Runes of Magic US / AU

Quoted from "regentego;538441"

1. My question, given we know Frogster's intentions are fewer diamond sales, will you buy diamonds at normal price?

From a player that used to buy dias, but who is now f2p... I think Frogster beat around the bush a bit. My problem and concern has always been with the dollar-to-diamond rates. The only time that rate has been influenced is during sales, which Frogster will no longer have.
I understand Frogster thinks changing diamond prices accomplishes *almost* the same affect -- maybe if it were done properly I would feel differently -- but right now I don't think it's the same. That's on top of the fact that it's actually more expensive to buy diamonds because of lack of sales, not cheaper. So with no rate changes, and higher expense, there's really no persuasion going on at all.

Quoted from "regentego;538441"

2. Do you feel the price decreases other then the Puri were enough to buy diamonds at regular price.

The legitimate low prices were nice to see, but haven't convinced me to go back to buying diamonds. It's just too easy and convenient to be f2p, so going back to p2p is still not worthwhile. Especially now that f2p methods just got even cheaper; it's not exactly a deterrent. Instead of convincing me to go back to being a buyer, they've essentially encouraged me to continue being f2p.


I don't want to knock the fact that Frogster actually bothered to re-evaluate the item shop. They haven't really done a complete overhaul in a long time. So at least they did something.
On the other hand what they did was poorly thought-out and obviously needs to be tweaked again on more than a few levels. They focused on pricing, which wasn't even handled that well, and they completely lost track of trying to sucessfully integrate the US and EU into one, unified item shop. If they keep it as it is now, I would say their efforts have been an immense failure.

Wow.... LadyMacV I off ALL people would think you would agree Tmblake09 considering you were Again my ideas in my old thread. All Tmblake09 really is doing is just agreeing if not reinforcing what you said about the proper way to play a mmo and other players had to do it. But now that the Cs have changed and all those convinces are either mia, cost more, are gone you may now see what I was trying to explain in my thread (Premises: It may not be for you but don't take away those options and or give us more options for making the game easy [Convenience To Play]. And i'm not trying to flame, QQ, etc I''m just glad you see things from a different perspective now.

I will say Again I Love RoM its a very fun game that I enjoy playing. I'm one of those players who Bought a lot of gear if not all of my gear and had to run goblin mines and the mini-games for my stats. Now some people here call me lazy because I have a reputation here for choose not to farm, grind, etc. But after a long day of work, running errands, and spending time with the family I want to come to RoM to relax not Work more. So the new item shop or cash shop pricing was a real let down for me and others like me who invested in the game to compensate for the lack of hours we can play.

All in all I'm a Free to Play player again like I was when I first started RoM and I'm really enjoying just questing on my dwarf from time to time. Personally I think my diamond buying days are over since I'm getting less and less bang for my buck, and I don't have enough free time that is required to farm, grind, etc efficiently.

But I will say this the more people that can run instance and become end game the more money froggy will bring in from plussers, puri, hammers, etc. But never forget the fact it cost someone somewhere rl money to run rt + instances successfully. So in the End Game of things if you alienate the diamond buyers and they aren't getting anywhere with the money they invest, in the RoM product, the game slowly dies.

Jeebus when did I become a Cranky Old Endgamer?

@tmblake. Question. Have you run any instance higher than RT (and RT at level 70, not level 60 when it was hard)? Cause... the chapter 3 mindset you speak of was really the chapter 2 mindset. At least I think that's what you're saying. In chapter three, only scouts, p/k's and knights actually did content. The rest of us either got carried (if we were lucky) or we bought our gear. Then we looked at it cause it was pretty, we couldn't actually do anything with it.

It would be a good idea to actually learn about the past from people who were, you know, actually there before you start reminiscing about the good old days. Not much was great about chapter 3, unless you were a scout, a p/k or a knight.

And you're blaming the chapter 4 economic problems on the wrong things, in my opinion anyway. Scouts had massive amounts of gold saved up from the scout-rape RT dia days, and then the shop came out with insanely expensive +16 jewels- and that was a recipe for MASSIVE instant inflation. You can say it was perma ABL's and too-frequent sales- but it clearly wasn't.

The reason I ask you if you've run an instance higher than RT is because, dude- they're hard. They aren't forgiving at all if you're undergeared.

What you're asking everyone to do is to start at RT, and go through about three gear iterations before you get to ToSH. Now, you can skip some of those if you get a ToSH weapon (oops need an ABL) and you +16 everything, X rune everything etc. But it's still going to be hard, and you'll need to mod a lot.

That's why people like LadyMacV and I harp about dia sales and ABL's. We've, you know, actually gotten to endgame, and have some idea how many resources it takes to get geared enough to do ToSH.

And let's say you do get geared enough. Who you gonna run with? You need 12 dedicated people with enough resources to be able to go in there and run it (and about 5 hours to spend, once you get it cleared- clearing it and learning strat meant we spent two whole 10 hour days in there). Yes, it gets faster the better your party gets geared and the better you refine the strats- but you still wipe, and you still need hammers, and potions, and Phoenix Sigh's and food and repairs and and and.

People have literally no idea what it takes to run ToSH until they do.

So, what does any of that mean? It means we need a vibrant economy if anyone at all wants to run. Now, you can enjoy this game without ever setting foot in ToSH or AC or GCH or whatever. If you like to just dip around and quest and play with the older content- I'm not gonna tell you how to play. But- endgame drives the economy. Endgamers mod gear. Endgamers sell gear that gets modded. Gear modding costs lots and lots and lots of dias. Running instances costs lots and lots of dias and gold.

You can be a non-endgamer and still have a valid opinion about RoM. You can be a good player and never be endgame. But whether anyone likes it or not, endgame actually is relevant to the discussion at hand- because endgame drives both content and economy. I'm not saying that RoM should cater to endgamers exclusively- they shouldn't. But they need to take endgame into serious consideration when they make changes to the item shop. Like infrequent sales. And no ABL's. No +12 gems.

Tmblake- from my perspective, your vision of a chapter 3-like RoM is a fantasy, not a reality. The hard cold facts are it takes a mountain of dias to run current content. With the pricing scheme the way it is now, it will drive midgamers away, not encourage them. We do need new population- on that we can both agree. But your new population will see how insanely much it costs to gear for endgame in this game, and ditch RoM for the latest greatest subscription game. At least that is what I fear.

Well, let me put it this way. I rarely buy diamonds to start out with so with the lack of sales, I obviously will be buying it even more rarely. However, I still continuously buy diamonds with in-game gold and I spend crap tons of gold so I'd like to think of myself as a "diamond supporter". Without people like me, no one would buy diamonds in game. And if no one buys diamonds in game, then no one will buy diamonds with real life money.

So in a way, with or without the sale, I'll still be buying the same amount of diamonds because I will need purified fusion stones, +'ing jewels, etc all the same. However if diamonds are to skyrocket from the original 25k per to 50k per, then no I will be buying nothing from the diamond shop other than puris.

I wont be buying at full price

no i dont think prices are low enough.

I think i have made my points well known. Ill probably not pay at all, not even on doubles. All my friends are going the same way. I have also told all my RL friends to not bother also.

I also think people seem to forget that diamond prices right now are lower than they used to be. That's right folks, you used to get less diamonds for your dollar.

Quoted from "tmblake09;538526"

I also think people seem to forget that diamond prices right now are lower than they used to be. That's right folks, you used to get less diamonds for your dollar.

Correction: the rate of diamonds per dollar are the same. I think you meant to say, you can get more items for your diamonds.

Quoted from "tmblake09;538526"

I also think people seem to forget that diamond prices right now are lower than they used to be. That's right folks, you used to get less diamonds for your dollar.

Btw i been diamonds for 3 years..... On sale off sale etc. And not to sell to other players.

Double diamonds means 1k for 20 bucks... now 500 diamonds are 20 bucks usually. ok let me do the math for you Mr Wizard. 1000 for 20, 500 for 20...that means situation is DOUBLE the diamonds for the $ then the second. Wow i cant believe you even said that.

but maybe they are counting on more people like you LOL. I bet you think $99.99, is only 90 bucks instead of 100 too? YOu are a marketers DREAM

Quoted from "Musicmania;538490"

But after a long day of work, running errands, and spending time with the family I want to come to RoM to relax not Work more. So the new item shop or cash shop pricing was a real let down for me and others like me who invested in the game to compensate for the lack of hours we can play.

All in all I'm a Free to Play player again like I was when I first started RoM and I'm really enjoying just questing on my dwarf from time to time. Personally I think my diamond buying days are over since I'm getting less and less bang for my buck, and I don't have enough free time that is required to farm, grind, etc efficiently.

I agree completely Musicmania, but unlike you I actually do have loads of time to play RoM but refuse to. I don't enjoy it because it really does feel more like work like you said. The game play aspect of farming repetitively is quite tedious and I don't find it in me to do it, especially for gold which has so little value for gear to clear new content (instances, you know where the most fun content is other than siege ofc) >.

Quoted from "Musicmania;538490"

But I will say this the more people that can run instance and become end game the more money froggy will bring in from plussers, puri, hammers, etc. But never forget the fact it cost someone somewhere rl money to run rt + instances successfully. So in the End Game of things if you alienate the diamond buyers and they aren't getting anywhere with the money they invest, in the RoM product, the game slowly dies.

Yes which is the big problem, with less diamond buyers to to endgame content and sell the gear to others or diamond sellers to help fuel the economy and give gold actual value.. playing the game gets tougher on everyone on the server. +1 from me, great post

25k per dia? that hasnt been seen on indigo server since chap 4 last year. 1 week before chap 4 it was 7k per.

The drop in Diamond sales wouldn't have any effect except for the fact the prices in the CS still do not reflect a fair value price based on regular priced diamonds. Having no diamond sales does not change the number of diamonds it takes to build an endgame toon.
Now had they adjusted the CS item pricing based off the regular amount and regular price of non diamond sale numbers then that would have been progress.
In fact what they have done is probably completely borked the economy...but only time will tell.
Less diamonds = more expensive to buy them in game
Less access to ABL's = Higher inflated gear prices, switched from a buyers market to a seller's market. Which increases prices.
Increase on ruby shop pricing = Rubies will probably reach higher value then diamonds
They have undone everything they were aiming for 2 months ago.

Anyone who says this is a good thing is off their rocker. They have pointed the game in the direction of a a forced P2 progress. You have to buy diamonds...or you stand still.
What makes any game a game and fun is the ability to progress and to win. If you can't do either just think of the exodus of casual players that are about to walk out the door.
There was a very important balance in this game since the very start.
It was that you spent the time playing....hours and hours. Clearing content, getting gear and using time to produce gold and everyone could do it.
The flip side was the other player that would spend money to speed it up, sell diamonds to the players that had the time to run content and in trade were able to gear up by taking the roll of endgamer support.
Now it is to the point that time cannot gain you access to the content past RT norm.
If fewer buy diamonds. If the diamond packages are smaller then they were in the "old days" (used to have a 8000+ double diamond package) If the value of money spent compared to diamonds received hasn't improved. If the amount of diamonds required to gear up hasn't dropped drastically. Then really they have made things worse rather then better.
Shell gear may be still available, but you still need diamonds to mod it up. Without diamonds sales it eliminates the "extra" diamonds that were normally the diamonds that were available for sale in game. No one sells the diamonds they need for themselves. They sell their extras only. No diamond sales....no extras. No extras....get your wallet out or accept you won't get to the latest content. Can't get to the latest content.......why play a game you can't win...ever.

So..to answer the original question. No I won't buy diamonds at regular price. Diamonds at sale price.....hard to answer at this point because I just don't see the value anymore.
My guess is the game is on it's last legs. Endgamers knew it was getting to expensive to gear up in chapter 3 & 4, and that still hasn't been address. Each new content release the endgame community shrinks and shrinks. I think by the end of chapter 5 the Endgame instances will be almost empty with the exception of maybe 1 guild per server working on it.
The original business model of this game doesn't work anymore, and it is pricing itself out of the market. They need to remodel the entire CS based on levels of toons, not on a continual increase in price per level.

Example
Lvl 50 Weapon Jewell = 10 Diamonds
Lvl 80 Weapon Jewell = 10 Diamonds
Why would they keep increasing the price when a lvl 50 won't buy a lvl 80 Jewel, and a lvl 80 wouldn't by a lvl 50 Jewel.

abls removed as perm item, will increase diamond prices, i will say and be proven right. Supply and demand, less items up for sale cause ABLs are more rare means higher prices. This means diamond sellers will raise their rates cause a certain piece of gear is only worth so much real money. Prices will go up. Gear will be harder to get. This is what these ELITISTS want. Littlefeather (or whoever he is) along with others like Dexhunter who thinks everyone should "earn it"..... AH prices will rise which in turn will make diamond prices in game right. So when they go from 30k.... to 60k just remember your "they should earn it" idea is what just cost YOU more.

If you are so dumb in financial ideas, you shouldnt try to change any policies. Itll bite you in the.. well you know. It is a circular system. if you try to push it too far on one side, the other will retailiate.


All i have to say is keep that elitist behavior up, ill check in in a month and see how it is doing for you. And ill be more then willing to post "i told you so... noob"


Edit to add, i am screen shotting all your posts just so that i can post them late when you are crying about diamond prices cause you tried to milk the system.

My answer the original question of the topic " Who will be buying diamonds at normal price?"

The answer is "Not I" and be honest not even at double diamonds....I don't think its a good deal. Too lil bang for the buck. Even at double diamonds you don't get many diamonds to buy the overpriced items off of the Cash Shop.
The game has gotten too expensive for me at these prices.

Quoted from "bratty;538563"

My answer the original question of the topic " Who will be buying diamonds at normal price?"

The answer is "Not I" and be honest not even at double diamonds....I don't think its a good deal. Too lil bang for the buck. Even at double diamonds you don't get many diamonds to buy the overpriced items off of the Cash Shop.
The game has gotten too expensive for me at these prices.

Okay, I will and already have. You used to get a smaller amount of diamonds for the different payment options, now you get more and prices in the item shop are lower, yet people still complain.

Quoted from "Musicmania;538490"

Wow.... LadyMacV I off ALL people would think you would agree Tmblake09 considering you were Again my ideas in my old thread. All Tmblake09 really is doing is just agreeing if not reinforcing what you said about the proper way to play a mmo and other players had to do it. But now that the Cs have changed and all those convinces are either mia, cost more, are gone you may now see what I was trying to explain in my thread (Premises: It may not be for you but don't take away those options and or give us more options for making the game easy [Convenience To Play]. And i'm not trying to flame, QQ, etc I''m just glad you see things from a different perspective now.

I was against the idea of being able to purchase EVERYTHING for diamonds because (a) the cost is astronomical, (B) nobody would learn to play their class and would walk out the other side just as unable to play the game as they were before the purchases were made, and (c) there is no way that GameFEU would code any of it correctly. The cash shop is borked to hell in a hogbasket already.

Oh, and D: Walking out with everything premade means you go run the latest content, chat for a bit and leave. It isn't the point of an MMO.

There is a big difference between my proposing gear be bind on equip, versus allowing all the power in the world to be bought in the cash shop.

Quoted from "tmblake09;538565"

Okay, I will and already have. You used to get a smaller amount of diamonds for the different payment options, now you get more and prices in the item shop are lower, yet people still complain.

Prices on some things went down .. but more things went up in price , so the game costs more now then before.

Quoted from "regentego;538600"

It used to be $21.99 for 500 diamonds, now you get 470 + 70 for using PayPal at $19.99. Yes slightly cheaper, but the normal price should be 1k diamonds for $20.

I would have suggested $15.00 = 1k
But at the same time they put a bit of thought into revamping the CS and reduce the prices to a more fair value.
Puris stones = 7 diamonds, Unbinders = 20, ABL's = 50. Jewel's all get priced the same unless they are just launched, then a higher price could be acceptable based on normal business practices. New products start off high and drop in price later. those who want to be the first pay more. Those that will wait will get good value later.
The only reason the game has been successful thus far with the current CS template is because some are addicted to the game, and they feel the uncontrollable need to be top of the food chain. However the number of those players are shrinking.
If you took the top 10 players off each server right now I would think Tosh would be untouchable.