Why can't I just buy my gear with real money?

[Baphomet_x]

It only takes maybe an hour-hour in a half to do dailies to get your mods, hilts and implants to be competitive in hard modes. When you are 50, there is no real excuse why you shouldn't be geared in at least all orange. You then can turn your orange gear into armor value of 126.

 

OP stated he only can play a couple days a week. That is all I play on my 50's since I like to level alts. If you are in a guild, you can do 1 op (either EV or KP) twice a week, that gives you your columi tokens, and columi gear.

 

Honestly, no offence meant, but wanting to just by your gear without putting in any effort is just lazy, and self entitled. It has become to frequent that people seem to think because they pay a subscription, everything should just be given to them on a silver platter. Sorry, but that is not an MMO.

 

on my 47 sith inquisitor...when she was round the 20`s or so,i went to tattoine underlvled,and came out of tattoine with all orange gear,and mods to match

 

[Pathlight-]

I'm very surprised by the backlash against this idea as I completely agree with the OP. The way I see it, gear progression at endgame is a way to make sure that players invest time in the game. It would make sense that those who don't have the time but have the money can choose to invest the latter. Players who have a lot of free time (students, unemployed, without kids...) can still obtain the same gear by investing their free time. This would actually make endgame much more balanced as more people would have a shot at tackling any kind of content.

 

Personally, I can only play a few hours on the weekends and I am mostly into pvp. I have no fun whatsoever in my recruit gear being two shot by augmented WH players. If I could buy the best gear so I can have fun doing warzones a couple of hours a week, I don't see where is the harm.

 

And one more thing, the people calling MMORPGs "work" need to get off their high horses. Playing a lot =\= work. The way I see it, MMO hardcores are often real life casuals.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Pathlight-

[Kalfear]

These games are not meant to be casual but the appeal has gone mainstream. WoW and .

 

Yeah no it wasnt

 

WOW was called at beta and release a MMO on training wheels because of how easy it was

 

While what you say in post is in general correct, you fail to recognize that the wheels fell off with WOW

 

WOW WAS NEVER HARD

NEVER DIFFICULT

NEVER TIME CONSUMING

 

I really wish WOW players would understand this.

Just because you played the game doesnt mean it was hard, difficult, time consuming

IT WASNT

 

WOW is when the "I deserve everything now with no effort" mindset went mainstream and is the game that started the ruination of MMORPG genre!

[Asavar]

How 'bout no?

 

 

Yeah no it wasnt

 

WOW was called at beta and release a MMO on training wheels because of how easy it was

 

While what you say in post is in general correct, you fail to recognize that the wheels fell off with WOW

 

WOW WAS NEVER HARD

NEVER DIFFICULT

NEVER TIME CONSUMING

 

I really wish WOW players would understand this.

Just because you played the game doesnt mean it was hard, difficult, time consuming

IT WASNT

 

WOW is when the "I deserve everything now with no effort" mindset went mainstream and is the game that started the ruination of MMORPG genre!

 

It appears that your jimmies are rustled.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Asavar

[DorkTrooper]

If I could buy the best gear so I can have fun doing warzones a couple of hours a week, I don't see where is the harm.

 

You don't see why that would infuriate pvpers who *have* invested the time and effort (co-ordinating with other people to play in large groups) to get their gear, who already pay a subscription? How would you like it if gear was able to be purchased with real money, but the price was set far too high for your own personal justification?

 

Also, imagine the mess of increased security/hacking problems that real-money gear creates.

[Pathlight-]

If I could buy the best gear so I can have fun doing warzones a couple of hours a week, I don't see where is the harm.

 

You don't see why that would infuriate pvpers who *have* invested the time and effort (co-ordinating with other people to play in large groups) to get their gear, who already pay a subscription? How would you like it if gear was able to be purchased with real money, but the price was set far too high for your own personal justification?

 

Also, imagine the mess of increased security/hacking problems that real-money gear creates.

 

 

The price is what the market sets. If enough people are willing to pay a set price, that's what it will be. If it was too high I would either choose to invest time instead of money or vote with my wallet and play another game. Plus, those who have invested "the time and effort" have no reason not to welcome equally geared people among their midst.

 

As for the hacking/security concerns, I'm not really qualified to talk about it but I would object that billions of dollars of virtual and tangible objects are bought and sold everyday using the net and cybercrime only touches a tiny percentage of that business, so security measures already exist.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Pathlight-

[DorkTrooper]

The price is what the market sets.mif enough people are willing to pay a set price, that's what it will be.

 

Okay. If you want to support the price of the game increasing to PTW gear on top of intial game price plus subscription, you go for it. But it *is* harmful to the game overall, IMO, and I am voicing my opinion as such.

[Kaisernick]

This is why it should never happen

Read it all to see why its just plain bad

However, the auction house in Diablo 3 has stirred huge interest from the so-called gold farmers.

 

These players make a living by building up huge reserves of the virtual currencies used in popular games. They then sell this for real cash in the game, if possible, or on grey markets if there is no in-game auction house.

 

Some have gone to great lengths to cash in. Mr Eikenberry recorded an interview with one farmer who was simultaneously running 100 Diablo accounts and claimed to be making about 60 million game gold (about $90, £58) an hour.

Blizztard tried it and they have opeaned the gate to hell. Edited July 15, 2012 by Kaisernick

[MbaxterBeau]

Because the Hutts haven't started selling gear on QVC....

[amnie]

I'm very surprised by the backlash against this idea as I completely agree with the OP. The way I see it, gear progression at endgame is a way to make sure that players invest time in the game. It would make sense that those who don't have the time but have the money can choose to invest the latter. Players who have a lot of free time (students, unemployed, without kids...) can still obtain the same gear by investing their free time. This would actually make endgame much more balanced as more people would have a shot at tackling any kind of content.

 

Personally, I can only play a few hours on the weekends and I am mostly into pvp. I have no fun whatsoever in my recruit gear being two shot by augmented WH players. If I could buy the best gear so I can have fun doing warzones a couple of hours a week, I don't see where is the harm.

 

And one more thing, the people calling MMORPGs "work" need to get off their high horses. Playing a lot =\= work. The way I see it, MMO hardcores are often real life casuals.

 

so? in short because you want to enjoy sitting around with your 'hard earned real life money weapons' you need to go on insulting people?

 

boy that's good to know.

guess what? NOBODY had fun being 'two shot' by augemented warhero player.

the people who are now running around in the good gear played the exact same amount of time being in crappy gear. actually, most of them probably played in worse gear because the recruit gear has only been out since 1.2 anyway. (and we won't even talk about the time way back when lvl 50s didn't have their own warzones)

 

and if you BUY your gear with real life money, never investig actual play time.. I'll tell you something:

you will .still. suck in PVP. yes. there is a certain amount of gear dependence in pvp - but unlike popular belief at the end of the day you will be crushed to pieces if you don't know how to actually handle your class. the player who have war hero gear are not the ones you need to be actually afraid of. the ones who are in warhero gear running around with the elite warlord title, those are the ones you should fear (in general. of course there are still player who have played god-knows-how-many warzones and still don't know that you better not run in the fire traps in huttball...)

 

on top of that, as someone who is currently unemployed, waiting for university to start again.. I'll tell you something:

 

I should definitely not be sitting infront of the computer all day/night long. my main focus is application writing and .. y'know... working on my education. maybe you should do that aswell... some social studies, for example.

Edited July 15, 2012 by amnie

[Pathlight-]

This is why it should never happen

Read it all to see why its just plain bad

Blizztard tried it and they have opeaned the gate to hell.

 

From the article and the extract you posted, it seems that the issue is with real life currency being converted into ingame currency, therefore allowing said manipulation.

 

If BW were to implement a cash shop, they should completely distinguish RL momey purchases and ingame currency. Want a shiny WH set ? Use your credit card/timecard w/e on EA's server and get a bind on pickup set. Items bought on the cash shop would be bound to your account and not resellable, either to an NPC or to other players. Gold farmers thrive on converting ingame currency to RL currency, if you allow direct purchase of items, you cut out the middleman and put them out of business.

[Tsillah]

This would actually make endgame much more balanced as more people would have a shot at tackling any kind of content.

 

And one more thing, the people calling MMORPGs "work" need to get off their high horses. Playing a lot =\= work. The way I see it, MMO hardcores are often real life casuals.

 

First of all, it's not supposed to be all balanced. A lot of people like to show that they worked for something and when you can just buy it, it simply devaluates anything you can do in game. It's a game about progression. Endgame is about gear progression here. It's what it's for. I find it baffling that you don't see that, but we can have our opinions.

 

However....

 

...that last comment is below the belt. You can't have any evidence for such a claim and I for one play a lot of hours and work 40 hours a week. So I take offence at such unfounded generalisations. Perhaps you are the one that needs to get off his high horse here, because it's very interesting that you accuse others of that and in the next sentence use such a condescending generalisation. Shame on you really.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Tsillah

[Pathlight-]

and if you BUY your gear with real life money, never investig actual play time.. I'll tell you something:

you will .still. suck in PVP. yes. there is a certain amount of gear dependence in pvp - but unlike popular belief at the end of the day you will be crushed to pieces if you don't know how to actually handle your class.

 

this is one more reason for people who have invested time to get their gear to welcome equally geared people. If they are so good that their gear is only marginally part of their success, they should be happy to fight against other WH rather than recruit/BM.

[Pathlight-]

First of all, it's not supposed to be all balanced. A lot of people like to show that they worked for something and when you can just buy it, it simply devaluates anything you can do in game. It's a game about progression. Endgame is about gear progression here. It's what it's for. I find it baffling that you don't see that, but we can have our opinions.

 

However....

 

...that last comment is below the belt. You can't have any evidence for such a claim and I for one play a lot of hours and work 40 hours a week. So I take offence at such unfounded generalisations. Perhaps you are the one that needs to get off his high horse here, because it's very interesting that you accuse others of that and in the next sentence use such a condescending generalisation. Shame on you really.

 

I do agree that this last comment was uncalled for and I apologize if it upset some readers. However, my point leading up to it still stands. Work is a socially productive activity that one does in exchange of a compensation to ensure subsistence and material comfort. Spending hours/days/ months in front of a game is something that one does for one's own personal enjoyment. An MMO is a game, not work. Therefore, if you choose to imvest the time, it is for yourself, not to feel superior to others who don't have this kind of time and you shouldn't be upset if others choose to invest money rather than time.

[Hardwear]

From the article and the extract you posted, it seems that the issue is with real life currency being converted into ingame currency, therefore allowing said manipulation.

 

If BW were to implement a cash shop, they should completely distinguish RL momey purchases and ingame currency. Want a shiny WH set ? Use your credit card/timecard w/e on EA's server and get a bind on pickup set. Items bought on the cash shop would be bound to your account and not resellable, either to an NPC or to other players. Gold farmers thrive on converting ingame currency to RL currency, if you allow direct purchase of items, you cut out the middleman and put them out of business.

 

Yeah Blizzard thought that if they took the "if we can't beat em join em" philosophy on gold farmers by introducing a legitimate real money AH in D3 they could as you say "cut out the middleman and put them out of business".

 

They thought wrong.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Hardwear

[amnie]

this is one more reason for people who have invested time to get their gear to welcome equally geared people. If they are so good that their gear is only marginally part of their success, they should be happy to fight against other WH rather than recruit/BM.

 

see, good pvp player 'welcome' people in recruit gear too, because even if you may not top the dps scoreboards you can still be help for your team. you can still stealth, you can still taunt, you can still stun, you can still use force speed, you can still use knockbacks, you can still use pulls, you can still .. play bait.

 

stop finding excuses and just admit that you - personally - just don't want to grind. (most people don't)

[Pathlight-]

see, good pvp player 'welcome' people in recruit gear too, because even if you may not top the dps scoreboards you can still be help for your team. you can still stealth, you can still taunt, you can still stun, you can still use force speed, you can still use knockbacks, you can still use pulls, you can still .. play bait.

 

stop finding excuses and just admit that you - personally - just don't want to grind. (most people don't)

 

I never said otherwise. As my first post said, I only play a few hours on weekends and I do not want to grind. If BW were to allow like minded players to invest money vs time, they could make an added benefit without unbalancing the game or putting other players at a competitive disadvantage.

[Kaisernick]

From the article and the extract you posted, it seems that the issue is with real life currency being converted into ingame currency, therefore allowing said manipulation.

 

If BW were to implement a cash shop, they should completely distinguish RL momey purchases and ingame currency. Want a shiny WH set ? Use your credit card/timecard w/e on EA's server and get a bind on pickup set. Items bought on the cash shop would be bound to your account and not resellable, either to an NPC or to other players. Gold farmers thrive on converting ingame currency to RL currency, if you allow direct purchase of items, you cut out the middleman and put them out of business.

 

true but i bet they would find a way around that little senario.

 

for me personally i feel it cheapens the game and i am one who hates the grind to get op gear myself but in the end if this is what mmos need to appeal to playes then its a bad game design that needs to br broken by someone soon.

[Hardwear]

Work is a socially productive activity that one does in exchange of a compensation to ensure subsistence and material comfort. Spending hours/days/ months in front of a game is something that one does for one's own personal enjoyment. An MMO is a game, not work.

 

 

I disagree.

 

Anything that requires time, effort or thought is work especially if it's competitive.

 

Don't get confused that because this is a form of entertainment (fun) that any element of work somehow doesn't apply.

Edited July 15, 2012 by Hardwear

[amnie]

I never said otherwise. As my first post said, I only play a few hours on weekends and I do not want to grind. If BW were to allow like minded players to invest money vs time, they could make an added benefit without unbalancing the game or putting other players at a competitive disadvantage.

 

so? find an MMO that caters to you and don't try ruining our fun. and yes, to me that includes not being able to get everything if I'm not a 'hardcore raider/hardcore pvp player'.

 

I like raiding, I like PVP, and yes - I probably spend way more time in-game than I should. I hate doing dailies every day to farm credits like anyone else, I hate losing warzones (ok actually that's a lie. I don't mind losing, I mind losing because of gear AND skill differences when it happens 10 times in a row. however that barely ever happens)... and on top of that I level super slow.

 

I could play a B2W game. there are more than enough still out there. I chose not to. you know why? because I want to make sure that everything I have in game is something I got in game. and I want it to be the same for everybody else. I do .not. want to know the account worth of the people behind the character I play with. I do .not. want to feel superiour - or inferiour - to someone else in a game we .all. play for fun.

 

it's bad enough people yell at me that I'm so slow in leveling/gearing up because I'm more busy just chatting (being social in an MMO seems to be a rare concept these days) or just sitting around enjoying the scenery, throwing glitter at people on the fleet or having a dance-off when someone decides to throw a party bomb somewhere...

 

there are week-ends where I'm online for 4 hours and don't do anything at all 'worthy' in-game. and I like it like that.

 

I do .not. want people to tell me I have to get a certain piece of gear to do a certain run and if I don't have it to just BUY it... with my REAL LIFE money.

how much I actually earn is completely irrelevant in this case. my parents have taught me to value the money's WORTH, which is not ever in relation to how much I actually have. (and as I said I'm a student, so naturally I meet a lot of super rich - and a lot of super poor people, so I know what money can do)

 

TLDR version:

you may .think. it makes no difference, but every single B2P game out there shows otherwise.

Edited July 16, 2012 by amnie

[Ensquire]

They should do away with PvP gear altogether... Grinding to get gear is a joke

[CharleyDanger]

I was able to get a Columi head, chest, belt, and boots..... Today lol. I won a few rolls and played most of the day, but its still pretty quick. If you have the money I would probably pay to have my toon lvled most of the way. Or at least pay to have a company grind WZCs for you. If you have a full Battlemaster set then you can start doing story mode operation. You can only run those once a week, and at 2-3 hours a pop, it would fit in to your play schedule.

 

I understand your strapped for time, but its no different than any other game in existence. It seems unfair that you have to have gear to experience all the content, but is it really any different than any other game? Gear is just a time consumer. Its Biowares (and most MMO developers) way of saying "This game takes 200 hours to complete) All games require time to finish. Do you have to grind gear to complete Skyrim? Nope, but you still need to put in the 200 hours to do everything. Should you be able to just pay to have the time cut down to 100? What about Call of Duty? Should we be able to pay for a 15th prestige emblem? What about Super Mario? Can I just pay to play the last 3 lvls. You think its unfair to grind gear, but its just another forum of time consumption.

 

You say you do not have to make your own laundry detergent, you can just pay for that right? Well why cant I just pay to play in the Super Bowl, or have sex with Brooklyn Decker? Its because you have to earn those things. Lebron James was born with skill, all he had to do was put in the time lol. MMO end game content is just like the above examples except at the avg Joe lvl. The draw to clearing EC HM is that not everyone can do it on some random Wed night. You have to grind BM or Tio, then grind Columi, then Rakata, then you have to clear EC. If you could just pay for Black Hole gear than who would give a ****? Why is a Super Bowl ring impressive? Because you can not buy it.

 

You have little time and have chosen to play the most time consuming type of game... a subscription based MMO. It would be against Biowares interest to let you pay for the gear in one shot. The way they see it the gear costs $15 a month. Maybe try a free to play MMO.

Edited July 16, 2012 by CharleyDanger

[The_Butler]

I wonder if the MMO's such as SW:ToR need to do a better job of educating people as to the time investment that they require to do Ops.

 

Based on my experience there are so many people who don't even try Ops but think that because in some other games Raids require a lot of time invested in them it is the same in SW:ToR.

 

The amount of people in our guild who say they are not "raiders" or have never raided and are put off by it is scary. There seems to be a misunderstanding that raiding is an elitest club or need to dedicate a lot of time and effort to it.

SW:ToR does a great job of making Ops accesible but maybe needs to work harded to change peoples perception and communicate better. The amount of times we've taken new players through EV, even in HM, in under 90minutes and they come out overflowing with new upgrades, have had a laugh and realsied that there is no reason why they'd be shouted and screamed at for being n00bs and then come along whenever they can is great.

 

Perhaps if BW (or MMOs) had a tutorial introducing players to each Op, maybe showing average compeltion time or average stats for completion as well as explaining what loot drops etc. would help show people that you don't need to invest a lot of time to get good gear.

 

MMO's follow a set of rules and patterns and expect people to know what they are. If your new to MMO's and don't know these rules then you are likely to be put of joining in and then ask for "pay to win" solutions.

 

Players can also help here - the amount of times we've had people join the guild and say they wanted to raid but their last guild told them tehir gear wasn't good enough makes me despair as 9/10 when I ask to inspect them they'd have no problems with Ops - other players obviously just only wanted to take well geared people to make it easier!

 

P.s. obviously I would cavaet that if it's an Op where the Raid group or Guild is still learning the fights then it's not going to be a cake walk - but nor should it be!

[oakamp]

Raiding takes all of a couple hours a week. And most people pug EV/KP now. Even HM.

 

 

This isn't EQ1. It doesn't take months to get gear. It takes a few clears of each tier at roughly 2-4 hours a week.

 

if the OP buy gears then SM PUG ops will be a nitemare,

cause those ppl whom buy gears dont have skills and knowledge,

that's why ppl dont PUG endgame raid anymore, at least that's the situation b4 my old server dead.

[Ensquire]

if the OP buy gears then SM PUG ops will be a nitemare,

cause those ppl whom buy gears dont have skills and knowledge,

that's why ppl dont PUG endgame raid anymore, at least that's the situation b4 my old server dead.

 

How many times can you do the same raid before it gets old? I get the nightmare difficulty level is hard but its rehashed content... If they had one raid that was nightmare and only nightmare...

Edited July 16, 2012 by Ensquire