Be Careful What We Wish For (Vendor Gear)

Typically, I would never make another thread on a subject that now has 4 or 5 on page one but...


Be careful how we go about pushing for this Vendor Gear issue. We all know how things work.

I don't want to see Vendor Gear being sooo outrageously priced, that we need to run hours upon hours each day to get anywhere.

We have seen it a hundred times now how the Developers tend to go from one extreme to the other.

I'm all for this change. I truly believe it could dramatically improve the game. But it must be done right so that both sides win.


Let's please keep this constructive. I really want my game back!

☆ Thanks ☆

Honestly I dont care if each piece cost 100 marks. Simply because Elite gear will not be removed from this game, especially now that there are affinities and mods for that gear alone.

I would honestly vote to have the gear upgraded to raid and then elite gear through R&D or other means.

Honestly I think the problem is people want a way to obtain the highest or second highest level of gear without relying on luck of the draw. Other MMO's exceed in this because you can either craft the best gear, or obtain it through marks.

While in DCUO you only obtain the best gear by running X piece of content. Or in the new episode case, elite alert and elite raid, and its not like you get a token of completion to turn into a vendor for exchange for elite gear. You have to run it 1-3 times to hope for a random piece that you may have duplicate of to drop.

This could turn into a false hope of progression causing the player to either burn out on content or quit the game altogether. It also lowers the value of legendary due to the feeling of playing a game that is a paywall behind a paywall.

See, I'm with you on this. There really is no win for everybody. It does not matter what the devs do or how they go about it. If there is no opportunity to be top within a few hours, loot drop rate complaints will turn into time complaints, especially since the perception is that you only have 3 weeks to make use of the gear.
And the devs have a reponsibility to produce revenue options. If the alternate spreadsheet doesn't show how $$ will still come in, then it simply can't be done. At the end of the day, the big wigs of an investment co. are only seeing numbers in a column.

As I stated in the other threads. I'm not against change, I just caution it.

I rarely run alerts, it's even rarer that I raid, so I'll never see the top gear.

Thing is I might want to run the higher player content if it wasn't for the community. I've been kicked for not having a high enough CR before (I was 81 in a 70 alert), and I've seen the comments from people who would rather walk out on their at tier partners, immediately assuming they'd be carrying them, assuming the partner doesn't want to try. Those people are on my ignore list now.

But if vendor gear was the highest I'd probably be more inclined to give the 4 man, 8 man content a go, because I'd have higher stats, be able to contribute more, and not have to worry about being kicked because (morally) I'm not strong enough to be there, yet (legally) I am.

Which is exactly why I made this thread instead of posting the same "words of caution"? in all the others.

Not so much caution for the players tbh, caution for those that MAY be thinking how to implement this desire into the game.

Going from one extreme to the other would just be a waste of time...

Yes. And thats another positive point. Thanks!

imo the loot system is fine how it is. Ppl just pissy they arent getting what they need / want

so I have thought up a system that would slow progression down so it takes 4 weeks to complete one month of content while that content is too dog for the month while replays can still be a relevant form of profit for the devs

Before I go into my system which I always tweak slightly as I think up new stuff .. Let me explain what we were told back when halls of power was going to be introduced and why loot was distributed the way it was

We were told the luck based system was put in place to slow progression of course they did it for profit reasons but we wet elf its to slow progression so not everyone can have full gear day one ... Problem is some do still get it off why are extremely lucky and or are willing to pay to win

The system I've created doesn't allow anyone to over gear day one no matter how much you throw at it ... It forces a full 3 months of running content daily/weekly in order to gear up with out skipping ahead of the pack and makes the vendor relevant again while also promoting replays

How it works

The broken token method
A specific token is broken up into 3 pieces 1 for each boss in a raid or alert ...

Once all 3 pieces are recovered that week you get to use that token to purchase one piece of gear in the vendor... You can't not replay that week or day to get another token you are completely locked out of it until the next day or week

Alert cycle months you collect 5 tokens for the week and you get to purchase one piece of gear

Raids upon completing all three bosses an completing a token with each broken piece = 1 piece of gear so 1 token that week 1 piece of gear
Elite versions of raids and alerts not Obly provide the token that day or week but also give you an elite upgrade allowing you to upgrade the piece you by into an elite piece ... If you beat the content on the non elite version then beat the elite version you will not get another token that day or week but you will recoeve the elite upgrade device (which can also not be replayed for durin the month of top gear monthly relevancy)

The system above will be how you obtain each pice for the 4 weeks of the new content when the content is succeeded by the next episode that content goes back to the marks of victory system allowing those who maybe didn't play that month t catch up gear resumes the same price as always and its up to you the player to replay if you must to catch up...

At the same time there will be new styles dropping in the raids and alerts these styles are all worth 50 points when completed the styles drop according to theirs rarity the lower item level drops most frequent the next a little less frequent and the next even less frequent ... The styles will not be placed on the vendor 22 til the 3 months of content is introduced in its entirety forcing people to replay all three months in order to complete these styles every month each episode had new styles to complete ...the goal (dream) would be at the end of a 3 month period there would be 9 new styles added as drops
Duos an solos
Those who only like duos an solos you will have your own vendor and a similar system to the alert cycle to obtain that vendor gear
5 pieces of a token are broken up and every day you are awarded 1 piece of it to get one piece of gear from the vendor ... Although you can replay for this and you can complete it before the week is up the vendor gear is 2 item levels below raid vendor gear the item level of the duo and solo gear is the same item level of the rarest dropped gear in the raids and alerts..

As with the raid and alert system when the duos and solos are no longer the top content in duos and solos the pieces of gear go back to mark of victory to purchase along with their pricing ..

All raids and alerts and duos and solos give the normal amount of marks of victory along with the tokens if you do replay the content although you won't get tokens you will get marks that can be used for older styles or base purchases tokens of merit whatever you wan to spend with it ...

This is how I would deal with it there will be plenty of reasons for people to replay with out making replays the only way to gain max cr

The thing is wr had vendor as the best gear for years. Litteraly years. Content and the game was better.

If u scale content off the third best gear well I will never be hard enoigh to warant a sub especially for extended amounts of time.

I kinda almost maybe sorta, like the lottery a little bit. Possibly. Even so if tje population was healthy id quit. I stay and especially keep my sub just to keep support cause well the populations are low. How much further down till its turn out the lights? I am not a sky is falling but we should be concerned. Nothing compares 2 dcuo imo so ill pay 2 supportmaand do what I can to stay occupied but man I want the real game back

No way vendor prices would change. Simply add nice stat boosts to raid drops or acces to better affinity bonuses. Done and done

I honestly don't care, as long as RNG isn't involved in any way, shape or form.

I'd rather run enough content to gather 100 marks per piece than pay real life money to run the same boring instance more than once per week for a chance that I'd maybe get a piece of the best gear.

The best gear should be given to those who are willing to put the effort in to get it. Not those who luck out on the system.

If you NEVER get what you "need"...then the loot system IS broken...sorry!

rng will always be there and ruin our day

you dont need 123 elite sorry to break it to you sweet heart

its a "want" not a "need" learn the difference.

You're deliberately being irritating.

You have been around long enough to know that's not the point.

Knock it off.

another testy 1 I see.


I see this is a touchy subject for ALOT of folks around

Can't say I disagree. If it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to gear up by the end of the episode, then yeah we would have an issue. But so long as there is enough time (assuming you run all content in the window available everyday) to just barely finish it in time for the next episode, I would be happy.

Hell, I would actually even be OK with it if it required a bit more than that. But yes I do see your point.

It is a "need" when it is the ONLY prize in the game. If people were to feel like its not "needed" there would be no reason to play.

Again, knock it off Darling.

Of course it is. We're discussing the core element of this game.

When you have paid monthly for nearly 5 years, with out ever once stopping that payment... yeah, ya get a bit touchy.

If we were to go to Vendor, it should work similar to Seasonal events. There should be just enough time to acquire all gear, while it is relevant, with a reasonable amount of game play.

That way Replay Badges can truly be used "as intended". As a means to catch up (or bulldoze ahead which will happen regardless).

well then you should know by now that the drop rates in top content can blow so why is it now for the past several DLC' that ppl get their panties in a twist so badly?