In isolation? No. As was pointed out below however, that severely limits the pool of players able to purchase goods, which is a contributing factor to the current state of the economy. Also noted was how this isn't exclusive to cosmetic items, as the price of CC items goes up, so does the price of other items. The entire GTN is riddled with high priced, low level items that are just out of reach for F2P players. Drive them away, and the player base is worse off in the long run. Additionally, I suggested increasing cash sinks, including repairs and vendor prices. Unless the F2P credit cap is increased, that would adversely affect these players. I firmly believe that the game is more free to try but it's evident to everyone that prices have increased over 10 years. F2P credit cap should get with the times.

My 2c. Inflation exists, but has been over-stated by many. Just because item <xyz> sold for 50M a year ago, doesn't mean it now selling for 1B = the sky is falling. There are MANY items that have remained stable / moved very little. People like to cherry pick the prestige items that will sell for a lot under any level of inflation and not look at the economy as a whole. Inflation is normal, and should be expected in a game of this vintage. Some people have had 10 years to build their wealth. Inflation isn't a bad thing, it's normal in every economy. Many solutions proposed don't address the root problems. (1) There aren't enough cash sinks in this game - at least not ones desirable for many to drop coin on. With no effective means to remove currency from the game (outside of players quitting while holding onto their wealth), inflation will go unchecked. Taxes IRL (especially estate taxes) can keep this in check. A graduated or progressive GTN tax could indeed address part of the issue here. Additional options could include raising repair bills, vendor prices (especially on new ones introduced in 7.0 and lowering credit rewards across the board. Not saying any one of these is the option, but demonstrating there are mechanisms to remove currency from the pool. (2) Cartel Coin supply has decreased overall. I suspect this is due in-part from players waiting for the expansion and investing less IRL$ in the game, perhaps even a drop in over-all player numbers as well. Also I attribute this to the removal of the refer-a-friend program which added CC into circulation and devalued CC overall. The moment less CC were available, prices started to increase. Offering players a way to earn more CC for "free" would help drive prices down. A currency exchange, CC for Credits or vice-versa would also address these issues. Though the cynic in my suspects neither of these options are something big E.A. is interested in. (3) F2P and Preferred credit caps have not followed inflation. They have been set at levels appropriate for a new game, not one that's 10+ years old. I fully believe this limitation is partially to blame for the hostility many have towards the economy. Not that I believe F2P should get unlimited access to everything paid players receive access to, but they are left artificially impoverished by a system that hasn't kept pace with the times. This is especially troubling if a solution of increasing cash sinks (vendor prices, repairs, etc.) is introduced. What we're left with is a smaller percentage of the player base that can access wealth, and as such the wealth is artificially in the hands of fewer that is likely good for the economy. At which point sales are just happening between wealthy with money not being distributed as widely or freely as it should.

No right or wrong answers here, I am simply curious as to what the community in general considers "Conquest Guilds" to be. Does it mean only guilds that regularly take planets? Only guilds that regularly reach top 10 on a given size of planet? Any guild that actively works towards their own internal conquest goals?