AscendingSky Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Exactly what it says on the tin. EAWare's trying to get more money for less effort, by reducing the value of Cartel Packs and forcing everyone to pay more for unlocks now that Silver rarity is the new Bronze. They're going to keep on squeezing us for cash as much as they can to try to counteract the loss of subscribers. Now, EAWare is a business, not a charity. There's nothing wrong with them trying to make a profit--especially since this game could be shut down if revenues drop too low for their liking. That said, the fact they want to make a profit is why voting with our wallets is the best strategy to make them backtrack on their anti-consumer behavior lately. So I say the best thing we can do right now for our own sakes is to not buy Cartel Packs--not with Cartel Coins, and not even with credits. Remember, other people will buy the packs for real money if you buy them for fake money. Send EAWare the message that they have to provide better service and value to their customers if they want to keep them. Edited May 17, 2017 by AscendingSky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soljin Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I am way ahead of you on this one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-darko Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) TBO I'll keep my stuff to the bitter end, though I basically share your sentiment and for that matter never use cartel coins other than those granted from my sub. I can only say this from a business standpoint; When business goes bad, the sales goes up . . . And swtor wasn't even mentioned at celebration, I would be extremely surprised if we even get a sticker up at E3. . . Edited May 17, 2017 by t-darko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanNV Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I have been giving that message re: packs since 4.0 dropped. And I think many of us have been giving a similar message about the game in general since October. If things keep improving great. If not, well there are other companies and other games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
americanaussie Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Been boycotting since Nov 2016. I'm not paying for broken courting gifts and junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimDiamond Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Just absurd, 26 grand chance cubes in 1 hypercrate, literally at least 1 grand chance cube in EVERY PACK. Pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docbenwayddo Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Been boycotting since Nov 2016. I'm not paying for broken courting gifts and junk. Around the same time in 2015 here. That initial change made the packs not worth my money. This change makes them less so. They need Reputation, Cartel Certs, only that shipment's items in the drop slots (at least 2), decorations in separate drop slot. Jawa stuff in its own drop slot. Gifts Rank 6. Throw all the chance cubes where the sun don't shine. Somewhere beyond Uranus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiltoftheDragon Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Exactly what it says on the tin. EAWare's trying to get more money for less effort, by reducing the value of Cartel Packs and forcing everyone to pay more for unlocks now that Silver rarity is the new Bronze. They're going to keep on squeezing us for cash as much as they can to try to counteract the loss of subscribers. Now, EAWare is a business, not a charity. There's nothing wrong with them trying to make a profit--especially since this game could be shut down if revenues drop too low for their liking. That said, the fact they want to make a profit is why voting with our wallets is the best strategy to make them backtrack on their anti-consumer behavior lately. So I say the best thing we can do right now for our own sakes is to not buy Cartel Packs--not with Cartel Coins, and not even with credits. Remember, other people will buy the packs for real money if you buy them for fake money. Send EAWare the message that they have to provide better service and value to their customers if they want to keep them. First of all, im a bit surprised that you're even starting a thread like this. I complement you on being a well spoken person on this forum over a lot of issues but this is a bit unusual for you. Secondly, I dont think youll ever be able to sway most folks to not buy packs in this or any game that sells packs for that matter. Why? Its because its like a drug to them. Its too much of a thrill to open pixel presents expecting to get what they want over and over again no matter who protests against them. Its a passion to others to make them a main commodity on the GTN for their soul purpose of building credits.....another thrill that oversees any protest against it. Remember, the message here is being directed to mostly "packheads" and the itch they cant scratch is only cured by purchasing more packs and not really caring about this games well being anymore. Not sure youll ever reach those folks. Edited May 17, 2017 by HiltoftheDragon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AscendingSky Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 Been boycotting since Nov 2016. I'm not paying for broken courting gifts and junk. Yeah, I haven't bought packs in a good while myself. This message is for the people who are still buying them, either direct from the CM or for credits on the GTN. EAWare has no reason to make the packs a better value if people keep buying them in droves. They usually don't listen to anything but money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AscendingSky Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 First of all, im a bit surprised that you're even starting a thread like this. I complement you on being a well spoken person on this forum over a lot of issues but this is a bit unusual for you. Secondly, I dont think youll ever be able to sway most folks to not buy packs in this or any game that sells packs for that matter. Why? Its because its like a drug to them. Its too much of a thrill to open pixel presents expecting to get what they want over and over again no matter who protests against them. Its a passion to others to make them a main commodity on the GTN for their soul purpose of building credits.....another thrill that oversees any protest against it. Remember, the message here is being directed to mostly "packheads" and the itch they cant scratch is only cured by purchasing more packs and not really caring about this games well being anymore. Not sure youll ever reach those folks. I'm not sure I understand why you're surprised by my starting a thread on this. Is it the topic you find unusual? And yes, I know, my pushing for a boycott of Cartel Packs may end up in vain. Some people are simply inclined to being gambling addicts, and others want to build a virtual dragon's hoard of credits. But even if I can't convince everyone, I'm hoping I can convince enough--and that the degrading of the value of the packs yet again in this most recent one will convince others--that sales of Cartel Packs take a hit and EAWare might actually listen to their customers for a change. I'm advocating people voting with their wallets, because only money speaks a language EAWare understands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiltoftheDragon Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I'm not sure I understand why you're surprised by my starting a thread on this. Is it the topic you find unusual? And yes, I know, my pushing for a boycott of Cartel Packs may end up in vain. Some people are simply inclined to being gambling addicts, and others want to build a virtual dragon's hoard of credits. But even if I can't convince everyone, I'm hoping I can convince enough--and that the degrading of the value of the packs yet again in this most recent one will convince others--that sales of Cartel Packs take a hit and EAWare might actually listen to their customers for a change. I'm advocating people voting with their wallets, because only money speaks a language EAWare understands. Its not the topic. Its just not common for you to start an "uprising" but after a bit more reading ive done about these packs then i do sense a small amount of exception here and understand now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edyn Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) ...Remember, the message here is being directed to mostly "packheads" and the itch they cant scratch is only cured by purchasing more packs and not really caring about this games well being anymore. Not sure youll ever reach those folks. Unfortunately, I think this just might be true. Either people want to gamble for an item until BW releases the slightly different item that they want to gamble for next or they want to pay for traditional MMO content in the form explorable areas/planets, quests/missions, story, lore, puzzles, Easter Eggs, etc. I don't think I can convince anyone to stop supporting BW by purchasing gambling packs that come with rigged rewards any more than the gamblers can convince me to stop waiting for the next game that's going to offer me the traditional MMO experience with 2017 graphics. They're two completely different demographics. My disconnect is that I felt Vanilla catered to my play style while everything afterwards seemed to cater to the gambling pack demographic with the occasional bone tossed towards MMO traditionalists. Edited May 17, 2017 by Edyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediRelentless Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Buying packs and hypercrates is in my best interest. Selling them unopened on the GTN is in my best interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkSaberMaster Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Buying packs and hypercrates is in my best interest. Selling them unopened on the GTN is in my best interest. Target audience of the cartel packs in the quote is why a boycott will never work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AscendingSky Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Buying packs and hypercrates is in my best interest. Selling them unopened on the GTN is in my best interest. Not really. If you keep buying them even after they are downgraded in value, they'll 1) never get better, 2) likely get worse as EAWare squeezes you all the harder. You become part of the problem by feeding into the anti-consumer mentality of the company running the game we play. Of course, buying Cartel Packs is totally your choice. But I wouldn't say it's in your best interest to keep doing it, if you want to actually get some bang for your buck. You're just making it worse for yourself in the long run--especially if fewer people buy packs off the Cartel Market where you're reselling them, or aren't willing to pay as much fake money because the packs give you crap now. Edited May 17, 2017 by AscendingSky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AscendingSky Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) Target audience of the cartel packs in the quote is why a boycott will never work. I know there's not much I can do about the whales who want to make the number of fake monetary units climb arbitrarily higher in game, or the gambling addicts who can't resist RNG. They're a minority of players though. I'm trying to reach the majority, those who may buy packs from time to time. I'm trying to get a better value for them AND the whales and gamblers. Edited May 17, 2017 by AscendingSky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soljin Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 (edited) Target audience of the cartel packs in the quote is why a boycott will never work. Not necessarily... You do not need everyone to boycott the packs. All you need is just enough people to provide a dip in revenue large enough to discourage EAware from this practice. I once had a discussion with a couple co-workers that were Millennials... I was pressing the point that change starts with an idea and builds when that idea grows in support... This is ultimately how change occurs when things go to far without consent of the many. These two were convinced that no matter how many times someone spoke of change that the world was too far gone to change now... My response was that it needs to be "too far gone" for an idea to build in strength and incite change... We are now reaching such a low in SWTOR development and blatant money model manipulation that it is the perfect environment to gather people together to protest EAwares current direction regarding this matter. Edited May 18, 2017 by Soljin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediRelentless Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 (edited) Not really.... Or maybe having more players boycott packs means I'll have less competition selling my stuff on the gtn? More bang for the buck for me? If you want to vote with your wallet then make a real statement. Cancel your subscription. Edited May 18, 2017 by JediRelentless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theeko Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Or maybe having more players boycott packs means I'll have less competition selling my stuff on the gtn? More bang for the buck for me? If you want to vote with your wallet then make a real statement. Cancel your subscription. Not if they direct sale everything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmorrisson Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 (edited) Hypercrates should offer at least 1 Platinum either from current packs or previous packs. Edited May 18, 2017 by jimmorrisson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabethchase Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Around the same time in 2015 here. That initial change made the packs not worth my money. This change makes them less so. They need Reputation, Cartel Certs, only that shipment's items in the drop slots (at least 2), decorations in separate drop slot. Jawa stuff in its own drop slot. Gifts Rank 6. Throw all the chance cubes where the sun don't shine. Somewhere beyond Uranus. Yes, same here. I haven't seen a decent value since that time either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenariusJay Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 (edited) I bought one hypercrate I believe April 2016? With real money. Really disappointing. Bought one hypercrate with credits, about 5 months or so ago, same outcome - disappointing. Both times I got nothing I wanted. Nothing. Just abunch of duplicates, jawa scraps, companion gifts and crap I ended up selling for pennies on the GTN. I really don't get how BW gets away with this. I guess people are okay spending 100's of dollars in hopes of getting that stupid mount that no one gives a donkey butt about. Or some fire cracker looking saber thats not even legacy bound (and have to spend additional CC to unlock for account, what a crock). Total joke, but hey... if it keeps the game afloat for people that actually play the game (and not just collect garbage like hobos) then spend away, suckers. My thanks in advance! Edited May 18, 2017 by DenariusJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediAkemi Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 When did they bring in the ridiculous "New and Amazing Pack-Opening Experience" ? I think that was the last time I bought a cartel pack. "The stuff in them is getting worse and they've added this totally unnecessary feature to make pack opening take five times as long. Screw that" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soljin Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 (edited) Or maybe having more players boycott packs means I'll have less competition selling my stuff on the gtn? More bang for the buck for me? If you want to vote with your wallet then make a real statement. Cancel your subscription. Cut yourself off from the only Star Wars (MMORPG) on the market because the developer is making questionable monetization choices... Seems like the advice of a person that is not here because of love for the Star Wars IP. If you want to buy packs all day long go ahead... It doesn't take every single player to achieve the needed impact. Come to think of it you are missing potential profits now, you should go in game and burn your paycheck We need someone to keep the game running while we boycott. Edited May 18, 2017 by Soljin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theeko Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 I think we should boycott direct sales of platinum items tbh, just ******** on all the veteran players that actually stuck with the game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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