Quote:
Originally Posted by Doer
I think that the way you describe the progression is essentially correct in describing one's interaction with MindArk. It's the interaction with the market (other players) that make it more interesting. More players would probably stay if EU was presented in those terms from the start ("Play at your level") so they didn't overextend and end up broke. Beyond that, they need to understand the importance of markup as itree said. There can be better markup drops at higher levels, but it's not just bigger mobs (and not all bigger mobs) that drop more markup, it's mobs that not everyone wants to hunt. Everything in EU is a tradeoff between ease and expense.
Certainly playing carefully can mitigate most of the loss, as itree shows with his thread on frugality (although he has definitely been very lucky). I have an overall ~99% return on my last 125k PEDs ammo through selling everything I loot if it has any markup at all, and I wouldn't say I've been particularly lucky. If i just look at tt return, the number is less than 90% (over 12k loss). |
Thanks to all the responses, but this one did a good job at summing up what I was getting at with my post and the responses of the others....
While I used 20% as my example of
MA's take, I suspected that if you play smart, the TT return is probably closer to 90 - 95%. And while I haven't played long enough to be sure (which is why I'm asking for input here) both Doer and Sarubaboon have reported that to be their experience at very different levels of play.
Then yes, if you play smart and get that kind of base return, you really do stand a chance of making a profit or at least playing for a really long time without any more deposits once you reach the level where you are content to stay. That chance for profit comes of course from interaction with other players... trading your loot for markup; choosing to hunt, mine, and craft things that have a markup, and even possibly selling the skills that continue to accumulate after you have reached your self imposed cap (which is why this post wound up in the Skills category.)
I also like Doer's comment that if
MA is failing in any way, it might be in the way they market what they have created here. I might agree because I too almost had to quit for financial reasons long before I figured out how to have fun without breaking my bank.
But that's about the only negative I 'might' agree with; other than that I think
EU is awesome! So what if the base gameplay is really casino-like? There's thousands of successful online casinos because it's exciting to have a chance to win. However unlike blackjack, video poker, or the most mind-numbing of all... online slots, I find hunting, mining, and crafting in an outer space MMORPG setting to be way more original.
Then to make things more interesting, you have to work your way up to a point where you get the best odds (probably pays off best for
MA, but it does make things more interesting for us.) And because the
EU slots pay out anything but coins, the opportunity is there to change it from a game of chance to a game of skill; and by skill I mean your ability to out-market the other people online.
So while I understand Starfires comments and do regret a little that I seem to have missed the good old days (joined just 5 months ago) I really think
MA is on the right track and is adopting the business model that is needed to give something like WoW a run for its money. While the first 5 years may have been incredible for many who are now getting the short end of the stick, that model was not doing it.... (less than 700k subscribers of which only about 10% are likely active.)
The new model puts
MA in a better position to market which is really the way to get a bigger player base. And I'm afraid a more generic premise serves better to appeal to the masses than does a fascinating and intriguing story line (where 'fascinating' and 'intriguing' are subjective to the audience's opinion.) It's regretable that things must often be 'dumbed-down' to appeal to everyone, but that is the case which Joreal so elogquently points out!