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Are the collections prices intended or a bug?


Reno_Tarshil

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At the suggestion of another user while we were discussing the recent collections unlock prices increase for the Star Cluster pack

 

I'm going to guess... (and yes, it's a guess) that this is somehow tied in to the inequality of drop rates as well in the new pack.

 

What do I mean? Well... I think... possibly... they set the wrong rarity tag and drop rates on some pieces in the sets (see my thread up in the bug-report forum) and that the CC prices are somehow driven off of rarity/drop rates.

 

I suggest someone launch a thread requesting clarification up in Bug Report Forum for this issue.

 

Basically are the items incorrectly flagged as being more rare than they are and because of that, the prices of the sets and items to unlock in the collections are higher than normal?

 

Is it intentional or a bug?

 

If it is a Bug then it would make sense, but if it is intentional can we get come clarification as to why this is different from all the previous packs we've gotten?

 

Thank you for your time and effort into this matter.

Edited by TaitWatson
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Yes please Tait.... some clarity is deserved IMO.

 

We appear to have compound issues at play here that I believe will seriously impact the sales of Cartel Packs to players. At the drop rate inequities of armor boxes within a set of armor + the unlock prices........ if it's not a bug..... then it is a fumble in the approach taken by Bioware.

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There are two separate issues here that are actually unrelated, so I'll address each in turn:

 

1. Inequality in drop rates in the new packs - I saw Andryah's thread about this earlier and spoke with the Cartel Market team, and we're looking into it now. Either the drop rate or the actual rarity symbol has a problem if the difference in drop rates is as large as indicated. I'll post something when I find out more.

 

2. Collections unlock prices - These prices are set independently of rarity since they are two different systems. I passed along the feedback/information in your thread in General, and they are investigating.

 

-Tait

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There are two separate issues here that are actually unrelated, so I'll address each in turn:

 

1. Inequality in drop rates in the new packs - I saw Andryah's thread about this earlier and spoke with the Cartel Market team, and we're looking into it now. Either the drop rate or the actual rarity symbol has a problem if the difference in drop rates is as large as indicated. I'll post something when I find out more.

 

2. Collections unlock prices - These prices are set independently of rarity since they are two different systems. I passed along the feedback/information in your thread in General, and they are investigating.

 

-Tait

 

Tait, would you kindly explain what this means exactly? I could be wrong but I'm fairly sure most of us always assumed that somehow both systems were connected or intertwined.

 

If a specific armor set is rarer than the other - one being Rare, the other Super-Rare -

wouldn't it make more sense for one of them to be substantially more expensive than the other, every single time?

 

I'm honestly puzzled.

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Tait, would you kindly explain what this means exactly? I could be wrong but I'm fairly sure most of us always assumed that somehow both systems were connected or intertwined.

 

If a specific armor set is rarer than the other - one being Rare, the other Super-Rare -

wouldn't it make more sense for one of them to be substantially more expensive than the other, every single time?

 

I'm honestly puzzled.

 

Thanks for coming and posing this question better I did. I am also curious to know on this matter.

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Tait, would you kindly explain what this means exactly? I could be wrong but I'm fairly sure most of us always assumed that somehow both systems were connected or intertwined.

 

If a specific armor set is rarer than the other - one being Rare, the other Super-Rare -

wouldn't it make more sense for one of them to be substantially more expensive than the other, every single time?

 

I'm honestly puzzled.

 

That's a fair question - I worded the response poorly.

 

When we flag an item as, say, Rare, it doesn't automatically give it an unlock price in Collections. That information is entered separately, which is why these are two distinct issues being looked at individually. Does that clarify things a bit?

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Thanks for coming and posing this question better I did. I am also curious to know on this matter.

 

I'll expand on the idea, if only to better convey that which I meant.

 

The Thana Vesh armor set for example...

 

It costs around 360 CC to unlock, Account wide and it is supposedly Super-Rare as far as the drop ratio goes.

 

The Ceremonial Mystic, on the other hand, is supposedly Rare yet it costs a whooping 480(!!!) to unlock if I'm not mistaken. This is a serious discrepancy IMHO.

 

Shouldn't the Rarity system and the Account wide unlock walk hand-in-hand?

 

EDIT:

 

Posted before Tait answered. Nevermind. ;)

Edited by Darth_Wicked
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That's a fair question - I worded the response poorly.

 

When we flag an item as, say, Rare, it doesn't automatically give it an unlock price in Collections. That information is entered separately, which is why these are two distinct issues being looked at individually. Does that clarify things a bit?

 

Thank you for clarifying, Tait. I hope we get to hear more soon.

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2. Collections unlock prices - These prices are set independently of rarity since they are two different systems.

 

Sorry, but I find that rather hard to believe, when I look at my spreadsheet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwjm8EbQ6QwyTFR5RlpOV1FMSWM/edit?usp=sharing

 

The rare silvers are all 60 or 90 coins to unlock, so people being surprised (shocked, outraged) at the sudden price hike is kind of understandable.

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Sorry, but I find that rather hard to believe, when I look at my spreadsheet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwjm8EbQ6QwyTFR5RlpOV1FMSWM/edit?usp=sharing

 

The rare silvers are all 60 or 90 coins to unlock, so people being surprised (shocked, outraged) at the sudden price hike is kind of understandable.

 

If you don't mind me saying...

 

Awesome spreadsheet. Where have you been all my life? :D

 

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Sorry, but I find that rather hard to believe, when I look at my spreadsheet:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bwjm8EbQ6QwyTFR5RlpOV1FMSWM/edit?usp=sharing

 

The rare silvers are all 60 or 90 coins to unlock, so people being surprised (shocked, outraged) at the sudden price hike is kind of understandable.

 

As Darth_Wicked pointed, yes thank you for this spreadsheet.

 

It's cause of the the previous prices that these new ones jump out at me as an issue, as they don't match up.

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Is it hard to believe someone is basing the collections price on an assumed "desire" thus further ensuring it is being purchased for the most economical gain for the business (ahem BW). Supply and demand.
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Is it hard to believe someone is basing the collections price on an assumed "desire" thus further ensuring it is being purchased for the most economical gain for the business (ahem BW). Supply and demand.

 

Least subtle attempt ever though

 

They could have tried to hike up the price by 20 or 40 every third month, instead they seem to have gone absolutely berserk and decided to quadruple the price

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Is it hard to believe someone is basing the collections price on an assumed "desire" thus further ensuring it is being purchased for the most economical gain for the business (ahem BW). Supply and demand.

 

No, the problem *I* have with it is not that they charge a high price for a presumably desirable item, but rather that we don't have *any* means of knowing what the unlock costs will be until we added it to collections, i.e. bound it to one character. The whole point of my spreadsheet was that I wanted to get an idea which unlock prices to expect. The high price for the silver rare set is completely, utterly arbitrary and goes against all we've experienced so far.

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That's a fair question - I worded the response poorly.

 

When we flag an item as, say, Rare, it doesn't automatically give it an unlock price in Collections. That information is entered separately, which is why these are two distinct issues being looked at individually. Does that clarify things a bit?

 

So, would one be right in assuming that while neither system is connected to the other in code, the setting of unlocks is still BASED on the drop rate?

 

So the problem might just be that the drop rates were set incorrectly and then the person responsible for setting the unlock costs went by that drop rate to set the cost?

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So, would one be right in assuming that while neither system is connected to the other in code, the setting of unlocks is still BASED on the drop rate?

 

So the problem might just be that the drop rates were set incorrectly and then the person responsible for setting the unlock costs went by that drop rate to set the cost?

 

That is a good possible theory, considering the vast rarity difference between the armor boxes.

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That's a fair question - I worded the response poorly.

 

When we flag an item as, say, Rare, it doesn't automatically give it an unlock price in Collections. That information is entered separately, which is why these are two distinct issues being looked at individually. Does that clarify things a bit?

 

I get that regarding CC pricing... particularly since there are more/less rare items and super rare items which means there is a drop table where every items drop % chance is carried for the servers to use. The gray and gold CM tags only give us the very broadest of understanding of rarity. We've seen plenty of sets or items that are more rare then others with the same CM flag color.

 

I'm not convinced however that the two issues are entirely decoupled. :) Until the devs share with us (if they ever choose to) how they calculate Collections unlock pricing for cartel items....... it remains a mystery how exactly this is performed inside Austin. Personally, I think they may in fact be reading the drop tables as part of how they calculate the CC unlock price. Please note.. I would be happy to be proved wrong via a lucid gold post on the topic. :D

 

But I also understand that there are other variables that factor into how a CC unlock price is calculated. Number of armor pieces in the set for example... does appear to be a factor in their calculation.

Edited by Andryah
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But I also understand that there are other variables that factor into how a CC unlock price is calculated. Number of armor pieces in the set for example... does appear to be a factor in their calculation.

 

That is why I am convinced that they are related.

Because the 480cc unlock sets have parts that are common and then some parts that are extremely rare. And I think they go by the rarity per piece, making the entire set much more "rare" than it should be on the unlock scale (so to speak).

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(...) But I also understand that there are other variables that factor into how a CC unlock price is calculated. Number of armor pieces in the set for example... does appear to be a factor in their calculation.

 

In what way exactly?

 

Reason I ask is because the Jolee Bindo armor set - for example - is missing the handwraps, belt and headgear... And it still costs 360 CC to unlock.

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I think they simply raised the prices to see if they can get away with it. If that's tue, it's despicable practice and I won't unlock anything or get cartel stuff anymore.

 

Sure, they just upped the price by more then five times to see if anyone noticed... :rolleyes:

 

Like I've said before, this price hike is way too large to be a sneaky test of the market.

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That is why I am convinced that they are related.

Because the 480cc unlock sets have parts that are common and then some parts that are extremely rare. And I think they go by the rarity per piece, making the entire set much more "rare" than it should be on the unlock scale (so to speak).

 

I agree with you on this. :)

 

Now we have to wait and see what they come back and share with us as to cause(s) and corrective plans. And for that...we need to apply patience. The last thread I posted in the bug report forum (the change in Gav D's belt) was responded to quickly that they would look in to it..... but it was weeks before we got a follow-up. This is of course more of an issue then that IMO... so maybe we get answers sooner rather then later.

Edited by Andryah
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