How badly would reducing unbinding costs harm the economy, if at all?
Is unbinding currently part of the crown/energy sinks?
speaking of unbinding costs...
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 09:23
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 10:57
#2
Narfle, unbinding existed
Narfle, unbinding existed long before the Supply Depot. If anything it's that the Supply Depot price is determined by unbinding cost.
Heavy-Dragon, as I understand it, it's to curb profit from crafting stuff to sell it. This is a whack-monster-over-the-head-for-loot game, not a trade game. ;P
(Regardless of the trade going on, but that is a kind feature provided by the gods of SK, and they have been very good at reducing options for making big cash. I wholeheartedly agree; they need bread on the table, we're just playing a game.)
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 12:53
#3
I know unbinding came first, I wasn't trying to suggest otherwise. My point is that OOO's price point is what ultimately sets prices for related cr/energy sinks and services. It isn't a coincidence that OOO set the unbind cost for a 5* item at 4k energy--it was in relation to the denominations of CE packs they offer (encouraging people to buy a $20 CE pack, as a $10 wouldn't supply you with enough energy), and which is also the basis of their prices for gear purchased directly from the depot. If OOO had decided that a vanilla piece of 5* gear was going to cost 4k energy when the depot was introduced, unbind costs would have been increased accordingly to encourage players to buy gear directly from them--it's still their bottom line that determines prices.
Tue, 10/01/2013 - 16:07
#4
The supply depot actually killed the sales of most 4*, and 5* pieces of equipment. While I frown upon those who do buy 4*/5* items, they have always existed and still do exist. Before, you could unbind a sword you no longer used or no longer wanted, and then sell it for a reasonable price. You may not fully break even (if you include the entire crafting costs on top of unbinding), but you could of made more than the 30kcr from NPCs. Then the supply depot came along, which sells 5* items in a reliable supply, at a price that is guaranteed to be less than that of any sane player. Now the only 4*/5* items being sold are Masks of Seerus (However, now that OCH is available through energy purchases, that's going away), and those with INSANE UVs.
I don't think lowering the unbinding cost would harm the SK economy. If anything, it would re-introduce a potential market. However, as you stated, OOO benefits a bit more from the Supply Depot than from Knights unbinding and selling their equipment. Also, the market would be quite small and have relatively little impact, unless you make your SK living off merching.
The trick is that the cost of unbinding an item is determined in relation to the cost of buying a vanilla item straight from the supply depot. Lowering the unbind cost = lowering the amount of money OOO makes from direct sales, as buying an item from another player (say, with a desirable UV on it) becomes more of a value. In that regard, I don't think it's likely that unbind costs will change anytime soon, and yes, it's also one of the few remaining major cr/energy sinks we have left now that elevators are free, orbs are farmable, and GH upkeep costs were lowered.
In terms of the impact lowering unbind costs would have on the economy: it wouldn't have as much of an effect as changing the base cost of something purchased from the depot, but prices of player-to-player sales of most gear have been depressed for a while now as the SK playerbase as a market is pretty saturated, and lowering the unbind costs would depress prices even further. Cr-->energy prices would likely go up (at least temporarily) as demand for energy would increase, but the amount of energy you would need to unbind an item would, of course, decrease, leaving the relative cr cost of unbinding an item fairly consistent. There would, however, also be a great increase in the supply of gear on the market without a corresponding increase in demand, and hence prices falling even further. Wheeeee!~