Spiral Knights - The OFFICIAL Shadow Keys Rant

The OFFICIAL Shadow Keys Rant

193 replies [Last post]

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:00

Chris

If you have not read about the future update to come, here is a link: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Shadow_Lair_Overview
We asked everybody who was against this update to come to the place where this video was taken(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxzixhVvRA4). This may be the largest haven gathering ever, which is quite sad given the reason for it.
I want all rants about this ridiculous topic posted here, so the GMs can see how terribile of an idea this update is.
Post if you support.

If you are too lazy to read, basically the new update is making it cost players 45k crowns -500k+ crowns to take a party down into the new gate ONCE.

THE RANT:

Many of you know that Three Rings allowed us to test out the new "Ultimate" boss levels on the test server. Well now they have shown us how these levels will be added to the game. This update seems amazing EXCEPT for this:
"Those knights interested in exploring these dangerous new areas are advised that they can only be breached by using powerful artifacts known as Shadow Keys, which can occasionally be acquired from Iron Lockboxes. Spiral HQ strongly advises taking a full complement of knights along when venturing into these perilous regions, but worry not: the fantastic power within a single Shadow Key is sufficient to give your entire squad access to a Shadow Lair!"
As you can see, they say that the chance of getting a shadow key is OCCASIONALLY

What exactly does this mean?
This means that in order to do ONE run through the new ultimate gate, you need to unlock MULTIPLE iron lockboxes (750ce each) to find ONE shadow key which brings 4 people down into the new levels. Now you may say, okay 750 ce per roll alright that's okay if I can do ultimate vanaduke BUT NO, you must gain clearance to advance from ultimate tier 1-> tier 2-> tier 3 just like in the regular clockworks...
See "To prevent unnecessary casualties, Spiral HQ has instituted a clearance requirement for accessing the more unstable Shadow Lairs. All knights who venture to the Clockworks Terminal deep within Tier 3 are granted Shadow Lair Clearance Level 1 and access to the Rabid Snarbolax Shadow Lair. Higher clearance can be earned by defeating the boss at the end of one of the Shadow Lairs within your current clearance. Different and more dangerous Shadow Lairs become accessible at the following clearances...

Clearance Level 1: Rabid Snarbolax Shadow Lair
Clearance Level 2: Ice Queen and Red Roarmulus Twin Shadow Lairs
Clearance Level 3: Darkfire Vanaduke Shadow Lair"

Depending on the rarity of the keys in the iron lockboxes, it will cost anywhere from 45k crowns - 500k crowns just to enter the new levels ONCE. And once you get inside, I hope you don't die too often, LOL.
This update is absolutely horrible, only insanely rich players will be paying for this. I know for a fact that most of Knightmare will be quitting if this update goes through as it. You are losing your best customers Three Rings. Please reconsider.

~Chris

I will not be buying CE AT ALL until this update is overturned in some way, I suggest the rest of the community do the same if you want something done. Not even the richest players in the game think this update is fair. Three Rings, please reconsider.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:04

Scarred-Knight

I already have expressed my rant against OOO in another post, but here it is again....

OOO is going to be losing a lot of players from this update on the fact alone that they are dangling new content in our faces and the keys are there, if you have the CE/Money. So, for a chance at end content, we need to pay a lot. Goodjawb OOO, you lost my support.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:06

Bindi-Badgi

Why start another thread Chris? There is already one going that devs are responding to - post in that one- Your sense of self importance never ceases to amaze me...

Mods - request thread merge with already running thread on this topic please.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:06

King-Tinkinzar

I'm okay with the Shadow Keys

I'm okay with the Shadow Keys being found in Lockboxes AS LONG IF:
- The elevator costs are from 0-5
- Revives are cheaper
- Terminals still there
- Belt is extended, can hold more than 4 items, and more than 3 of the same item
- Clearances are like checkpoints. They can be reached again, even after a few monthes.
- AND THE PERSON WHO USES THE KEY GETS A BONUS PRIZE!!!

Oh and a little suggestion...
Newer items meant for the Shadow Lair should be classed by Star colour.
red stars = clearance 1
yellow stars = clearance 2
green stars = clearance 3

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:17

Biznasty

As seen by my very old

As seen by my very old balance rants I care and love this game a lot, and have always wanted to improve it. The developers know themselves; I used to give countless long suggestions back in the old ages, but by the AH update I sort of lost interest, since nothing was being done and the money parts specifically would only get worse.

This update? This update doesn't even deserve a full on detailed rant from me. I have said most of what I'd say here on the main thread; Seriously disapprove of this update, and unless the rewards in the level are equal to the amount of money necessary, this is going to be entirely pointless. If it is equal, and you do not need energy to run, AND the levels are no longer ridiculously broken/difficult, I admit it might even be a neat thing, so all money making isn't focused on energy which might cause its prices to spike too far for newer players. Otherwise, I'm not going to pay ridiculous prices for a CHANCE at survival at such ridiculous levels and just random bleh armors for rewards, and neither will anyone else.

(though agreed with Bindi; a new thread is sort of silly.)

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:11

Khamsin

I agree with Chris on this.

I agree with Chris on this. This is just awful. At first I was blinded completely by rage but I've thought about it... and perhaps I will accept this new content if each lair is around 10-12 stages long and the total payout is somewhere around 200-300k CR, assuming the shadow keys come in every other lockbox (every fourth lockbox the CR needs to be somewhere in the 400-600k CR range).

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:16

Sypsy

Just referred you to the original rant thread

There's a rant thread you can post in if you think this update is trash.

http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/29844

----
I mean honestly, why make this OP?

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:19

Veroldin

Congrats Chris on finally making a thread worth reading. I won't be buying any more CE if this update goes ahead like this. I'll also consider quitting as this game has turned into nothing but a pathetic cash grab.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:23

Madadder

this sounds an awful lot like

this sounds an awful lot like the 5/17 rant threads

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:27

Dirt

This update is absolutely

This update is absolutely horrible, only insanely rich players will be paying for this. I know for a fact that most of Knightmare will be quitting if this update goes through as it. You are losing your best customers Three Rings. Please reconsider.

~Chris

I hope this update goes through, but you and I both know that you won't be quitting any time soon, Chris.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:30

#10

Altos

What Dark Ritual?

+1 ive supported OOO since realease and ive been really into this game but then they started with the money-grabber things like lockboxes and keys...but now?they crossed the line. the only thing thats going to change is that now we get a CHANCE to try to do an extremly hard level just to get PWNED by some nerfed reverse boss and the CHANCE of getting a shadow key is so low that you cant even see this on a microscope.This is meant for the players that are high-end and can spend $$$ and even then it would be impossibly complicated.im sorry OOO but if you go with this your game economy will go down like within 4 hours.Its not really worth it if you can only go down ONCE with ONE key just to kill yourself and waste all your ce.

(this was a rant by Altos,the werewolver)

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:43

#11

No-Thanks

Zelda

i didnt bother with accessories, because they werent worth it to me and they still arent
this update is even less worth it from what u say

ive read up on ppl who use ridiculous amounts of CE to revive. if those people try the new content and if its as hard as u say, they sure will be disappointed

curious about the new armors, i dont really have any intention of replacing my armor, the new ones better have some bonusses for weapons and/or be godlike something like that would make the update worth it, therd finally be items, for which alot more effort must be put in and just imagine their values..of course thats only IF the armors turn out to be worth it

E:forgot to mention, hopefully those useless boss artifacts could gain some function in the new update :o

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 18:49

#12

Vlad

+1 on the rant

Three Rings has gone hungry for money.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:01

#13

King-Tinkinzar

FEEED MEEE!!

FEED THE FAMILIES! PAY THREE RINGS LIVE FROM HONG MOTHA[derp]ING KONG, ANDROID 4.0 ICE CREAM SANDWICH GALAXY NEXUS EVENT!

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:09

#14

Nighty-Mx

+1 too i like every that this

+1 too

i like every that this update would going to give us, but seriously... to get 1 shadow key just open iron lock boxes until 1 pop up from those boxes? sure the chances to get one its lower like all those rare accesories.

OOO i dont think we, yours loyals costumers deserved this. would be even tolerable if we can buy the shadow key with CE but.. just get one shadow key opening boxes until they want to appear?? no, thats not something we deserved. even another type of iron lockboxes (like a purple one) which we can get randomly on the roulette. which box different from the lockboxes would contain a shadow key and i dont mind if i need spent 750 Ce to open it, would be tolerable. but... open iron lock boxes until my luck want to give me a shadow key? noo that its a NO NO

Sorry OOO. but thats not something we really deserved

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:10

#15

Goldmaker

-Underpowered Armros and

-Underpowered Armros and Weapons ( A lot of underpowereds Armors and wep).
-A lot of bug.
-Useless status Resists (Sleep and curse).

And now this... Nice game OOO but this update is just bull[crap]

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:13

#16

Ysser

i'd rather be eaten by a grue

I usually withhold from bitching about updates on the forums because it's rarely as bad as it seems. For all we know, there might be nuances we're missing and the update may not be as bad as we predict.

HOWEVER,

I just have to let loose a little venom because the whole process of actually getting down to the Shadow Lair levels is expensive and convoluted, and while fun, the testing showed that these levels were crippled by horrendous amounts of lag. Additionally, in the likely event of a party wipe, you can either choose to waster a Shadow Key or burn through massive amounts of CE.

It just feels like updates are moving from the realm of "Hm, something's a little off. Regardless, this update isn't too bad" to "My word, this is absurd. I do not have the money OOO is looking for to enjoy this new content".

* And as a footnote, while the Ultimate levels are interesting, well-designed, challenging and cool, they're still recycled content.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:13

#17

Exegunso

this patch is so stupid i

this patch is so stupid
i support 100%

i really hope this gets changed so we can all enjoy the new levels

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:17

#18

Byrnius

*Sigh*

Now this just means I have to not only catch up in terms of getting now 5* equipment, but now I have to deal with a whole new set of Clockworks?

Just... Augh this is too much =_= I'll be done with this game in a decade.

Ah well, before I rant I'm not jumping to conclusions yet. That article's descriptions seem vague and questionable, so I'll just be wiping my pitchfork until there's some more word from OOO.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:17

#19

Arctic-Fern

The more you whine, the more the system gets locked in.

I don't approve (of whining AND this narcissistic thread), but it's more effective to just keep silent and not play the levels.

OH, but someone will do it anyway. Then get new armor and everyone goes "OOOH WANT" and does it anyway.

I predict.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:17

#20

Eclecicmessiah

this update is just plain

this update is just plain bad. I dont even know how to fix it either. they need to make shadow keys obtainable MUCH more often than they plan to, and through a variety of means. Also, silver keys are still too expensive, especially now. further, the difficulty of the levels should deter most players away, NOT the expense of the run itself! I am not sure what I will do if this update comes out as is.

Electricmessiah

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:24

#21

Skaiwalka

Ya if the keys aren't

Ya if the keys aren't permanent and I decide NOT to quit (unlikely), I most certainly won't be buying any CE from OOO as well.

I think this is a great game, don't get me wrong with my above statement, but their execution business wise is a bit dodgy. I would happily pay $20 if this update was like a DLC update and not 750ce for a key to a box that has a small chance of having another key that lets me go play a level I've never played once...

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:32

#22

Varja

ow my head...

Stop complaining about something that isn't released yet.
The sole purpose of the keys is to have senior players something to do.

Second option: JUST DON'T BUY THEM!!!
Just let the rich people get them.

@Goldmaker
you spelled bull[crepe] wrong -_-

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:47

#23

Jim-Dale

I will not be buying CE AT

I will not be buying CE AT ALL until this update is overturned in some way

I'll give him 5 minutes after the update goes live.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:51

#24

Jim-Dale

Wait a minute. The "OFFICIAL"

Wait a minute. The "OFFICIAL" Shadow Key rant? You really are hopeless.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:53

#25

Nighty-Mx

@varja: isnt that. even

@varja: isnt that.

even "rich" people want to play but the way that OOO its giving it to us is really a unfair way for us. and we know isnt even released yet but i dont think too this pretty fair to play something that everyone were asking.

first get a iron lock box = no problem
then get 750 for silver key = no problem
That the first 20 boxes dont give us the entire head maid band collection = problem

i really dont care the idea about get a random iron lock box from clock works but the problem here its: get the shadow key from them where the chances would be LOW thanks to the accesories. its like: the amount of accesories that already exist and shadow key would be like 1% to get a shadow key. even 1% isnt a great chance from other accesories

thats why people complain >_<

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 19:53

#26

Byrnius

Oh Jim Dale.

I remember the times when I really thought I knew everything.

Then everything hated me back, and so I learned the lesson that you know less when you think you know more.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 20:01

#27

Forum-Trader-Alt

OOO = bad economics!

There doing this cause since the accessory patch they have been hungry for money. My point is they keep adding ce sinks so more and more players buy ce. In my opionion there just asking for trouble getting more haters as they add more ce sinks like this one. However this one is just un accepable. Having to buy a a silver key for 750 ce and then finding a lockbox or buying one for cheap and then get a CHANCE to get a shadow key AND THEN get a chance to complete a SINGLE super hard level? OOO must be out of there bloody minds!

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 20:17

#28

Superderpbro

...

What people fail to understand, is that this is anything BUT new content. Aside from the armor, all we have is a few retextured bosses and a few edits here and there. Three rings should focus on putting actual new content into the game, instead of reworking harder versions of existing levels.

Even if they're having trouble deciding what to do, look in the forums. I see many great ideas that could be put into the game, but three rings is turning into the evil corporation known as Nexon, trying to squeeze as much money from the community as they can while they provide either boring content, or pay to play content.

I thought this game was unique when I played it, but now it's turning into another Pay to get anywhere MMO. If it doesn't change soon, I'll have to bid farewell.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 20:47

#29

Ezzi

I agree OOO (or at least SEGA

I agree OOO (or at least SEGA i'm not sure who to point fingers at) seriously needs to rethink their implementation of these shadow gates.

At least if they wont change it, why implement it now? Why not later when there really is a need for new content? You'd make more money holding this off until people quit over no content than releasing this now and inflating prices for a short time before everyone gets sick of it. Almost every patch that has directly increased OOO's cashflow has seen major uproar and boycotts.

From a purely cosmetic viewpoint, i'm so glad the first boss is snarbolax. Everyone loves that fluffball and the armors DO look attractive regardless of their stats.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 20:51

#30

Potatogator

I agree!

+1
OOO needs to rethink this.
That's all I can say.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:06

#31

Rageleader

Rebel Rebel

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/occupyhaven.jpg/

Occupy Haven is underway. We need to show OOO that we mean business.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:15

#32

Fehzor

Though I doubt this thread will do anything to change prices, or make OOO rethink this, I'll still give my agreement.

In fact, I doubt the devs or anyone of that nature even read most of these "rant threads".

Wed, 10/19/2011 - 00:16

#33

Veroldin

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:24

#34

Eurydice

Community Manager

We do read them. They often

> In fact, I doubt the devs or anyone of that nature even read most of these "rant threads".

We do read them. They often contain useful feedback.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:26

#35

Rommil

i am dissapoint.

i was disappointed that it took 4-5 months to get new content (not counting T1 content, which is of no use to me).

I was disappointed that they finally unveiled that the new content is just a rehash of the old content......but i was going to deal with it.

And now i find out the "new content" is going to be a cost prohibitive money grab with absurd hoops to jump through.

I'm sure i'll engage in a run here or there as i have lots of friends, and one or two will surely request that i free load off of them. But [crap] man. i wait 4-5 months for new content, then its only partly new content, and then they put up B.S. stuff like this. looks like i'll be waiting another 5 months for new content. ***sigh**

p.s. in other words i won't be playing the new content. not a boycott per say....but i'm not so stupid as to engage in it either.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:36

#36

Kennergy

+1 Rethink this, please or

+1
Rethink this, please or there will be a lot of paying people quitting.

We are Players, not Customers!

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:36

#37

Ezduzitt

http://img204.imageshack.us/i

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6038/javaw2011101823592834.jpg

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:39

#38

Brambleshadow

I think that instead of

I think that instead of Shadow Keys being randomly placed in Iron Lockboxes, you should make them buyable for 1000 Ce, or even 750 Ce. The price for them will be extremely expensive, and many people could possibly quit. If you made them buyable for a reasonable price, more people would be urged to save up and buy them. This would also make many people very happy. I think the answer is to make the Keys buyable for a reasonable price from Boost, or someone else.

~Brambleshadow

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:45

#39

Pawn

New content, and it's locked with expensive keys. So many people have been waiting soooo long for new endgame. 4-5 months for new content. To make the content cost prohibitive in terms of game economy (not even considering real money), is hard to swallow for experienced players who have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting for new content since the 2nd-3rd month of the game. Also i have a feeling this may have been done as a quickfix to the 'lockbox problem'. <--in which clearly design is not working as intended when the cost of keys means that there are 25 pages of lockbox selling for ever decreasing prices.

I realize the idea sounded neat and fun when brainstorming in the development room, and solved another problem in the process, but as players it feels a little like a slap in the face.

Why not keep the clearance requirements the same. BUT MAKE SILVER KEYS PURCHASABLE WITH TOKENS (as an alternative to ce). This would fix an additional problem-->the amount of excess token weapons/armors on the market.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:46

#40

Buzz-Bomb

You went nuts, and idk why

Shadow keys from lockboxes is an ok way to get them but I'm sure OOO might give us a different way or 2 of getting them or else yes alot of people would quit.

If the lockboxes are the only way then you might want to start saving up or find a rich friend or 5 lol.

OOO's options:
1: Make lockboxes only way making lots of people quit and they loose money.

2: Make lockboxes 1 way and add a couple other ways to keep people from quiting and bring in more money.

If 1 then it might balance out. People quit making OOO loose money, but people that stay will spend more to get the keys.

If 2 then people will stay and try to get them other ways with a slight chance with the lockboxes, wich will bring in more money.

Other ways:
1: Boss tokens, higher tier bosses lower token cost for shadow key.
2: Buy them with Energy at Boost.
3: Buy so much CE from OOO and get 1. This would be similar to the Rose events.
4: Buy them with crowns maybe from Boost or a different vendor.
5: Random chance in PvP when you fill the energy pot (very rare, you would probably get a few bombheads before this).
6: Red treasure boxes (higher chance if in a box after a danger room, or in the hidden area at depth 27 in the FSC. Higher tiers highten chances).
7: Prize wheel (higher chance from prize wheel after finishing a Candlestick Keep level, and higher tier).

With these other ways other than the lockboxes, people would spend more energy in the clockworks also giving OOO more money when people start dipping into their CE.

So if OOO wants more money they should try some of these other ways rather than just lockboxes.

Thats all I got, try to come up with other ways to get shadow keys instead of just crying about it.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:46

#41

Fehzor

But-

Updates continually come out like this, making "greedy" new content, for example-
-Roarmulus twins having far less goods than jelly king and even arena levels
-Binding and unbinding of all 4* equipment, when before gear was easily sold
-Silver keys costing tremendous prices that come close to attaining a new piece of 5* gear
-Raising crafting costs in terms of CE

And while some new crown sinks were made to balance this out, most complaints and rant threads, which started out similarly to this one, for the most part went without much change.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 21:52

#42

Elpeo-Kasshu

All I have to say is that we

All I have to say is that we need keys to get keys? KEYCEPTION.

We need to go deeper...

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:00

#43

Tengu

I never knew about the

I never knew about the infallible "Chris" until that anti...other guild screed he did with his little vanaduke video. I'm liking these posts now. It's like finding a piece of paper on the street where the writer filled in EVERY. SINGLE. PLANCK UNIT. OF. SPACE. with rant. I like to imagine these posts written with a crazy, crabbed handwriting, except for when he gets really worked up, then the words are these giant scribbles and leaky pen ink blobs.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:03

#44

Videobun

If I could make a

If I could make a suggestion:
I think they keys should be able to be bought with tokens from the regular boss in fragments. 10 tokens per fragment, 3 fragments each. 30 tokens to get for each boss for the fragments. After that the key needs to be bound together for a price, maybe 500-1000CE or so. This key will last for limited runs, but a high amount, like 10 or something. this means that players will have enough to get the armor they want in the amount of time from one key and:
-No randomness, but instead work from the player to get the keys
-Big reward for a relatively low cost after a large amount of work (instead of 2250CE with luck, only 500-1000CE set price)
-Large amount of tries with the key, so a player can judge the difficulty their first try without wasting an entire key at once
-Keys and fragments being able to be sold: Players who are impatient can buy them off of players, so they buy CE if they don't want to wait.

It's still a long process, and to some maybe annoying, but being a challenge too. Certainly not as annoying as it is now, and offering a challenge instead of a lucky roll on a wheel and a lucky opening of a box. The process required to get the keys also ensures skilled players are accessing these areas. Not only that, but other players will be wanting to pay for CE to try it out, which means profit for OOO, and instead of people boycotting the idea and not paying at all for these keys, people will want to pay more because it's relatively cheap (to the players with skill and equipment high enough to enter these areas in the first place). I myself would drop $20 then, because I know that with that money I can access almost all of that and get my moneys worth, instead of paying $20 to only finish half of a set of armor.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:03

#45

Njthug

@Eury

> In fact, I doubt the devs or anyone of that nature even read most of these "rant threads".

We do read them. They often contain useful feedback.

Shh I know you read half of these threads just to make fun of us =0....

@Thread --- Why can't we rant about how they won't give us Snipe helms?

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:08

#46

Shennynerd

You like following in Valve's

You like following in Valve's footsteps right OOO? Your free game allows people access to things faster if they pay real money, kinda like Mann Co. Store having weapons and such if you don't want to wait for them to drop. You have crates that almost require money, just like TF2's crates, and they give you a random cosmetic item. No big deal. But now you're restricting endgame content in a ridiculous way? All of TF2's maps are available freely. You're making us pay ridiculously for a map. Not cool OOO, not cool at all.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:14

#47

Kickthebucket

wait you need a key to...

wait you need a key to... unlock a ... key???? O_o*

ok yeah, now i didn't agree on the rants that silver keys where to expensive but this is just awfull, realy awfull. so now we NEED to sink in real money to play it? and even then your not sure you'll be able to (and get a crappy accesoire??) and also one time use??? come on this is the worst idea ive ever seen.

it's like valve would say TF2 only gets 1 map... to play the rest you need to uncrate them and you can play the other maps with X ammount of friends for 5 rounds

ok i haven't even BEEN to vanaduke so this will be a good time to do so and maybe try this afterworth but uhm... i think even the most veteran players wouldn't even try this at this insane cost... (on the other hand people uncrating this key will make VAST ammounts of crown wich in time will be used to buy more keys and in that way create more keys and accesoires and then collapsing the whole crap haha)

few ideas
make the shadow keys the same as silver keys (or something allong the lines) wich most people would agree on and allready posted
make it a token item (20 Frumious Fang, 20 Jelly Gem, 20 Bark Module AND 20 Almirian Seal) i actualy like this idea haha
put keys into boss lvl prizewheel

and ALSO once you got clearence keep it OPEN (only somebody with clearence can invite people, only people with clearence get the armor) something allong these lines...

but the way the update looks now is realy REALY awfull!
justlook at valve's haloween events they are AWSOME and don't cost a you anything you even get a LOT of stuff for free. free hats like headless horseless horseman head, haloween mask, saxton hale mask, etc. or items like the haunted steel that you can use to make a special item (good idea for the armor btw) and god knows how much stuff and have you even seen how popular this is? out comunity had 15 TF2 servers running last year and we didn't even had to bother filling them... they where full 24/24 the whole week (same deal the year before with the gibbus)

but hey if you guys want to charge an insane ammount of god knows what for this go ahead but don't come begging when half the comunity drops the game like lead underpants.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:19

#48

Arctic-Fern

One thing...

Binding and unbinding of all 4* equipment, when before gear was easily sold

...sorry, but I have to admit that this was a good idea. It prevents the price of gear from deflating.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 22:58

#49

Buckdida

One thing that has not been

One thing that has not been mentioned yet was what kind of effect this would have on the CE market.

Currently, running though T2, you can earn 100 CE a day- turning your mist energy into crowns, then buying CE. However, if the price gets much higher, it can effectively lengthen the time it takes to earn new gear or access the basic content.

CE is currently around 5.8k crowns. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of CE hit about 8k crowns or higher.

Now, here's the problem. We know that people can manipulate the CE market and keep it at certain prices. We know that once it reaches a certain threshold, it won't go back down without dev intervention- and it's rare that this would happen, I'll guess. But if CE prices are allowed to skyrocket and stay high...

Well, it will alienate a vast majority of the playerbase, especially new players. That will then destroy the game, because nobody wants to play in an empty game. Further, there will be no other players to buy and sell CE, destroying the entire F2P model. Well, that's worst case, which I'm sure has been discussed before- but this time it could be real, or at least have a significant impact on the entire playerbase.

The simple fact of the matter is, when this update comes out (no matter how much they've complained), many people will flock to the silver keys in hopes of getting shadow keys, some wanting them without paying money. Silver keys in themselves are a CE sink as well. This in turn will drive the in game price of CE up. High CE prices keep players from actually playing the game or crafting armor. Some people threaten to quit without any actual backing behind it- but many people will actually quit if they can't actually play the game or progress in a fair manner.

That's a negative affect on the game that has little to do with who can access the new content.

Tue, 10/18/2011 - 23:19

#50

Blitzwingoo

I already commented in the

I already commented in the other thread...

I said that it'll not only be frustrating getting a shadow key, but it'll also be frustrating when playing the Shadow Lair. Once started, you're forced to keep playing because your other team mates will be pissed if you leave and to play this gate again you'd need a key. Teams heading into the Shadow Lair will be more choose-y of who to bring and more likely to kick anybody they think isn't doing well. That'll make the game experience more uncooperative.

I think this whole shadow key business, the way it stands so far, is just going to lead to a more negative gaming experience for SK.

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