Let’s Chat – Cartel Market and You: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category Packs

[novasavage]

First of all, thank you for asking for our feedback.

 

Combined, my husband and I spent a couple of hundred dollars a month in addition to our sub on cartel packs before the change. We'd gather around each other's computers for crate unpacking time and cheer, (Okay, I vultured over his shoulder ready to lay claim to any clothes or decorations I wanted after the painfully long cooldown)...but that's lost a lot of charm with only receiving a couple of items, one being a companion gift that I couldn't care less about since they are so easy to acquire and the decoration or armor piece seeming to be just repetitive content.

 

I greatly miss cartel certificates and reputation items. I was hoping to see those added to instead of phased out.

 

At this point, as far as clothes, there's only a few major pieces I really want and I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars to get them. The decoration pieces I want the most, are of course the rarest as well and I'm not sure I feel like gambling on them either.

 

The last crate I opened was pretty much the last straw for me. I had 150 CC left till payday so I bought a bronze crate for 100 CC and got ONE item worth 50 CC that is available for direct purchase on the cartel market. I just wish everything was available for direct purchase on the cartel market so we could all look the way we want, especially since unlock costs have raised.

[KelbornX]

Firstly, I understand that there is some question as to why certain packs, we call them Category packs, don’t have a Bronze, Silver or Gold quality pack type. The answer is that some item categories such as Emotes, Titles and Toys had too few items of each quality type to warrant a separate pack. So we combined them into one pack containing all quality types.

 

221 Weapons, 178 Pets, and 146 Color Crystals would like to disagree with you.

 

That's entirely too many to stuff into ONE pack. At least split them into Bronze and Silver packs.

 

You did split the Mounts into Bronze, Silver, Gold, and there's 233 of them. I don't see why Weapons couldn't be the same, and Pets and Color Crystals be Bronze / Silver.

Edited October 29, 2015 by KelbornX

[Tsillah]

• How do the new Bronze, Silver, and Gold Packs feel? Do you feel they are worth their cost? What suggestions do you have?
  
• What are your thoughts on the new Category packs? Do you enjoy opening them? If so, what do you enjoy most? If not, what do you like least?
  
• Are you more or less likely to purchase packs from the Market and why?
  
• Can you share any experiences or first impressions you’ve had with the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category packs?
  

 

The Bronze Silver and Gold packs I tried for the decorations. I am rather fond of decorating with a personal rating of over 100k. I stopped buying these also. As a decorator I look for specifc items. The new packs seem to be set up for people who want to play the lottery and get lucky to sell decorations at a good price.

 

However, for a decorator who actually uses decorations these packs are unsatisfactory. I am much happier with the new items I can earn in game but also the items that were direct sales in the CM.

 

All in all your new approach has turned me in just one week from someone who spends at least a 100 bucks a month in the CM to someone who lost all interest in buying them. I don't even have to try and stop myself, it really just feels like a balloon that was suddenly and completely deflated.

[Saito_Hiraga]

• How do the new Bronze, Silver, and Gold Packs feel? Do you feel they are worth their cost? What suggestions do you have?
  
• What are your thoughts on the new Category packs? Do you enjoy opening them? If so, what do you enjoy most? If not, what do you like least?
  
• Are you more or less likely to purchase packs from the Market and why?
  
• Can you share any experiences or first impressions you’ve had with the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category packs?
  

 

• They are not worth their cost. Even if you are to get an item of the said rarity you are still not sure of what are you getting, and there are gold rarity items sold at 100'000 credits as there are other items of the same rarity sold at 5'000'000 credits. I'm sure no one actually buys any pack of the Cartel Market for just the excitement of getting a random item; They ALL buy the packs in order to get a certain item or items they want. So if you are trying to get just that item on a list of 100 items you are buying around 100 packs to get just the item you wanted (and you might not get it even after the 100 packs). That is a complete waste of money. If you happen to get some of the milion value items they hell yeah you may actually sell it for some creds yet while you get a 100k or lower value item nobody wants you are losing everything you spent on that pack.
  I would spend less money paying millons of credits to those greedy dudes that sell the items at really stupid prices on GTN. Than spending 10'000CC on packs with the chance of not getting anything that I really wanted.
  Those packs need an urgent drop on their price or a way to re-roll for another item or any other way to make you feel you are not getting any waste from them.
  If I were to price some of those Category packs they would go as follows:
   
  Decorations:
  Gold: - 320CC
  Silver: - 150CC
  Bronze - 80CC
   
  Armor:
  Gold - 920CC
  Silver - 600CC
  Bronze - 220CC
   
  Mounts:
  Gold - 720CC
  Silver - 450CC
  Bronze - 200CC
   
  Why do I think this?: Mainly because the list will be constantly increasing and the chances to get the item you want from those packs will always be lower. At least drop the prices or increase the odds of getting something at least useful for the buyer.
   
  
• As for the other category packs (Toys, titles, dyes, crystals, etc.) I never buy any of those. Yet I think they are accurately priced. They don't really need a change (In my opinion).
   
  
• Less likely; Because as I stated before the prices are not worth the insignificant odds of getting what you want or at least anything that would let you feel satisfied with your purchase.
   
  
• My first impresion was that they were an awsome idea, that they may work as a way to get the items you missed or those you always wanted from the packs, yet when I started counting and calculating the odds of getting something worth the purchase from them; I decided not to risk my coins on them at least till they make me feel more sure that I'm not just going to regrect transfering the pack to inventory from unclaimed items instead of returning for full refund.
  

Edited October 29, 2015 by Saito_Hiraga

[roachfex]

The range of possible items is too large. Getting a chance to get something I've likely already got in a previous cartel pack = not worth it.

 

New players may see worth in these, but IMO established players are likely not to.

[Saito_Hiraga]

The range of possible items is too large. Getting a chance to get something I've likely already got in a previous cartel pack = not worth it.

 

New players may see worth in these, but IMO established players are likely not to.

 

Exactly! Its large and increasing with each new pack. Please devs, we beg you. do something with those packs. I can only suggest you to add a way to reroll its contents once in case you didn't liked the first item you draw. at least that way you get a second chance to get something more useful. That or just considerably drop the prices.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

How these packs and their contents affect the GTN market should have zero bearing on how they are marketed, priced, and sold by BWEA. As it always does, the GTN will adjust based on supply, demand, inflation, and market clearing resets. I see the lowering of the price as more of a win for BWEA as it ultimately puts more cash in their pockets due to higher overall pack sales from casual buyers.

 

You can't know that are are guessing as much as I do. I personally believe far more people buy packs/crates to resell them for value than open them for items for themselves.

 

As I said with my initial post though only BW know those metrics and should act accordingly.

 

If all of a sudden there were 100K rancor's in the game ( and thus everything else was dirt cheap ) due to over supply as the gold mount packs dropped to 200K each I would personally never buy a pack again and probably quit the game since making credits via selling stuff is a thing I really enjoy.

 

Once you make everything affordable via dailies etc. ... then there is no fun to be had or decent profit to be made via reselling packs and/or items from them.

 

 

Why do nickel slots make more money than dollar slots at a casino?... perceived value that draws in a higher number of players with smaller budgets.

 

Can't compare that because you can't resell the result for a markup as you can with CM - money is money.

 

As most of the comments in this thread point out, players just don't see the perceived value with the current prices versus the wild variability of the category packs. I think BWEA are hamstringing themselves with current prices. With each pack release, sell single item gambling boxes for cheap (99-199cc), but sell the full unlocked pack for $49 single character or $69 account. Not only will you end up with a ton of sales from players that will jump at the chance for guaranteed product, but a low price point on gambling packs entices casual spenders to take a chance at random product. They'll purchase packs in hopes they can beat the bank and complete their collection before they reach the $49 that should have been spent on buying the contents of the pack outright.

 

Again you assume that people want the items for themselves and not to resell. Once we go down your path we effectively remove or sseverly limit "rarity" which drives pricing on the GTN. There is no direct to buy credits in this game so CM packs are the closest way to do so - be they sold as is or opened for a profit.

 

Also it gives players a chance to play with the market to get ahead money wise who may not have time to constantly do dailies etc. or afford spending real money on packs. It's a self sustaining economy and it works well.

 

So sure you might see less people buying packs now for themselves to open but you may be seeing more people buying them to resell on the GTN. Again only Bioware can tell this and I personally ask they check this before making any drastic decisions because you might end up diriving away the bigger end of your market ( the one that has 100's ofp ages of packs listed on the GTN - check that sometimes and work out how much was spent solely to convert money to credits ).

[MeNaCe-NZ]

The Gold\silver packs seem lackluster for the price they are. I bought a gold pack, for 1200 cartel coins and was very disappointed. However, myself and 4 other friends have dumped over 30 bucks each into cartel coins and have had a TON of fun opening bronze armor packs and crystal boxes on mumble together and then comparing what we get. The fun part of those things is the "gambling" feeling you get. The bronze and crystal packs are cheap enough to the point where WHEN you get something terrible (because lets be honest....) it doesn't feel to bad and you can even laugh it off because hey, it was only 100\200 coins. However, if you're dropping 1200, which is TWELVE crystal packs or SIX bronze packs and you get a terrible looking armor set... it doesn't feel fun or fulfilling.

 

I would argue then thei ssue might be with what they have termed gold rarity and that may need reviewing.

 

If you spend 1200 coins and get an armour set that sells for 100K then yes there is an issue there and that should be brought up here naming said armours etc. that are clearly in the wrong category to avoid the issue.

 

Of course if you get something ugly and it sells for 4 million ( I just sold some primeval stalker thing that looked ugle as heck but got me 4 mill for example ) then no issue - sell it and buy 2 packs or in it's place or 40 crystal packs. *shrug*.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

221 Weapons, 178 Pets, and 146 Color Crystals would like to disagree with you.

 

That's entirely too many to stuff into ONE pack. At least split them into Bronze and Silver packs.

 

You did split the Mounts into Bronze, Silver, Gold, and there's 233 of them. I don't see why Weapons couldn't be the same, and Pets and Color Crystals be Bronze / Silver.

 

Very good point, well spotted.

[Slurmez]

Theres a saturation point where people get bored of relentless reams of bracers and belts and just give up, after that your income from your cash grab drops off, you must have reached it which is why you tried to "rebrand" your packs but the problem is you are not focused on what the customer wants and whats desirable, you are fixated on how much you can pull out of them which will end up hurting you in the long run.

[Icykill_]

Hi everyone,

 

I’m Toby McCall, a designer on Star Wars: The Old Republic and a member of the Cartel Market Design Team. I’ve asked community to set up this thread so we can discuss the changes that the 4.0 expansion brings to the Cartel Market. My hope for this post is to create a place where we can answer some of your questions and clear up any confusion surrounding the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category Packs in Fallen Empire. We would like to focus this thread specifically around the new Armor, Mount, Decoration, and other Category packs (Crystals, Dyes, Weapons, etc), all of which have been packaged into Bronze, Silver, and Gold varieties. If you have thoughts on the new Underworld Alliance pack design, I invite you to join the discussion in a separate thread, found here.

 

• How do the new Bronze, Silver, and Gold Packs feel? Do you feel they are worth their cost? What suggestions do you have?
  
• What are your thoughts on the new Category packs? Do you enjoy opening them? If so, what do you enjoy most? If not, what do you like least?
  
• Are you more or less likely to purchase packs from the Market and why?
  
• Can you share any experiences or first impressions you’ve had with the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category packs?
  

As always, let’s try to keep the posts constructive and on point. If you haven’t had a chance to read the blog post about the 4.0 changes to the Cartel Market, you can find that here.

 

The 24 pack hyper crates are now the biggest waste of money... You get nothing good in them... LoL, Companion gifts... I already have way too many from crew skills... I certainly don't want to pay real money for them... Get rid of companion gifts in the crates and give us credit bonuses or something...

Plus the quality of stuff that drops is rubbish to say the least... All you have to do is go to the GTN to see all the crap that drops so much... You can tell from the prices that there is way too much, that no one wants it and is so easy to get... Why would I spend money to buy crates when I can buy a whole set of that junk with 20000 credits...

The drop rate is terrible... If you expect people to buy hyper crates without guaranteeing atleast 1-3 gold quality drops, then you must be dreaming... I for one will not be buying anymore cartel coins... That's about $50-100 a month you won't get from me...

Seeing as how the cartel market is your cash cow... I would think you wouldn't want to piss off your customers... The cows going dry or giving sower milk... You need to rethink this adventure or you'll start losing money

 

Edit: and Toby if you go in and look at my cartel coin purchases you'll see I havent purchased any since you announced the changes... I was waiting to see before buying my normal $100 worth... If you fix the crates I will start buying again... But not if they stay in their current state

Edited October 29, 2015 by Icykill_

[drcancerman]

The packs doesn't seem to be that valuable. I opened a silver pack and got a Bronze item. That is, the TION SY-3 is on the silver pack whilst all the other version, which are identical are on Bronze. I also feel cheated due to not knowing the chances and what items are present without going through the "collections" menu. The TION's also lack proper sound. If there is one is barely audible.

 

I've even requested a refund, and I'm still waiting for a reply.

 

What makes this even more absurd, is because you can buy the expansions and the nonrecurring subscription on local currency and payment methods, but everything else requiring International credit cards. Which means, it becomes even more expensive for me to get those CC.

 

I also think that having to pay extra for account wide unlock for something we bought on Cartel Market a bit absurd. I wish I could buy the items I wanted directly from the market, but don't take the packs away, make them very cheap, with a chance to roll out a good item. That way, if anyone wants to try their luck, on a cheap pack can still do it, and those who want to just spend the CC directly on an item can do it too.

Edited October 29, 2015 by drcancerman

[Tatanka]

As I said with my initial post though only BW know those metrics and should act accordingly.

This is the one thing we can both agree on.

 

So sure you might see less people buying packs now for themselves to open but you may be seeing more people buying them to resell on the GTN. Again only Bioware can tell this and I personally ask they check this before making any drastic decisions because you might end up diriving away the bigger end of your market ( the one that has 100's ofp ages of packs listed on the GTN - check that sometimes and work out how much was spent solely to convert money to credits ).

Hundreds of pages of packs being resold? Based on our personal experiences, I think this may be where you and I are having a disconnect regarding resellers. I've never seen anywhere near that many pages of packs on the GTN on my servers. Maybe 20 pages on a weekend evening with the last couple of pages always being those folks that think they can sell single packs for 15-20mil.

 

I think we may have strayed beyond the parameters of Toby's questions, so I will bow out here with a better understanding of the reseller side of the pack equation.

 

I applaud Toby for opening this thread for feedback. Great conversations going on here.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

The 24 pack hyper crates are now the biggest waste of money... You get nothing good in them... LoL, Companion gifts... I already have way too many from crew skills... I certainly don't want to pay real money for them... Get rid of companion gifts in the crates and give us credit bonuses or something...

Plus the quality of stuff that drops is rubbish to say the least... All you have to do is go to the GTN to see all the crap that drops so much... You can tell from the prices that there is way too much, that no one wants it and is so easy to get... Why would I spend money to buy crates when I can buy a whole set of that junk with 20000 credits...

The drop rate is terrible... If you expect people to buy hyper crates without guaranteeing atleast 1-3 gold quality drops, then you must be dreaming... I for one will not be buying anymore cartel coins... That's about $50-100 a month you won't get from me...

Seeing as how the cartel market is your cash cow... I would think you wouldn't want to piss off your customers... The cows going dry or giving sower milk... You need to rethink this adventure or you'll start losing money

 

Edit: and Toby if you go in and look at my cartel coin purchases you'll see I havent purchased any since you announced the changes... I was waiting to see before buying my normal $100 worth... If you fix the crates I will start buying again... But not if they stay in their current state

 

This thread is more about the gold etc. packs than the other thread which is about the hypercrates etc. but I'm sure he'll get the jist of your post anyway.

[Fordbird]

You can't know that are are guessing as much as I do. I personally believe far more people buy packs/crates to resell them for value than open them for items for themselves.

 

As I said with my initial post though only BW know those metrics and should act accordingly.

If all of a sudden there were 100K rancor's in the game ( and thus everything else was dirt cheap ) due to over supply as the gold mount packs dropped to 200K each I would personally never buy a pack again and probably quit the game since making credits via selling stuff is a thing I really enjoy.

 

Once you make everything affordable via dailies etc. ... then there is no fun to be had or decent profit to be made via reselling packs and/or items from them.

 

 

 

 

Can't compare that because you can't resell the result for a markup as you can with CM - money is money.

 

 

 

Again you assume that people want the items for themselves and not to resell. Once we go down your path we effectively remove or sseverly limit "rarity" which drives pricing on the GTN. There is no direct to buy credits in this game so CM packs are the closest way to do so - be they sold as is or opened for a profit.

 

Also it gives players a chance to play with the market to get ahead money wise who may not have time to constantly do dailies etc. or afford spending real money on packs. It's a self sustaining economy and it works well.

 

So sure you might see less people buying packs now for themselves to open but you may be seeing more people buying them to resell on the GTN. Again only Bioware can tell this and I personally ask they check this before making any drastic decisions because you might end up diriving away the bigger end of your market ( the one that has 100's ofp ages of packs listed on the GTN - check that sometimes and work out how much was spent solely to convert money to credits ).

 

I think you may be missing a very solid point many have been trying to make here. Many of us do not think these packs are a good deal. This is because of the junky items they contain. Putting the unopened packs on the gtn is not going to increase the aforementioned packs and their junky items any more appealing unless they're priced ridiculously low.

[Argonloris]

It was mentioned that a few categories were not split due to the low number of items that were available in that category. On that note we may want to look at increasing the separation in some areas. It was mentioned that armor, weapons and color crystals have an over abundance of items which makes packs that contain all the gold level armor in 6 rounds of cartel packs still a bit overwhelming. Maybe splitting that in half or thirds might ease some of the tension of the randomness.

 

I know the lottery system isn't ever going away. Talking to the various Devs I've met at the cantina events about the system has made that clear. And they are right the system is a bit better in terms of revenue for the game when I look at the long view. The problem is that while some randomness is good if to much variance is crammed in players will lose hope that a big payout is waiting at the end of the mini-lottery.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

I think you may be missing a very solid point many have been trying to make here. Many of us do not think these packs are a good deal. This is because of the junky items they contain. Putting the unopened packs on the gtn is not going to increase the aforementioned packs and their junky items any more appealing unless they're priced ridiculously low.

 

I think you're in the wrong thread because the junk comes from the hypercrate whatever packs which I have no interest in any longer since these category and gold etc. packs came along which is why I'm posting here.

 

Yes you could expect junk from category packs but the price dictates that imo ( compared to say 1 old cartel pack ) as would the bronze packs. Silver+ you should be getting good items.

 

I agree we need a list of what's in what and I agree Bioware need to be proactive ( to a degree ) in spotting things that just shouldn't be in gold/silver due to low popularity and/or being highly common i.e. fix the categorizing bugs quickly because it costs people money.

 

I think one thing I noted straight away was ceremonial mystic lower armour crate was silver or bronze but the contents there in were gold when they came out. Either way all out of it should be bronze because it's not rare at all and certainly not popular as a result. However the armour set ( gold ) is certainly a gold set because the rest of the set is very popular, very rare and sells for really good credits.

[MeNaCe-NZ]

It was mentioned that a few categories were not split due to the low number of items that were available in that category. On that note we may want to look at increasing the separation in some areas. It was mentioned that armor, weapons and color crystals have an over abundance of items which makes packs that contain all the gold level armor in 6 rounds of cartel packs still a bit overwhelming. Maybe splitting that in half or thirds might ease some of the tension of the randomness.

 

I know the lottery system isn't ever going away. Talking to the various Devs I've met at the cantina events about the system has made that clear. And they are right the system is a bit better in terms of revenue for the game when I look at the long view. The problem is that while some randomness is good if to much variance is crammed in players will lose hope that a big payout is waiting at the end of the mini-lottery.

 

I remember wanting just 1 kickass mount from an entire hypercrate and I'd often have to buy 2 and sometimes still not get it.

 

Now I can buy nearly 4 gold mount packs for the same price and so far I've been guaranteed at least 2 kick *** mounts.

 

The old adage applies though as it has since packs came long and that is if you are after A specific item you are better off buying it from the GTN. You can easily use your cartel coins to sell packs/items to turn into credits to do so and be guaranteed at the drop you want.

 

I certainly wouldn't start buying up gold mount packs hoping for a dathomir rancor because odds are that's going to get very expensive very fast but at least now I am getting really awesome mounts when I miss out on that that I can sell or keep also.

 

Also ideally having these packs is going to increase the supply of ultra rares on the GTN and thus start dropping the pricing of them.

 

I had predicted the days of 10 million mounts etc. would be gone once these packs were out for awhile but that's before I took into consideration the inflation from the ease we can make credits now and the lack of money sinks to counter act them. Plus many other changes that will have people saving their pennies for vanity CM gear ( no needing to buy mods, companion gear, mats for conquest etc. ) so those are factors that could counteract the increased supply and push prices up.

[Txangki]

How do the new Bronze, Silver, and Gold Packs feel? Do you feel they are worth their cost? What suggestions do you have?

I feel that the armour packs containing a whole, completed armour set adds to its value because it unlocks in the collections section without further collecting required.

There are some items labelled as bronze that I find more desirable than items labelled as gold and I can't be alone in this. If I'm going to pay more, I want to increase the chance of getting something I like and lessen/eliminate the chance of something I don't like. As it stands, buying a gold pack over a silver or bronze feels like one step forward and one step back in improving my chances of something I want, because my preferences don't align with the G/S/B labelling.

What are your thoughts on the new Category packs? Do you enjoy opening them? If so, what do you enjoy most? If not, what do you like least?

It feels like slightly less of a lottery. Funds that would otherwise have been spent on a hypercrate can instead be spent on numerous category packs which means I'm exercising more control over the proportions of different types of goodies I'm getting.

I miss the hypercrate clutter. Companion gifts, reputation items and jawa junk are the bubble wrap of the cartel market. Why did you remove the bubble wrap, Toby McCall? Why?

Are you more or less likely to purchase packs from the Market and why?

Compared to category packs, the alliance packs and hypercrates feel like they have a much higher random element. I don't see myself buying those, but buying category packs instead.

Can you share any experiences or first impressions you’ve had with the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Category packs?

I bought a couple of gold armour packs. I opened them. The satisfying 'thump' noise that comes with the pack opening animation happened only twice, compared to the several times that come with a hypercrate purchase. It felt quiet, like opening Christmas presents alone in a dark room instead of by a warm fire with friends and family. There was no bubble wrap popping experience of consuming the clutter of rep and companion gifts to make inventory space. My companion Khem just stared at me in sullen silence, no Gree Nanite paste for him to pour into his bubble bath or whatever he does with it as I looked up the armour I'd just gotten on the GTN to see what it was worth and preview it.

Overall I would say I was more satisfied with the purchase compared to what I'd typically expect to get from a hypercrate, but less satisfied with the unboxing experience.

[Jafnahar]

The new category packs are great overall, with a few standout issues that are well covered here already - slightly high cost on the Gold Armor/Deco being the main one.

 

I really want to add my voice on this one issue though - please... please... remove the items that can be bought directly. Nothing quite like buying a 250cc Silver Deco pack to gamble on a Rakata Palm, Revanite Chandelier or what have you, and pulling a Dejarik Table that you could have bought straight up for 80cc. That's not gambling, that's a rip off.

[Noyjitat]

Decoration drops from main pakcs aren't random enough and cybernetic gear drops way too frequently in all packs. Put that garbage in it's own pack or something called the cybernetic armor pack. Decoration packs are priced way too high,;especially gold unless you intend to add more than one item in each of those packs. You must realize that 10$ is a little over the top for a single item.

 

I'd also like to see the timer removed from buying packs, opening crates, etc so if we get junk we don't like we're able to immediately sell it on the gtn rather than hold onto it in our bays for 36 hours.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Noyjitat

[Voemel]

I have posted regarding the Cartel Market changes in other older threads, but I will add my thoughts here also.

 

I am a frequent cartel coin purchaser. I buy over $100 of Cartel Coins per month. I buy 2 to 3 Hypercrates per release. I also spend Cartel Coins randomly each month on exclusive weapons and armor sets. I will also pay to unlock each of those if I really like them. So, I don't think of myself as a "whale", but I believe I spend more than the average. All this is in addition to my 6 month recurring subscription.

 

With the launch of 4.0, I ended up buying 2 hypercrates, the Thexan armor set, and one Gold Armor crate.

 

With the Thexan Armor set, I was EXTREMELY happy. I saw an armor set I liked, went to the Cartel Market and purchased it. Just incredible! Can you believe it? I saw an item and was able to buy just that item! And afterwards, I was a happy customer.

 

As far as the 2 Hypercrates go, I didn't get a single piece of Sith Recluse gear, nor an Akk Dogg. As a matter of fact, I only received 2 gold armor items combined. 1 Zildrog Upper and 1 Zildrog lower. And a Womp Rat mount. Thats it for Gold items. I was underwhelmed. All you have to do is read the thread on the Alliance Pacts and I share the same complaints as the others who filled page after page.

 

With the Gold Armor crate, I received the Humble Hero set. WHAT!?!?!?!?! If i wanted that set I would have purchased it directly from the cartel market for 1200 CC. I thought for my 1200 CC with the Gold Armor crate I was buying a chance to get an armor set from the Cartel Packs! HORRIBLE! I will never again purchase any tiered crate. Fool me once, as they say.

 

THE BEST SOLUTION

What I would love to see happen is the Collections page turn into a method of Direct Purchase. Open up the Collections tab, find an item you like, AND PURCHASE IT! Crazy concept, to be sure. Bioware could continue selling dyes, emotes, pets, etc. with lottery boxes while making money on direct sales.

 

ANOTHER SOLUTION

If Bioware insist on utilizing the gambling box system to such an extreme, they should consider a more staged approach to the Gold, Silver, Bronze system. I would prefer to see each Shipment have Gold, Silver, Bronze packs available.

 

After doing some research on the prices of items on the GTN, I found that even with my limited playing time, I would be much better off moving forward with only purchasing these items on the GTN. I could have bought with a bit more than 1 million credits one of each of the items I received from the Hypercrates. Unless the model is changed, that is exactly what I will be doing with the next pack release.

[Exiled-Phoenix]

I'm still never going to buy packs again, did it once, got nothing good, never again...

 

If i cant be sure of what i am getting, i am not buying it with 'real money'.

[TX_Angel]

Thank you all for your responses. This is exactly the kind of dialogue I hoped for. Let me try to reiterate some of the issues you’re bringing up.

 

This thread has been nicely free of arguments, likely because we're all on the same page.

 

I don't think very many people are happy with the RNG system. My simple suggestion...

 

Put up EVERYTHING for sale directly, but at various prices. Put really rare, in demand stuff like Satele's armor for 5,500 credits in direct sale.

 

However, keep the RNG packs, the whole idea of RNG is it should let you have a chance to get rare stuff for less. But for those who just won't play the RNG game, give them a direct sale price.

[DrakerNoir]

My two cents:

 

I've bought a few Gold Armor packs and my overall experience has been negative. I don't believe that items available for direct purchase should be included in the gold packs since they're not actually rare. That's really the biggest problem that I have with the Gold Armor packs, spending 1200cc to get something that I could've just bought direct. That also means that the sets available for direct buy generally have a low resale value on the gtn. For that reason I think that I won't be getting any more of them until/if that is addressed. Also 1200cc is a lot for one pack regardless of what it offers.

 

The general rise of prices to unlock collections items also leaves a bitter taste in my mouth since there's so much to unlock.

 

That said, I have thoroughly enjoyed opening the crystal, emote, and title packs since they're much cheaper and generally yield funner results.

Edited October 31, 2015 by DrakerNoir