeks PLing that character versus shelling out $500-1000? You should be happy, you wouldn't have to deal with me PLing in a zone you may want to be hunting in too (I had fun playing characters up the first three times, now if I want to try a different class I don't want to spend months getting to high level, so I PL instead of group). How would it hurt you to see me in PoF xping, if I bought the flag? I work nights (start at 8pm), that is when most flagging raids take place, I can't earn the flag. Does that mean I don't deserve it? I have more than a hundred days played on my main, I've MTd NTOV and teir 1 Gods, I am a good player. But I can't play in some zones that I COULD handle in a group because SOE decided to make long spawn timers on flagging mobs and servers decided that they would do flags during week so they could get loot on weekends?

You pay to play the game, what do you care if others pay more to have to play less? Stupid people will still be stupid. Good players will still be good players. You still get to decide who you group/raid (if you are in a guild of like minded people anyway) with.

When it comes to these kind of decisions I always try my best to stay opmtimistic. Many things could cause this thing to not have such a big impact on the online gaming world. If people playing EQ2 complain to SOE about declining game economy SOE might (hopefully) listen. Also there's always that chance that not enough people buy it and therefore they don't use it.

I love how surprised people are that a company like SoE actually is concerned with the best way to make money:p what did you think was going to happen when people found a great way to help people cheat and make themselves money along the way... if you hate a gilbuyer or a gilseller, you hate anyone thats ever used the konami code or used the whistles to beat super mario bros. 3 or the freaking people and companies that helped you get those codes in the first place! If this does get into FF11 I just hope they make it like a dollar for a peacock charm or somthing:p but why should they.. why not make the money that everyone else has illegally been making LEGALLY! this is just a smart move for a company thats in it for the money!(would you pass up an opportunity like this?) I have never bought an item because I know I am playing a GAME and want to enjoy the game it was meant to be played but for those people who can't earn their items the AH prices are the world in which they live in:/ and unfortunatly this will affect them because either the only way to get items soon will be to pay real money for them, hunt the monsters that hold it(If the gilsellers who should be gotten rid of aren't camping like crazy to make the money that SE is trying to make) or lvl a synth... but I don't care that much and there are ALWAYS ways to make the money needed to get whatever item you need, its the people who don't want to EARN whatever they need that create a market for gilsellers. So the point is, just think of this idea as a sort of gameshark for mmorpg's, unfortunatlly it looks to be the end of the honest gamer:( just don't pretend you would never consider being a gilseller or gilbuyer if you we'ren't so engrossed in this once great game;;)

flame^^

Well, I actually think that's quite a nice idea, without any sarcasm. Those who think that they HAVE to buy items or money at all costs can do so now, on their own server, in their own economy, without going on the nerves of the "real" players. Plus, all who are tempted to buy something with real life money will be going to those servers (mostly), so IGE and consorts will be getting really low sales, or at least will have to adjust prices accordingly, lowering their income.

I'm totally welcoming this.

People are missing it. SOE is NOT going to be selling Platinum, gear, levels, AAs, flags, etc Anything at all. They are going to provide an "escrow" type service. They will allow players to sell to each other and attempt to end the scamming that happens all too often.

You have X pp to sell? SOE puts it in holding, someone buys it and SOE gives you the money minus a small % of course. This way SOE will know the parties involved, and should a scam happen, SOE can deal with it.

Friend got scammed trying to buy an account, the idiot. Buying an account is wrong and violates the EULA, but it does not excuse the deplorable behavior of the person who did the scamming.

I look at the posts here and can't help but feel some people are jumping the gun on this one. So they say they're going to make it so that people can sell plat and items for real life cash, we all see that. What I want to know is where these ideas about purchasing AA points, levels, and flags came from?

Sure, this will be one hell of an adjustment to make, but if you don't like it, don't use it. In my opinion, should this take off, it should be limited to certain servers so that those who want to get items quick or make a little money can stay there, while the rest of us won't have to suffer the inflation horrors in the bazaar that will be sure to follow a move like this.

I play a level 54 Ranger on what used to be the Karana server, I soloed him to 50 in what I can honestly say was the longest run I've ever played a character. Up until now, his gear has been seriously craptacular. Only after breaking the 50 mark have I been able to get some decent upgrades, and that's almost solely due to the fabled mobs making their comeback. Hell, I've still got bits of Ry`Gorr on me at 54, and proud of it!

Would I drop those pieces should the oppertunity present itself? Only if it's a drop I or a group I'm in bring down ourselves, or if I pick it ip in the bazaar with my hard earned plat. I know I'm not alone in thinking this way, there are a lot of veteran players who look at the gear their character has, know it's crap by today's standards, and feel that sence of pride that they were able to claw their way up with only what little they had, and the knowledge of where and how to hunt to keep themselves alive.

Do I fear the station exchange system? No. Will I use it? Probably not, who can say for sure till it hits. What I do fear, is new players with more money than they know what to do with, decking their toons to the nines from level one, and relying on said gear to get them through. Not even bothering to explore and develop the skills needed to play their class sucessfully. In other words, an influx of "L337 n00bs" who have no idea what they're doing, training the living sh*t out of everything when their uber gear fails them.

It is my, and a good number of other people's, worst nightmare. Just about everyone's had it happen to them at least once. Several times over if your luck happens to suck! And it is this that truely frightens me about this whole station exchange thing.

Several MMOs have been doing this in Asia for years. This is nothing new and considering that its not going to directly affect me, fire it up. Someone who has more money than time wants to purchase a virtual item for real money? Go nuts. I won't do it, but who the hell cares if someone else does. Its been going like this for 5 years in EQ, so why is this the end?

Noone has ever said WHY this is bad, just that its bad, and they are acting like some fainting southern belle, "ohhhhhh - swoon".

5 years of playing, still walking around in what is coincidered for all extensive purposes " crap gear "

now to see this crap..first they did away with the boats, then added the PoK ports..then the maps..then the atlas...how bout Sony calcs the time I spent sitting on the dock and running around Dreadland ( blind ) and converts that time to exp.

I know it hasnt happened to eq1 ( test server ) but I can see it will, you can smell the fear in SoE ( smells like BIG FISH syndrome )

WoW?...where everyones gone

Safe hunts and rare ( or paid for ) drops to you

Before everyone gets all pissy and screams that they will never play again, please think about this rationally.

This is nothing new. It has been going on for years. IGE, Supersales, etc. Sony is making a move to to cut into their profits.

If you dont like the idea of it dont use it. Plain and simple. I am not a supporter of it, but I can see how it can help some people. With all the guilds (at least on my server) completely ignoring Planar flagging, absolutely no chance of GoD progression, and now intrest in OOW is starting to falter, getting the high end gear is close to impossible. Of course those of us that have clawed our way through each level with the most ghetto of gear, to finally stand at lvl 70 with the gear we worked to earn, will look at these people with some distaste and lacking respect.

The biggest downside to this will be the inflation of prices in the bazaar. The easier it is to get large amounts of plat, the easier it will be for people to hike the prices up to compensate. I personally think it will destroy the economy that has evolved since the beginning of EQ.

We had a rather ammusing situation when a group of friends got together to play AD&D, that would fit this rather well. We came upon a poor country, but we had recovered a very large amount of silver pices. To make a long story short, after getting some rough treatment from the local officials, we decided to dump the entire load of Silver into the middle of the city and walk away. Old school players of AD&D and DM's easily understand what this would do to the economy.

Talk about destroying the game ... IF it will last another year expect to see something like this ...

GREETINGS NORRATHIAN'S !

SOE has just merged with Yantis Inc and also just finalized a contract with EBay !! We are happy to announce along with this HUGE Merger that starting today in the SOE Online Store you may purchase the following ...


$10 per Alternate Advancement Point !

$20 per level of any one of your characters !

$100 for a Complete EP/PoTime Flag + add an additional $100 this week and You'll be Fully GoD Flagged !!

$200 for a Complete GoD Flag !

Order TODAY and we'll have your character Ready to Roll in under 24 hours ! (for an additional $100 all services will only take 6 hours !!)

Be Sure and Check out the "GEAR ME" section on the SOE Online Store and get that same character Fully Anguish Geared too includeing all lower flags for ONLY $1000 !!


.....

I can actually see it happening ... which will be the end of EQ ... So Much for the Vision (tm) ... Thanks SOE for Ruining the Game !!!


Wildcaller Krykatt Mousebane



Edited, Wed Apr 20 01:20:59 2005

Depending on how they control this (and not just how they claim they are going to), this could be a good thing.

1. They shouldn't have to waste their time on people selling their stuff then trying to claim it vanished.

2. I hate the overall idea of selling stuff for real life cash. I mean, comon, earn it for yourself and stop trying to take the easy way out.

3. If this goes through out EQ and EQII (and not just kept to certain servers), I know I'm not going to touch the game again.

4. Big question I have is, they let people transfer to the "selling" servers, but are you allowed to transfer back to another server? I say no, otherwise you can just farm stuff, transfer to the server, sell the stuff, and transfer back. I say if they go to these selling servers, they stay there. Just my 2 cents.

reflecting back now that i have a 64 wizzy, (totally untwinked and totally unPLed) i do not think 1 would play another toon all the way 1-60. So this would give a me an option to try another class.
However i do not think i would any ways, half the reason for playing EQ is to take pride in your character. At level 64 I am proud that of the gear i wear, that i have 5k mana pool when buffed, that i earned a 100k horse, ect. I am proud to be an XTC on xegony and of the planear progression we are making.
I could never take as much pride in a toon that i bought as a toon that i made and raised. Being able to buy plat or gear or toons with real money would totally void my sense of pride, so i do not think i would ever do it.
Selling items for cash though would not void this, and i suppose if an item i have would bring i descent asking price i probably would sell it though i doubt, the real life profit woudl be worth the time put in.

That's just ... sad. I guess SOE can't do anything to them so figured they might as well just join them.

It's a sad day when you can start playing and the first day buy a End-Game Geared Character with Full AA's and whatnot ... makes ya ask why the hell you wasted 6 years playing all your guys and getting them better and better ... But I also have to look at it's those 6 year's of Friendships and commoradery that you could never just "Buy".

I really hope this Bombs and becomes a litigation nightmare for them unless they get alot of Lawyers like EBay ... but EBay is still not safe ... there's always loopholes ... I'll be one of the first to try and find them too !

Wildcaller Krykatt Mousebane
Karana Server ... errr ... whatever server ...

**Krylain is not retired ... just on vacation **

I think we all knew this or something similar was coming sad to see its here. It wont be long untill they are making the items and selling them instead of players camping.