Info: Beat the Market Manipulators and SAVE peds!!!

[nutter]

Ok, bare with me. This might be a bit of a rambling post, but there is a point to it..

I have been playing Entropia for a few years now, and regularly depositing in order to pay for my entertainment.
I have not 'invested' in anything. I have bought items I have used, enjoyed and changed, including ML-35's, Imp-EP21's, Boar sets, Jag sets etc.

However, over the past few months, it has been noticed not only by myself but by many others (judging by the threads on this forum on the subject) that prices of items that used to be readily obtainable as part of ones in-game career path progression are becomeing rarer and much more expensive. So much so that the 'natural' traditional progression of improving ones equipment as ones skills rise has become impossible for all but those who have huge ped card amounts.

MA is balancing the game fine as far as item drops are concerned. The general consensus is that MA allow a certain number of each item in the game dependant upon the population figure, with items that are TT'd going back into the 'item pool' to be re-looted. Rare items might have 1 drop for every 10,000 players whereas a common 'TT food' item might have 8000 drops per 10,000 players, and upon being returned to the 'item pool' by being TT'd are looted again, TT'd again etc (knight (F) thighs from argos for example)

Nice items are not looted very often, as many of the nice items are no longer in the 'item pool' to be looted. They are no longer in the loot circulation as they are being hoarded for their future 'investment / resale / manipulated' value. MA cannot drop more lest it unballances the amount of each item in the game compared to the population because the items are still IN the game, just not in loot circulation.

There is nothing we can do about this. The hoarders / manipulators have gotten hold of these items, and you can only get them if you are prepared to pay their prices, in turn meaning that you will sell the item for the price your purchased it or more (as no-one actually wants to LOSE money) and so the inflation spiral continues...

So, if you want to progress, the next level equipment requires a huge deposit and 'investment' paying hugely inflated prices for mediocre equipment that quadruples in price in the time it takes to save for it...or does it?

I was trapped in this inflation spiral until recently. I have not deposited in the past 6 months or so, as I have made a number of largish deposits to buy my 'next level' equipment last year thinking that it meant I was advancing...I was, but only in my ownership of expensive items. My gameplay actually became more boring. I was using weapons that were not eco, with armour that decayed too much because my evade was too low etc etc etc. Basically I was bleeding peds...

What I have realised is that I can measure my advancement in this game not by upgrading my equipment, but by DOWNGRADING! Yes, thats right. Downgrading my equipment.

As we play Entopia, our skill levels rise, we unlock new skills, we run faster, we get hit less, yet we feel the need to buy bigger and more expensive items believing that this is our path to uberness.

Well, I remember watching Skalman through my scoped bravo as he killed an Araneotrox without wearing any armour. Surely THAT is what we should be aiming for, not the owning of huge guns / impenetrable armour / thousands of dollars worth of faps. They are not a measure of our advancement in the game, they just measure how much money you have.

I started by experimenting with which mobs I could take without armour, or with Ghost instead of the Boar set I cherished so much. Turns out that I can take the same mobs with ghost +5B as I could in Boar+5b, albeit with a little more fapping (which will lessen as my defence skills grow further). So I sold my Boar and freed up some peds to spend on ammo (ergo gameplay, and as such enjoyment). I found that the challenge returned ('I wonder what else I can take naked / in this pixie/ghost/gremlin+5B etc') and hunts became enjoyable once more, knowing that not only did I have peds to actually PLAY the game with rather than them being tied up in items, but that I was reaping the benefits of the years of hunting, using my evade / avoidance skills, hunting skills and healing skills to enable me to hunt mobs naked that I had only ever fought in armour.

I now find myself enjoying Entropia much more, my cynisism is receding now that I am seeing the benefit of my skills, and I take great joy in knowing that I will never pay manipulated market prices again, as I will not be upgrading my items, but downgrading them as my skills increase further.

The only items I may have to buy will be more powerful guns and faps. Apis(L) and CB26(L) suit me fine for the moment and are quite affordable (and lootable in the case of the CB26(L). The higher (ur175 and onwards) faps are equally affordable and offer better healing than comparable expensive non-L faps.

I save money from not having to repair armour or plates after a hunt, which means that more of my loot counts towards my break even point. I have infact only had a couple of hunts where I have not at least broken even since I decided to hunt using my skills rather than expensive equipment.


Take back your universe from the manipulators and resellers.
They will have to dump the items they hoard if nobody buys them because players are downgrading, using their hard earned skills rather than their wallets to show how they are progressing. This may mean that these items may end up back in the 'item pool' to be looted again (which would make hunting even more enjoyable).

Remember, skills never decay and never need repairing. Use your skills to show your progression, not your wallet!! Inspire the next generation of players to stay in the game and deposit as Skalman once inspired me.

[Norbert]

Well said - listen to this man + rep

[christy]

i think biger manipulator is MA,unless you quit EU

we all brainwashing by MA,

[Sharkie]

+ rep from me

[Mega]

Makes sense to me.

[Tricity]

agree, am sick and tired of them as well

[Eron²]

well said. i have seen many "ubers" hunting in minimal armor aka spiders in pixie.

something that this game needs to learn is that skills DO matter and you can do tons with more skills and less armor.

[aridash]

its a nice theory until you remember that the skill gain curve has been nerfed to the point where the prospect that i might ever hunt a araneatrox solo let alone nakid is unobtainable.

deposit or resell your way to kit that will enable you to have fun is the only way forward. grinding skills for 3 years... you might as well get a second job to pay for deposits.

[safara]

Fantastic post!!!

And yeah, as skills go up, I downgrade what I use, no need to pay stupid prices for pixels.

I can take out most of the largest mobs in game. And for the 15 or so maturities/varieties I cant take, I call a team mate or 2 or 12 and take em out.

This game is about fun and comradeship. Entertainment. If it aint fun, why do it?

And to this end, I get by just fine with low armour, low fap, and the odd bigish (L) gun. And if the %'s are silly on the guns, then grab a soc mate and instant double firepower.

So much I want to say, but most has been said in the first post.

Very well said Nutter

[Jimmy B]

Indeed, Bear, Boar they're really not worth the PEDs they cost at all. The few extra protection points they offer over Ghost/Vigi/etc just doesn't make it worthwhile ever.

Imo, where skills come in is with Jaguar. A little over year on from buying Jaguar I can now hunt in Ghost everything I was able to hunt in Jaguar previously, and for less decay. I see absolutely no need to pay anything like current prices for jaguar, I'll just make do without. Angel one day would be nice, but Jag I'd be surprised if I ever own it again.