What they're giving away CM items in game now? Great no one will buy packs anymore

maybe the prices on things listed in GTN will drop which even better..

I saw 1 billion and 500million listing for those sabers... people are beyond stupid greedy, the above need to stay thing or bw need to credit wipe all servers.

maybe the prices on things listed in GTN will drop which even better..

 

I saw 1 billion and 500million listing for those sabers... people are beyond stupid greedy, the above need to stay thing or bw need to credit wipe all servers.

But the point is people spent real $ on those, bait & switch is a bad tactic for any mmo

But the point is people spent real $ on those, bait & switch is a bad tactic for any mmo

People spend real cash to obtain them with less effort through in-game activites. That's how it works in many other games.

People spend real cash to obtain them with less effort through in-game activites. That's how it works in many other games.

They should never combine real $ items in with the gameplay itself, its just bad tactics and still considered bait and switching which is very bad for business

They should never combine real $ items in with the gameplay itself, its just bad tactics and still considered bait and switching which is very bad for business

"Bait and switch"? The heck...?

And...no, it's a valid tactic. People pay real money to be able to do Operations in the first place. Why shouldn't they be rewarded with very rare drops? Pay real money, go through some effort to attain the item - or pay a lot of real money and potentially get the item with a click of a button. In the end, it's your choice whether you want to flush a lot of money down the drain on hypercrates with a chance at getting that rare item, or go through some work to get it. Just two different ways to attain it. I don't see the problem, so long as both drops remain relatively rare.

No, people don't consider bait & switch a valid tactic at all, if a company puts something up in a cash shop for real $ they shouldn't make it obtainable while playing the game. That is what drives people away, not to.

Bait and switch... what the heck are you talking about!?

As for the plat drops in operations, I see no problem with this. Ops and other endgame activities have been so lingering since 5.0 that I can definitely see the need and practicality for incentive. Gives veteran players a reason to do ops again, albeit so many of us are utterly burnt out on it.

People spend real cash to obtain them with less effort through in-game activites. That's how it works in many other games.

This is correct for most leading MMOs; Platinum/Mythical items are usually obtainable through ops. I like the choice to obtain Platinum items either by buying CM packs or doing ops. It's nice to have a choice to have some challenge to get it, rather than always clicking packs til I get it and then waiting til next month: repeat on and on. I can understand how it's healthy to the game that the devs stress actual gameplay.

"Bait and switch"? The heck...?

 

And...no, it's a valid tactic. People pay real money to be able to do Operations in the first place. Why shouldn't they be rewarded with very rare drops? Pay real money, go through some effort to attain the item - or pay a lot of real money and potentially get the item with a click of a button. In the end, it's your choice whether you want to flush a lot of money down the drain on hypercrates with a chance at getting that rare item, or go through some work to get it. Just two different ways to attain it. I don't see the problem, so long as both drops remain relatively rare.

Very rare drops do not necessarily mean platinum CM items.

CM items should remain available only through the CM, whether that be via packs or direct sale, IMO.

OPS should have different, even if similar, items as drops. BW can make those different items as rare as they want.

How hard would it have been to create a similar, but different lightsaber pike as a drop?

This has the potential to cost BW substantial CM revenue. Some people buy CM packs/hypercrates simply because of those platinum items, either to open themselves in the hopes of hitting the jackpot or to sell on the GTN for credits. If a platinum items can be obtained through in game means, that dynamic is changed, at least with regards to the packs/hypercrates containing said platinum rarity item. After all, why buy packs/hypercrates, either directly from the CM or via the GTN, if I can get that shiny just by playing the game? If the GTN prices for those packs/hypercrates containing said platinum rarity item drop and buyers feel that the value for those packs/hypercrates is not there, that could very well lead to fewer pack/hypercrate sales.

Whether it will cost BW "too much" CM revenue or not remains to be seen. It will be interesting to see if BW continues this approach and continues to make those "highly desired, cosmetic" platinum rarity drops available through in game means.

I suspect, though, that this may well be the last platinum rarity item to be made available through in game means.

This is correct for most leading MMOs; Platinum/Mythical items are usually obtainable through ops. I like the choice to obtain Platinum items either by buying CM packs or doing ops. It's nice to have a choice to have some challenge to get it, rather than always clicking packs til I get it and then waiting til next month: repeat on and on. I can understand how it's healthy to the game that the devs stress actual gameplay.

They could just as easily stress "actual gameplay" by making different, but similar, items available as rare items via that "actual gameplay" without potentially negatively impacting CM revenue.

They could just as easily stress "actual gameplay" by making different, but similar, items available as rare items via that "actual gameplay" without potentially negatively impacting CM revenue.

Variation is good; so is the idea of platinum item in ops, in general. If it doesn't have a negative impact on the CM then good. If not, then more variation. Whatever promotes game growth/ success.

I have no problem with giving people choice.

For those that don't want to and want to get it for free in-game then they should have that choice. There is absolutely no business justification why people can't earn all the game's items if people want to take the time and dedication to earn it in game.

Some people may feel their time is more important or they don't want to try to run for it and if they want to purchase it via the CM, again that is their choice and players should have a choice.

I have no problem with giving people choice.

 

For those that don't want to and want to get it for free in-game then they should have that choice. There is absolutely no business justification why people can't earn all the game's items if people want to take the time and dedication to earn it in game.

 

Some people may feel their time is more important or they don't want to try to run for it and if they want to purchase it via the CM, again that is their choice and players should have a choice.

I agree. Gaining platinum items has become way too polarized to the CM, in general, that I've seen it discourage newer players big time. I'm very comfortable with the amount of plat items I have that at this point hoping we see more plat items in game that aren't attainable just through the CM. Looking for the challenge.

Variation is good; so is the idea of platinum item in ops, in general. If it doesn't have a negative impact on the CM then good. If not, then more variation. Whatever promotes game growth/ success.

I guess BW will see how much of an impact making platinum rarity CM items available through in game activities has on CM revenue and they will likely base their future actions on those results.

I suspect, though, that CM sales of this latest "shipment" of packs (all of those packs which contain the 'platinum' lightsaber pike in question) will be far lower than sales of previous shipments, unless BW takes extra precautions to ensure that CM revenue is not too heavily impacted.

It is always possible that BW ultimately sets the drop rate for that platinum rarity lightsaber pike at 0.1%.

What if BW set the drop rate abnormally high for the first few days so players see that what they can have a chance to obtain (building hype for the new OP in the process) with the intent to later (in a few days, possibly) reduce the drop rate?

Bioware's already lost it in Swtor anyway, this just brought the CM revenue down much, be prepared for pack inflation very soon

Could you explain what you meant by "bait and switch," please?

Could you explain what you meant by "bait and switch," please?

As above poster said real $ items should stay in real $ conversions not to be able to play the game and simply obtain them and that's why they're going to lose alot of revenue for this.

The term "bait and switch" does not apply to this situation.

Try reading the pack description on the CM.

Unless I am mistaken, each and every pack to date, including the latest pack with the lightsaber pike in question, has been advertised as containing items that are unavailable outside of the CM. Unless I am mistaken, none of the items contained in any previous pack has been available anywhere by any means other than the CM. So, even though the "advertisement" may not have specifically said "ALL of the items are unavailable outside of the CM", that has been the precedent set by BW for years.

For those that wish to point to the recent direct sale of platinum items as "precedent" for making items available outside of the CM, those direct sale items were still only available via the CM.

I did more op thanks to this drop in the last week than in the last 3 months.

Enjoy it while you can.

I do not see BW ultimately considering this a "successful experiment".

That is only my opinion, of course.