How Much Have You Spent on Cartel Coins?

[CharleyDanger]

It's sad that that makes you proud.

 

I've spent $0 on snowboarding gear. I guess I should be proud of that.

 

The cartel market has very good value for the people who want things (unlocks, etc.) sold on it. There is no shame in spending money on cartel coins. People blow more than $80 on a single night at a bar, which they may not even remember.

 

People who think these cartel packs are a waste of money must have never bought a pack of baseball cards, Pokemon cards, or, more relevantly, WoW TCG cards. The WoW TCG cards have a VERY LOW chance of giving an in-game item, and they cost $4 per pack. These cartel packs are around $2.12-$2.33 each. You don't even end up with boxes full of cards you don't care about.

 

Think about how much a person pays for cable TV in a single month. When I dropped cable, my bill went down $120 per month. I can do whatever I want with that money. I chose to spend it on cartel packs this month. As soon as the reputation cap resets, I'll hit Champion with the contraband faction. I also have millions of credits worth of things I'll be able to sell tomorrow.

 

^ This

 

Almost every time something is said or linked in the GC about a CM item, like clockwork, someone says something like "You are stupid to waste money on the CM" or "EA will never get my money" The backlash from players who do not spend money in the CM is so off putting. I can understand people thinking that the CM is silly and not spending money in it, but vocalizing disdain for people that do spend money clearly comes from insecurities.

 

I do not understand why people spend so much money on diamonds. In my opinion it is just a shiny stone. I do not, however, judge people that do spend money on diamonds. I certainly do not take every opportunity given to put down people that are wearing diamonds. Who am I to say what other people should spend their money on?

 

I could make a bunch of points about how I spend way more money on golf, or at the bar, or trips to sporting events, but why should I? If I have the cash I can spend my money on over sized monster truck tires or over sized stuffed animals. The point is that no one should judge me for it because no one should care. Its like what Jay-Z said "what I eat dont make you ****"

[TomWolp]

I haven't spent anything to buy more cartel coins. However, I think I've spent about 10 million of in game credits to get cartel items. I probably spent about 3 million to get 10 packs, 3 million for pets, mounts, etc. and the rest for various convenience unlocks such as cargo bays, inventory, etc.

[EJedi]

^ This

 

Its like what Jay-Z said "what I eat dont make you ****"

 

That's a pretty good quote.

[BrotherPain]

Nothing outside of subscription.

[Draekos]

Zero. Sitting on about 2.5k points with more due in a couple days. So far I havent felt the need to purchase much from the store. Rocket boots were the only thing I wanted and my free coins easily covered those and a few packs when F2P launched. Edited March 15, 2013 by Draekos

[Pscyon]

Nothing. I support the game with my subscription, that should be enough. Naturally I spend the cartel coins I get monthly on the rare occasion I see something I really really like (Valiant Jedi Armour!), but mostly I get the cartel market items I want off of GTN. I just know the second I spend my coins rather than credits they'll release an awesome armour set the very next week or finally put up discounted inventory/cargo bay unlocks. So I carefully bide my time...

[Allronix]

$80, with a bit of a story behind it

 

You see, I was trying to buy $40 in cartel coins as a Yule present for my brother in law. I botched it, and ended up putting $40 into my own account - no refund. Bummer, but I'll still make use of them. My $40 went into Level 7 ship upgrades and a bunch of Legacy unlocks so my Bounty Hunter will have a much faster ride through the game than my Consular.

 

The second time was a success and bro-in-law got a bunch of goodies for his smuggler to play with.

[SweetNausea]

I can understand people thinking that the CM is silly and not spending money in it, but vocalizing disdain for people that do spend money clearly comes from insecurities.

 

It's my belief that this stems from people being concerned about the direction of the game. They see the CM making money hand over fist and are afraid the devs will go "Hot diggity, let's just keep doing that instead of actually developing the game". CM content already seems to come out lightning fast compared to actual game content. When they see someone drop 120 bucks on coins, they see it as similar to enabling an addict.

 

That's my working theory, anyways.

 

To answer the OP, I've spent $60 on coins.

[CharleyDanger]

It's my belief that this stems from people being concerned about the direction of the game. They see the CM making money hand over fist and are afraid the devs will go "Hot diggity, let's just keep doing that instead of actually developing the game". CM content already seems to come out lightning fast compared to actual game content. When they see someone drop 120 bucks on coins, they see it as similar to enabling an addict.

 

That's my working theory, anyways.

 

To answer the OP, I've spent $60 on coins.

 

If people see it as similar to enabling an addict, then those people have a major case of the hyperbole. I am not a rich man, nor do I spend money for the sake of it, but I am in a situation to where spending $120 on a video game is not a big deal. Am I an addict? Do I wake up in cold sweats screaming "REVAN MASK! I NEED ME SOME REVAN MASK!"

 

Does the CM really take away from core game play? Will the EA make the Devs spend more time on the CM than the new raid or WZ? How much time does it really take to re-skin old gear and mount models and put them up for sale? If not for the extra cash from the CM do you think would be getting new content every months and half? Lets let the expansion come out before we jump right to "the CM ruined my endgame!"

[snowmon]

£0

and no intention of spending any in the future

[Cleet_Xia]

Personally, I havn't spend any additional money on CC besides my monthly sub.

 

But I'm gald their are people who will, because it's been good for the game finanacially. Can't say I understand their willingness to do so.....but glad that they do.

 

And I've been able to pick and choose which of the items from the CC packs I'd like to buy with game credits. It's not really any different to me than if the items had just been added to a vender.

 

Just picked up my SP-RO Power Droid Pet for what I felt was a fair price, and didn't spend any CC to do it.

[Doctoglethorpe]

You're saying you would rather waste time than money? Time IS money.

 

If you aren't enjoying the time spent "grinding" dailies, then why do it when you could just spend a few dollars to get right to the things you enjoy about the game?

 

I guess I just find the sentiment weird because I've played golf and done other activities that cause a WHOLE LOT more than SWTOR for MUCH LESS entertainment time/value.

 

To each his own, I guess.

 

 

I never said I don't enjoy dailies. I do, to an extent. More then work at least. A lot more. Play some music while I'm doin it, chatting with friends, etc. Way better then irl work.

 

You also missed the part where grinding for credits for an hour assures me exactly what i want, where spending real life money only gives me the dim chance of getting what I want.

 

If you like playing a glorified slot machine then go ahead and do that. I'm glad there are people like you because otherwise the GTN resale approach wouldn't be a viable option. But you have to accept that some people, in fact most people, think its absurd.

Edited March 15, 2013 by Doctoglethorpe

[KennethHoover]

Haven't spent a dollar.

 

Pretty cool with that, actually. Sun still comes up in the morning, I love my kids, and my dog likes me.

 

And I still have an extra dollar. Or twenty. Or fifty.

 

[AlaricSevGirl]

Oh so not telling, lol...Guilty, but not telling. All of my characters are dressed in CM armor and some even have more than one set of CM armor. It's way better than the armor in game. Some of my companions also have CM armor on. I have the guns, the speeders, etc. So yes, guilty...how much I have spent, I'll never tell but I will be getting the coin card from Best Buy tomorrow if they have it because I want the pet.

[DarthTHC]

The cartel market has very good value for the people who want things (unlocks, etc.) sold on it. There is no shame in spending money on cartel coins. People blow more than $80 on a single night at a bar, which they may not even remember.

 

They may or may not remember it, but that $80 grants them a chance at physical interaction with another human being. Sitting home and playing this game virtually guarantees that's not going to happen.

[danielearley]

Only used my allocation for a pack last week, which got me a legacy Speeder (don't ask me which one, a speeder is a speeder!) which was perfect as I had just created an new Alt

 

some other stuff I sold on GTN for probably to little.

 

But I have no problem using this but haven't seen anything I really like! I would spend Real Money if it was something I wanted.

[danielearley]

They may or may not remember it, but that $80 grants them a chance at physical interaction with another human being. Sitting home and playing this game virtually guarantees that's not going to happen.

 

I'm getting old now, physical interaction isn't always on my mind, but even if if was I've never paid for it!!!!

[Etheric]

Nothing spent so far and considering i have yet to spend any my sub gets me i doubt i'll need to. Sitting on about 6k.

[UltimateKrucible]

I'm coming up on £80, still no sign of a chair mount D:

 

If you'd given me £80 I've have bought you a chair mount off the GTN. Heck, I'd buy you one for a fiver!

 

 

Which is my humorous way of saying - why not just get one from the GTN?

[Talon_strikes]

Nada.

This.

[Neglience]

Zero, never gonna change

[Jaing]

$0, I don't do gamble boxes and I play the GTN well, so I can get whatever I want with in-game credits.

 

(did use some of my complimentary coins for extra account-wide GTN unlocks and the GTN terminal on my ships, oo, and extra bank space, love the extra bank space)

Edited March 15, 2013 by Jaing

[DarthTHC]

I'm getting old now, physical interaction isn't always on my mind, but even if if was I've never paid for it!!!!

 

The $80 isn't "paying for it"; it's the cost of gas, drinks, etc.

 

And yes, you've definitely paid for it. Just not directly like a business transaction. We always pay for it, one way or another.

[AlienEyeTX]

I've spent $30, I think, on the CM. Bought an outfit for a companion and I've opened a few packs. My monthly stipend usually goes to XP boosts for alts. I prefer buying specific items to packs, but the nicest outfits are in the packs, of course. I've also used the GTN for things that did not drop from my packs.

 

When I do a $10 top-up, I just view it as an entertainment expense. Like going to the movie or buying 1-2 drinks at dinner.

[Zsavooz]

about a $100 mostly on the latest packs, I liked most of the stuff they cam out with.