I think this is the first update rant I'm participating in... because this is the first update that sounds to me like it has to potential to be really "horrible".
OOO, you need more effective ce sinks? I'm practically a f*'in ce sink and I don't think that update will encourage me to sink more ce. I know I'm by far not among the top ones with the ce that I so far managed to slice out of various trades / take out of circulation and shove into those alchemy machines + gremlins, but I can imagine that the ones that outrank me here might be accordingly more frustrated with this update... should it turn out to work like we expect at this point.
I'm a big fan of OOO, as I'm sure you can tell. I've played Puzzle Pirates since 2006, and briefly participated in the SK beta. With ever update on SK I could see where they were going and defended the issues at hand. The 5/17 update really caught me off guard because I was crafting things for friends at that time (those changes should have been in place day 1, derp!) The issues were quickly remedied and later game changing patches were announced well beforehand, e.g. Haze Bombs 1->2* and this one. Thank you! <3
Accessories/Lockboxes at 750 CE makes total economical sense to me. Look how much people will pay for rare Rose Regalia costumes, accessories are but a fraction. And accessories, like costumes, last forever and come in neat colors too. After opening four I found during the first few days, I decided that was definitely enough Lockbox lottery for me. Much cheaper/faster to just buy what you want off of the AH. Actually, I feel really bad for everyone selling Drab Maid Headbands for 10k Buy Now. Even if it sells, which I doubt, it means they potentially lost 500 CE. What a shame.
I'm having a difficult time understanding this one though. Obviously I'm not going to go around opening Lockboxes, that isn't my thing. So I'll need to get keys off /trade or AH, which means the market will dictate the cost for me to enjoy the new content. And I can't enjoy the content any time I'd like as first I have to beat the market to win that access. Time Remaining: Very Short, anyone? That's an aspect of SK that made me switch from Y!PP. The waiting was killing me.
So let's say Shadow Keys are rare and there is a huge market for them. Initially this is obviously so, but should reach some equilibrium within a week or two. People popping Lockboxes will initially make a killing, good for them. I won't buy any though. If there is a T3 gate I'm going to hit all week, I'll run T2 just so I can avoid the 500 CR fee each time. Yeah... I'm avoiding 500 CRs to access a nice tier repeatedly, lol. If Shadow Keys reach an equilibrium where they are breaking even with Silver Keys that's 45k each time I go down. Ouch. If they drop to rock bottom prices, a la Maid Headbands, I'm still looking at 10k CR for one trip at the expense of some sorry sap that lost 500 CE on a bad bet. Even at those prices, would I be able to profit from the trip, especially after rezes? Or is every trip going to sink a hole into my CE stash every single time?
I like to pay for convenience, I like to pay for status symbols. The idea of paying for access every single time leaves a bad taste in my mouth.