Playing With Fire Is Fun

So, if by some odd turn of events you have not seen this thread, then you must not visit the forums very often. D:

This post will be split into two; read the one you prefer (or both). I personally like #2 better, but meh. To each his own:

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Basic Facts:

- The Roping Scarf was originally priced at 1.7kAP and then bumped up to 5kAP. The generally accepted AP:Macca Ratio is 1kAP = 1mil Macca.
- The Novio Ring was previously ONLY a top spender prize that was obtained through the Blessed Voucher, which in itself was worth a fortune.
- The Abyss Gloves, having a 4% boost, were priced at a cheap 800AP, with the only comparable item being Powered Gloves for 3-4mil, with no male counterpart.


Summary of why 5k is not overpriced for the Roping Scarf:

- The 5kAP pricing is already a compromise. If it was geared to completely appease the spenders, it would be priced at the minimum of 8-9kAP, to retain its value in-game.
- A pricing of 5kAP is already a 50%+ price drop of this item, making it much more affordable.
- The scarf is one of the best neck items even now on the J-Server, meaning it will last you quite a while and it is a worthwhile investment
- The Abyss Gloves is a steal for 800AP. The top spenders got killed on the Novio Ring too. The Scarf price was hit pretty hard, too. Why must everything be priced 2-3kAP (in the 2-3mil Macca range) to better benefit ONLY our casual spenders and thus screwing over top spenders?
- All AP items are bound to drop in price, but the Roping Scarf was only recently introduced. If a brand new item plummeted to a quarter (1/4) of its price within two weeks of its first introduction 'cause of an Item Mall addition, then how much confidence would that leave for ANYONE to buy ANY AP item?
- The scarf is not a necessity. Sure, having it will enhance your damage (ergo, the gameplay) but it is not necessary to the game itself. The 4% add is negligible. (I still don't use the Demonic Ward Pants 'cause they're fugly.)
- The fact that, even at 5kAP, it has sold out multiple times shows that a large portion of players think the price is reasonable.
- End of the day: this is a Free To Play game. The only way that companies like this make money is through their Item Mall. As such, the more you spend, the bigger the advantage you have in-game. This will always be the case.


Arguments for the casual spenders:

1. 5kAP is a lot of money; I could buy a real scarf with that.
Then buy a real scarf. No one forcing you to buy this scarf. It is there for the perfectionists that want top notch damage. By now, anyone that is like this is used to paying high premium for the best gear. In the off chance that you just think it looks nice... *refers to high-end brand name clothes* Think of it as that; it's not meant for everyone to have. There were plenty of other items that were priced at 5kAP+, so what is the big deal now?

2. Top spenders are limited in number, so why should we care about them? The casual make up the majority.
Both sides contribute to a portion of the revenues to Aeria and, as such, Aeria needs to look out for both groups. Seen through the other items added, they are cheap effective items with amazing stats for their price. Even the Roping Scarf is a now shell of its former price, at 5k AP. As a company, Aeria has to look out for both groups.

3. If it was 1.7KAP, then much, much more players would buy the Scarf. By setting it at 5kAP, Aeria is just money-hungry and marking up prices.
This actually proves the opposite - at least for this item. It is extremely true that for every 5kAP Scarf sold, they could've sold 3-4 (maybe 5) Scarfs at 1.7kAP. Unlike a REAL clothing selling business, there is ZERO cost of goods incurred each time a new one is sold. By selling more quantity, the profit margin per Scarf is still 100%. You effectively increase your revenue by selling it at 1.7kAP, so then why 5kAP is what you may ask. This is to protect their top spenders. They wanted to protect the in-game economy a bit by cushioning the price drop. They CHOOSE to make less money to protect the price slightly. Logically, Aeria should care GREATLY about the in-game economy to help price their IM items better to not cause tidal waves every time a new IM item is added.


So, that was boring, right? Facts, examples, explanations, logic?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

On to Part 2.

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By now, we all know that the Roping Scarf was marked up to 5kAP. Now, 25 pages over a couple of days NORMALLY would mean a HUGE, HUGE outcry along the lines of, "OMGZ PRICE IZ REDICULUZ!!!11!!" But pay closer attention to the posts. 90% of the posts in this outcry is from Clan Foxhound. Reading some of their posts made me lose IQ points 'cause of how retarded they were.

Seriously, it's just post after post of, "OMG QQQQQQQ, why is the Roping Scarf 5k now; I want it for 1.7k cuz someone else got it at that price. MEMEMEMEMME; there are other people in this world?!" All these kids care about is what they want and no one else matters.

Then you've got retarded arguments like this, WTF. I mean, seriously. If it's ONLY 4%, then it won't matter if you have it or not. It's like going, "OMG dis Pikachu Pokemon card is OVERPRICED. It's just a piece of paper. I demand joo sell it to me for 10 cents!11!!1!" Why such a big deal other than, "I have nothing better to do so Imma QQ all day long"?

Their version of "we're looking out for everyone" is really "only our guild". Because they didn't get anyone in their guild who got it for 1.7k P, it is OMG WRONG WRONG WRONG. /rage

The fact that you even care about the 4% damage increase from the Scarf shows that you have the strive and determination to better your character. By that, you're probably looking to climb the virtual imaginary ladder of better PVP/PVE capacities, which shows that you're only looking out for yourself, not the equality of items for all - or you would want EVERYTHING cheap so that everyone can get everything. (What's the equality of every gear? Anyone smell communism and not capitalism? /lulz But that's a totally different pages-long blog topic, btw.)


Side note: I have no screenshots ('cause retarded Foxhound comments don't warrant screenshotting), but I'm remembering joining a PVP match a while back. The second the match had started, some retard on Law went, "OMG GUYZZ WE IZ LOZE NOWZ, MA KLAN FOXHOUND IZ PLAYIN IN CHAOS. JOO ALL LOSE NOW CUZ THEY OWNZ!!1!1!oNe!11!" (Btw: Law won horridly that match. *LE GASP* /doesn't even try to act surprised.)


~Pearz