New premium items?

Hi, this is one of the Reddit trolls reporting in. I feel like I'm walking on ice but I'm not here to offend.

I pretty much avoided the game because of two reasons; housing and the grind. These issues could easily be mitigated with new premium items for sale.

1. Create a package of a taxable row lot deed with prepaid tax (couple of months). This will allow for new players to attach themselves to the best mechanic of the game. Should lead to some deco sales too.
2. Sell a skill boost. Don't be shy, Blizzard sure isn't, they got this figured out with their level (endgame-10) boost.

Both let players skip time invested, which negates the pay to win scenario argument.

Edit: with regard to #1, I know there is a deed at the end of the quest chain, which as a sandbox player I find too tedious. I have all these cool founder items I can't currently use. Yes I'm looking at you, argriculture.

 

Hi Troll! Thanks for sharing your trollish thoughts. Now get off my lawn.

After we got the expected response out of the way, let's get to your topic ^^
2. (yeah 2 first because that one is easy) they do already. Kind of. Obsidian potion of....i forgot the name because i am not using it. I guess it's "of learning".

1. Mh. I can't see why that would help. You get a deed when you manage a play through. Plus you could buy deeds ingame from players. Can you clarify why you think a deed with prepaid tax (let's say, just for example) for 6 month would help?

 

My edit and your reply were cross posted. See above for my argument.

I would consider it a game service and I can't find the potions you mentioned on the store. Weren't the potions a % boost on earned, not a fixed amount?

 

Fair enough. I guess it wouldn't be too difficult to provide prepaid deeds in the store. I really have no idea how good they would sell though.

You can buy them in game from the obsidian merchants. As i am not using them i am not privy to how they work exactly. It was sumthinsumthin% from your pool faster transfred to skills....or something like that. I could be completly wrong about that mind you ^^

 

Thanks, found it now. It's an 300% XP boost for 7 (Earth) days.

I was hoping for an instant 'ding' to a decent build.

 

The Obsidian potion of guidance is very useful for power players who have no problem earning 1 million XP in an hour or less. It burns up your XP at a rate of something like 300% to help raise skills faster. It is not useful for someone like me who struggles to gain XP. It is good for training crafting skills like masterworking because you don‘t need as many raw materials.

 

Why not, if I understand correctly, you will gain XP three times as fast with the potion.

 

You don’t earn exp x3 — you spend it x3 faster

 

You can buy a deed and a couple of crowns to pay for the rent. Not sure why you would need to bundle these 2, currently you are flexible to pay with igg or buy as may crowns you wish.
I agree that the description of the lot deeds in the store is not very polished, at least the current tax + link to the crown store should be added.

A paid for increase of XP gain was always rejected as P2W. Port had always been very clear to not support P2W, only cosmetic or QOL items.
The potion of guidance will allow you to spend 4x XP for faster skill increases, not sure it is for sale on NPC merchants as this was an early backer item (replaced an original promise); I assume only players sell it.

 

Is it possible to directly settle the tax through COTOs?

 

Yes it is, but at the current change rate it wouldn't be wise

 

Hm, I just think even at 50% off the place anywhere row lot is a bit pricey. For €15 flat I wouldn't have a second thought about buying it. Think of it as a loss-leader for deco sales.

 

They are sold on Black Friday for 50%, if I remember right.

 

No to number 1 UNLESS it is POT only.
No to number 2, because it would instantly turn the game into the P2W people already claim it is.

 

Mind the €, I (should) pay an additional 21% sales tax and get screwed for an additional couple% because of currency conversion. Back to Dollars it's about ~$70 with the discount as it is now. I think that's a bit steep.

 

I understand. Yes, I think it would be fine if prices for taxed lots would be lowered. Or at least, if not, the taxes could...

May be a one year payment could provide a tax reduction?

 

Every person that completes the quest gets a free taxed row lot deed. 1 Crown of the Obsidian pays rent on the lot claimed with said deed for 2 weeks as they recently cut taxes on Row Lots in Half. The game is Free to Play now, and for the voluntary subscription price of $9 per month, one receives 9 Crowns of the Obsidians per release which would pay the taxes on the lot and provide plenty extra to spend on Deco for the Crown Merchants or use to repair maximum durability on equipment.

This, to me, would be the very soul of Pay-to-Win, far above and beyond anything that has ever been introduced into the game, and I'm truly shocked that a self labeled Reddit Troll would suggest it. (Or, for that matter that Portalarium emulate WoW.)

As previously mentioned, the available Potions do NOT grant experience, they merely allow one to apply earned experience to skills at three times the normal rate. Portalarium has already made collecting experience easier and faster by doubling the experience rewards game wide for both Adventuring and Crafting.

 

Well, I think going F2P has turned the tables a bit on what are acceptable price ranges and how high the barrier to entry (to housing) should be*.

I'm not suggesting that Portalarium should emulate WoW, I think they should emulate Blizzard. Make it really easy to acquire the game (Steam; done) and pay through the nose for game services (character change etc.) and not gameplay (housing).

* in freemium games volume matters. In the mobile space billions are being made with $0.99 purchases.

 

Save that there is no longer a price barrier to housing... A bit of gameplay effort and completion of the quest lines (which can be completed with no expenditure of real-world funds) results in a free taxed row lot deed. Row lots even come with a default house so that one need not even purchase (or craft) a house to place on the lot.

This isn't to say or imply that I would object if the price of deeds were lowered if that is what Portalarium chose to do... However doing to so lower the cost of entry into housing in-game isn't an appropriate supporting argument for the change.

 

Yes, that's why it should be really, really easy to acquire one in the game. It creates demand for deco, equals more gameplay investment or sales.

If anybody could quote a number on the amount of hours it took for them to finish all the quests, to get that deed, I really would like to hear it.