Cartel Reputation Packs

[josephxp]

So i know many just want to get their hands on cartel market reputation to make out for a legacy title they give or something they have on the vendor at the bazaar. So with many older packs not being permanently up why not have a Grand Reputation Pack much like the title pack, starfighter etc.

 

Maybe each pack costs 50cc drops a random green/blue/purple reputation item (bind on pick up though) so people can use to max out reputation. Though each reputation vendor has jawa scrap that you can trade that specific rep item in for, 5 green scrap for 1 green rep, 3 blue for 1 blue rep, 1 purple scrap for 1 purple rep, so that if people get a reputation they already have maxed out they can trade it in for scrap as a consolation. I know i would love this idea so they can get reputation they need for titles etc.

 

PS: maybe have then have a 1 in 100 chance to drop a cartel market certificate.

[ZanyaCross]

I second this.

[Rolodome]

I like this idea.

[therecanonlybeon]

imo specific cartel pack reputation is bad concept and a lot people are missing out on this. there should be one cartel reputation, even with higher amounts to unlock new lvls, with rep drop chance from every pack instead so many to choose from

[Xina_LA]

I spent $50 on cartel packs that all offered reputation items for the same faction.

I used all the reputation items that dropped and barely made it to Friend.

 

That's totally ridiculous. Those items really ought to drop from every pack.

The only random part should be if they're a small, medium, or large reputation gain.

$50 spend in the Cartel Market ought to buy a very solid Legend reputation.

 

If the drop rate in existing packs can't be increased, we certainly need reputation packs.

 

Just my two credits worth.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Xina_LA

[Theeko]

Seems like a bad idea to have individual rep packs seeing how much people have already spent into the rng system of it. I feel like whoever has the need to make things alot easier are just trying to pull bait and switches so they wouldn't have to spend as much, just never see this happening at all

[Xina_LA]

Seems like a bad idea to have individual rep packs seeing how much people have already spent into the rng system of it. I feel like whoever has the need to make things alot easier are just trying to pull bait and switches so they wouldn't have to spend as much, just never see this happening at all

Isn't $50 enough? Didn't I work hard enough for it?

 

I can't help but sigh every time I read a post that says something along the lines of, "It was hard for us, so it shouldn't be any easier for you." Just because one person had a miserable time doesn't mean things should never improve. That's very uncharitable and even spiteful. The game designers should learn from the past and make things better than they were before.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Xina_LA

[Theeko]

Isn't $50 enough? Didn't I work hard enough for it?

 

I can't help but sigh every time I read a post that says something along the lines of, "It was hard for us, so it shouldn't be any easier for you." Just because one person had a miserable time doesn't mean things should never improve. That's very uncharitable and even spiteful. The game designers should learn from the past and make things better than they were before.

 

I've spent upwards of about 1,000$ since the beginning of the game on Swtor, but hardly recently cause of how bad the Rng is. Get back to me when you talk to someone that's spent over 10,000$ on the game and see what they say about this first.

[Transcendent]

I've spent upwards of about 1,000$ since the beginning of the game on Swtor, but hardly recently cause of how bad the Rng is. Get back to me when you talk to someone that's spent over 10,000$ on the game and see what they say about this first.

 

If memory serves me well (it does ) it usually took between 4-6 Hypercrates of any particular shipment to max out the reputation to gain access to vendors / legacy titles. However, when you factor in that we also gained the gear / gazillions of xp boosts (usually of the space variety ), companions gifts and Cartel Certificates etc etc etc etc, we didn't do too badly out of those shipments. Even better, prior to 4.0 we didn't have to contend with Grand Chance Cubes added to that mix.

 

So, something like ~$160US to ~$240US per shipment to max out reputation, assuming you only bought those crates with CC.

 

While your point is valid, and I completely respect your stance on this, I do however disagree with limiting other players being able to get those same titles I have access to. Sure I've got them (maxed rep on everything with rep), I don't however think other players who may not have been here shouldn't have that chance to gain those titles or gain access to the reputation vendors.

 

BioWare could monetise this quite easily, and in a way that both new and old players benefit.

 

Release reputation packs, containing the following;

 

- 5 items of reputation (random shipments and quality)

- 1 Cartel Market Certificate.

 

On the subject of the exchanging reputation for jawa scrap, that isn't something I agree with. Primarily because these packs are not the only source of reputation (Contraband Slot Machines also provide reputation tokens). Vendor the reputation token if not required, we had to.

 

Charge between 100-150CC per reputation pack.

 

I'd buy them at that price purely for Cartel Market Certificates.

Edited September 22, 2016 by Transcendent

[TheRandomno]

They could make more slot machines...

[Ratajack]

If memory serves me well (it does ) it usually took between 4-6 Hypercrates of any particular shipment to max out the reputation to gain access to vendors / legacy titles. However, when you factor in that we also gained the gear / gazillions of xp boosts (usually of the space variety ), companions gifts and Cartel Certificates etc etc etc etc, we didn't do too badly out of those shipments. Even better, prior to 4.0 we didn't have to contend with Grand Chance Cubes added to that mix.

 

So, something like ~$160US to ~$240US per shipment to max out reputation, assuming you only bought those crates with CC.

 

While your point is valid, and I completely respect your stance on this, I do however disagree with limiting other players being able to get those same titles I have access to. Sure I've got them (maxed rep on everything with rep), I don't however think other players who may not have been here shouldn't have that chance to gain those titles or gain access to the reputation vendors.

 

BioWare could monetise this quite easily, and in a way that both new and old players benefit.

 

Release reputation packs, containing the following;

 

- 5 items of reputation (random shipments and quality)

- 1 Cartel Market Certificate.

 

On the subject of the exchanging reputation for jawa scrap, that isn't something I agree with. Primarily because these packs are not the only source of reputation (Contraband Slot Machines also provide reputation tokens). Vendor the reputation token if not required, we had to.

 

Charge between 100-150CC per reputation pack.

 

I'd buy them at that price purely for Cartel Market Certificates.

 

 

Considering the drop rate was about 1 in 10 packs, IIRC, your suggested price of 100-150 CC's for FIVE rep items AND a cartel certificate is MILES AWAY from anything RESEMBLING reasonable.

 

On AVERAGE, it would cost about 3500 CC's to get one cartel certificate, if I remember the original pack prices correctly as being around 350 CC's. Each person's individual results would vary of course, and granted that if a pack did not contain a certificate, it ha a rep item, IIRC.

 

Let's hypothetically say that for every ten packs purchased, you got ONE certificate and 9 rep items of varying quality. Even at the lower pack prices now, that is still far more than 100-150 CC's for FIVE rep items and a certificate.

[josephxp]

If memory serves me well (it does ) it usually took between 4-6 Hypercrates of any particular shipment to max out the reputation to gain access to vendors / legacy titles. However, when you factor in that we also gained the gear / gazillions of xp boosts (usually of the space variety ), companions gifts and Cartel Certificates etc etc etc etc, we didn't do too badly out of those shipments. Even better, prior to 4.0 we didn't have to contend with Grand Chance Cubes added to that mix.

 

So, something like ~$160US to ~$240US per shipment to max out reputation, assuming you only bought those crates with CC.

 

While your point is valid, and I completely respect your stance on this, I do however disagree with limiting other players being able to get those same titles I have access to. Sure I've got them (maxed rep on everything with rep), I don't however think other players who may not have been here shouldn't have that chance to gain those titles or gain access to the reputation vendors.

 

BioWare could monetise this quite easily, and in a way that both new and old players benefit.

 

Release reputation packs, containing the following;

 

- 5 items of reputation (random shipments and quality)

- 1 Cartel Market Certificate.

 

On the subject of the exchanging reputation for jawa scrap, that isn't something I agree with. Primarily because these packs are not the only source of reputation (Contraband Slot Machines also provide reputation tokens). Vendor the reputation token if not required, we had to.

 

Charge between 100-150CC per reputation pack.

 

I'd buy them at that price purely for Cartel Market Certificates.

 

That would be nice with the cert drop and the 5, i mean ya more slot machines but then there a pain to get so if you need one you either have to find a public SH with it (Which mine does so if you are on the Ebon Hawk and need the contraband slot machine reputation look for Tachyonx's Yavin 4 SH i have one there next to the vendor for the coins) But i just feel its something that needs to be addressed.

 

Yes others will get the reputation legacy titles but its not like they are gone forever, people still get them every now and then, so the point is the packs would drop reputation only, so those who did spend a lot on the hypercrates dont loose out because they sold the contents of them, this pack only drops the reputation not items from those packs which made you a bunch of credits off the GTN just wanted those to keep that in mind as well.

[Theeko]

But the thing is the rep was part of the contents of the CM packs, so there's no reason for them to separate the two at all.

[Transcendent]

But the thing is the rep was part of the contents of the CM packs, so there's no reason for them to separate the two at all.

 

The alternative scenario is they keep all of the packs on the GTN, much like an online shop would continually sell x type of item. Instead of having an embargo date which then inflates the price of items due to exceptional rarity.

 

Wouldn't imagine it would go down too well with those who buy the packs and resell the rare items at a later date when they become rare though. Hence why I suggested seperating out the reputation / certs only, while making the reputation items RNG on the shipment and quality, so in effect players who do want specific reputation would still have to spend a fair amount to max it all out.

 

your suggested price of 100-150 CC's for FIVE rep items AND a cartel certificate is MILES AWAY from anything RESEMBLING reasonable.

 

Look at it from a different perspective, the hook is the reputation items to max out reputation. That is going to take a fair while to do (weekly limits still apply). While players are taking ages due to RNG to max out some of those reputations they're gaining Cartel Certificates to use on the vendors.

 

Those vendors no longer sell items that unlock in collections afaik (unlike how they have for us prior to 4.0) so those Certs gained have a more limited use than they have had for us previously. Once those Cartel Certificates have been used up, the only source is the packs on embargo or by giving BioWare more money in exchange for Cartel Certificates. Those packs then become self sustaining once a player has maxed out reputation.

 

It also resolves the issue of Cartel Certificates no longer being available unless you buy packs that are on embargo that players may or may not have completed collections on, so hold little pull to purchase now. It also means they don't have to go down the road of creating more slot machines purely as a form of making reputation available (which possibly wouldn't go down too well with some players)

 

In essence by creating the suggested packs, BioWare gain another revenue stream from the Cartel Market that they are not currently tapping. Equally said, the cost of an armour set using those Cartel Certs (aside from the two that only require 3 certs + credits) works roughly to 1050CC upwards to 1500CC, the cost of the weapons works out roughly the same as the ~500CC using this method to gain weapons from the vendors (~3 certs each). The price of the packs could be tinkered with to around 200CC each, as long as it equates to roughly what the price for items is already set at on the CM for individual items of equivalent type. Anymore than 200CC and it then becomes imbalanced (you may not have factored that part into your line of thought).

 

It's a suggestion, that's all, one that covers more than just one type of player. If you have a better one, lets hear it, instead of focusing on the negative, give us a brilliant idea!

Edited September 23, 2016 by Transcendent

[Ratajack]

The alternative scenario is they keep all of the packs on the GTN, much like an online shop would continually sell x type of item. Instead of having an embargo date which then inflates the price of items due to exceptional rarity.

 

Wouldn't imagine it would go down too well with those who buy the packs and resell the rare items at a later date when they become rare though. Hence why I suggested seperating out the reputation / certs only, while making the reputation items RNG on the shipment and quality, so in effect players who do want specific reputation would still have to spend a fair amount to max it all out.

 

 

 

Look at it from a different perspective, the hook is the reputation items to max out reputation. That is going to take a fair while to do (weekly limits still apply). While players are taking ages due to RNG to max out some of those reputations they're gaining Cartel Certificates to use on the vendors.

 

Those vendors no longer sell items that unlock in collections afaik (unlike how they have for us prior to 4.0) so those Certs gained have a more limited use than they have had for us previously. Once those Cartel Certificates have been used up, the only source is the packs on embargo or by giving BioWare more money in exchange for Cartel Certificates. Those packs then become self sustaining once a player has maxed out reputation.

 

It also resolves the issue of Cartel Certificates no longer being available unless you buy packs that are on embargo that players may or may not have completed collections on, so hold little pull to purchase now. It also means they don't have to go down the road of creating more slot machines purely as a form of making reputation available (which possibly wouldn't go down too well with some players)

 

In essence by creating the suggested packs, BioWare gain another revenue stream from the Cartel Market that they are not currently tapping. Equally said, the cost of an armour set using those Cartel Certs (aside from the two that only require 3 certs + credits) works roughly to 1050CC upwards to 1500CC, the cost of the weapons works out roughly the same as the ~500CC using this method to gain weapons from the vendors (~3 certs each). The price of the packs could be tinkered with to around 200CC each, as long as it equates to roughly what the price for items is already set at on the CM for individual items of equivalent type. Anymore than 200CC and it then becomes imbalanced (you may not have factored that part into your line of thought).

 

It's a suggestion, that's all, one that covers more than just one type of player. If you have a better one, lets hear it, instead of focusing on the negative, give us a brilliant idea!

 

I considered all of that.

 

Basing "cost" on the TYPE of item is not really a valid basis, as those items may be the same type, but NOT the SAME ITEM. A set of armor that sells for 1440 CC's may bring X amount of credits, but a single piece of the Revan set will likely bring far, far more credits. I would not be surprised to find that a single piece of the Revan set brings in at least 10X the credits that an entire set selling for 1440 CC's will bring, and possibly in excess of 20X what that direct sale set will bring.

 

As stated, the packs from which those rep items and certificates dropped were priced in the 350 CC range, and only included ONE "rep" item, whether that was a random rep item or a cartel certificate. They also included other items, which could be converted into credits via the GTN.

 

IF BW were going to sell reputation packs for 100-150 CC, then, IMO, those packs should only contain ONE item, either a random rep item or a cartel certificate, and the drop rates for the various levels of rep items and certificates should be the same as in the packs. The lower CC cost would "offset" the fact that there would be no other items in those packs, even though those other items were often converted into credits via the GTN. Unless I am mistaken, rep items can now be sold to vendors, which would give players a way to convert excess rep items into credits, while still maintaining the relative rarity of those certificates.

 

This would still make the average cost of obtaining a set number of certificates lower via the rep packs than by the cartel packs, while not making the cost of those certificates trivial. The higher price cartel packs, of course, have a greater opportunity to provide items that can be converted into credits, although most of those items will not bring many credits.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Ratajack

[Transcendent]

Basing "cost" on the TYPE of item is not really a valid basis, as those items may be the same type, but NOT the SAME ITEM. A set of armor that sells for 1440 CC's may bring X amount of credits, but a single piece of the Revan set will likely bring far, far more credits. I would not be surprised to find that a single piece of the Revan set brings in at least 10X the credits that an entire set selling for 1440 CC's will bring, and possibly in excess of 20X what that direct sale set will bring.

 

In this instance the items in question from the vendors have no resale value and are bind on pickup, so there isn't really a comparison to be made with items such as the individual armour sets or weapons on the CM that can be sold. So in effect you are already paying a premium to gain certs / reps to get reputation items. Equally, to use the vendor sets you have to already have a certain level of reputation which will take time and money to do so. Anyone can spam heroics to purchase armour sets off the GTN, that doesn't cost money. These sets from the vendors DO cost money by nature of the reputation items being required.

 

Bit of a misleading comparison there to make, on both our sides, however pricing the sets from the vendors for an equivalent amount of CC as CM direct items to purchase is a bit closer as an example comparison to make, than random RNG relating to armour sets from Cartel Packs. I say this because they are a set cost to gain, RNG obtained items are not a set cost (not a cost we see directly in the form of a purchase).

 

As stated, the packs from which those rep items and certificates dropped were priced in the 350 CC range, and only included ONE "rep" item, whether that was a random rep item or a cartel certificate. They also included other items, which could be converted into credits via the GTN.

 

Hypercrates were not priced in that range (5400CC), individual packs based on the old model were 250-300CC (with more items in them). They were not 350CC (I had to check this one)

 

 

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

 

 

IF BW were going to sell reputation packs for 100-150 CC, then, IMO, those packs should only contain ONE item, either a random rep item or a cartel certificate, and the drop rates for the various levels of rep items and certificates should be the same as in the packs. The lower CC cost would "offset" the fact that there would be no other items in those packs, even though those other items were often converted into credits via the GTN. Unless I am mistaken, rep items can now be sold to vendors, which would give players a way to convert excess rep items into credits, while still maintaining the relative rarity of those certificates.

 

If they only contained one item, that price would have to drop significantly. 1/5th of the cost of the old packs (250CC-300CC depending on shipment), so that would essentially be 50CC - 75CC we would come down to if the Reputation packs were only going to contain one item (varying reputation / varying quality / chance at Cartel Certificate). Based on the old Hypercrates that would be roughly ~6 Certificates per Hypercrate, so ~25% chance for a Reputation pack to provide one Cartel Certifcate.

 

So essentially, every 4 Reputation packs should in theory (RNG dependent) provide one Cartel Cert, based on the old model of packs being pared down. Essentially 200CC per Certificate. Which leads right back to the idea of pack content previously mentioned. Perhaps a compromise of 200CC, pack contains one Cartel Certificate and 3 reputation items of varying shipment / quailty. You're still paying more, as you wouldn't be able to purchase a Hypercrate of Reputation (which meant some older shipment packs pricing dropped to 225 CC).

 

On the point of reputation items, yes they can and always have been vendor trash once max rep has been reached. The credit gain is nominal at the very best. (iirc 500/1000/2500 credits depending on quality)

 

This would still make the average cost of obtaining a set number of certificates lower via the rep packs than by the cartel packs, while not making the cost of those certificates trivial. The higher price cartel packs, of course, have a greater opportunity to provide items that can be converted into credits, although most of those items will not bring many credits.

 

No, it wouldn't. Sorry but you're basing your premise on false numbers. With the Cartel Packs themselves you have a greater chance of generating credits (5 items). Reputation packs (even with 3 items of reputation + 1 Cartel Certificate) would generate between 1500 credits - 7500 credits max, unless of course you decide to buy decos with the Certificates, and sell those on the GTN. That particular market would stabilise pretty quickly (plus imo it would be a waste of the Certificate).

Edited September 24, 2016 by Transcendent

[Ratajack]

In this instance the items in question from the vendors have no resale value and are bind on pickup, so there isn't really a comparison to be made with items such as the individual armour sets or weapons on the CM that can be sold. So in effect you are already paying a premium to gain certs / reps to get reputation items. Equally, to use the vendor sets you have to already have a certain level of reputation which will take time and money to do so. Anyone can spam heroics to purchase armour sets off the GTN, that doesn't cost money. These sets from the vendors DO cost money by nature of the reputation items being required.

 

Bit of a misleading comparison there to make, on both our sides, however pricing the sets from the vendors for an equivalent amount of CC as CM direct items to purchase is a bit closer as an example comparison to make, than random RNG relating to armour sets from Cartel Packs. I say this because they are a set cost to gain, RNG obtained items are not a set cost (not a cost we see directly in the form of a purchase).

 

Let's look at Revan's mask. On my server, it is going for 40 million credits. That would be an extremely good deal for 1000 CC's, which is what it would cost to obtain the necessary certificates under your proposal of one GUARANTEED certificate in each reputation pack.

 

While those looking to obtain what they want for as little as possible, that hardly seems reasonable when one looks at the big picture, IMO.

 

 

 

Hypercrates were not priced in that range (5400CC), individual packs based on the old model were 250-300CC (with more items in them). They were not 350CC (I had to check this one)

 

 

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -250

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

05/15/2015 In Game Purchase -5400

 

Maybe you should have done a bit more research, or perhaps you simply chose not to look deeper or even ignore the actual facts.

 

http://dulfy.net/2012/10/23/swtor-cartel-market-items/

 

As you can see from that page, the original price of packs was in the 360 CC range, with hypercrates price well over 7000 CC's.

 

BW did lower the price eventually, but that was AFTER those original packs, including the ones with rep items and certificates were embargoed.

 

If they only contained one item, that price would have to drop significantly. 1/5th of the cost of the old packs (250CC-300CC depending on shipment), so that would essentially be 50CC - 75CC we would come down to if the Reputation packs were only going to contain one item (varying reputation / varying quality / chance at Cartel Certificate). Based on the old Hypercrates that would be roughly ~6 Certificates per Hypercrate, so ~25% chance for a Reputation pack to provide one Cartel Certifcate.

 

So essentially, every 4 Reputation packs should in theory (RNG dependent) provide one Cartel Cert, based on the old model of packs being pared down. Essentially 200CC per Certificate. Which leads right back to the idea of pack content previously mentioned. Perhaps a compromise of 200CC, pack contains one Cartel Certificate and 3 reputation items of varying shipment / quailty. You're still paying more, as you wouldn't be able to purchase a Hypercrate of Reputation (which meant some older shipment packs pricing dropped to 225 CC).

 

On the point of reputation items, yes they can and always have been vendor trash once max rep has been reached. The credit gain is nominal at the very best. (iirc 500/1000/2500 credits depending on quality)

 

Certificates were NEVER a 25% drop rate. I think even saying that they were a 10% drop rate is being generous.

 

I never said that rep items were a good source of credits, only that they could be sold to a vendor.

 

 

 

 

No, it wouldn't. Sorry but you're basing your premise on false numbers. With the Cartel Packs themselves you have a greater chance of generating credits (5 items). Reputation packs (even with 3 items of reputation + 1 Cartel Certificate) would generate between 1500 credits - 7500 credits max, unless of course you decide to buy decos with the Certificates, and sell those on the GTN. That particular market would stabilise pretty quickly (plus imo it would be a waste of the Certificate).

 

I already acknowledged that the packs provided more items that could be converted into credits.

 

I think that maintaining that RNG factor with regards to rep items is a good thing. In the end, though, that decision and the decision as to whether or not to even offer reputation packs is up to BW.

 

IMO, they stand to generate much more revenue if they keep those rep items and certificates in the packs in which they were originally included and offering those packs for a VERY limited time every 6 months to a year. Those packs still sell like hot cakes when they are available, either to people looking for rep or specific items from those packs or to people looking to sell them on the GTN at a later time.

[Transcendent]

Let's look at Revan's mask. On my server, it is going for 40 million credits. That would be an extremely good deal for 1000 CC's, which is what it would cost to obtain the necessary certificates under your proposal of one GUARANTEED certificate in each reputation pack.

 

While those looking to obtain what they want for as little as possible, that hardly seems reasonable when one looks at the big picture, IMO.

 

Interesting, do the prices vary per server? I doubt it. Which would make it 10 x 200CC + 100000 credits, which is 2000CC for one part of a set. Not able to be resold. That's hardly cheap when you also factor in it will take many many reputation packs to max reputation for Legend standing with the Contraband Resale Corp.

 

So let's work this out.

 

It took roughly 5 hypercrates to max reputation (sometimes a little more, but we'll use this as a baseline).

 

((5*24)-(5*6)) = 90 reputation items of varying quality to reach Legend rank (EDIT: (5*6) is referring to Cartel Certs being removed from the hypercrates).

6 different reputations.

((100-25)/6) = 12.5% chance at any particular reputation item.

 

Assuming perfect distribution of reputation, best case scenario is 540 reputation items to max out all 6 reputations.

 

((540/3)*200CC) = 36000 CC.

(36000/6) = 6000 CC.

 

Assuming best case scenario on RNG being absolutely perfect and you only getting Contraband Resale reputation items (someone smarter than me can work out those odds if they like!), it'll cost 6000 CC to max out one reputation. That mask you mentioned now costs 8000 CC in a best case scenario. It'll likely cost more, because I would imagine the odds on getting purely Contraband Resale reputation is pretty slim.

 

So, seeming a little more reasonable? 8000 CC is what? ~$50USD (and that's best case scenario!). If you wanted to go for literally that one item. Also, small point, you can't use it to unlock the set in the collection anymore, so even if it was the last piece you were looking for to complete that set and unlock it in collections? Tough.

 

One mask, $50USD. Seems fair?

 

Maybe you should have done a bit more research, or perhaps you simply chose not to look deeper or even ignore the actual facts.

 

http://dulfy.net/2012/10/23/swtor-cartel-market-items/

 

As you can see from that page, the original price of packs was in the 360 CC range, with hypercrates price well over 7000 CC's.

 

One specific shipment. I'm glad you linked it though. It also shows the price for the "lesser" versions of the packs, which I'd forgotten about. 180CC. price is shown.

 

12/22/2012 Black Market Cartel Pack -162

 

Must have been 10% off then when I purchased a pack.....

 

06/05/2013 Crime Lord's Cartel Pack -288

 

I'm seeing a pattern here.....

 

 

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

06/14/2013 In Game Purchase -160

 

 

 

Still seeing a pattern here....

 

 

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

10/21/2013 In Game Purchase -320

 

 

Oooh close!....

 

 

12/13/2013 Crime Lord's Cartel Pack -360

12/13/2013 Crime Lord's Cartel Pack -360

12/13/2013 Crime Lord's Cartel Pack -360

12/13/2013 Crime Lord's Cartel Pack -360

 

 

 

There it is! That's the peak! The only pack I've purchased close to your opinion that the pack in that shipment were ~350CC. Literally the only pack. It doesn't even have that mask in it. Don't believe me, check your collections. It was in two packs for that shipment.

 

And you expect what price again for a single Reputation item pack, with one item only? Unrealistic. Unreasonable. Take your pick, imo both apply on that pricing model you suggested. Based on your pricing, that mask now costs 3 times more at a minimum. $150USD for a mask? Sure. If someone really needed their heads screwed on, they would absolutely go for that.

 

Have you never thought that lower prices + higher volume = more sales than higher prices + lower volume? The idea is to attract sales, not deter them from the outset by making something exceptionally expensive. We're still talking about the absolutely best case scenario of RNG giving you just that one type of reputation as well. $150USD or more. For a mask.

 

If you think that is reasonable, then that's fine. IMO, that's not.

 

BW did lower the price eventually, but that was AFTER those original packs, including the ones with rep items and certificates were embargoed.

 

No, the prices were variable. If you were around at the time, and you check your own records (if indeed you purchased items from the CM using CC, and not the GTN) you'll see this. You're trying to put across a very bias point by only providing one link, which in this case isn't accurate if you cross-reference it with the prices charged at that time.

 

Certificates were NEVER a 25% drop rate. I think even saying that they were a 10% drop rate is being generous.

 

Odd. I always came away from a Hypercrate with ~6 Cartel Certificates on average. Perhaps there is a +/-15% chance then. In my experience, you always gained Cartel Certificates in each Hypercrate at a similar drop rate to that.

 

I never said that rep items were a good source of credits, only that they could be sold to a vendor.

 

This would still make the average cost of obtaining a set number of certificates lower via the rep packs than by the cartel packs, while not making the cost of those certificates trivial. The higher price cartel packs, of course, have a greater opportunity to provide items that can be converted into credits, although most of those items will not bring many credits.

 

Comes across as you comparing what we were talking about (reputation packs) in comparison to the cartel packs containing reputation + other items. Perhaps that was a mistake on my part.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Transcendent

[Capella]

I really like the idea of buying packs that give me rep tokens plus a chance at a certificate. There's a ton of items I want to get but I can't get certificates or rep boosts easily. The recent sales on Explorer packs had me stocking up but I only got 2 certificates out of 10 packs

[josephxp]

I really like the idea of buying packs that give me rep tokens plus a chance at a certificate. There's a ton of items I want to get but I can't get certificates or rep boosts easily. The recent sales on Explorer packs had me stocking up but I only got 2 certificates out of 10 packs

 

For me its mostly getting some of the cheap credit only stuff that they have available or those rare dyes some have.

[Muljo_Stpho]

They could make more slot machines...

 

So many alternative ideas for that flew around during the generous initial drop rates and after the rock-bottom nerfed drop rates... But it doesn't seem like they have any interest in ever touching the subject again.

 

Supposedly the goal always had been for that machine to just be the first in a series of them. The work for that seems like it could be pretty much just tweaking some cut-and-paste data. Copy first machine's drop table. Edit the parts that need to be different (name and skin for the machine, and then which group's rep items it drops). And you have a new slot machine. The problem is just that the format of the first machine needs to be in a pretty good place before they start making these copies of it.

 

In the original release of the slot machine, cartel certificates and purple Jawa scrap were dropping pretty generously. People were turning the certificates into decorations (like the Twi'lek dancer) which were flooding the GTN. And people were using the purple scrap to purchase all the top-tier materials which had just been added to the Jawa vendor in that same update, so the GTN was getting flooded with those as well. Then the devs quickly dropped a nerf that increased the chance for a failed spin, increased the chances for the rep item, and dropped all non-rep prizes to next-to-nothing. (Plus they increased the cost of the tokens to play the machine.) The machines in their current form are basically just faulty rep item dispensers, and they lose their appeal once you get the Contraband reputation maxed out.

 

A better fix might have replaced the Jawa item drops with something similar to the materials satchels that they later added for the security chests on all the planets. Just make boxes that drop a random material, with a small chance in the drop tables for those boxes to get the Jawa scrap item from them. The boxes can be fairly common drops from the slot machine. Jawa scrap would just be a rare result from those boxes.

 

I also like the idea of adding some sort of "prize ticket" to the machine. These would be vouchers specific to that machine's reputation group. They'd add duplicate options at the vendors in the cartel bazaar so that we can pay for their stuff with prize tickets or with the current pricing. Prize tickets would be the more common alternative to the cartel certificates. (So it's currency that's only good at one specific vendor for cosmetic stuff that's bind on pickup. The universally valuable certificates would be a rare prize.)

 

They also could have added random boxes for companion gifts.

 

It might be interesting if they would consider adding rare chances for various other currency items in the game. Event stuff like the bounty contracts, Gree helixes, and Rakghoul canisters. Non-event stuff like the Tython/Korriban relics, the Manaan tokens, those items for purchasing a Tauntaun on Hoth, the Ziost tokens, etc. Maybe make it one box as a rare drop and the box can contain one unit of any of those things.

 

It could also be interesting if the machine could drop credit boom and credit explosion, although the drops rates would no doubt be super rare to balance the winnings and keep the machine operating as a credit sink. But knowing that those are possibilities would get people hopeful that they can "beat the system" and come out ahead.

 

If they wanted to stick with just the one machine and forget the plans to make alternate versions, the rep item drops and the suggested prize ticket drop could be changed into random boxes that would give those items for any of the cartel reputations.

 

They could also try making a small chance for double token return. Like instead of it being 20% chance to get your token back, make it 19% to get it back and 1% to get double back. Maybe also consider adding the "feeling lucky" buff from the Nightlife event as something that activates with this double return. The buff lasts for a certain amount of time or until a jackpot (which should be defined as all purple drops, not as all rep items). Whichever comes first. And while the buff is active there could be a different drop table with slightly improved odds on the purple drops.

 

But... It seems pretty unlikely that we'll see any further changes or any new slot machines...

[Transcendent]

So many alternative ideas for that flew around during the generous initial drop rates and after the rock-bottom nerfed drop rates... But it doesn't seem like they have any interest in ever touching the subject again.

 

Supposedly the goal always had been for that machine to just be the first in a series of them. The work for that seems like it could be pretty much just tweaking some cut-and-paste data. Copy first machine's drop table. Edit the parts that need to be different (name and skin for the machine, and then which group's rep items it drops). And you have a new slot machine. The problem is just that the format of the first machine needs to be in a pretty good place before they start making these copies of it.

 

In the original release of the slot machine, cartel certificates and purple Jawa scrap were dropping pretty generously. People were turning the certificates into decorations (like the Twi'lek dancer) which were flooding the GTN. And people were using the purple scrap to purchase all the top-tier materials which had just been added to the Jawa vendor in that same update, so the GTN was getting flooded with those as well. Then the devs quickly dropped a nerf that increased the chance for a failed spin, increased the chances for the rep item, and dropped all non-rep prizes to next-to-nothing. (Plus they increased the cost of the tokens to play the machine.) The machines in their current form are basically just faulty rep item dispensers, and they lose their appeal once you get the Contraband reputation maxed out.

 

A better fix might have replaced the Jawa item drops with something similar to the materials satchels that they later added for the security chests on all the planets. Just make boxes that drop a random material, with a small chance in the drop tables for those boxes to get the Jawa scrap item from them. The boxes can be fairly common drops from the slot machine. Jawa scrap would just be a rare result from those boxes.

 

I also like the idea of adding some sort of "prize ticket" to the machine. These would be vouchers specific to that machine's reputation group. They'd add duplicate options at the vendors in the cartel bazaar so that we can pay for their stuff with prize tickets or with the current pricing. Prize tickets would be the more common alternative to the cartel certificates. (So it's currency that's only good at one specific vendor for cosmetic stuff that's bind on pickup. The universally valuable certificates would be a rare prize.)

 

They also could have added random boxes for companion gifts.

 

It might be interesting if they would consider adding rare chances for various other currency items in the game. Event stuff like the bounty contracts, Gree helixes, and Rakghoul canisters. Non-event stuff like the Tython/Korriban relics, the Manaan tokens, those items for purchasing a Tauntaun on Hoth, the Ziost tokens, etc. Maybe make it one box as a rare drop and the box can contain one unit of any of those things.

 

It could also be interesting if the machine could drop credit boom and credit explosion, although the drops rates would no doubt be super rare to balance the winnings and keep the machine operating as a credit sink. But knowing that those are possibilities would get people hopeful that they can "beat the system" and come out ahead.

 

If they wanted to stick with just the one machine and forget the plans to make alternate versions, the rep item drops and the suggested prize ticket drop could be changed into random boxes that would give those items for any of the cartel reputations.

 

They could also try making a small chance for double token return. Like instead of it being 20% chance to get your token back, make it 19% to get it back and 1% to get double back. Maybe also consider adding the "feeling lucky" buff from the Nightlife event as something that activates with this double return. The buff lasts for a certain amount of time or until a jackpot (which should be defined as all purple drops, not as all rep items). Whichever comes first. And while the buff is active there could be a different drop table with slightly improved odds on the purple drops.

 

 

But... It seems pretty unlikely that we'll see any further changes or any new slot machines...

 

I always thought we would see specific reputation machines turn up on Nar Shaddaa during the Nightlife Event, that way some can play the normal ones for the Nightlife stuff, and others get a way to gain reputation once per year. Instead of releasing more via the CM as decorations, especially now most of us who were around for the Contraband Slot Machine debacle know they're useless for anything aside from reputation / credit sinks.

[BlackSilverRoar]

Another horrible idea from the "Johnny-come-latelys." The packs' time has already come and past, people already grinded for rep during its timeframe. Bring this back and BioWare should bring back PvP season rewards that people missed out on because they were busy grinding for rep during its timeframe. To bring rep back would, especially at a discount, would make any future packs timeframe meaningless because someone will whine about it later to bring it back.

This should be called the WAH~, I want it and I want it now packs.

[JacksonMo]

I like the idea of new slot machines better. Even with the super nerfed drop rates, I at least can buy items from the vendor.

[BlackSilverRoar]

Seems like a bad idea to have individual rep packs seeing how much people have already spent into the rng system of it. I feel like whoever has the need to make things alot easier are just trying to pull bait and switches so they wouldn't have to spend as much, just never see this happening at all

 

OMG, why do these annoying threads about people trying to get their grubby hands on rare rep vendor stuff every so often throughout the years?! These threads are as futile and useless as the ones trying to bring back sub rewards or rare gear that had a time window during an expansion. ^I agree with Theeko; try spending thousands of dollars like us DURING THE ACTUAL TIME WINDOW THAT HAS LONG PAST for rep and you'll see what an insulting 'pittance' you're trying to get it at. The window was there for everybody and has long past, MUCH LIKE THIS OLD THREAD. You're not special. Get over it. Move on.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Willjb