Games with good in game economy seem to last longer and have stronger player retention from my experiences.
Band-aid fixes to try and remove items from the game like altars of sacrifice or no drop items have never been enough to really cut it.
Other types of games have had more success keeping the economy in check and some of those solutions could be looked at.
One game I've played a bit recently has a currency type that modifies an item with 1 of many common to rare enchantments with a breakdown like: 25% of the time the item stays the same and is bricked, 25% of the time the item is destroyed, 50% of the time it gets a random modifier off the table with the more sought after results being rarer.
Different gear slots have their own tables of modifiers so there is not much overlap.
Once modded an item requires a crafter to scour the item back to it's un modified state unless it's bricked then it cannot be altered in any way.
A system like this is not without it's problems though as min maxers will farm many copies of an item to try and get the perfect enchant on it.
There would need to be a large pool of enchants and some examples of modifiers would just be like:
Common) +5 to a resist, +5 to a stat, +15hp
Uncommon) +5% movement speed to boots, +5 crushing damage to attacks, +2 mana regen to helm
Rare) Ranger aimed shot fires 2 arrows instead of 1, Wizard counterspell refreshes 20% faster, Warrior taunt deals 20 damage on cast
I'm not saying something like this is a be all solution as I think it's many systems working together that are needed to have a thriving economy.
I would enjoy hearing about other inventive item or cash sinks that you all have come across during your gaming over the past years !
Thanks in advance,
Kizz~
I am not a fan of such systems, at least not with that degree of variation and with no ability to influence or control the outcome. Games with those types of crafting systems force players to either get rich to afford crafting until the desired outcome is reached or to be content playing with sub-par gear forever. It creates a system of haves and have-nots. While I make damn sure I'm always in the "haves" group, putting 80% of my play time into farming and maintaining my gear is not what I would call fun. It's work, nothing more. Lots and lots (and lots) of work.
A game economy doesn't need silly tricks like that to become or stay strong. All an economy needs is a steady flow of goods people want to buy and people with money to buy them. Some cash sinks are obviously needed to balance the rates of global income and outgo but none of those sinks should punish the population at large. Sinks that affect mostly/only the wealthy, in the form of things they want to buy, are sufficient. Examples might include tinctures required to enchant raid gear only available from a vendor, or player housing and cosmetic gear.
Random crafting is teh debil.
Most of my time in EQ I had no use for an in-game economy. Let me explain...
All my gear was drops from dungeons and raids. Weapons, armor, all of it. I don't think I ever purchased anything other than around level 20 with my Cleric when I got the dwarves to sell me plate armor. Seeing as how a High Elf could wear small size armor.
We managed to do all the dungeons, all the Planes, etc., without enchanting anything (not that we could), just fine.
Best way to really manage a healthy economy is to make it to where mobs just don't drop a lot of money honestly, that way 50 gold it a ton of money, and if 50 gold is a ton of money than 99% of the items will be less than that, but I like the idea it isn't bad, plus having certain things into the game that makes us spend money back unto the game makes the economy stay healthier longer,
Btw he wasn't saying the crafter put the enchant on the gear he said the crafter could take it off so you could redo it again, so you have the potential to never see the crafter, which is care
Plus I believe enchants are an awesome idea, but many might not agree due to the whole min maxing idea most people get into but I guess we will see, main thing is the game does need to have something that filters the amount of money that is getting taken from the game back into it or the server will be saturated with it and everything will be almost worthless becuade money is everywhere.
Malla said:Most of my time in EQ I had no use for an in-game economy. Let me explain...
All my gear was drops from dungeons and raids. Weapons, armor, all of it. I don't think I ever purchased anything other than around level 20 with my Cleric when I got the dwarves to sell me plate armor. Seeing as how a High Elf could wear small size armor.
We managed to do all the dungeons, all the Planes, etc., without enchanting anything (not that we could), just fine.
It's good that simply playing the game is enough for you but some people enjoy the meta game of the economy. Buying and selling items is a big part of mmo games and doesn't require everyone's participation to create a meaningful trade system.
If all there is to do in an mmo is kill mobs I'll get bored pretty quick. That's why crafting, harvesting, and trading can go a long way to increase retention. I rather enjoyed diplomacy in Vanguard.
I'd even go so far as to say some form of in game politics and government could be a fun way to interact with the community.
Thanks,
Kiz~
Kiz, I don't think any harm is meant by that. It's just that it's more of a general topic rather than specifically about Pantheon. Off topic doesn't mean trash, it's a good board :)
OT: I'm skeptical towards good economies making games last longer. Or, actually, maybe not, but at least they can apparently last long without a good game economy. EQ has the worst inflation issue I've seen in any MMO I've personally played, there isn't anywhere close to enough money sinks. Usually this is an issue for most games that has permanent items (be it no-loot pvp or no degradation of items; people call that theme-park but I'm not too hot on the term myself). Its made worse, beside the lack of money sinks, in EQ by the lack of No-Trade on the vast majority of items in the game.
Because of that and the fact that EQ is still going strong after 20 years, I'll remain unconvinced. Though, of course, I'd rather see proper money sinks and ways for the economy to stay relatively stable. I'm personally really excited for the progeny system and whatever turns out in terms of 'disenchanting' or similar (I think there's been some talk about that but I can't recall specifics).