A controversial topic: is it time to make all items free?

[MoonSheep]

i would go the opposite route - various parts of the market are to no longer be seeded, or seeded less heavily so that natural prices exist

 

with converters, seeded salvage and “any IO is all levels” the market has become a bit artificial

[Riverdusk]

I wouldn't mind seeing DO's and SO's being made significantly cheaper (which would also help the 'upgrade' button cost), otherwise no.  Those are more the 'beginners' enhancements and I don't mind making things a bit easier for the 'newbies'.

[Skyhawke]

I have too many alts and get distracted way too easily to ever be rich in this game. I'm more of a middle class level. I'm not broke at any time, but there are times I have to watch spending until I can build up a nest egg again. I don't play the market (other than just selling orange and the rare purple drops, prismatics and turning merits into enhancers) but I do okay. If everything was free, yeah it'd seem cool...at first. It'd get boring fast. I do enjoy finally being able to finish off a build fully. It's a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes, I think the 1%ers forget that even though they just snap their fingers and are fully kitted, the majority of players are not in that space. Put me down for keeping the status quo. 

[jkwak]

On 6/11/2025 at 12:12 AM, Krimson said:

The feeling of achievement is only a feeling, an illusion. Nothing is being achieved. People are running around like mice in a maze, in an endless cycle.

That is what games are in the end though ... if you want to do something meaningfull then ... dont play games and touch grass

[Wavicle]

I'm sorry, I do not agree that it's a serious question.

[skoryy]

Y'all want stuff for free, there's always Brainstorm.

[Azari]

On 6/13/2025 at 5:59 AM, MoonSheep said:

i would go the opposite route - various parts of the market are to no longer be seeded, or seeded less heavily so that natural prices exist

 

with converters, seeded salvage and “any IO is all levels” the market has become a bit artificial

I much prefer the AH how it is now versus on Live.  The prices were so high on Live that it kinda sucked.  Ain’t nobody got time for that.  
 

 

Making all items free would kinda ruin COH though. No sense of reward or effort.  I think the AH is perfect in HC.  Still rewarding but not overwhelmingly expensive and frustrating like it was on Live. 

Edited Monday at 03:35 PM by Azari

[tidge]

On 6/7/2025 at 11:04 PM, Yomo Kimyata said:

What do you see as plusses and minuses if the devs, for example, made items available as they currently do on Beta?

 

(+) The AH offers me something to do with my 'loot' drops,

(-) which would go unwanted if everything was 'free'

 

I like the progression upwards... even if I can get stuff for one character by having another 'pay' for it, it still feels like I'm engaging with the world of the game.

 

The biggest 'plus' for me would be we could eliminate all forms of storage (AH, Vault, SG base) to simplify the database. I suppose we'd have to keep personal enhancement storage.

 

[Azari]

I’d be pretty pissed if everything became free actually because I worked super hard & saved billions to get undefined mode for my main.  If everyone had it it wouldn’t be special anymore.   I like the “generic yet unique” look of this character… technically anyone could replicate it but nobody does.    I’m the only person I know of on Everlasting who actually uses this prismatic costume full-time.  Its rarity makes it really novel.  Without all that it would just be a green blob.

 

apply that logic elsewhere in the game and you’ll see why making things free is a bad idea.  It would devalue everything & ultimately the game itself.  I am in favor of an optional “creative mode” server though perhaps. 

Edited Tuesday at 03:41 PM by Azari

[Faultline]

/jranger

[PeregrineFalcon]

1 hour ago, Faultline said:

/jranger

HEY!!!   😠

[twozerofoxtrot]

Regardless of whatever changes are made or not to the economy, there will always be some form of scarcity. 

 

And however that scarcity manifests, it will become the discrimanator between those who "have" or are "winning" and those who don't.