Spiral Knights - Slot Upgrades - Why permanents are viable

Slot Upgrades - Why permanents are viable

28 replies [Last post]

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 05:12

El-Odio

Before you go to the bottom to rage, give me a moment to explain why I think this could be beneficial to OOO and players in general.

There are many people who outright hate temporary items, even useful ones. That's one of the reasons you barely ever see someone with the Trojan head. The only question is, would the short term money "everyones money" outwight the long term "Nolifer money".
For example, I never spent a single spark of E on a slot upgrade - and quite frankly, I just don't see the need to change that. Accessories are only useful if you have a slot for them, so I don't have to spent Orbs or time to craft them. Which could again be more money, as Orbs are freaking rare.

Now let's say a permanent Accessory Slot would cost 2700 - 18 months worth of 30 Day-Upgrades. Instead of being a gimmick for those who play several hours every day it would become something people start working toward. Everyone could benefit from an upgrade without being afraid of having wasted money because they didn't find the time to play their worth of money.

Also, if we stick to an 18 month price for a perma, a full set would cost 14,400 E. Right now only a certain number of people bother buying Upgrades - if there was a permanent solution, people would sooner or late get around to buy them. That would be 14.400 E that OOO would otherwise not get from people like me. That, PLUS the Orbs neccesary to craft some of the better accessories and increased interest in accessories in the AH.

Finally, there's one more thing I want to stress here: 18 month worth of upgrades equals more than half the time Spiral Knights EXISTS until this day.
What's so important about this fact? First, few people play for such a long time. Some play a few month, pause, get back a week and pause again. Thing is, those 18 months worth will rarely be achieved. Further more, most of those who sporadically return won't buy upgrades for "testing the new content", even if they did before. To get 18 months worth of upgrades from a single player is most unlikely in the first place.

While it is true, "renting" Slots is a good way to leech money from those with enough of it, changing this custom could hold far higher profits.

EDIT: When I say "Accessory", I mean "Trinkets". got them mixed up, sorry.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 06:20

Hexzyle

Well argued.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 06:52

Juances

Basically, you're saying OOO will get more money because people are stupid as they don't realize they won't be playing the game forever to take advantage of a perma slot vs multiple 30 days slots.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 07:46

Inferno-Forum

Derpuraptor strikes back

I'm confused. Is it about Trojan heads or Weapon/trinket slots?

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 07:57

Waffleconecake

The math is good but you said

The math is good but you said accsessories were craftable. The hell are you on?

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 10:23

Narfle

I only bother with additional slots when I get them free as part of another promotion. I don't need the additional gear to clear anything currently in-game, and as the OP mentions, I never feel like I "get my money's worth" as I'm not actively playing for hours and hours a day. I would, however, definitely buy a permanent slot upgrade as long as the price was reasonable. There is no "people are stupid" about it, it's a convenience that I--and I think a lot of other players--would be willing to pay for, whether that means opening their wallets or saving up their crowns.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 16:02

El-Odio

@Juances: That's a bit... harsh, but somewhat yeah. Though there are many factors flowing into this as Narfle mentioned. Even those who see that they might be better of just using 30-Days could be tempted to buy permas simply for having the comfort of knowing "this is mine". Renting something always has this bitter aftertaste of "I need to make the most out of this" followed 30 days later by "I should have played more so this upgrade would have been of more use".
Same goes for Heat Amplifiers, but here it wouldn't be viable. Why? 18 months worth of them would cost 90,000 E.... so, yeah, not viable.

@Waffleconecake: I meant Trinkets. Always getting them mixed up, sorry.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 16:47

Waffleconecake

lol u

Trinkets afen't craftable either mate. They can only be bought.
Why u so silly?

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 18:34

Battlegrinder

@ Waffleconecake

http://wiki.spiralknights.com/Krogmo_Alchemy_Machine

@OP
I like the idea. I'd much prefer a one-time fee (even if its expensive) to constantly having to replace my upgrades.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 18:35

Hymura

Arcade's Krogmo Machine. You

Arcade's Krogmo Machine. You craft your trinkets.

Go check it out.

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 20:15

#10

Feyi-Feyi

Every once in a while I see a suggestion that's not horribly biased and actually good. /app

Tue, 08/20/2013 - 07:47

#11

Merethif

With over 30k energy stored, that is now pretty much useless, I would definitely buy some perma-slots.

It suits my gaming attitude. I play since beta but I'm playing in slow pace (i.e. I had lots of demi-hiatuses on the way and sometimes I'm inactive for months).

Tue, 08/20/2013 - 08:09

#12

Obnoxious-Santa

Agreed

Tue, 08/20/2013 - 11:32

#13

Quaquonfaes

I buy 1 weapon slot and 1 trinket slot every month and I am perfectly happy with it, however I would get this just to have the comfort of saying ''This is MINE''.(as stated above)

Fri, 08/23/2013 - 06:08

#14

El-Odio

Due to positive feedback: Push

Fri, 08/23/2013 - 18:59

#15

Kalaina-Elderfall

I'd buy permanent slots for

I'd buy permanent slots for really high prices, even though I know it would likely cost me a lot more overall than just buying month slots will. I'm pretty sure people would end up paying a lot more overall for slots if permanents were available, even at 12-month rate.

Sat, 08/24/2013 - 00:33

#16

Shamanalah

my 2 cents

I know I used a lot of ce into those weapon/trinket slots...... +1

Not a bad idea, I would buy 1 and have the other 1 temporary if I need it.

Would actually be super awesome come to think of it... o.O

Sat, 08/24/2013 - 22:00

#17

Geosmin

"People will pay a premium for the convenience of not having to pay again."

I have neither a degree in economics nor access to whatever statistical market data the developers have collected. As such, I cannot with any seriousness make any predictions as to how it would work out, because I understand the obvious implications for my sanity of my not understanding the system in such detail as to be able to describe its patterns and behaviour, to be able to answer any factual question that might be posed to me, knowing that I lack this understanding, and yet still being convinced that my predictions mean anything at all.

That said, I know I'd start seriously considering both saving up toward a third weapon slot, and buying a lump of energy to get it faster, because there'd be none of that mess'a trying to get my human instincts to quit whinging about "wasting" my resources by activating a hard-earned slot unlock now rather than later, shifting its glorious bonus-granting time away from the future where I supposedly have moar toys and toward a present where I supposedly have less. My cognitive understanding that these impulses are irrational has absolutely no bearing on whether I experience them, at least directly, that lack of bearing being the very essence of irrationality. I'm playing this game in large part to indulge those things with a harmless outlet, so I at least can be expected to distinctly favour the Pay Once model for purely entertainment expenses rather than periodic payments.

Sun, 08/25/2013 - 09:07

#18

Lunarett

I would buy it even if the price is high. I'll never ever have to worry about the few days I got left and don't have to pay for the slot updrage regurly.

Wed, 08/28/2013 - 12:04

#19

El-Odio

Up! Up, and away!

Wed, 08/28/2013 - 12:06

#20

Thunder-The-Bright

I would have linked this thread into another if you hadn't bumbed it, thanks. not that I agree, nor disagree with the idea. I mean, it's good, but I prefer the system we have.

Wed, 08/28/2013 - 12:28

#21

Chirthorpe

I also would favour this. The

I also would favour this. The more expensive option of a perma-upgrade is far better as a goal to work for than the energy for a mere month-long slot.

Wed, 08/28/2013 - 15:28

#22

Deleted-Knight

+1 for personal reasons (lockdown tankers...)

However, your reasoning may be backwards.
Perhaps having a temporary upgrade would provide incentive for players to play regularly. Every game gets boring once you beat everything. Getting crowns is a huge motivator to keep playing. However, you need something to spend crowns on to have incentive to get crowns.
At the moment, a player with every gear and highest prestige badge have virtually no reason to play the game other than PvP and chatting. PvP Lockdown ties directly with the demand for slots. Demand for slots -> demand for crowns -> reason to go clockworks -> forces player to experience the game more

Wed, 08/28/2013 - 21:12

#23

Terrty

HUH?

confused as heck whats an acesorry slot?????

Thu, 08/29/2013 - 03:52

#24

Xsword-Master

if you REALLY want that 000

if you REALLY want that 000 will listen it should be something like

"BUY PERM UPGRADE SLOTS FOR 20$ EACH, GET THEM NOW ITS A ONE TIME OFFER!!"

and then after a while they will do it agein

Thu, 08/29/2013 - 05:37

#25

El-Odio

@Cradarc: I don't think it would work that way. What you are describing is a chore and nothing you would want to do: "I want to play PvP, but to keep up with others I need Trinkets. To get them I need crowns, which means have have to farm them - again."
If you want to play PvP, you want to play PvP, not farm for 800 E. In fact, the need to farm every month for trinkets can be the reason to not play regulary, because you know you would first have to do something you don't want. The thing is you can't force endgame player to do s**t if they don't want to.
Wish to play Lockdown -> demand for slots -> demand for crowns -> reason to farm Vanaduke (let's face it, if you only want the crowns, it's the only way to go) -> forces player to decide if he really wants to play lockdown that badly -> log off and play something else.

Right now buying 4 slots for a month would mean farming ~61.000 Crowns, which is a hell of a lot of farming, just to play Lockdown. True, I don't like Lockdown to begin with, but if I knew I had to farm that much every month just do do something else entirely I know I would not bother in the first place.

@Terrty: Reading helps. It has been mentioned throughout the thread that I mean Trinkets. There is even an "edit:" at the bottom of the first post to clarify that.

Thu, 08/29/2013 - 13:03

#26

Deleted-Knight

@Odio

I think there's some misunderstanding. Farming is boring, but so is anything when done too much. If you remove the need to farm, end-game people would keep playing LD until that gets boring and then they just play less SK. Even if they do end up just playing fsc, that would actually be quite refreshing after weeks of pure LD.
The slots are like something to work for. A player can make it his goal to not "lose" an upgrade by making the crowns to buy a new one every month. It's like the leaderboards in the coliseum. It provides motivation to keep on playing so you maintain your place in the game, regardless of how trivial the drop is.

You know why OOO introduced the new rarity system? To get people to explore more of clockworks. This is because repeatedly doing anything too much greatly increases boredom. By introducing the forge system, the devs are hoping players have to change their habits of farming boss levels every day and do some arcade exploring from time to time and enjoy the game more.

Mon, 09/02/2013 - 15:29

#27

El-Odio

You know, I actually took the time to write a small essay about why I think you are wrong. Instead, I decided to utilize Ockam's Razor and simply say the following:

"Even if they do end up just playing fsc, that would actually be quite refreshing after weeks of pure LD."
It should be a choice and not a necessity.

There are games like dota, which are literally just one map, just one objective, and still manage to be successful, far more than SK even. "Refreshing" would be to play something else, read a book, meet friends - not "knowing you have to grind this hellhole for the 9001 time because I can't effectivly play PvP when I want to otherwise".

But I think we are drifting off topic.

Tue, 09/03/2013 - 07:08

#28

Venomousbiohazard

Fantastic idea. Not original, but fantastic and much-needed.

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Slot Upgrades - Why permanents are viable