My first thought when I opened my SOE email was….
OH NO!!
they DIDN’T DO THAT DID THEY?
Crap! they did!
oh hell
The feeling of dread washed over me because they just dumped this on everyone. This was not going to be accepted well, and with two threads going on in the EQ2 forums (and EQ2 Forums) each pretty much echoing the other, I was right, no one did.
I know they will never add items that would unbalance the game, such as ubar armor or weapons but……they will offer stuff that some day I will sit here and look at and …say…oh….must have that.
Like the Dark Unicorn.
For the most part I have played LoN a few times just to beat this or that scenario to get an item. I have bought a few cards here and there hoping to get a nice loot card, but up until the Dark Unicorn came along I was doing really well as far as spending cash on pixels.
I just had to have that Unicorn, so I bought cards, and alot of them. I did not get it right off the bat but I did get enough loot cards to do some trading. At least that was the fun part, the trading around the cards I had till I could trade for that Unicorn. When I had it I was excited, and rushed into game to clam it.
Then there was the crash.
I sat there on this thing checking it out, and it was not as exciting to have anymore. Sure I am one of the very few to have one and I have not seen many others over on AB yet. I know that everyone else who ends up seeing it will know, I bought my way into owning this unicorn.
I did not work for it. (except to go out and make the real world money )
Did not go out and spend hours doing some quests for it or building up faction.
No, I opened my wallet and plunked out the cash for cards.
My golden glory felt like rusted copper.
There is a very big difference between just out right buying something in a game and working for it. When someone links me their pack horse/unicorn I am happy for them and know that they worked to get that item AND they are proud of the fact.
How can I be proud of my bought unicorn?
In truth I can’t. Oh ya I am happy I got it but flipping that coin I feel no pride in owning it. The only pride I have for getting it was the trading I did, and let me tell you I did some mighty fine trading.
So last night I plunked out a few dollars more and bought the hand house pet. Plunked it down on the floor of my house after naming it Thing, and felt about the same way. It is neat to have but, whoop-dee-doo.
What sadden me the most over this new station cash stuff is the fact that if I wanted that hand house pet I had to go pay cash for it. There was no quest or faction quests I could do to earn it. I am afraid more of the fact that anything else that comes out for EQ2 that is neat or interesting will only be offered as a buy me item. That other new content for the game will be not as cool as what you can go spend cash for.
We need to keep choices IN the game folks. The choice to go into the game, play it, explore it, quest it, work for it in some way. That is what keeps players!! Something new to go do IN game. I say let the people who don’t have the time to invest go use the SC and give the rest of us the option to go quest for it.
We have had enough with the LoN items as it is. Sure we have gotten free cards, and sometimes boosters drop in game, and playing the card game to get stuff, so there are chances to get some of these items with out having to buy those packs, but its the same in the end. You want this or that item you have to pay for it, not PLAY for it.
Now for the most point I agree with Brasse on many of her points except 1. The one about being able to just buy gear and weapons. I understand where Brasse is coming from too and I don’t blame her on this, but that would leave us with a Pay to Pay game. There will be no more playing, only paying because why play the game when you can pay your way through.
Also there is a big issue of trust now with the players and SOE. How can we trust them not to go down that road to such a Pay to Pay game structure. I guess we have no choice but to for the time being and hope.
that’s the rub here….CHOICE
The only choice we have when it comes to the items from LoN or from the new Market place is to either pay to own them or choose not to. We have no way currently to Play to get them. Who knows maybe they will allow players to put in game time and effort to earn them BUT I am afraid that if they do that for the fluffy items, the gear and armor will be next on the For Sale list. Just because the only way to get good gear and armor in game is to work for it.
