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BioWare, GTN prices are insane, its time to do something


ShieldProtection

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It is impossible to buy anything for free to play and pref players from GTN, prices are literally insane and overpriced, a single chest armour pack costs like 3m and more. My sub will be end in a few days so I will be unable to play this game due to credits limit,

 

There is tons of overpriced items on GTN that can only be purchased if one sinks lots of real world money, selling packs etc,

 

Heroics farm solo rewards only 1m ALL OF THEM daily, so I have to spend my personal time in this game to get 5m in 5 days? Heroics are also digital cancer if you do solo and annoying and no one doing them anymore in group.

 

It is impossible to earn enough credits by doing normal methods,

 

People literally having billions of credits in this game by getting packs and then selling them on gtn while rest of us can't even get a armour set.

 

It is time to do something, put some measures into the game. Economy is dying,

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You can make a lot via gathering / crafting as well. On Star Forge, the low price for the purple augments (74s) is usually 7m each and you spend $0 in real money to make it. Or just sell those materials you gather from crew skills. Artifact quality tier 11 materials in particular sell for quite a bit.

 

I don't really know what they would do to fix inflation and you didn't really propose any fixes either. There are some really unpopular things they could do like impose a harsher credit cap for everyone, double the gtn tax rate, take 25% of the income from the top 1% of players and redistribute it to new subscribers, etc.

 

It's just the way it is. Ultimately, the GTN stuff is mostly cosmetic anyway so it's optional for any level of content. You can just opt out of the inflated economy and still do whatever you want.

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There are no easy fixes to inflation. "do something" isn't a solution.

 

My question though, what do you NEED from the GTN to play the game?

 

There is always a way there, there is always a solution, its up to them to fix it.

 

I need good looking adaptive armour for my agent, that can only be obtained from GTN, like any normal person looks are vital to me in video games because I do like my character. I do like looking at her/him.

 

Very strange isnt it? Shocking I know.

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There is always a way there, there is always a solution, its up to them to fix it.

 

I need good looking adaptive armour for my agent, that can only be obtained from GTN, like any normal person looks are vital to me in video games because I do like my character. I do like looking at her/him.

 

Very strange isnt it? Shocking I know.

 

You don't NEED the fancy expensive stuff, you might WANT it, but you do not need it.

 

Learn how to find outfits wihout just buying the expensive cartel shinies. I have some outfits made from starter planet drops, they look good. Sometimes the right dye is all you need. (dyes are another item that you should look for alternatives besides the fancy expensive ones. Plenty of the cheap, non-cartel dyes are excellant; better than the coveted and overated black/black in my opinion.)

 

For outfits you have your class drops as you level, the adaptive armor vendor, the reputation vendors, the crafted armours, and just plain open-world or flashpoint drops.

 

A lot of the expensive cartel armors have cheap look-alikes you can get for much less than 1 million credits.

 

*also: it's not on bioware's part to limit the GTN. it's the player auction house and up to the players to determine what they sell/buy items for. If cosmetic shinies are too expensive for ftp/preferred then that's just too bad. Sub or find a cheaper alternative.

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It is impossible to earn enough credits by doing normal methods,

 

This bit right here is why BioWare won’t listen because this statement is 100% false and misleading

 

How do I know it’s false? Because back in June I rolled on a brand new server with no credits.

I’ve spent no CCs and I’ve earnt over a billion credits in that time.

 

How did I do that you ask?

 

1. Saved every penny I earnt from playing content and then I used the small amount I had to buy some low hanging fruit on the GTN (crafted items)

2. Relisted said items at 20x the price I purchased them for till they sold

3. Did this 3 times a week till I eventually had enough credits to start buying better crafted items to resell.

** note ** At no time did I craft or sell mats. At no time did I buy credits or cartel market items to sell.

 

Everything I bought and sold could be easily crafted if I’d had the time (which I didn’t as I was playing on 3 servers). So I could have easily made way more credits doing that with the smallest amount of effort.

 

Now if I can do that and make over a billion credits in 4 months, then anyone playing the game can do it with a tiny bit of effort and a google search.

 

It seems your dilemma is you are unsubbing and will have a credit limit. And while I agree inflation is stupidly high, that’s not your core problem.

 

The question you should be asking BioWare is to increase the credit threshold of what preferred and free to players can have so you can buy items over a million credits.

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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I subscribe, but I have to agree, not about them controlling the prices, but the limit to credits stored.

 

If they offered an 'ala cart' subscription, say $2.00 a month for an unlock to the bank maximums, they could fix this without trying to manipulate the economy.

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I subscribe, but I have to agree, not about them controlling the prices, but the limit to credits stored.

 

If they offered an 'ala cart' subscription, say $2.00 a month for an unlock to the bank maximums, they could fix this without trying to manipulate the economy.

 

Swtor is the only free to play game I know of that limits the amount of currency free players can have or spend. Others limit content and / or equipment that can be used like swtor, but they allow all players to earn and this is the important part, spend said currency in the game.

 

I understand why BioWare limited it in the past to stop credit farmers and sellers, but it’s really only an inconvenience to them, it doesn’t actually stop them. So it would probably be better for the in game economy if they opened it up more for preferred and free to play people. And if they actually caught and banned any credit sellers, they’d probably end up taking huge chunks of credits out of the game at once if those credit sellers had a few billion credits per account.

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There is always a way there, there is always a solution, its up to them to fix it.

 

I need good looking adaptive armour for my agent, that can only be obtained from GTN, like any normal person looks are vital to me in video games because I do like my character. I do like looking at her/him.

 

Very strange isnt it? Shocking I know.

 

I see your point. But there is really no need for the items you can find on the GTN. Mostly, people put packs in there to gain credits and ultimately buy one or two but that's it. I understand that there are some outfits which are not on the Cartel Market anymore or you don't have the money to buy them. However, as many said, you can gain plenty of good looking outfits by doing flashpoints, some Heroics, play the story, etc.

 

The prices are pretty high but that's the deal I suppose. I don't see how BioWare would change that, the GTN is not THAT much used and there are ways to get to billions of credits with a little bit of effort. Also, as someone already mentioned, which I want to emphasise, dye modules, which can also be found on the GTN or other vendors such as Security Key or CE Vendor, can change a look completely and to the better.

 

Stronger "policies" about the credits a item may be sold for will simply not work. Players would probably get furious and some people put a lot of effort into crafting or playing to stuff they sell afterwards. This should be rewarded in some way.

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This bit right here is why BioWare won’t listen because this statement is 100% false and misleading

 

How do I know it’s false? Because back in June I rolled on a brand new server with no credits.

I’ve spent no CCs and I’ve earnt over a billion credits in that time.

I also did this and made a similar amount of credits so I can second it's possible albeit I did slightly differently. I crafted lowbie items which sold very well, as well as crafting mats from gathering. The only advantage I had on the other server is being a sub so I could buy UCPs with my sub coins and sell them on the GTN. I'll stand by what I said in several previous threads; heroics are no longer the best way to make credits; they are less profitable since 6.0; yes you make credits but nowhere near as many as you used to in 5.0+.

 

It seems your dilemma is you are unsubbing and will have a credit limit. And while I agree inflation is stupidly high, that’s not your core problem.

 

The question you should be asking BioWare is to increase the credit threshold of what preferred and free to players can have so you can buy items over a million credits.

Exactly!

Also, wasn't there a discussion in another thread about prices rocketing as a direct result of refer-a-friend program ending?

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The items listed at silly prices fall into two categories:

 

The 1st is someone putting a crazy price on a rare item in the hope that one day someone will buy it - these people are usually not in a hurry and don't really care if it sells anytime soon.

 

The 2nd is someone putting a price on an item that may be high but which someone will buy within a few days.

 

Both these items may be out of your reach but chances are neither are items that you MUST have.

 

A lot of players have plowed a lot of time into crafting or buying and reselling items on the GTN and may well deserve the rewards they now get.

 

Another cohort may well have bought items with real money on the Cartel Market and also deserve to convert this into in game currency at the best rate they can achieve.

 

Someone playing the game for free can successfully gain armor etc through playing heroics or other game content and enjoy the content being paid for by others. They may not get all the pretty stuff they want but that is life - they can still play the game to a high degree.

 

There has to be a value to subscribing or investing in Cartel Coins or people just wouldn't do it and you wouldn't have a viable game.

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WoW added in a stupid dumb expensive mount you could buy with in-game currency and it definitely fixed inflation for a bit.

 

I definitely bought it as soon as it came out.

 

SWTOR could do the same with credit dumps for old items that you can't obtain anymore and make them insanely overpriced so that it would be a massive credit sink.

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Wow... I've seen a lot of bad inflation threads but I don't think I've seen one so... entitled.

 

No, you do not NEED that shiny armour. If you are not willing to put in the small amount of effort it takes to get the credits for it, you are not going to get it.

 

Imagine a government putting price caps on jewelry. See how that goes.

 

As for the F2P/Pref credit cap. Sorry, even less sympathy there. If you are not going pay for the game, you should just be grateful you get free entertainment, however much that is. I'd have no problem with BW raising the cap for a good reason, but you'll have to come up with a better reason than "I need good looking outfits"

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This bit right here is why BioWare won’t listen because this statement is 100% false and misleading

 

How do I know it’s false? Because back in June I rolled on a brand new server with no credits.

I’ve spent no CCs and I’ve earnt over a billion credits in that time.

 

How did I do that you ask?

 

1. Saved every penny I earnt from playing content and then I used the small amount I had to buy some low hanging fruit on the GTN (crafted items)

2. Relisted said items at 20x the price I purchased them for till they sold

3. Did this 3 times a week till I eventually had enough credits to start buying better crafted items to resell.

** note ** At no time did I craft or sell mats. At no time did I buy credits or cartel market items to sell.

 

Everything I bought and sold could be easily crafted if I’d had the time (which I didn’t as I was playing on 3 servers). So I could have easily made way more credits doing that with the smallest amount of effort.

 

Now if I can do that and make over a billion credits in 4 months, then anyone playing the game can do it with a tiny bit of effort and a google search.

 

It seems your dilemma is you are unsubbing and will have a credit limit. And while I agree inflation is stupidly high, that’s not your core problem.

 

The question you should be asking BioWare is to increase the credit threshold of what preferred and free to players can have so you can buy items over a million credits.

 

Agreed !!

 

I might add that for anyone that is subbed I'm quite certain that several of us can and would be willing to offer help in making credits ( a LOT of credits) .

 

It's not that hard at all !!

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So, I'm a subscriber, but the cap on credits for F2P people is ridiculously prohibitive in this economy. As much as I've tried to help players, it's hard watching them struggle against it. And to be honest, if I ever took a break from my subscription for whatever reason, going F2P/Preferred for awhile until resubscribing would not even be an option -- only quitting the game entirely.

 

To me, the first question is how people can afford to pay the ridiculous amounts being asked on the GTN (thus making it possible to ask those prices). And the first likelihood I come up with: credit resellers. They keep advertising in fleet chat, and I'm not sure if anything significant is ever done to address it.

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If cosmetic shinies are too expensive for ftp/preferred then that's just too bad.

 

This is so petty.

 

The question you should be asking BioWare is to increase the credit threshold of what preferred and free to players can have so you can buy items over a million credits.

 

The most useful post dropped here, but this line specifically. OP is better off advocating for an increase in limits. Pref should not be the same as F2P, 10m would be a fair point imo. We're talking about people who could have put anywhere between $5 and thousands into the game, no reason to be absolute jerks about it unless you're on a payroll or have a superiority complex. I don't understand the toxic mentality some subs have and the general animosity expressed toward F2P/Pref players and fair concerns, even if not voiced appropriately. It's disgusting and it isn't more money in your pocket, so why even be an absolute donkey about it? Thank you though, Trixxie.

 

Imagine a government putting price caps on jewelry. See how that goes.

 

As for the F2P/Pref credit cap. Sorry, even less sympathy there. If you are not going pay for the game, you should just be grateful you get free entertainment, however much that is. I'd have no problem with BW raising the cap for a good reason, but you'll have to come up with a better reason than "I need good looking outfits"

 

In case anyone were curious of what I was talking about. Such a disgusting take. All of this is transactional by nature. OP's time in game represents monetary opportunity for BW and a playerbase to keep your game moving. No need to be this way.

 

Either way, OP, I agree with Trixxie mostly. The 'anyone can be a billionaire' thing doesn't sit right with me only because Trix & Sarova are already knowledgeable and have an understanding for the markets as well as rates of consumption of specific items that actually sell. Lets be real, fresh off the ship newbs aren't and haven't been making bank as easily, and that comes down to a lack of scope (setting a goal for 100m is insurmountable for a newb, let alone 1b), exceeding consistent profit margins and not having access to all that you two do with account-wide goodies not taunting either of you as much. Also, both are very dedicated veteran players and not new casuals, so you KNOW your options, tips and tricks from experience rather than getting a few bland general responses on the forums or genchat. Sort of reminiscent of those GSF aces telling everyone else that flying stock ships vs mastered makes no considerable difference because they >can< learn to do so too but that's my only real critique there.

 

Buzzard has the right attitude, too.

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In case anyone were curious of what I was talking about. Such a disgusting take. All of this is transactional by nature. OP's time in game represents monetary opportunity for BW and a playerbase to keep your game moving. No need to be this way.

 

 

Are you kidding me? "monetary opportunity"?

 

Walking down a shopping aisle full of pretty signs is also a monetary opportunity. That doesn't mean you can just pick up some chocolate bars and start stuffing your face with them without paying

 

If you aren't going to pay, you can enjoy the free samples.

 

As i said, I am not opposed to raising the caps, but i have yet to hear a good reason for doing so that would actually benefit the game (and not just make credit farmers lives easier).

 

Or to use your term, how would raising the caps turn "monetary opportunity" into "monetary realization"? Please present an actual case, not "disgusting take" nonsense

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I don't understand the toxic mentality some subs have and the general animosity expressed toward F2P/Pref players and fair concerns, even if not voiced appropriately. It's disgusting and it isn't more money in your pocket, so why even be an absolute donkey about it?

 

I'm pref for about nine months of the year, and I understand it. I'm disgusted by it too, of course, and for a long time I didn't get why players on this forum have such a poisonous, class warfare attitude towards F2P, but I figured it out awhile ago:

 

It's because their sub is next to worthless, and they know it, just like BW knows it, which is why subs are so often overlooked, because they don't matter. BW has their money and they aren't going to quit. Consequently, the only value the sub has for those players is to be a "have" while someone else is a "have not". It is exactly the reason that many subs were outraged that BW was giving away coveted items and companions that had previously - years previously - been exclu to them. It's not just that THEY have master Ranos, it's that they have it and I don't, and I never will...until Seasons erased that inequality.

 

That being said, what disgusts me even more than entitled subs is players like the OP, who normally don't GAF about F2Pers, don't say one word advocating more QOL updates for them, until he's about to become one and his priority is...barbie dress-up. Seriously?

 

Wow... I've seen a lot of bad inflation threads but I don't think I've seen one so... entitled.

 

No, you do not NEED that shiny armour. If you are not willing to put in the small amount of effort it takes to get the credits for it, you are not going to get it.

 

Hear hear!

 

If BW made a set price for unlocks like Species and Artifact, so they couldn't be sold for more than 1 million credits and couldn't be bought by anyone who wasn't F2P, I could get behind that. That'd be useful to a lot of F2Pers [Not me, I have all that already], whereas simply raising the credit limit to 2 mil, or even 10 mil, is not [they frequently cost hundreds of millions]. But, not being able to buy your shinies? There's gotta be some incentive to sub, and the credit limit is one of the major reasons I sub [and collecting the GS rewards].

Edited by Ardrossan
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Exactly!

Also, wasn't there a discussion in another thread about prices rocketing as a direct result of refer-a-friend program ending?

 

Yeah I actually predicted that this was going to happen when they announced the end of the refer a friend program.

 

The issue is supply and demand. The demand is still there, but there are now less free CC coins available for to keep up with demand. Reduced supply and steady demand is a major driver of inflation in any type of economy. It’s also how the rich get richer and the gap between those that have and those that don’t increases.

 

Luckily, BioWare have a limit on how much an item can be sold on the GTN. Sure it’s 1 billion and expensive, but as more people become billionaires in the game, those credits start to devalue and eventually the 1 billion limit won’t seem high.

 

Unfortunately, that’s not great for free to play or preferred players because BioWare have this stupid credit limitation for those accounts. If they increased the limit to 1 billion, it would still allow them to buy on the GTN and credits would devalue faster.

 

BioWare could devalue the current credits even more by increasing the amounts that drop playing content and increasing the amount you get from selling junk. As long as they keep the 1 billion cap on the GTN, they can put a cap on inflation as nothing could be sold for more than 1 billion credits.

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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with credits being easier to acquire and cartel coins being less easy to farm, the development seems rather reasonable considering that the supply of cartel market items (which in the end is what decides the price) is lower and results in higher prices

 

I don't think that Bioware think that high gtn prices on cartel market items are a problem, this isn't a charity its a game meant to turn a profit, with higher gtn prices players are more likely to buy the cosmetic items directly from the cartel market for cartel coins

 

all the stuff are cosmetic items, its not unreasonable for Bioware you put them behind a paywall, considering the alternative would be some sort of p2w option, and I doubt the f2p/pref limitations, as those are not paying customers, are any big concern for Bioware, nor should it

 

So, I'm a subscriber, but the cap on credits for F2P people is ridiculously prohibitive in this economy. As much as I've tried to help players, it's hard watching them struggle against it. And to be honest, if I ever took a break from my subscription for whatever reason, going F2P/Preferred for awhile until resubscribing would not even be an option -- only quitting the game entirely.

 

To me, the first question is how people can afford to pay the ridiculous amounts being asked on the GTN (thus making it possible to ask those prices). And the first likelihood I come up with: credit resellers. They keep advertising in fleet chat, and I'm not sure if anything significant is ever done to address it.

 

this seems like such a common misconception, the f2p/pref limitations are meant to promote players to subscribe, or at the very least buy cartel coins, removing those limitations seems counterintuitive, I hope you all realize that at some point

Edited by RikuvonDrake
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So, I'm a subscriber, but the cap on credits for F2P people is ridiculously prohibitive in this economy. As much as I've tried to help players, it's hard watching them struggle against it. And to be honest, if I ever took a break from my subscription for whatever reason, going F2P/Preferred for awhile until resubscribing would not even be an option -- only quitting the game entirely.

 

To me, the first question is how people can afford to pay the ridiculous amounts being asked on the GTN (thus making it possible to ask those prices). And the first likelihood I come up with: credit resellers. They keep advertising in fleet chat, and I'm not sure if anything significant is ever done to address it.

 

I can categorically say it’s not the credit sellers driving this or any new credit exploits.

Since 2019 I’ve made 50 billion credits from crafting and buying and selling “crafted” items that are too cheap.

 

I do agree that the limitations on Free to play and preferred is actually hurting the economy. We have a 3 speed economy because of the limitations. This isn’t good for the overall health of the game and BioWare should review it.

 

I would suggest BioWare increase the limit to 1 billion for preferred players and free to play. That way the GTN economy isn’t affected by those limitations. It would also help to devalue the credit to CC conversion which would combat the credit sellers still trying to trade.

Edited by TrixxieTriss
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Either way, OP, I agree with Trixxie mostly. The 'anyone can be a billionaire' thing doesn't sit right with me only because Trix & Sarova are already knowledgeable and have an understanding for the markets as well as rates of consumption of specific items that actually sell. Lets be real, fresh off the ship newbs aren't and haven't been making bank as easily, and that comes down to a lack of scope (setting a goal for 100m is insurmountable for a newb, let alone 1b), exceeding consistent profit margins and not having access to all that you two do with account-wide goodies not taunting either of you as much. Also, both are very dedicated veteran players and not new casuals, so you KNOW your options, tips and tricks from experience rather than getting a few bland general responses on the forums or genchat.

 

.

 

A quick google of the forums can help anyone make lots of credits. I’ve been posting how to do it with crafting for over 2 years now.

 

The problem is some people are lazy and expect credits handed to them. And some other people are stupid when it comes to listing on the GTN (sorry but I can’t think of a more polite term). It’s like they are allergic to making credits.

 

Of course you have new players who are learning, but the amount of long term players who still ague against my advice, only highlights how much they don’t understand the GTN and markets. And sadly, they are usually the first to complain that they have no credits.

 

You only need to read any of the suggestions I’ve dropped on the forums on how to make credits to be successful. It’s not hard.

 

Here are the basics

1. Don’t engage in price wars

2. Don’t undercut people if you can help it, but if you do, don’t undercut more than 1 credit

3. Have a large portfolio of items to sell because sometimes they sell and other times they don’t

4. Don’t list more than 2 of the same item at a time or you flood the market

5. Don’t devalue an item by listing it too cheap

6. Don’t sell crafted items less than mats that cost to make them

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@OP: I'm curious, how expensive in CC is the armor set that you're thinking of getting? On the same note, how expensive is it in Game Credits on the GTN?

 

If it is around 200- 400 millions credits then you might be able to get the credits with 1 additional monthly sub. I said might because if you have lots of alts with max crew skills, this would be a piece of cake. Else, it'd be a bit longer.

 

If it is more than 500million credits, you can still try but it would be tricky. Armor sets are often listed as individual pieces; so you need to make sure your credits can cover all parts on the set. Full boxes are very expensive, unless you got lucky and the listers forgot a zero.

 

For CC, imo if it's between 1000-2000 CC, you can grind credits and play the GTN game. If you sub, you can get 525 CC per month + 100 CC from Security + 200 CC from GS weekly (if still going on). So you can purchase the set whenever you have enough CC or credits.

 

Otherwise, if your set is in the low 3000 CC/mid 4000 CC and you desperately want it, if I were you I would say **** it and just spend real money to buy the set or save up the monthly security CC. You can still grind, but it would be a waste of time; the greeders will just keep listing at high price.

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