DUST Search - The Future of BPO's

Aeon Amadi wrote:

And before anyone brings up the 'They're not pay to win because you can get them from FW' argument...

Pay-to-win changes in meaning depending on the arguer. That's always been the case. The goalpost for the Pay-to-Win definition continuously moves around to justify certain things and eventually it's just a keyword that people use to argue whether or not something should be in the game when it's really just a difference of opinion.

Here's the facts:

BPOs and APEX BPOs take away the feeling of risk and loss from this game. You don't have to worry about ISK expenditure and no matter how you want to justify it (availability in LP store, the ****** Eve Online 'noob ship' argument that people parrot while having no idea what they're talking about) the fact of the matter is this: In case of the APEX BPO, you field a powerful suit that is capable of versatility that standard BPO's simply cannot match. Sure, you can put on Complex modules and what not on a standard BPO, but you will never have the diverse effects of maximum fitting slots - this is where the power of higher tiered suits comes from to begin with outside of better PG/CPU.

The customization of APEX suits puts a precedent that, if you want to win in this game, you have to pay up. That, if you want an endless ISK source that is generated while you make minimal changes to your gameplay performance, you need to chalk up a few bucks. This effect is permanent and the argument was originally that "we don't have a market, we don't have an economy" - well, now we do.

We have a way to sell assets to an NPC vendor for raw ISK, we have an ability to trade items (that will eventually include things besides just officer gear). Yes, we have an economy now, even if it is rudimentary. Consider the effects that are brought on by the following:

The value of Standard Gear compared to a single BPO.
The value of a BPO compared to an APEX BPO.

Why would you ever buy a standard -anything- when you can just buy the one BPO and be done with it, PERMANENTLY?
Why would you ever buy a BPO if you can customize an APEX BPO, PERMANENTLY?

Regardless of how little of an impact they've made, they've still made an impact. There is simply no reason at all to purchase standard ISK variant suits/weapons anymore because BPO's replace them and give you the functionality of never having to spend ISK on them again; essentially creating an ISK faucet. The two most expensive items in the game are Suits and Weapons - both of which conveniently have BPO availability.

In the scope of the economy, these things are monstrous. I really can't wrap my head around why the Dust 514 community cannot see that or care about that.


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deezy dabest 2222	Posted - 2015.05.10 18:28:00 - [1] - Quote Aeon Amadi wrote: And before anyone brings up the 'They're not pay to win because you can get them from FW' argument... Pay-to-win changes in meaning depending on the arguer. That's always been the case. The goalpost for the Pay-to-Win definition continuously moves around to justify certain things and eventually it's just a keyword that people use to argue whether or not something should be in the game when it's really just a difference of opinion. Here's the facts: BPOs and APEX BPOs take away the feeling of risk and loss from this game. You don't have to worry about ISK expenditure and no matter how you want to justify it (availability in LP store, the ****** Eve Online 'noob ship' argument that people parrot while having no idea what they're talking about) the fact of the matter is this: In case of the APEX BPO, you field a powerful suit that is capable of versatility that standard BPO's simply cannot match. Sure, you can put on Complex modules and what not on a standard BPO, but you will never have the diverse effects of maximum fitting slots - this is where the power of higher tiered suits comes from to begin with outside of better PG/CPU. The customization of APEX suits puts a precedent that, if you want to win in this game, you have to pay up. That, if you want an endless ISK source that is generated while you make minimal changes to your gameplay performance, you need to chalk up a few bucks. This effect is permanent and the argument was originally that "we don't have a market, we don't have an economy" - well, now we do. We have a way to sell assets to an NPC vendor for raw ISK, we have an ability to trade items (that will eventually include things besides just officer gear). Yes, we have an economy now, even if it is rudimentary. Consider the effects that are brought on by the following: The value of Standard Gear compared to a single BPO. The value of a BPO compared to an APEX BPO. Why would you ever buy a standard -anything- when you can just buy the one BPO and be done with it, PERMANENTLY? Why would you ever buy a BPO if you can customize an APEX BPO, PERMANENTLY? Regardless of how little of an impact they've made, they've still made an impact. There is simply no reason at all to purchase standard ISK variant suits/weapons anymore because BPO's replace them and give you the functionality of never having to spend ISK on them again; essentially creating an ISK faucet. The two most expensive items in the game are Suits and Weapons - both of which conveniently have BPO availability. In the scope of the economy, these things are monstrous. I really can't wrap my head around why the Dust 514 community cannot see that or care about that. You still did not say anything to counter the fact that they can be bought without spending a single dollar. The fact that they are more powerful than BPOs that can be bought for cash actually offsets any pay to win argument. As far as them creating an ISK faucet goes you are correct in the fact that they generate a surplus of ISK but calling it a faucet is maybe a bit over stating it. For a novice player that does not have the core skills behind everything on the suit they are difficult to capitalize on their cost because they just do not score the kind of points needed to generate a large payout. For a fully specialized veteran they are a way to make money to be able to run higher level, properly fitted suits which means the need to balance risk versus reward is very much still alive. When it comes to the economy they are going to be great for the overall economy once they are able to be traded. Just like in Eve they will provide an alternative for new players to buy them for cash and sell them. Once this happens and those new players start spamming out proto gear that payout filters to everyone through the new PC battle payout system and through pub matches. The only thing missing on the economy is a way to viably create ISK so that this system can function like it really should to make CCP lots of money and make the Dust experience more enjoyable for everyone. I really hope that CCP recognizes this quickly so that we do not yet again see all of the power fall into the hands of those who took advantage of a broken PC system for so long.