149541-chase-events-nothing-but-a-dirty-grab-for-money

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I'm a huge supporter of the game and i often defend carbine for all their flaws and mistakes they made in the past, but lets be honest, you guys have clearly no clue about what you are doing or how to please your customers while earning money without screwing one of these things over, or how do you explain the fact that for the 3rd time, you create an ingame event that is nothing but a big advertisement for your RNG boxes sold on the shop.
Its clearly not an ingame event made for the players.
Its not there to give players a reason to login.
Its not there to incentivize dungeons (expeditions/adventures) for people that usually don't run them anymore.
Its ONLY there in order to trick us into buying your RNG boxes on the shop, since thats the only way, we may or may not, get the cool stuff.
Thats a big, dirty grab for our money, and nothing else. Incentivize the content the event is promoting for all your players (not only the housing guys) by offering a slight chance to all the rewards and let the shop do what it is supposed todo, giving the player a shortcut (for money). It could be easily a win/win situation for everyone. If you really want to keep these cool items exclusively available through the shop, then at least stop putting them into RNG boxes. Thats just a dirty move. Let people buy them directly (single/multi claim options). You dont have to choose between "pleasing the players" and "making money"... you can do both at the same time and events like this should be exactly that, but they clearly arent. And please dont start with the "there are omnibits" crap. Nobody is able to buy tons of rng boxes with omibits and everybody, especially carbine, knows that.This complain is not primarily about RNG boxes... its about how carbine's management has clearly no clue about how to please their players while simultaneously earn money.The whole purpose of these events is to make money AND to keep us busy and entertained while we wait for the next big chunk of content to arrive. That's pretty straight forward, and messing it up that big, is actually kinda hard... which frustrates me even more. Creating these assets and rewards costs a lot of time/manpower and therefor money and to make the best of out it, these events should always try to cater as many players as possible. I'm not into housing and since there are literally NO other incentives besides a couple of decor items, i never participated in any of the chase events.I care for this game so much, but it just frustrates me, even makes me angry, that carbine's management keeps messing things up and/or is not able to make the best out of what they got. Instead of making these events a win/win situation carbine makes it a lose/lose. Just think about it... ppl in carbine's management get paid for these kind of things. They make a living out of it and thats the best they could come up with.Lets take a look at what we got. Here are all rewards for this chase event:Decor Items:
1 of 7 pieces from the Osun décor set
1 of 7 pieces from the Torine décor set
1 of 7 pieces from the Protostar décor set
Housing Decor NPC's: (not available by participating in the event)
Osun Juggernaut NPC
Osun Hatewitch NPC
Swordmaiden NPC
Life Elemental NPC
Housing Supervisor NPC
Protostar Drillbot NPC
1 random Dungeon Crawler NPC from a large grab bag
Housing Music & Skyboxes: (not available by participating in the event)
"The Fortress" Music Track
"Oath of the Swordmaiden" Music Track
"ProtoSwing Dance Time" Music Track
Proto Pleasant Skybox
Forgemaster's Delight Skybox
Torine Twilight Skybox
Mount & Pet: (not available by participating in the event)
Torine Swordcat Mount
Torine Swordkitten Pet
So just imagine you were sitting in Carbine's office and it would be your task to make the best out of all this good stuff. It should be fairly simple, by just thinking logical. In order to get ppl into doing content they wouldn't do otherwise, you need an incentive thats meaningful enough to create a desire for as many people as possible. 21 decor items will not make that happen and never will. Only a fraction cares about housing, so in order to make this event a success for as many players as possible, you need to give them a slight chance to get the good stuff. Just give ppl a 1-2% chance to get the mount/pet and a 5-10% to get a housing npc/musictrack/skybox and i can guarantee you, even ppl with full DS gear will start running dungeons/adventures or what not. Make all these rewards BoE too, so that people can sell the stuff if they got unlucky instead of deleting the item and creating frustation doing so. If you dont like to grind for the cool stuff, you can also take the shortcut and spent your money/omnibits on it. Thats your choice. You can also try to get it by participating and on the last day of the event, if you still got no luck, then decide to spent some hard cash. Also, instead of offering rng boxes all over the place, try to mix it up a little by making certain rewards directly purchaseable. For example, let people choose if they want to spent their event currency on 10 rng boxes or either want to purchase a certain housing skybox instead. (gamble or no gamble... the player decides). Sure, its not that easy to make the right decisions but at some point you have to make a compromise and thats all i'm talking about. You cannot make an event solely for the purpose of luring ppl into the shop and you also cannot make an event where everybody gets everything for free. Both mindsets are wrong. CRB has to find neutral ground, a compromise, by serving both parties interests.The event itself can only function if enough ppl participate in it and its reason for existance is (besides creating revenue) to entertain people, so they stick to the game in times where no new content is available. Its important to have these kind of events and occasional incentives for leveling / running dungeons or what not, it keeps ppl on their toes and invested in the game. So your event HAS to be setup with the players interest in mind, by creating incentives that matter enough in order to make it a success from a player perspective. Of course you always should try to make as much revenue from these kind of events, since thats how it works in f2p games and thats totally fine, but only as long as you do not put the event itself in jeopardy.Something like this may work with expedition chase events where ppl can do it solo and dont rely on other players, but especially with dungeons / battlegrounds and other group content events, it gets more and more important to find incentives that matter to the majority of ppl. Just take a look at the amount and quality of all this cool stuff they have available for these chase events. Its just a total waste of resources to only make these kind of events solely focused towards players that are into housing. And i think everyone agrees that this is not intended. It probably was the plan, to make something nice for everyone, but it clearly failed. There are 18 different rewards, but only 3 are available for actually participating in the event. Thats clearly a big joke and smells too much like a cash grab with no player interest in mind and reduces the amount of players interested in the event to a fraction of what it could be.
 
Honorable mention: 
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I couldn't agree with the OP more. We've been giving this same exact feedback on each and every one of these "events" and so far you guys have been completely ignoring us, maybe offering an occasional platitude of "we'll talk about it with the team" to appear as if you understand and listen to what we're saying, when in reality you just hope we get used to more and more store bull. So let me repeat it yet again, I'm still NOT SPENDING a single cent on gambling on RNG boxes and will continue to not buy anything in the store that is a.) not account wide, b.) ridiculously overpriced and/or c.) not a direct purchase. I'm hoping that sooner rather than later you will realize you will earn much more money by offering your players options they actually want. I want to give you more money, I want to help make WS more successful, but not this way. If you really wanted to make the events exciting for players, greatly up the participation rates and have us wanting to throw money at you, you would:- Attach a small chance of winning any of the cool stuff by running the actual content the event is promoting and- offer all of the event items on the store as separate direct purchases. Bundles/packs as additional offers would be very welcome and perused as well (as already shown in the past). I know it's been said before and just now, but it bears repeating until you hear it. Because people would be very much encouraged to run the content and to give you money as well, if they had a chance to win rewards fairly in the game with the alternative to just buy them directly, and would feel happy about their purchase and sure to come to the store again. Instead of having little to zero reason of participating in the event and feeling scammed after spending ridiculous amounts of money on the boxes, still not receiving what they're trying to buy and suffering from gambler's remorse. I'm starting to get upset about you simply refusing to comprehend this and shoving your heads in the sand to the detriment of the game and its community.
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			I'm absolutely sick and tired of every event that they come out with having stuff locked behind stupid rng boxes this isn't content these are cash grabs and not even the good kind quarter of the decor from what I can see in the torine and osun stuff CAN ALREADY BE BOUGHT IN GAME. Give us incentive to play the game not spend money are boxes or just let us our right buy the pets or mounts, I'm pretty sure no ones going to be happy anymore when these events come out because THEY ALWAYS COME WITH AN RNG BOX!	
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			I am amazed. Somebody has to pay in the free-to-play model?	
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I am amazed. Somebody has to pay in the free-to-play model?
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I am amazed. Somebody has to pay in the free-to-play model?
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Paying for stuff isn't that big of a deal.  Heck I'm still subbed, I've bought some NCoins when I didn't have enough Omnibits.  That's not a problem.  But when you see just how bad the RNG is for those boxes that are the only way to get a chance at the mount and pet, it becomes a really huge deal.
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In addition to the OPs points, which I 100% agree with, I'm going to add this:
 
If you are going to continue to have events like this, at least be consistent in how the rewards are handled across all of them. My main gripe here is BoE vs BoP. Here are the events that have happened so far, what you could get from the vendor and boxes, and how they bind:
 
Space Chase:
Vendor: All building decor pieces - All BoE
Boxes: All building decor pieces found on vendor, additional decor in the form of plot npcs, ship models, and housing music - All BoE
 
Boss Hunter:
Vendor: Sold the boxes, which you needed cash shop keys to open
Boxes: Mostly full of things that you could find anywhere else in the game
The good stuff from boxes: Mount, Pet, Dye - BoE -- Toy - BoP
 
Sim Chase:
Vendor: All building decor pieces
Boxes: All building decor pieces found on vendor, additional decor in the form of plot npcs, housing music and housing skys - BoE
Mount and pets - BoP	
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https://gyazo.com/5c4f7ad9e76e4b927dd6d1369beec28b
 
I'm tired of the rng boxes too. They've had this same feedback for over a month now and nothing's been done. I'm actually considering dropping my sub.	
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			I don't understand any of this... the notice for the event basically says you can play dungeons to earn housing decor and during the event there is a limited time rng box that has a mount in it. What about this makes you think it's a dirty cash grab?... if you want the mount, buy the boxes AND if you only want the boxes for the mount then spend your money wisely because it's obviously rare and not guaranteed which makes it more valuable, unique and therefor worth more $$$.... if you don't want to spend money then why the eff do you think you are entitled to everything for free? and if you don't want the housing decor then don't grind dungeons for it...
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Lawligator	
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Solution : Buy nothing
I stopped spending money on this game after the second cash-grab event.
Same reason I do not purchase a single box in Blade and Soul.
 
Don't support the direction they're taking? Then speak with your wallet.
Only way to get a message across in F2P.	
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			Cosmetic stuff in RNG boxes is pretty much the norm for free/buy to play games. TF2 does it, GW2 does it, SWTOR does it. The problem is if you make it too accessible then people won't buy anything and the company won't make any money. It doesn't really bother me much since I don't really care for housing or cosmetic items; that said I can see why some people are getting upset over it.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Nyoro~	
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I don't understand any of this... the notice for the event basically says you can play dungeons to earn housing decor and during the event there is a limited time rng box that has a mount in it. What about this makes you think it's a dirty cash grab?... if you want the mount, buy the boxes.. if you don't want to spend money then why the eff do you think you are entitled to everything for free? and if you don't want the housing decor then don't grind dungeons for it...
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With subscription everyone pays. With F2P a few pay. The fewer that pay, the more each one of those has to pay. In order for those few to pay more, they have to buy more boxes. The more necessary it is to get them to buy more boxes, the lousier the RND chance for the desired reward in each box has to become. In order for them to pay despite the RND chance being lousy, well, the lousier the RND chance, the more exclusive the content has to be - as in not available any other way. TANSTAAFL.
 
Wasn't it quite obvious that "Pay to Win-free Free to Play" would push the burden to pay from those that like to fight to those that like to collect?
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Solution : Buy nothing
I stopped spending money on this game after the second cash-grab event.
Same reason I do not purchase a single box in Blade and Soul.
 
Don't support the direction they're taking? Then speak with your wallet.
Only way to get a message across in F2P.
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I just wish they'd let me buy things directly instead of locking things away into RNG boxes.
 
I will continue to not drop a single dime on rng boxes. If they'd just make the housing tracks, etc up for direct purchase, then they'd actually be getting money from me.	
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Honestly, these drop boxes don't bother me. LOTRo is worse, by far, with the stupid boxes. Wildstar keeps them fairly small, IMO. Then again, I gave up being a collector when there's a shop involved. I buy what I really want, and just don't worry about the rest.
 
That being said, I did drop my Signature service. I'll likely buy CREDD in game as I have no issue having enough plat, but there's just no real point to being Sig right now. Plus, now I can spend that money in the store without feeling guilty. If NCoin was included in the sub, I'd be far more likely to keep it. But, since it's not, and since I have all the benefits I really need just because I've played for so long, I don't feel obligated to have the sub.	
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Considering they are pretty up front and honest about how it works, it's def not dirty. Sure, it's about making money, but since we don't pay to play the game, they kinda have to do that somehow! My hopes are things from the boxes are BOE, so they can be sold on the AH for folks that want them. Outside of that, I just don't really care. I play like they don't exist 99% of the time. I never get anything I want from RNG boxes in any game, ever. I gave up on them long ago. LOL
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I am not a big fun of how events are currently working either. Sure game have to generate profit and sure some rewards like mount and pet may be included in cash shop only. The problem is how it is implemented.
We have event with bunch of decors that you can obtain via in-game event, if they are cool enough to make players participate is another thing (putting completely aside if events only for stuff in your houseplot will appeal to everyone). Then we have bunch of other decors (usually cooler), that can be obtained only in cash shop. And all above is mixed together in RNG boxes... Last time ~50 boxes for me and not mount, nor pet (fine for me I was looking for sky and music for houseplot, but still...).	
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they have done it right with Madam's Fay, its litteraly RNG but everything is BoE and therefore can be obtained for "free" if the player doesn't want to spend real money.
 
Then they came with these retarded RNG boxes with all the best items being BoP (mounts/pets). During the adventure event I've spent 500 omnibits on 1 box trying to get the ugly pet and I got nothing. So, yes, I won't be spending any real money on this huge RNG fest, and sadly I can't force someone to spend their NCoins so I can throw plat at them, cause BoP.
 
That pet/mount looks cute though, sad you are gating them behind real money only and don't let your F2P player a real chance at getting it. 500 omnibits for no mount/pet isn't a real chance.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Alfalfa	
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This times 1 thousand... but there's no reason to go shouting to the rooftops that it's a dirty grab for money because it really, really, really is not.
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I don't understand any of this... the notice for the event basically says you can play dungeons to earn housing decor and during the event there is a limited time rng box that has a mount in it. What about this makes you think it's a dirty cash grab?... if you want the mount, buy the boxes AND if you only want the boxes for the mount then spend your money wisely because it's obviously rare and not guaranteed which makes it more valuable, unique and therefor worth more $$$.... if you don't want to spend money then why the eff do you think you are entitled to everything for free? and if you don't want the housing decor then don't grind dungeons for it...
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Well this is disappointing.
 
At least there's a chase event where the decor is something I'm intrested in (torine stuff would go great with my plot) so I might be encouraged to log on, but dat RNG box.  Shame too, that's a unique mount model we haven't seen before (as a mount, obv as npcs and pets) and would have loved to get my hands on it if it was just for regular cash.  Not about to spend a million dollars and still not RNG it.	
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It's not about feeling entitled(nice way to try and diminish our problem, kudos :) ).  We understand value, and rarity, and exclusivity, and all that *cupcake*, but should that value, rarity, and exclusivity come at the price of hundreds of dollars that may not even give us those valuable, rare, and exclusive items?  Especially since they can't be traded and obtained by actually playing the game?  We're making our displeasure known.  We do want the items, just not the way they're trying to give them to us.  Sure, keep them in an RNG box, but either lessen the RNG a bit or give us other means to obtain them too.
 
True, speak with the wallet, but actually giving input with that closed wallet is helpful too.
 
Someone that admits they fight/play dirty doesn't mean they don't fight/play dirty anymore just because they were honest about how they do things.
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As long as the RNG boxes aren't dropping from dungeons with keys you have to purchase required for opening, I have no problem with this.
 
Offering special rewards behind RNG boxes- I guess it's just the devil required to keep the lights on in this model.
 
Won't bother me since I don't look at the store anyway.	
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I just wish they'd let me buy things directly instead of locking things away into RNG boxes.
 
I will continue to not drop a single dime on rng boxes. If they'd just make the housing tracks, etc up for direct purchase, then they'd actually be getting money from me.
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They have to make money, but in a way that people support.
Quick Cash Events like these will not last.
Like you said and Naunet said : Put it normally on the Cash Shop and people will buy it.
Don't hide this in RNG boxes in the hopes of squeezing out more money.
 
You're simply frustrating your player base.
The result : less people spending money, which is the opposite of what you want.
These events smell like short-term planning by some product/project manager who thinks he has found the next golden donkey in online gaming.
Think big, think long term.
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Wow, I'm really digging these NPCs and music! Definitely going to get ten of each Funbag.
 
One criticism, though; a good chunk of these decor items are already available in-game. 	
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			Guess I should also stop doing the Lotto, those swine's really rip me off! All those TV adverts are there to trick me.....I've never once won 60 million	
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Guess I should also stop doing the Lotto, those swine's really rip me off! All those TV adverts are there to trick me.....I've never once won 60 million
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PS: And please dont start with the "there are omnibits" crap. Nobody is able to buy tons of rng boxes with omibits and everybody, especially carbine, knows that.
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While I agree that RNG boxes suck, I don't really completely agree with this. Going into the last "event" I had almost 400 bits. That and a measly $5 got me everything I wanted, except the caretaker, sadly. I just save my bits between "events" and I can get a good chunk of what I want each time for free. 
 
Also, I have zero problem, at all, with premium items from an "event" being cash shop only. The game has to make money. Joke on Carbine is, they think RNG boxes are this big cash cow, but I probably would have spent more if I didn't have to buy RNG boxes. If I could have bought the music tracks and skies separately they probably would have got two to three times more out of me. 
 
If it were up to me, I'd still sell the "event" RNG boxes like they do now, but I'd also add the sky and music track to the store for direct purchase. This would add some convenience to players and probably make the game more money. Some players will pay to get exactly what they want, like I would have, and likely spend more doing it than on RNG boxes, and some players will buy RNG boxes and hope they get lucky... and when they don't by the end of the "event" they'll spend some more to buy the music and skies they didn't get. 
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Solution : Buy nothing
I stopped spending money on this game after the second cash-grab event.
Same reason I do not purchase a single box in Blade and Soul.
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Offering special rewards behind RNG boxes- I guess it's just the devil required to keep the lights on in this model.
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At least you know what your odds are on the Lotto ;)
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			I want to buy stuff directly from the store, the devs need to create more costumes, decor, mounts etc etc that appeal to a wider audience, we dont need everyone dress like michael Jackson or Herman monster 	
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			Are there other things in the boxes? Like...crafting mats and special flasks? If not, I'd actually be a lot more likely to buy them. I'm kinda hopeless sometimes. I drop silly amounts in Heroes of the Storm when they have a skin/mount I want (mmmm...Lunar Jaina skin!!)  I do the same in this game. Thus far, I've avoided all gamble boxes because I'd only ever get flasks, if that's in there. LOL	
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I am amazed. Somebody has to pay in the free-to-play model?
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I think this could be considered a Mordesh?
 
 
 	
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Reward good behavior and punish bad behavior. If you punish all behavior they won't know what's good and what's bad. When they have good items for fair prices I have no problem giving them money. When it comes to icky stuff like RNG boxes and stupidly overpriced limited edition stuff (Winterfest white dye) I use omnibits and no more than pocket change, if I don't just avoid the items completely that is. 
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I want to buy stuff directly from the store, the devs need to create more costumes, decor, mounts etc etc that appeal to a wider audience, we dont need everyone dress like michael Jackson or Herman monster 
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The main problem I have with the RNG boxes isn't the cash-grabiness of them.  It's the fact that putting all of the non-decor stuff in RNG boxes defeats the entire purpose of the event.  These events are designed to encourage people to participate in a specific part of Wildstar's content, but the reward that is included for doing so is purely for housing enthusiasts.  And, as we saw with the Sim-Chase event, that isn't enough to sustain people's interest in doing this content over the course of the entire event. I'm sure Dungeon Chase won't be as big of an issue at 50 since people run dungeons anyways, but I could see pre-50 dungeons fizzling out for similar reasons.
 
If they put a minipet, costume, mount, toy, etc. up for sale on the vendors, than a much wider audience would have interest in these events.
 
 
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Also, I have zero problem, at all, with premium items from an "event" being cash shop only. The game has to make money. Joke on Carbine is, they think RNG boxes are this big cash cow, but I probably would have spent more if I didn't have to buy RNG boxes. If I could have bought the music tracks and skies separately they probably would have got two to three times more out of me. 
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			If they can't make the RNG-exclusive items available for direct sale, then I wish they'd at least offer "gold" RNG boxes that contain RNG-exclusive items and nothing else. I wouldn't mind paying a bit more to gamble as long as I knew I would always get something I couldn't have just bought from the event vendor. They'd still have filler, even - the Space Cadet NPCs, the Simulated NPCs, and now the Dungeon Crawler NPCs.	
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I couldn't agree with the OP more. We've been giving this same exact feedback on each and every one of these "events" and so far you guys have been completely ignoring us, maybe offering an occasional platitude of "we'll talk about it with the team" to appear as if you understand and listen to what we're saying, when in reality you just hope we get used to more and more store bull.
 
So let me repeat it yet again, I'm still NOT SPENDING a single cent on gambling on RNG boxes and will continue to not buy anything in the store that is a) not account wide, b) ridiculously overpriced and/or c) not a direct purchase. I'm hoping that sooner rather than later you will realize you will earn much more money by offering your players options they actually want. I want to give you more money, I want to help make WS more successful, but not this way.
 
 
If you really wanted to make the events exciting for players, greatly up the participation rates and have us wanting to throw money at you, you would:
- Attach a small chance of winning any of the cool stuff by running the actual content the event is promoting and
- offer all of the event items on the store as separate direct purchases. Bundles/packs as additional offers would be very welcome and perused as well (as already shown in the past).
 
I know it's been said before and just now, but it bears repeating until you hear it. Because people would be very much encouraged to run the content and to give you money as well, if they had a chance to win rewards fairly in the game with the alternative to just buy them directly, and would feel happy about their purchase and sure to come to the store again. Instead of having little to zero reason of participating in the event and feeling scammed after spending ridiculous amounts of money on the boxes, still not receiving what they're trying to buy and suffering from gambler's remorse.
 
 
I'm starting to get upset about you simply refusing to comprehend this and shoving your heads in the sand to the detriment of the game and its community.
 
 
Edit: Unintended emoticon.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Bathory Bane	
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The key to RNG boxes is the same as lottery tickets: a small investment for a tiny chance to get a prize that is worth much more than that investment. Except there's two problems:- In the lottery you know exactly what your chances are at getting each prize because you know how many possible numbers there are for you to choose. Not so with RNG boxes in MMOs: the drop rates are kept under wraps. They give us a list of possible prizes, sure, but what's stopping them from having the music tracks, the pets or the mounts at a 0.000005% chance? Nothing at all.
- There's no sense of what any of the items are actually worth. This is in part because nobody knows what are the odds of getting it, but also because these items, on virtue of being exclusive 'prizes' from a box', do not have a direct monetary value the way, say, a costume piece could have.
 
In another note, has anyone notices that THREE of the items offered in the Forge Case are already obtainable in game? The two statues and the tree. One of them is an item architects can make quite easily. And I'm fairly sure the osun anvil is also a drop from one of the housing Expeditions.	
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I think the OP's post is ridiculous.
 
Yes, let players have a chance to earn all the rewards by playing content. Sounds like a wonderful game. Sounds ~too good to be true because then who would bother buying anything~?  But sure, let's make posts 100% from the players' point of view, serving only the players. You can talk all you want about cash shopping everything but I'll trust Carbine ahead of a bunch of gamers who have no inside information whatsoever when it comes to making financial decisions. Decisions which will determine if Wildstar stays around for another few years, if we see expansions at any point, and if the studio can start to grow again instead of just subsisting.
 
This event does everything you claim it doesn't, AS WELL AS being a money grab. And money grabbing is the world we live in. Don't pretend like you're not part of some business, somewhere.
 
I don't like the RNG cases and completely empathize with criticizing that, but acting like this event is bogus in its entirety just because you have a problem with certain aspects of it? Absurd. I'm a builder and all of these events appeal to me quite a bit. Yes, I will have fun, yes, I will run dungeons and feel incentivized to do so, yes I will organize people and get to enjoy gameplay with friends, yes I will also spend money on the cash shop making direct purchases to get extra big bucks. I will then earn plat in-game and buy the music and sky unlocks and NPCs I want from the auction house or directly from players, without having to gamble. All good reasons to log in.
 
Your absolutism is so far-fetched and annoying. Carbine can't win. What I find to be stupid are players who think they know best when the reality is they don't have the first clue about what will earn Carbine more money, how much money they need to get by/grow, or how many players actually are deadset against the events/RNG cases. Every time a new event comes someone feels the need to talk about how much more money Carbine could make "if only X". So tell me how much money Carbine has made from these events so far? Oh that's right, you can't. Tell me how many gamble boxes sold? Oh, can't do that either.
 
You. Don't. Have. A. Clue. Stop pretending like you know better based solely on massive amounts of speculation and conjecture. You use words llike "we" when the OP's post will likely never exceed 30 likes. And even if it had 500 likes, that doesn't mean squat considering how many people play the game.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by EsperXIV	
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			Not being able to purchase Jeff's new tracks is killing me a little inside, again. It's damn near criminal you're locking such beauty behind filthy RNG.	
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~basically all good stuff~
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Not being able to purchase Jeff's new tracks is killing me a little inside, again. It's damn near criminal you're locking such beauty behind filthy RNG.
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https://gyazo.com/5c4f7ad9e76e4b927dd6d1369beec28b
 
I'm tired of the rng boxes too. They've had this same feedback for over a month now and nothing's been done. I'm actually considering dropping my sub.
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{| class="blockquote"
So earn some plat and buy the music unlocks from players who have the money and willingness to gamble.
 
It's really ~not hard~.
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{| class="blockquote"
Since you somehow presume I don't have either the money or the plat to participate in gambling if I so wished...no, thanks. That would be supporting and further perpetuating the horrible practices discussed and criticised in this thread (and many others) that we're trying to get replaced. But you already know this since it's really ~not hard~ to understand and I won't be falling prey to the clear provocation bait ever again. I know, my bad.
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			Completely unrelated to the previous poster, but I wonder how far up Carbine's butt it's possible to get your nose.	
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{| class="blockquote"
Completely unrelated to the previous poster, but I wonder how far up Carbine's butt it's possible to get your nose.
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At least we don't have star wars with lockbox inside lockbox :P
 
Following latest news about Rift going p2win, Trion says that selling lockboxes is way more profitable then selling the items directly in the store. That's probably why lockboxes (or lockbox inside lockbox) is the way for most f2p-games. So, if enough players buy boxes to make it more profitable than selling the item directly, why should one sell the item directly? Decrease profits for what reason? I bet what would give a reason to sell items directly is when selling lockboxes become less profitable.
So, in order to have lockboxes removed or lockbox events decreased, yes... people must stop buying them. 
 
Personally, I don't do lockboxes, perhaps I would if I didn't have to worry about money. I did however buy the strain snarflelynx directly from the store, and perhaps would have considered this cat one as well depending on the cost if it was sold directly. However, I don't blame Carbine for not giving me access to it directly in the store, even if I personally would prefer it. If it's between lockboxes or lockboxes in lockboxes or potential p2win transitions... I rather have these lockbox events if they are profitable to Carbine.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Tea	
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VERY disappointed all the stuff that will get most people interested in doing the event is STILL stuck in the RNG boxes, BUT the main issue is these RNG boxes don't even have a rare chance to drop from doing the content (say killing the final boss in the dungeon) which would get most doing it.
 
Pure speculation atm but I think the reason these events are stuck behind these RNG boxes is due to the low population Carbine has to rely on the whales to pump hundreds of dollars into these things as there wouldn't be enough people just spending $15-20 in the store. It's sad but it's kind of a vicious cycle, a HUGE percentage of the player base simply doesn't care for decor items and therefor doesn't care about any of the events at all. Meaning Carbine are probably turning away more players with these events than keeping as they are seen as PURE cash grabs due to not even a minuscule chance of even the RNG boxes dropping ingame.
 
They must have made decent cash from the last lot of RNG boxes or they wouldn't be doing this again. Now when I see events I quickly flick through the announcement to see if they have a chance to drop ingame (even if extremely minimal) and if not it's "who cares".
 
In the end though if it keeps the game alive it's not that hard to just ignore these events (if you don't want to buy) is it.
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by H3rboss	
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{| class="blockquote"
Just curious, Niiliana, because I generally approve of your posts...
 
Why do you think, based solely on the fact that feedback has been given, Carbine should stop making RNG cases? I'm trying to understand how this idea of "we spoke, you're wrong" is logical. Just because a handful (and yes, it's always a handful compared to the game's population) are complaining doesn't make them right. It might mean Carbine should listen up, and I hope they are, but much the same with game mechanics, there can't be this expectation that feedback = change, automatically.
 
I mean the criticism of F2P and some of its mechanics, that's one thing. But are we going to keep using arguments like this as a reason for Carbine to suddenly stop using ~their own~ information and insight toward financing the game?
 
Really don't understand. Maybe I should get a crowd and go to an Apple store and rahrahrah them to drop the prices on their products. Then in a few months when the next iPadairprowaferfad8.0 item comes out they'll have a good reason to drop the price, even though they made a ton of money from the last version from silent buyers.
 
/sarcasm off  :P
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			I don't mind the boxes in and of themselves, the problem is they always cram soooooo much stuff in the boxes that RNG becomes a nightmare.  Why not make one box that has the 1-7 decor items; one that has the NPCs; and one that has the Music, sky, mount and pet in it?  	
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{| class="blockquote"
I honestly feel there's better way of getting players to pay for stuff. I got into a lot of it on twitter today, where Sunshine has had the same experience during her playtime in SWTOR and is bringing our feelings to the devs. While the OP is a bit over dramatic, and I don't usually agree with him, his point is still pretty valid.  
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{| class="blockquote"
I agree completely, I think there are better ways to handle this. Both for the players and potentially for Carbine, mainly via compromise. I just wish people would state an opinion and stand by it (or use any form of evidence if they can), instead of stating an opinion and then acting like the opinion alone has all the merit the world can offer. :P  Especially when there's easy to find counter-evidence... like H3rboss speculating that RNG cases are a result of low population. They might be right, I wouldn't rule it out, but I will say that the fact that high population games also use them doesn't really jive...
 
Anyway. The point I got from the OP is that the events are 'dirty money-grubbing' and ~nothing else~. That was pretty clear in his post. I hope you don't stand by that kind of rhetoric. :(
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{| class="blockquote"
Guess I should also stop doing the Lotto, those swine's really rip me off! All those TV adverts are there to trick me.....I've never once won 60 million
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{| class="blockquote"
Well that's why I directly prefaced that statement with "This is pure speculation", however now knowing that other better populated games use the RNG box method also tells me that they are absolutely here to stay as companies aren't going to hit a point of revenue and be happy enough with it to relax things like this.
 
Welcome to the future of MMO's where the speculation is made up and the ingame events don't matter!
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{| class="blockquote"
Availability has been scarce and the cost has been way more than I am willing to spend plat-wise when I'm already constantly scraping the bottom of my plat barrel due to rune costs.
 
It's really ~not hard~ for Carbine to make things available for direct purchase, either.
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{| class="blockquote"
I agree completely, I think there are better ways to handle this. Both for the players and potentially for Carbine, mainly via compromise. I just wish people would state an opinion and stand by it (or use any form of evidence if they can), instead of stating an opinion and then acting like the opinion alone has all the merit the world can offer. :P  Especially when there's easy to find counter-evidence... like H3rboss speculating that RNG cases are a result of low population. They might be right, I wouldn't rule it out, but I will say that the fact that high population games also use them doesn't really jive...
 
Anyway. The point I got from the OP is that the events are 'dirty money-grubbing' and ~nothing else~. That was pretty clear in his post. Add on to that the presumption that getting rid of RNG cases is better for Carbine... based on what knowledge, exactly?
 
I hope you don't stand by that kind of rhetoric. :(
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There's actually someone here defending RNG cash boxes. Hilarious.
 
These little "events" have never been anything more than advertisements directed at the whales to come gamble for new stuff from the cash shop.	
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{| class="blockquote"
These little "events" have never been anything more than advertisements directed at the whales to come gamble for new stuff from the cash shop.
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{| class="blockquote"
I think you know I don't.
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There are merits to RNG boxes, their are merits to direct purchases, and there are merits to mixed systems like Carbine has implemented so far.
 
Don't like RNG boxes? That's ok, we are all entitled to our opinions. Wan't to pretend / lie that they don't work? GTFO. There is a reason SWTOR made so much bank on their cash shop (*hint* it's the cartel packs). 
 
I was able to get everything I wanted from the Sim Chase, and I was also able to sell lots of the random stuff I didn't want to people who were unwilling to roll the dice.
 
Is carbine making a selfish cash grab? No, they have put up the most lenient F2P system I've ever seen. Is it worth spending money on what they put price points on? Up for you to decide. I have no problem paying for chances at what I wan't... YMMV
			
				
	Edited February 8, 2016 by Nazryn	
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{| class="blockquote"
There are merits to RNG boxes, their are merits to direct purchases, and there are merits to mixed systems like Carbine has implemented so far.
 
Don't like RNG boxes? That's ok, we are all entitled to our opinions. Wan't to pretend / lie that they don't work? GTFO. There is a reason SWTOR made so much bank on their cash shop (*hint* it's the cartel packs). 
 
I was able to get everything I wanted from the Sim Chase, and I was also able to sell lots of the random stuff I didn't want to people who were unwilling to roll the dice.
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{| class="blockquote"
Cool conjecture. So these events are only an advertisement to get whales to gamble on.
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{| class="blockquote"
There are merits to RNG boxes, their are merits to direct purchases, and there are merits to mixed systems like Carbine has implemented so far.
 
Don't like RNG boxes? That's ok, we are all entitled to our opinions. Wan't to pretend / lie that they don't work? GTFO. There is a reason SWTOR made so much bank on their cash shop (*hint* it's the cartel packs). 
 
I was able to get everything I wanted from the Sim Chase, and I was also able to sell lots of the random stuff I didn't want to people who were unwilling to roll the dice.
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{| class="blockquote"
I'm not disputing the fact that they don't work. But they *cupcake* off loyal customers. And Carbine has few and far of those left.
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I am telling Carbine I want to give them money. I want to give them money for a product I want.
 
What I will not do is give them money for a chance at the product I want.	
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{| class="blockquote"
It's well known and documented in finance articles regarding "rng box" strategies in games that they're employed because it lures some people into spending a lot. Those people are the whales.
 
On the Blade and Soul forums, there were a couple players admitting to spending upwards of $500 on the latest addition to the game's cash shop - a, you guessed it, RNG box. The items are there to fish for whales, the few people who will spend hundreds to make sure they get what they want. That's the entire point of RNG boxes.
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{| class="blockquote"
Cool conjecture. So these events are only an advertisement to get whales to gamble on. That's your premise, clearly stated.
 
So how do you explain all the awesome decor myself and various builder friends got without recourse to RNG boxes? We got it from adventure farming and direct cash shop purchases of Sim Cards. And can you fit into your theory the fact that I acquired various stuff only available from RNG boxes... without getting that stuff from RNG boxes?
 
Let's hear it. I can't wait.
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{| class="blockquote"
Good for you.
 
I'm glad you bought all your shit off the AH. I'm glad you have friends who can stomach the cancer that is adventures.
 
I mean you were so supportive of this event you're defending you waited until someone else opened up his wallet and then traded him ingame currency for his trash.
 
Funny how that worked out huh?
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{| class="blockquote"
Naunet, I'm not contesting whether these things target whales. Come on now. :P If you think my quote implied that then I'm sorry, maybe I failed to be clear. But look at what I wrote in full and in context— it's a counter-argument that attempts to undermine the idea that these events are "only" about whaling. They're not, and it's so easy to see they're not it hurts my brain to read lazy ass conjecture like the player I quoted wrote.
 
That's my main beef with this whole thread. Not only does JHeezy's statement completely disregard the very real existence of people having fun with these events, it also disregards the possibility of having said fun without recourse to RNG. That's frustrating on a few levels:  1. It's not helpful feedback when your posts suffer from lack of obvious knowledge, 2. it's not helpful to generate lies of omission, 3. it's not particularly cool to nullify the existence of other players in the attempt to lead the studio into adopting your own needs.
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I have been with the game since Beta and never took a break.
I spent countless hours and my own money on a guide site to help other players.
I bought enough for the Osun house for F2P launch. 
I love this game.
but I stopped buying from the Cash shop because of these events. 
 
We love the idea of these events. They offer a limited time reward that mixes up the player's usual routine and revitalizes possibly stagnant areas of the game.
 
There are two main issues.
- Cool stuff is in RNG boxes - more often than not, leaving players with a bad experience. This has to be leading to a deminishing return in actual cash shop sales for each event that comes after the last.
- Incentives to actually play content is decor only - This immediately cuts the number of players willing to put forth effort continuously through the event, which in turn handicaps those interested in getting groups to play through the event.
 
What I consider an obvious solution (I think OP touched on it/said it too)
3 Reward Event Options
  - Main items can be bought outright - BUT they are single character bound
  - RNG Boxes - They will have the "other decor" items and the main items - that are account wide and boe (incentive to go for boxes)
  - a SMALL chance to drop from a "play" box that drops off the current event's "boss"
 
The main items are for those who truly want to just spend cash and get the items without feeling they "lost" money.
The RNG boxes to give a spot for "lesser" rewards and a reasonable place for account wide timed rewards - incentive to gamble and win big.
The small chance from the event "boss" will encourage players to continuously play the content throughout the events term. This will get more people actively playing not just the event but the game itself. If it doesn't drop when you play and it's the last day - boom, buy it outright from the cash shop.
 
 
I know Wildstar needs to make money since it is F2P, but you also need players and you need players willing to spend money. If our only options are RNG cash boxes with a low drop rate on the big rewards, or getting decor items from playing content they may have ran a hundred times already - then these events are a waste compared to what they could bring to the game.	
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{| class="blockquote"
It's well known and documented in finance articles regarding "rng box" strategies in games that they're employed because it lures some people into spending a lot. Those people are the whales.
 
On the Blade and Soul forums, there were a couple players admitting to spending upwards of $500 on the latest addition to the game's cash shop - a, you guessed it, RNG box. The items are there to fish for whales, the few people who will spend hundreds to make sure they get what they want. That's the entire point of RNG boxes.
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{| class="blockquote"
I mean you were so supportive of this event you're defending you waited until someone else opened up his wallet and then traded him ingame currency for his trash.
 
Funny how that worked out huh?
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{| class="blockquote"
 
 
Don't wanna pay money? Do the content. 
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{| class="blockquote"
Except doing the content won't even get you the rng boxes that you need to get the mount and pet. That's my issue with these boxes, you can get everything without doing the content. That's why the term whale has come out, that's why you're a whale. :)
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{| class="blockquote"
Don't wanna pay money? Do the content.
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{| class="blockquote"
The next chase event is a PVP one, and I have serious doubts that PVPers are generally committed builders, haha.
 
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{| class="blockquote"
Oh gawd I can't wait to see what the rewards for that event will be! LOL!
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{| class="blockquote"
Except doing the content won't even get you the rng boxes that you need to get the mount and pet. That's my issue with these boxes, you can get everything without doing the content. That's why the term whale has come out, that's why you're a whale. :)
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{| class="blockquote"
I want to pay money. I want to pay money for exactly what I want to buy.
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RNG boxes, as much as I dislike them, don't target whales any more than packs of baseball cards target rich collectors. I hate RNG boxes, and I hate defending them, but a cheap box that always contains something fairly good isn't whale bait. $30 single character mounts are whale bait. 
 
That said, this upcoming "event" has cases that contain decor already available in the game. Heck, the Swordmaiden case has three or four items we can already get all the time, and one item is an architect created item. Selling that case is indefensible, and I will not waste an omnibit on it, let alone actual money. 	
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{| class="blockquote"
Then buy Credd and give me your plat ;)
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{| class="blockquote"
I'm so supportive of Sim Chase, I spent $60 on Sim Cards to buy the extra decor I wanted ~after~ I farmed adventures for a few hours. I'm so supportive of Space Chase, I spent $40 on its currency, a portion of which went to providing Space Chase decor for other players as a reward for the housing contest going on right now.
 
But I notice you didn't directly answer any of my invitations to backup your outrageous statement, so can I assume you recognize how weak it is? Or did you think that by turning to preconceptions you'd somehow win the rational argument game?
No, there's nothing funny about how it worked out. It worked out how ~I managed it~ to work out, which included looking at facts, deciding what worked best for me & the game, and planning around that.
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{| class="blockquote"
Must be convenient to add in new details to your story when needed.
 
And I don't know how much more direct I can get besides buying your shit off the AH and having friends willing to farm adventures.
 
Funniest part in all this is you disagree with the RNG boxes but buy them anyway. You're a smaller whale yourself and you don't even realize it.
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{| class="blockquote"
Must be convenient to add in new details to your story when needed.
 
And I don't know how much more direct I can get besides buying your shit off the AH and having friends willing to farm adventures.
 
Funniest part in all this is you disagree with the RNG boxes but buy them anyway. You're a smaller whale yourself and you don't even realize it.
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{| class="blockquote"
By your logic, buying booster packs of Magic cards is gambling and being a "whale"....  This is patently a silly notion. Yes there's a gamble, and some risk, but its not limited to "whales" (note* why do we call people that dont mind paying out for in-game stuff whales? That's fundamentally against how whales actually live)
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{| class="blockquote"
Whales are the ones who spend huge sums of money at once, not just people who "don't mind paying out for in-game stuff". They're the "big ticket buyers" that can supposedly make up a large portion of a f2p game's income even though there are relatively few of them, and thus many tactics are aimed at them. I'd argue it may be a chicken/egg question, but that's the theory regardless. They're called whales because whales are big.
 
I think plenty of people in this thread are willing to spend money. They just don't want to be asked to spend a lot of money for a chance at what they want.
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 I don't mind the rng stuff.. but if an event is solely revolving around it than the event just straight up sucks.. Like others ive grown a bit exhausted with things relating to the game.
 
Hopefully with pappy now in charge things will start heading in a more positive direction... (fingers crossed)
			
				
	Edited February 9, 2016 by Rebel Angel	
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{| class="blockquote"
At least we don't have star wars with lockbox inside lockbox :P
 
Following latest news about Rift going p2win, Trion says that selling lockboxes is way more profitable then selling the items directly in the store. 
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{| class="blockquote"
^ This, 
 
The same posts and complaints about RNG boxes flooded Rifts forums along with the same "more people would buy it if you could buy it directly"
Rifts devs came right out and stated. Nope, sorry, the most profitable way to sell things on the cash shop is with the rng boxes. they are by far the most profitable item. The people (like me) who refuse to purchase them are insignificant compared to the $$$$ some people are dropping on those boxes. 
 
Unfortunately they will be here to stay
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I'm really happy about this event I think it's a great chance for a lot of players who have still since launch not completed a veteran dungeon at all and I think the entire Wildstar community needs a serious crash course in how to successfully complete veteran dungeons. Thank you Devs for assigning time in your already overloaded schedule to help educate the people on how to pass the skill barrier that is Vet dungeons that stops the majority of new players from progressing.
 
I also LOVE the music tracks you guys made they all sound amazing and even if there is an element of RNG to the cases I'll be buying everything looks so cool I couldn't complain about anything I got out of the boxes at all. Even though I intend on buying some of the event packages I didn't feel obligated to buy any of this at all. These are all just great things for me to enjoy because I love the game so much but I know they won't give me any advantage on the battlefield. My gaming experience feels safe even if I didn't spend anything on the event but others spent thousands I won't be at a disadvantage at all they'll just have more flair than me.
 
Looking forward to many more events in the future and thank you again for continuing to offer an amazing free to play game that does NOT feel like a cash grab instead you are a legit business in the gaming industry and I salute you.
 
Signed,
 
Your Humble & Loyal Customer
			
				
	Edited February 9, 2016 by MaximusG TwitchTV	
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{| class="blockquote"
^ This, 
 
The same posts and complaints about RNG boxes flooded Rifts forums along with the same "more people would buy it if you could buy it directly"
Rifts devs came right out and stated. Nope, sorry, the most profitable way to sell things on the cash shop is with the rng boxes. they are by far the most profitable item. The people (like me) who refuse to purchase them are insignificant compared to the $$$$ some people are dropping on those boxes. 
 
Unfortunately they will be here to stay
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Maybe Carbine should learn more from GW2 and less from PWI.
 
In perfect world and all its rip-offs (jade dynasty, swordsan online etc.) Boxes with random "Prizes" that has that slight little chance to give you mount but usually it is a healing potion is common practise. And it is literally more than 10 years old business, I am surprised people falling for it even in 2016 and even more surprised it is still a thing on the F2P market but w/e.
 
Some people like lotery so let them buy their lotery tickets.. It is not like those stupid boxes are must to have. After all, WS is doing pretty good job in being literally free to play, I dont see any point in spending money unless I absolutely want that baby pumera so what is the reason to complain about the shop?
 
Or are you people that bothered taht there is something in the shop you dont want? The fact you wont make the purchase bothers you so much? You must be having a hard time doing grocery...	
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{| class="blockquote"
No, I get that. But Whales are (generally speaking) large because they eat incredibly tiny organisms for long periods of time, rather than eating very large organisms. Just seems like a silly analogy to me was all.
 
Anyway, I think plenty of people buy the crates, not just "big spenders". I know that's what I did in SWTOR, I'd put 5 or 10 dollars worth of CC on my account each month and use that... then pretty much nothing else.... I'd hardly call that being a "whale". Sure there are some whales, but that reduces the actual situation (many players spending a little money on them, plus some players paying a lot for them) into an unrepresentative narrative that only a few massive spenders are buying all the crates....... 
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They have confirmed that there are no potions, flasks, crafting mats, or other ewww type rewards in the boxes.
 
Mounts, pets, etc are supposed to be BOE, and hopefully they have figured out the issue so that they can be.
 
On one hand, I get it. I've never been a fan of RNG boxes. However, for whatever reason (probably the ones listed above), this doesn't bug me. They aren't dropping in your face every five minutes and then blinking reminders at you that you can buy keys in the store (Looking at YOU LOTRo). If you want one at all, you have to buy it. Do I wish you could earn the pet and mount in game somehow or buy them individually? Yea. Probably. But I just don't think it's the massive issue some seem to think it is. I also realize that I'm not privy to the nuances that lead to decision making by a business such as Carbine. They very likely have reasons for what they do/don't include in game and in the boxes.
 
This will be the first chase event I actually participate in. The boxes have stuff I want, and I love dungeon running anyway. I simply couldn't bring myself to farm expeditions or adventures. There was nothing that excited me enough to run content that I'm just over. LOL And yes, I've bought some NCoin to prep for it :P	
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This complain is not primarily about RNG boxes... its about how carbine's management has clearly no clue about how to please their players while simultaneously earn money.The whole purpose of these events is to make money AND to keep us busy and entertained while we wait for the next big chunk of content to arrive. That's pretty straight forward, and messing it up that big, is actually kinda hard... which frustrates me even more. Creating these assets and rewards costs a lot of time/manpower and therefor money and to make the best of out it, these events should always try to cater as many players as possible. I'm not into housing and since there are literally NO other incentives besides a couple of decor items, i never participated in any of the chase events.I care for this game so much, but it just frustrates me, even makes me angry, that carbine's management keeps messing things up and/or is not able to make the best out of what they got. Instead of making these events a win/win situation carbine makes it a lose/lose. Just think about it... ppl in carbine's management get paid for these kind of things. They make a living out of it and thats the best they could come up with.Lets take a look at what we got. Here are all rewards for this chase event:Decor Items:
1 of 7 pieces from the Osun décor set
1 of 7 pieces from the Torine décor set
1 of 7 pieces from the Protostar décor set
Housing Decor NPC's: (not available by participating in the event)
Osun Juggernaut NPC
Osun Hatewitch NPC
Swordmaiden NPC
Life Elemental NPC
Housing Supervisor NPC
Protostar Drillbot NPC
1 random Dungeon Crawler NPC from a large grab bag
Housing Music & Skyboxes: (not available by participating in the event)
"The Fortress" Music Track
"Oath of the Swordmaiden" Music Track
"ProtoSwing Dance Time" Music Track
Proto Pleasant Skybox
Forgemaster's Delight Skybox
Torine Twilight Skybox
Mount & Pet: (not available by participating in the event)
Torine Swordcat Mount
Torine Swordkitten Pet
So just imagine you were sitting in Carbine's office and it would be your task to make the best out of all this good stuff. It should be fairly simple, by just thinking logical. In order to get ppl into doing content they wouldn't do otherwise, you need an incentive thats meaningful enough to create a desire for as many people as possible. 21 decor items will not make that happen and never will. Only a fraction cares about housing, so in order to make this event a success for as many players as possible, you need to give them a slight chance to get the good stuff. Just give ppl a 1-2% chance to get the mount/pet and a 5-10% to get a housing npc/musictrack/skybox and i can guarantee you, even ppl with full DS gear will start running dungeons/adventures or what not. Make all these rewards BoE too, so that people can sell the stuff if they got unlucky instead of deleting the item and creating frustation doing so.
 
If you dont like to grind for the cool stuff, you can also take the shortcut and spent your money/omnibits on it. Thats your choice. You can also try to get it by participating and on the last day of the event, if you still got no luck, then decide to spent some hard cash.
 
Also, instead of offering rng boxes all over the place, try to mix it up a little and by making certain rewards directly purchaseable. For example, let people choose if they want to spent their event currency on 10 rng boxes or either want to spent it by purchasing a certain housing skybox instead. (gamble or no gamble... the player decides).
 
Rewards could be something like this:
RNG Box (10 event currency / omnibit / ncoin)
Housing NPC (50 event currency / omnibit / ncoin)
Housing Track (100 event currency / omnibit / ncoin)
Housing Skybox (100 event currency / omnibit / ncoin)
Pet/Mount (only available through rng boxes OR by purchasing them on the shop for omnibit/ncoin, single/multiclaim options)
So to sum it up: Make the event a success by creating incentives for as many as people which are large and interesting enough to lure them into doing what you want them todo. Offer shortcuts to people by allowing them to buy all the rewards on the shop (for money). This way people would be very much encouraged to run the content and to spent money as well, if they had a chance to win rewards fairly in the game with the alternative to just buy them directly, and would feel happy about their purchase and sure to come to the store again. Instead of having little to zero reason of participating in the event and feeling scammed after spending ridiculous amounts of money on the boxes, still not receiving what they're trying to buy and suffering from gambler's remorse.
 
Was that so hard? No it wasn't... it was just logical.
			
				
	Edited February 9, 2016 by Laserloui	
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{| class="blockquote"
My statements about whales are backed up by actual data and financial reports. For mobile games, it's estimated that only 0.15% of mobile gamers produce 50% of the total revenue. This plays out in F2P MMOs as well. Though the exact percentages slightly vary, as the threshold for "whale" varies depending on who is doing the measuring (and the specific game), the end result is a tiny percentage (estimated more broadly as 2%) of individuals providing the a huge chunk of the revenue.
 
So you as an individual may make some small purchases of these boxes, but that's not who these boxes are targeted toward.
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{| class="blockquote"
Was that so hard? No it wasn't... it was just logical.
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Do you think it's logical to make an argument with absolute claims based on no contextual experience or description? You have no data describing either Carbine's situation or the cash shop/gameplay activities of the player base, yet you feel confident enough to talk about both situations like you've got facts out the wazoo. It's hilarious.
 
As far as I can see you're just another gamer on the internet who thinks they can micromanage the responsibilities of a company you know nothing about. But hey, it's not hard, you must be a millionaire with all of that easy and effective logic at your disposal!
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Its no rocket science. You dont need any analytics. Break it down to what it really is and what its goals are.
 
These events have two goals and two goals only:
Make as much money as possible
Entertain as many players as much as possible
Now you have to find a solution to reach these two goals. Carbine's current solution isn't doing that, since it clearly only targets players that are into housing decor, although it would be easily possible to target everyone (or nearly everyone). If selling RNG boxes is a proven way to make a lot of money, then lets offer RNG boxes but also offer other stuff, shortcuts for players, so that the player has some options.
 
Its really simple and easy when you think about it. It's just common sense and completely logical. You dont need a business degree or analytics to come up with a solution.
The fact, that it is that easy to think about something that makes more sense than what carbine came up with, makes me angry since i care a lot for this game and i don't want to see it fail (again).
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How do you know Carbine's current solution isn't making as much money as possible?
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How do you know that my solution would make less money? Since you and i both know nothing about actual revenue, we can only take a closer look at what we actually can analyze. We can take carbine's approach and i've told you my approach. So now we can argue about what approach makes more common sense and would result in more success. To me it seems, that quiet some people are willing to spent money and would love to buy the pet/mount, but carbine is not offering that.
 
 
All chase events are structured the same way. They offer 21 decor pieces to the player for participating at these events. That's it. That's the incentive which may or may not is going to lure us into doing whatever the event wants us todo. There is nothing more to it. Would it be possible to also cater ppl that are not into housing? People which weren't running a dungeon for ages since there is no reason todo them anymore? I would say yes!
 
I dont need to know any actual numbers of revenue or the amount of players. Since ressources are limited, there is no way that all these chase events are ment to be only for players that are into housing and its intended to not offer any incentive to everyone else. If so, than thats even more stupid, since it would be easily possible to make more out of it by catering a much larger audience.
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			"WOOT!! MOUNT!! FIRST BOX!!!! AND, I GOT IT WITH MY OMNIBITS!!!"...could happen, can anyone deny this?	
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"WOOT!! MOUNT!! FIRST BOX!!!! AND, I GOT IT WITH MY OMNIBITS!!!"...could happen, can anyone deny this?
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Of course it could happen.  But even if it doesn't, you'll get the mount on the next box.  No, really.
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People shouldn't be held accountable for inablity to control impulse buying. That's why I'm suing the corner store for surrounding me with tantalizing stuff when my wallet is out.
 
Which corner store? All of them, of course!	
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How do you know that my solution would make less money? Since you and i both know nothing about actual revenue, we can only take a closer look at what we actually can analyze. We can take carbine's approach and i've told you my approach. So now we can argue about what approach makes more common sense and would result in more success. To me it seems, that quiet some people are willing to spent money and would love to buy the pet/mount, but carbine is not offering that.
 
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People shouldn't be held accountable for inablity to control impulse buying. That's why I'm suing the corner store for surrounding me with tantalizing stuff when my wallet is out.
 
Which corner store? All of them, of course!
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No, but companies can.
That's exactly the reason the EU has laws on F2P games to control predatory games from ruining people's live.
Because people cannot be held accountable, but instances abusing those people can.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBtXyv0Q1Eg
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No, but companies can.
That's exactly the reason the EU has laws on F2P games to control predatory games from ruining people's live.
Because people cannot be held accountable, but instances abusing those people can.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBtXyv0Q1Eg
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			I'm going to stop robbing my kids money boxes after watching that video 	
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Its no rocket science. You dont need any analytics. Break it down to what it really is and what its goals are.
 
These events have two goals and two goals only:
Make as much money as possible
Entertain as many players as much as possible
Now you have to find a solution to reach these two goals. Carbine's current solution isn't doing that, since it clearly only targets players that are into housing decor, although it would be easily possible to target everyone (or nearly everyone). If selling RNG boxes is a proven way to make a lot of money, then lets offer RNG boxes but also offer other stuff, shortcuts for players, so that the player has some options.
 
Its really simple and easy when you think about it. It's just common sense and completely logical. You dont need a business degree or analytics to come up with a solution.
The fact, that it is that easy to think about something that makes more sense than what carbine came up with, makes me angry since i care a lot for this game and i don't want to see it fail (again).
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Oooh, another good EC vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwI0u9L4R8U(F2P is Broken) 
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Interesting video. So what in that video has anything to do with Wildstar? How is Wildstar exploiting people?
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They are offering rewards only for people who are actively into housing and for people who love or cannot help themselves gambling. There is good reason for this to change.
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Outside of pay-to-win (thankfully absent) and pay-to-make-it-stop-hurting (service tokens, yo), gamble boxes are one of the most exploitative cash shop mechanics out there.
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Nothing in the WS shop is worth to spend money for. Except baby pumera. I get it when its account wide.
 
Do I hate RNG boxes? Nope. Do I buy them? Nope lol. But for people who like the thrill of a lotery, go ahead. Your money will support the gmae that way.
 
Also I prefer if in the shop/boxes are things that cna be acquired in game over having some exclusivity. At least in case of decors. Why? Becuase if it is this way, it gives the player the option. Will you play hard and spend some time and effort to get those items or will you take a shortcut and pay cash? It is up to you. Which is making the pay model way better. Arguments like "Things in boxes can be obtained in game so boxes are bad!" are completely illogical to me.
			
				
	Edited February 9, 2016 by Jayvi	
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Again, you need to do more than just make a claim, you need to prove it. I keep asking for evidence and I keep getting conjecture in return. Why is that? Why can't any of you provide some core evidence that specifically applies to the way Wildstar is handling their F2P model? Why do you keep using absolutes that disregard people who aren't being exploited? Why is context worth so little?
 
Is generalizing like this a useful method of argument and in any way productive when it comes to getting what you want?
 
 
And just to clarify, cause I don't want to come across as antagonistic, I wouldn't ask for 'evidence' like this from someone just stating a personal opinion. If you want to see RNG cases gone, OK. But if you want to see them gone and are going to claim external evidence, that changes things quite a bit. Especially wnen your claims concern intent (in this case, on Carbine's part).
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Wow. Someone who understands how reasoned arguments work, and here I thought the GD forum was just full of mouth breathing brain stems. 
 
Kudos sir.
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No real incentive to play the event for the general population, only a fraction. These could create motivation to play for a lot of people but they are simply wasted.
 
I see people bringing up the F2P model but why? Sure it's great but what incentive does that model bring to play in a CONTENT LULL - none.
 
These events should be aimed at keeping pops up and sales up during such times. Really that simple.
 
It can easily be changed to put a golden carrot in front of players without sacrificing the integrity of overall sales.
 
It can be a true event for the game and all players, not a shop highlight and an incentive for the housing folks to play the game....
 
How this is missed is what truly upsets me as a long time fan.	
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