In the early previews, people seem confused about why the crown/energy exchange rate varies.
The Massively guy didn't seem to know about it at all, and even the guy explaining it in the comments was confused.
"And also interestingly, excess energy can be swapped back for Crowns. This system is dynamic. You might get over 3000 Crowns for 100 Energy one minute and only get 1900 or so the next. I'm not really sure how the system determines the conversions."
I only read the description in the crown/energy exchange once, and here's how I read it to mean:
You can exchange crowns for CE and vice-versa. Players post offers to buy CE for crowns, or to sell CE for crowns, and that's what's used for the prices.
Is this right? Seems like it'd be simple.
I might take a crack at improving that Wiki Post.
Anyways the way the Depot works is this. It is driven by people who have Crystal Energy or want Crystal Energy. People who want it post how much (CE in 100s ie: x1 = 100 CE) and for what amount of Crowns they are willing to buy it for. People who are selling, post how much (CE in groups of 100) CE they are willing to sell and for how many crowns they are willing to sell them for.
The way the market fluctuates is through basic supply and demand. If someone really needs that Energy they are willing to pay more, Others see that someone has bought for a high amount and thus the CE prices begin to be set higher. Likewise people selling try and undersell each other to make the quick sale and get the Crowns quickly. This drives the price down.
ex: Say the last CE sold price is 3100, and I see the current cheapest posted CE is 3000 or something, I might be inclined to post mine even lower, 2900 or maybe as low as 2500 crowns for each bunch of CE in order to make money fast, maybe there is an armor i really need to craft.
Buying CE I see that it was last sold again for around 3100, but now that it is gone people seem to be selling CE for higher, 3500 is the lowest. I am out of Mist energy, I need some CE fast, I have the money to throw around, I give in and buy it, you have now set the standard higher, people coming into the market now see the low set at around 3500 instead of 3000.
Make sense at all? I feel like I rambled on towards the end. But I was trying to fully explain it, it's a pretty simple concept of buying and selling one good. CE sellers want to sell high, and CE buyers want to buy low and it is all about finding that middle ground.
@iandawson0
Yeah, that's all it is.
Maybe people are missing it because the first, simplified tab you click to buy player energy doesn't really connect the price to the marketplace? I dunno.
I'm not sure it's the same issue, but I've also seen people suggesting that you be able to use gates by paying crowns. The player energy market is already the way you do exactly that.
Maybe it's not a big deal and people will figure energy out in short order when the game launches.
I remember what caused my confusion with the energy system. It took me a long time to see the tabs at the top of the energy buying station.
When I first went to go buy energy I selected 'crowns' instead of 'credit card'. Everything just got grayed out. I assumed that meant I couldn't buy any energy with crowns. It would be great if when you select crowns from the drop down box it will redirect you to the market tab.
Shameless Wiki Plug:
If anyone wants they could co edit the Energy Depot page to make it sound more clear! There's currently only a little blurb on how the offers and trades work.