What does being "rich" mean to you?

[lemming]

Yea, one of my private bases, I have packed with enhancements, but just unused basic IOs that I need to sell off.   They were back from when I didn't have the resources, so they're for some leveling, but now I'm more into filling in the invention sets.  Then a couple tables for holding Very Rare, Winter, ATO, and Hami-Os.

I don't see myself making more than one spare base for that.  (Though I could use the colonial bases on the servers I don't play as much on)

 

Since my last post, had a char I wanted to try a build on.   I spent 80 million on stuff I didn't have on hand.  Not sure how many recipes I crafted, but my hold email had ~500 million in it when I started, and now it's at 700.   Some of that was from running, and some from "that's not what I wanted, but it's more valuable on the market, so I sold it and bought the one I really wanted for cheaper..."

[Luminara]

On 8/1/2025 at 1:57 PM, BurnTheWitch said:

I want to know how much -you- consider enough to be rich.

 

Enough to sit around naked all day, and when someone complains, buy the grocery store and tell them to leave.

[Monty Haull]

On 8/2/2025 at 11:05 AM, Yomo Kimyata said:

With respect to this game, I can see three types of "rich".

 

1.  I can buy whatever I want, but I have to think about it, and I may have to postpone some purchases until I can figure out some inf inflow.  I think this should be literally everyone at every level, but it isn't.  If I'm a fresh level 2 straight outta Breakout and I want to load up on SOs and update them every level, I'm going to have to figure out how to finance that.  Maybe I have a level 50 sugar parent who likes to run incarnate trials.  Maybe I need to farm.  Maybe I need to figure out how to read the guides on how to extract inf from the marketplace.  Maybe I need to win costume contests.  How many are this rich?  Everyone.

 

2.  I can buy whatever I want whenever I want it and don't have to think about it.  Again, this *could* be everyone, but it takes a lot of prepwork and forethought.  I just dinged 50?  Great, let me go out and buy 20 catalysts to convert my ATOs and WOs rather than wait 20 sessions and have them drop.  I'm respeccing and need three lvl 53 Threat DSOs?  Let me pull them out of storage on one of my accounts and email them.  Wait, there are literally zero Panacea procs on the market?  Let me make one out of a pvp snipe recipe.  How many are this rich?  A couple of hundred?  

 

3.  I have more inf than any one entity can possibly use and I have passive or semi-passive methods to regenerate what gets spent.  I have enough resources to completely destabilize the economic system if it weren't for the fact I don't want to or that others will stop me or that the system and laws in place are sufficient to prevent it.  This is what I consider a real life equivalent of someone deciding, "I am going to buy every single chicken egg in the United States for the remainder of the year 2025 and see what happens".  How many are this rich?  Dunno, more than one, less than ten?

I like your definition.  I put myself between 2 and 3.  I can buy or make whatever I want and either market or farm to make it up.  I also don't like to buy at full price.  I don't have anywhere near enough to destabilize anything but, I have bases with lots of goodies.

[Ukase]

On 8/8/2025 at 12:19 PM, Yomo Kimyata said:

I figure it is so much work and there is so little to spend inf on that it wouldn't be worth my while, but they're kept it up for years!

It is tedious, as you know. And then, of course, being generous, I shared what I do, and now these foolish students (or others) have chosen to drive the price of pvp recipes to almost 2x what they used to be. Ain't greed grand? 

 

[Chance Jackson]

The ability to kit all of your end game builds with all the goodies (uniques, pvps, purples etc) you want in other words "price is no object".

[Gerswin Jr]

If you want to make a billion influence every day, buy Overwhelming force IOs for 6 million with all of your ah slots, convert them to cupids, then list for 11 million. I did this for the last few months and I have far more inf than I can ever spend. I don't see the value in the cupids, but suckers pay up to 15 mil for them. 

[tidge]

11 hours ago, Gerswin Jr said:

If you want to make a billion influence every day, buy Overwhelming force IOs for 6 million with all of your ah slots, convert them to cupids, then list for 11 million. I did this for the last few months and I have far more inf than I can ever spend. I don't see the value in the cupids, but suckers pay up to 15 mil for them. 

 

Cupid's Crush has IMO an interesting place (in market, in game). Because of how they were introduced, there ought to be approximately 1 bajillion of them in player hands. Also as noted, the OF set can now be rolled into it. The laughing reaction is the best choice to describe how I feel when I see the market doing something that players should know better.

 

As for utility: I used to use Overwhelming Force as an easy drop-in for "Universal Damage" for characters as they level up... similar to how I'd use (catalyzed) PVP sets or Winter sets so that characters had enhancements that scaled up and provided some set bonuses even at low levels. Cupid's Crush IMO offers more useful set bonuses at low/mid levels so it often gets used while leveling, but I rarely use it in final builds... typically there is a Very Rare, PVP, or (Superior) Winter/ATO set I prefer. There are a small number of powers that I think are a good fit for the CC set, but only if the build can slot all 6 pieces in the power. I know there are some folks who lurv the %proc, but it isn't really my cuppa.

[Ukase]

I like the cupid set. Fortunately, I had a couple of bins full of OFs before the Cupids were introduced. The thing about the set is every set bonus in it is good. It's without question in my mind the best designed set in game. Hands down. The fact that it has a recharge buff as high as it does is crazy to me. I can only slot 5 sets with 10%. This lets me squeeze out another 8.5%. At lower levels, when I can't slot those 10% sets, that's pretty huge. 

[Bleak Sun]

I frankly don't understand it in Homecoming. In the original game, all of my characters were level 25 to 30 before they had their first million (even if playing the market), and by 40something had around 20 million. In Homecoming everything is so ridiculously inflated that I have no idea what is considered "rich" because with three characters near the cap, none of them can afford to buy anything on the AH. 20 million is apparently dirt poor. Twinking is not an option here because my highest level toons can't afford it. Even the unresolved bugs in the costume editor cost tens of thousands to correct, and nothing cost that in the original game.

[UltraAlt]

2 hours ago, Bleak Sun said:

I frankly don't understand it in Homecoming. In the original game, all of my characters were level 25 to 30 before they had their first million (even if playing the market), and by 40something had around 20 million.

 

Before the Sunset, I was experimenting with auction house. I was able to get millions on level 1 characters (more than one) through nothing but trade in the auction house. I can't remember if I level locked them or not, I'm sure I would have if it was an option back then (we must have been able to, because you would get more influence if you did .. if my mind is remembering correctly) I would fight for some salvage and then start flipping salvage until I had enough to start flipping enhancements. I kind of think I even had some level ones with enough loot saved up that I was able to start crafting (I think they were limited to holding and auctioning 3 at a time) ... probably 35 and 40 recharge IO enhances as crafted a lot of those back then before it became ludicrously cheaper buy them and flip them than to craft them even with the crafting discount due to memorization.

 

I also had level ones that would travel to zones/area of the map that they shouldn't be able to survive getting to.

 

2 hours ago, Bleak Sun said:

In Homecoming everything is so ridiculously inflated that I have no idea what is considered "rich" because with three characters near the cap, none of them can afford to buy anything on the AH.

 

The market was way worse before the Sunset.

It was especially worse on the Villian and Praetorian side with the currency hadn't been combine yet.

 

There is salvage seeding on Homecoming so there is very little manipulation of the salvage market which makes crafting less expensive.

 

2 hours ago, Bleak Sun said:

20 million is apparently dirt poor.

 

Someone gifted me 30 million when they found out that I as a returning player.

I started trading with that and have given way-way more than that to other players directly or indirectly. 

 

2 hours ago, Bleak Sun said:

Even the unresolved bugs in the costume editor cost tens of thousands to correct, and nothing cost that in the original game.

 

If you do your costume changes below level 10, they don't cost anything.

 

https://homecoming.wiki/wiki/Fashion_Designer_Badge can help with the price after that

 

Oh, there was plenty of stuff that cost millions before the Sunset. There are plenty of level 50 enhances selling for more than 10 million.

Heck one of the reasons in addition to the pay-to-advance incarnate system (even if you were a subscriber) and all the micro-transactions (even if you were a subscriber) was how ridiculous the market was getting. 

Remember those level 35-40 recharge enhances I was talking about earlier? There was so much influence flying around from AE farmers and gold-farmers that players were throwing money at the AI like it was nothing. I was crafting for probably something like 75k and selling for 150k or something but then people started selling them and buying them at 4 million for some reason. I stopped running between the Wentworths to the University in Steel Canyon to craft and rebuild my stock to just buying them at 100-200k and selling them back for 4 million each ... on pretty much all of my 100+ characters. It just go to the point that it was "what's the point?" I didn't start it. I just followed along with the flow of the market. ... which is the same thing I do here.

 

The /AH is the most balanced PvP in the City of Heroes.

 

And when it comes down to it, if you yell out for some help with infl in the /help channel, you are probably going to get some help ... unless you get known for trying to exploit other people's heroic nature.

[Glacier Peak]

Homecoming has the most friendly to players market that CoH has ever had.

[Black_Assassin]

On 8/21/2025 at 12:05 AM, Bleak Sun said:

I frankly don't understand it in Homecoming. In the original game, all of my characters were level 25 to 30 before they had their first million (even if playing the market), and by 40something had around 20 million. In Homecoming everything is so ridiculously inflated that I have no idea what is considered "rich" because with three characters near the cap, none of them can afford to buy anything on the AH. 20 million is apparently dirt poor. Twinking is not an option here because my highest level toons can't afford it. Even the unresolved bugs in the costume editor cost tens of thousands to correct, and nothing cost that in the original game.

 

 

Utterly stupid take.

A 5x set of Hecatomb back on live used to cost 600M, does it now cost 600M?

Steadfast 3% unique used to cost 60M, does it now cost 600M?

Does it cost you 2-3B to get a Gladiator Unique?

[Ukase]

I really need to take my time reading. 
I've posted in here twice - and then had to remove/edit/hide the post because no sooner did I hit submit reply did I realize someone else summed up what I was going to say better than I did.

I need to make it a policy to remember to check post count. I know there are good players that lurk from time to time, rarely if ever posting. And I know that there are new players who are still trying to get the lay of the land before they post, if they ever will. 

But..I think we're being trolled with this take here: 

On 8/20/2025 at 6:05 PM, Bleak Sun said:

and nothing cost that in the original game.

Get back under the bridge! 

[tidge]

4 minutes ago, Ukase said:

But..I think we're being trolled with this take here

 

My instincts are to agree, however I'm extending some grace just in case the player in question has made some extremely sub-optimal play choices like: 2XP, fast leveling and upgrading DOs... and is unaware of the fungibility of drops, merit conversion, etc. As other noted, the cost of something like PVP pieces can't possibly be what is considered "too high" on HC compared to Live.

 

I definitely detected an "old school" sensibility with the comment "playing the market"... so if there is something like an attempt is to "make millions selling Luck Charms"...  welcome to HC, there is a fundamental reason that won't work.

[CFIndustries]

About a billion influence in the bank for my severe alitis; at least if influence is all you're referring to.

 

As for people who have more…I know at least one farmer who likely has more influence than any diety in the game. No clue what he does with it (aside from handing it out to newbies from time to time), and he simply has it because he finds farming fun and it just happens to accumulate.

 

I hoard all purples for future alts, as that keeps me from some more extravegant spending (especially since I have tons of Converters).

 

But…you know when I think about it and read the comments in this thread: one of the unappreciated riches is having folks in my Global who lead teams and like to have me around on those teams. That little gold star kicks off my anxiety something fierce, can't do it, so having team leaders in my Global is such a nice thing. And if my moods, puns, and sense of humor haven't turned someone off to teaming with me, that's huge.

[Yomo Kimyata]

6 hours ago, Black_Assassin said:

 

 

Utterly stupid take.

A 5x set of Hecatomb back on live used to cost 600M, does it now cost 600M?

Steadfast 3% unique used to cost 60M, does it now cost 600M?

Does it cost you 2-3B to get a Gladiator Unique?

Rather than focusing on price, I’d look at accessibility.  On Live a level 10 PvP proc would regularly trade over the inf cap.  You could farm for weeks to get that, you could fight pvp against your friend or alt account and hope for a drop over a few months.  Now you can do a Hami run and get enough merits, or spend fifteen minutes running missions on a lvl 50 to earn 8-10mm inf.  Everything is available now to almost everyone, if they know how.  I’m honestly not sure how much better a Shield Wall +res makes my character because I don’t think I have a single character without it

[Maelwys]

59 minutes ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

 you could fight pvp against your friend or alt account and hope for a drop over a few months.

The kicker was the level.
I could get PVP enhancements no problem on live. But anything below level 32 (whenever Tankers got access to their Self-Rez)? Not a hope.
You'd need to manually pilot two lowbie alts and repeatedly whack each other to death in the arena with exp gain disabled. No thanks.
 

[Black_Assassin]

22 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Rather than focusing on price, I’d look at accessibility.  On Live a level 10 PvP proc would regularly trade over the inf cap.  You could farm for weeks to get that, you could fight pvp against your friend or alt account and hope for a drop over a few months.  Now you can do a Hami run and get enough merits, or spend fifteen minutes running missions on a lvl 50 to earn 8-10mm inf.  Everything is available now to almost everyone, if they know how.  I’m honestly not sure how much better a Shield Wall +res makes my character because I don’t think I have a single character without it

 

That is a fair and frankly more reasonable way to look at it. 

 

Everything you could want is almost handed to you vs live. 

 

Like now, if you want a PVP, you just play the game. They drop and you can convert very easily.

Back on live they were almost impossible for the common player to get their hands on. Also, I seem to recall converters only being available from hero merits back when they first came out? Am I wrong with that? I recall suddenly doing alignments on loads of toons just to get my HMerit to get converters. 

 

I also did a lot of ticket farming and rolling lvl 30-34 bronze rolls to try snag steadfast uniques.

 

Its just all stuff that is really unnecessary today because it's all so much easier.

 

I am looking at this through the rose tinted spectacles of Winter Pack IO sales, so if that wasn't a thing, I certainly would have had to do a LOT more market work than I did back 3-4 years ago. 

[Yomo Kimyata]

3 hours ago, Black_Assassin said:

Everything you could want is almost handed to you vs live. 

Hence my “Is it time to make everything free” post.  Why not get rid of the word “almost”?

[Yomo Kimyata]

3 hours ago, Black_Assassin said:

I am looking at this through the rose tinted spectacles of Winter Pack IO sales,

I’m a little surprised that WOs are so competitive now in the /ah. 

[tidge]

15 hours ago, Yomo Kimyata said:

Hence my “Is it time to make everything free” post.  Why not get rid of the word “almost”?

 

I lurv ya Yomo, but reading some of your more recent 'market' posts often sounds like you are teetering on the edge of an abyss where you've grown bored accumulating in-game Inf, and are contemplating how to generate some 'excitement' for yourself by massively disrupting the market via one way or the other. 

 

If you really wanted to "make everything free", you could probably keep listing "everything" for 1 Inf, even if you had to buy "everything" first. When the time comes that you come to believe that you are above the petty interests of 99.9% of the market, but also cannot walk away from it, you go the altruistic route instead of another path.

[Yomo Kimyata]

4 hours ago, tidge said:

 

I lurv ya Yomo, but reading some of your more recent 'market' posts often sounds like you are teetering on the edge of an abyss where you've grown bored accumulating in-game Inf, and are contemplating how to generate some 'excitement' for yourself by massively disrupting the market via one way or the other. 

 

If you really wanted to "make everything free", you could probably keep listing "everything" for 1 Inf, even if you had to buy "everything" first. When the time comes that you come to believe that you are above the petty interests of 99.9% of the market, but also cannot walk away from it, you go the altruistic route instead of another path.

fair points!  I’ve had my knickers in a twist about a lot of things and you’ve helped me realize that some of that manifests against how some aspects of this game.  I will work on being more excellent to all!!!

[Ironblade]

I'll start by answering your context questions.

- I only count the enhancements in my base that are in *MY* enhancement table.  Most of the rest are accessible to all.

- I do *NOT* consider the value of enhancements on my characters.  I view that wealth as 'spent'.

- I *DO* count unspent merits.  I keep a spreadsheet to track which characters have how many and they number about 70,000 so that's worth a bit.

 

I would quantify 'rich' in two ways.  I meet both of these conditions.

1. I can spend as much as I want on each character without worrying about running out or compromising on future characters.

2. I probably have enough inf that I will never run out as long as I continue playing the game.

 

Back on live, by the time of the shutdown, I had amassed about 57 billion inf.  This was completely excessive and unnecessary but I was entertained by seeing how much I could accumulate with minimal effort.  Nowadays, I have a fraction of that amount and exert even less effort.

[Ironblade]

On 8/20/2025 at 7:05 PM, Bleak Sun said:

In Homecoming everything is so ridiculously inflated that I have no idea what is considered "rich" because with three characters near the cap, none of them can afford to buy anything on the AH.

 

I think your memory is playing tricks on you, gilding the 'good old days'.  Back on live, some uniques were only obtainable by trading off-market or putting in a bid for 2 billion inf and waiting for it to fill.  Now, they're two orders of magnitude cheaper (i.e. about 1/100th of the previous cost).

[MoonSheep]

On 8/27/2025 at 3:03 AM, Ironblade said:

 

I think your memory is playing tricks on you, gilding the 'good old days'.  Back on live, some uniques were only obtainable by trading off-market or putting in a bid for 2 billion inf and waiting for it to fill.  Now, they're two orders of magnitude cheaper (i.e. about 1/100th of the previous cost).

 

adding further response to @Bleak Sun’s post

 

on live, many purple IOs would cost 200-400m, thesedays the general price is 15-20M

 

rare items like LoTG +Rech, Miracle +Recovery were generally between 40-60M each. thesedays they are an average of 8 million

 

rare salvage also used to often be a few million each, thesedays it’s around 500k

 

across the board, items on homecoming are around 10% of what they used to cost on live