MA: Item tiers and enhancers

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The item tier and enhancement system has been heavily debated amongst the community. Many participants have questioned the second item ingredient. We would like to share our view and motivation behind the selected design.

We are confident that the system gives the participants who choose to use it more options to customize their items and game play. For casual players it is quick to pick up limited items and just use them as normal as the tiers come automatically and it is very easy to add enhancers that feels right. On the other side of the spectrum are the hardcore players who devise charts and strive for best econ and optimal game play at every instant. They now have a big system to immerse themselves with and explore.

As most of you probably have discovered, enhancers improvement is calculated as a percentage, meaning an enhancer will provide greater benefit on a high end item than on a low end item. E.g. a weapon damage enhancer will give more extra damage on a high damage weapon than on a low damage weapon. To keep the balance, the upgrade cost must be proportional to the actual gain. By including a secondary item as ingredient, the item markup becomes part of this cost. It is up to you to determine if upgrading an item to a certain tier is worth the cost or if you want to ignore the options available.

By adding the secondary item as an ingredient we also get a drain in the economy concerning unlimited items. Drains are essential to have in the Entropia economy system. With a drain in place we have more ability to adjust the balancing and increase drop rates of unlimited items; something we believe is good for the community as a whole.

Another goal of the tier and item enhancements system is to give more participants access to interesting, challenging and more powerful items. For limited items you quickly get to higher tier levels free of charge while the tier upgrade progress with unlimited items takes a lot longer and involves additional costs. At the same time you will add options to a more personal item you could potentially use forever. We wanted to avoid a linear system in which all unlimited items quickly would have 10 enhancers connected as it would have a very high impact on the overall balance.

Upgrading high end items involves a significant investment. As such it will not cater to everyone. However, we foresee that some participants will choose to work as professional tier upgraders, and will offer upgraded items of various tiers for sale.

Enhancers are designed and balanced for being a mass-market item, especially at lesser tiers, but also on higher. The flexibility given by the various enhancers gives you, the player, greater control over how you want to participate. It is also open for additions in the future with new kinds of enhancers, without disrupting the existing market.

Item tier and enhancers is a major system that has significant impact on core activities in Planet Calypso and other Entropia planets. The MindArk balancing team is monitoring the system, analyzing statistics and fine tuning. We are also following forum discussions and reviewing support cases. Your input is much appreciated.

Regards,
The Entropia Platform development team.

http://www.entropiagateway.com/2009/12/item-tiers-and-enhancers/

 

So it turns out they want you to lose your unlimited items so they can put them back in the loot pool.

I hardly ever say this about anyone, but these people are stupid. Do they really think any high end item will ever be used and lost, or are they just telling a lie to make you think this wasn't intended all along to only be useful for limited items?

The replacement item to substitute for the actual second item in the process would invalidate the paragraph I quoted.

Knowing MA. I would bet that those replacement items will probably have some ridiculously high TT value/rarity to make markup excessive or some other limiting factor to their use.

One effect I can see happening (provided that the enhancements to items are cost effective enough to actually see widespread use) : crafted (L) items without high tier rates could become TT food.

 

Speechless I remain, and stand back, watching this spectacle unfold. If MA wanna play russian roulette with their own game and income...let them.

I am still seeing no classy ads in mainstream media promoting the product.

Told you guys they`re going the wrong road to profit. Overexploitation of an existing client base is NOT realy the right way to go. Unless they may soon launch one massive ad-campaign that may make WOW look like a flea.

 

'...For casual players it is quick to pick up limited items and just use them as normal...'

In my experience casual players use limited items much less than unlimited's as they're much more expensive (or they used to be) for comparable HA than unlimiteds are so no idea where ma gets this from...:o

 

Limited items more expensive for comparable HA? :-k Care to explain?

 

I always found in the auction that limiteds were more expensive than unlimiteds for comparable hit ability and condition levels... Ok, this doesn't take into account the ongoing costs of unlimiteds, I just mean in terms of the initial purchase price.

 

First, I still don't see what you mean by "comparable hit ability" between unlimited and limited weapons. It will never be comparable until you reach level 100 in a (Hit) profession, that's when the unlimited ones got the same HA as a maxed limited one.

What you say about initial purchase price is true (if it's any important is another matter), but only for the lowend weapons. Lowend unlimited guns are very cheap much because they simply suck, as you waste a lot of peds using them even under level 80 (which means 8/10 HA). And who would want to use those weak guns when you finally are at level 80?

Also, unless you have a very low bankroll and desperately want to head out to shoot something, never worry about the initial purchase price, worry about the running costs. ;)

 

Ok, I take back anything I said about 'comparable hit ability'.:D

The purchase cost for unlimiteds for equall condition is usually alot less, even with mid-range unlimiteds v mid-range limiteds, and casual players don't play that often because maybe they can't afford to play more often, that's why they're casual - so they don't wanna spend alot.

I've seen some really high-end unlimiteds in shops, and there I agree that they are more expensive than even high-end limiteds, but who can afford them?

 

I must admit, I've never liked the (L) limited items, as their arrival ingame made all the effort to progress through the unlimited range, especially of weapons, become an expensive waste of time. :hunter:

I do agree with the points Una has mentioned, especially regarding the better hit ability using L weapons, and therefore their purchase price should also be seen as including more regular hits/better damage/less ammo wasted etc. :-k

As Una has proved to be a master at economical hunting and maximising profits from loot, I certainly respect and acknowledge his suggestions and opinions regarding eco-hunting and L weapons. :ok:

 

I know what you mean nexus7 about the prices of the unlimited guns. Some of the lower end unlimited guns are reasonably inexpensive, but then they often tend to be lower in damage dealt (especially compared to the L weapons). I think the lowish costing unlimited guns are ideal for "casual" players, who for a reasonably low price can equip themselves with a weapon to use for some hunting fun, or for protection when sweat gathering, etc. Some of these players might only play once a week, or once a month, so they are happy to enjoy a low price weapon that lets them shoot at mobs a little bit.

Much as I dislike the (L), I think MA introduced them so that "mid" players, who did want to progress and gain some skills/loot and play more seriously, but who couldn't possibly compete with the highly skilled players, could use the (L) weapons to improve their playing and elevate their playstyle a bit above the standard unlimited weapons. That way the "casual" player can still keep using their unlimited weapon and have fun without needing to replace their weapon, while the more serious player can experience a higher level of play by using and progressing through the (L) weapons.

Might be all wrong, just mho. I still don't like the (L), but I can see they are a clever way to boost playstyle rather than using unlimited weapons, especially at low to mid levels.


Two more sleeps here until the 25th. :D

:snowman3: :santa3: :snowman2:​

 

This mirrors the situation I was in. I was starting to play 4-5 hours every day or something, and my ammo expense after a week or so was almost as much as the cost of the unlimiteds I was using, and at the same time, getting anywhere near 10/10 HA and crit-hit seemed to take for ever even with extra implants, so I switched to L's which helped a bit...