The In depth analysis to NC Soft/Westâs issues with control.
HI guys this is going to be an analysis post. I can officially post it to the forums but it does go into a theory that the posters opposed to fixing theses issues are actually somehow connected to the Conman and Gold spammers that are a big cause of this control issue NC seems to have with its games. I will keep it profanity free so you can link to the post page directly if you wish. (and my blog is SUPPOSE to be work safe)
The Bot issue: There is no relay good way to control the bots in the game as it stands. Even with updated security measures the Spam bots are always going to be there. In the past there have been AWFUL ways that have only helped their efforts and ways that have succeeded in reducing the number of spam bots overall. Lets look at what NC has done to try and stop these bots form having a market.
The flowing has not worked... and I will explain why after the list
reducing the sell to merchant price of all items to 1 copper or the lowest earning point of any item in game.
putting a item sell limit on merchants and in auction house.
removing earning opportunity for players by forcing them to go into mechanics RNG driven dungeons to get gold/coin currency.
Altering the crafting system to be extensively grind heavy.
making most or all items Unsalable to players.
lowering sub boss spawn rates
Limiting Raid events to 1 time a Week
The reason these do not work is because they
A.) Create more of a demand for the service in mention, its likely why players who oppose changing these are actually working with the scammers or legit sellers who are actually indulging in a Service of sorts. The users who are a service are rare it is more common for them to be a con this leads us to our second point.
B.) These spammers are as mentioned above mostly a con, they do not need to actually HAVE the product in question to farm a users personal payment information. The whole point of this con is simple they are there to steal money and incentives to stop that is a priority since it is a threat to players.
c.) This punishes players for playing the game nothing more.
D.) it highly discourages new players form STAYING with the game.
E.) in the case of Blade & Soul It breaks some of the games key mechanics and lore.
Now lets look at what has worked and where it is somewhat flawed.
A.) Creating a lucrative in game economy where almost everything attainable form drops (outside quest items is easily attainable and or able to be sold for a good rate usually higher than one would consider normal. If done right its a great way to stifle the services usefulness but its flaw is in its design. its is extensively easy to go overboard and make things too valuable or easy to acquire.
B.) Single player dungeons This is a big favorite of mine and is already present in Blade&Soul called âDynamic Questsâ one good way is to redesign the Dynamic Quest Dungeons to include a RNG solution puzzles players Must Solve to continue through the instance. This has never really been fully implemented as a measure to stop Gold spammers form having a market. As such any other downsides are not yet really known. Other than to make it more effective against bots you would need to add more dedicated content, this makes it an incentive to keep the Dynamic quests intact even if players have to actively explore to find them.
C.)Another favorite of mine because it effectively LOWERS and I mean there is proof it does this The number of bots willing to be present in server. Small frequent PSAâs by staff form their own bot reminding players that the gold spammers are likely cons, and that buying form this is buy at your own risk as well as a ban-able offence. This is often backed up with a TOS statement about how buying or selling in game currency through unlicensed partyâs is a violation of the games terms of use. The only physical issue with this is it depends on the free market. The player really has to be part of the solution, the fact it SHOWS players are actively avoiding these normally is a good sign. As for being one of the only methods that has been proven to reduce the spammers numbers is a sign that this may be a better solution than anything NC Soft/West has tried in the past.
The issue with Higher level players not helping lower levels ones in dungeons.
This can be seen as one of the reasons to remove sub quests and making a quest line more streamline but the flaw with that it that it removes content form the game, it also has been known to irritate âgood moneyâ casual players in mass. A better Solution has already been proposed to NC Soft/West. create a reward system for higher level players who actively help lower level players with dungeons and quests. This can even be done through making the rewards players level based not instance based.Â
This is nothing more than a simple loot table change like mentioned above in a spammer solution and has the same balancing problems. I have high confidence NC Soft/West has the potential to do it right but not the will or incentive. Maybe highlighting where thees things are messed up form a different perspective will help as well as save the game players love.
In Blade&Soul this solution proposed on their forums is really heavily tailored since you get a Area basses rewards chest form completing Dynamic instances and daily quests and all it really requires is a better reward for the higher level players. Something as simple as bigger potions and crafting items can be the solution without much effort.
it is far simpler to edit a Loot table than it is to justify the removal of content to players. It is far less frowned upon and easily amended, another bonus is you do not damage new player income with it.
my biggest question to NC executives was WHY was that solution never really considered by your so called Experienced staff? The Whales can not save you form the backlash since Games are a Mass Consumer driven market. Sorry NC, but its you are not in a good position to claim your Independence as a company exempts you. FTP MMO are the pentacle of Consumer driven sustainability, Its the mass of players you need to aim to please, It CAN be done it HAS been done and it WILL be done again.
the true big question you need to ask yourself is rather or not its done by YOUR company or the competition?
Censoring the game extensively given the mature rating.
Iâm with RagingGoldenEagle on this... Just add a toggle. The only downside is lazy players and moral busybodies that donât buy content for your games anyway whining about the fact players can choose to turn it on/off.
This post is getting extensively long and that is all I have for now, I hope some NC excessive get this and have a opportunity to think about what is presented. the end hope is that it will finally allow them to balance the games profitability and marketability to create something everyone can enjoy. Maybe they are just missing a perspective of the bigger picture needed to make a better choice.
