Neon Chroma Material and the paywall. I regret it.

The same thing happened with me, I got more, and spent more (about $150). The only difference is I'm not really upset about it. Did I want a Neon Chroma? Yeah! Did I get it? No. But with opening that many TCs I was able to complete all the collections and get both gear styles, Got enough quarks to get me to an item I wanted in the Quarks vendor (I should elaborate that these quarks, added to the ones I had got me to where I needed to be) and I was able to make some decent money selling repeat styles and collections.

At the end of the day there's one feat from the capsule that I don't have, and I know it's eventually going to be on the Quarks vendor, so I'm not gonna sweat it and start saving my quarks now. It's all about how you look at it. For as many TC as you opened, you had to have gotten plenty to either A.) Increase your CR B.) Get you some feats C.) Make you some money on the broker or D.) All of the above. Especially if you took advantage of the recent stabilizer sale.

Also "Most" of the styles can't be bought. There are still many styles (Viking, Snake, etc.) That I cannot buy. I wish I could, but I can't find those anywhere.

I think you might not understand the meaning of the words "scheme" and "worst".

This can't be the worst because it's incredibly successful and makes the game a lot of money, a good chunk of which gets put back in the game for new content.
Secondly it's not a scheme. What they're doing is legal. They're offering something optional that people can either choose to purchase, or, if they're willing to put in the work, they can get it for free. Providing something that people want for a cost is what businesses do. They're not going to get very far if they make sure everyone gets everything they want with spending as little as possible. No business works that way.

Heh heh heh... and a very Merry Christmas to you, too! Don't feel bad though... I believe there are many people on this very forum who spent much more on those Time Capsules and also didn't get what they wanted.

Just out of curiosity, what is the highest amount we know of so far? Wasn't there a player who spent $500 on the Time Capsules and also didn't get a Neon?

Then there was Multiverse, who got two from his first purchase... that's the real kicker right there!

I'm sorry... I find it all so amusing.

Just a question...and I'm not criticizing your rolling the dice (although I've given up on that a long time ago myself), but IF they put the Neon up in the MP...made it non tradable and 1 per account (not all toons)....then marked it at $100....the most expensive thing we've ever seen in the MP...would you buy it vs rolling the dice on the TCs?

I'm guessing the answer is 'NO' you would not buy it for $100(I think most would say this)....which is exactly why it's in a TC and not the MP and will never be.

This is also why we'll never see an end to gold sellers. Because if you are looking to spend $100 to get 1 thing and don't want to roll the dice...well you fill in the blanks.

Reinheld

PS. Just a matter of efficiency....If you had the money from Christmas, why not buy the $100 MPC pack that was out there, get 15K of MPC (and a red obsidian), then spend on the sale stabilizers(under 1300MPC) and get over 230 worth of stabilizers for about the same spend? I"m sure you were fighting the urge to buy, but personally If I blow off a good sale I'm pretty good at saying i'm locked in on NOT spending the money that go-round. That's just good money management...even if in the end it's still throwing the money away on a dopey RNG style item. Not trying to salt the wound, but just saying...if you are burning money, no reason to add gas to the fire.

Agreed that it is currently legal but hopefully in the near future laws will continue to pass that will restrict or hinder this method of making money in games that are Teen rated and below. Having gamble boxes in a game that is able to be played by anyone of any age is preying on minors. There is a reason minors are not allowed into gambling businesses.

Also, top end games do just fine with selling cosmetic styles directly. Numerous top end best selling games do it right now. You know why they can do this? Because their game is worth playing and spending money on and it keeps people coming back non-stop while also amassing new players. DCUO has unfortunately lost this aspect of the gaming community and as such is nothing more than a niche game when it could have been so much more. Thus it has to rely on gamble boxes in order to make a majority of its profits (yes, this is speculation on my part but I have a hard time imagining anything else in DCUO comes close to the profits TC's make).

I'm not overly concerned about the broker and economic aspects of this. Not just yet. I'm hoping that glitch last month got the devs to wake up, and we've been told that more actions to fix the economy will be taken. I'm hoping they're true to their word and that it happens sooner rather than later. So that's an issue I'm willing to give them some time to get right. Real economies don't get fixed over night and game economies are no different, so patience is the key here. As long as the devs actually do something of course.

The RNG however....yeah, that's an issue. It's a system we can totally ignore. It's not like we need those feats to be effective. But spending hundreds and not even getting the item you want? The only people winning here is Daybreak....and I suspect that's only short-term. How many of us are slowly realizing that the extra money we drop isn't worth it? I don't spend money on TC's anymore, and I only run the daily when there's a specific item I want (like the neon chromas). I *should* run the daily all the time, just to save up for the next specific thing I want, but I really don't like supporting this system at all.

I'd love to see some analytics on this. A TC comes out, and a handful of people drop serious money. But if they put this stuff on the marketplace at a reasonable cost, I'm inclined to think that everyone would buy, and that would generate a revenue stream long-term, and ultimately make them more money. I mean, if a hundred people dump a few hundred bucks on this stuff, but thousands drop ten bucks on the MP and continue to do so as new players log in and new alts are made.....well, I figure Daybreak's accountants know more than I do but I'd love to see some data sheets.

I think I'm 0-50 for new TC chromas (I bought the stabilizers on sale, yo) but I got two of the drone boxes back to back, so...

Current RNG setting is on some bogus **** y'all.

I took my credit card down off the Market Place. I will just spend what I get monthly from my unlimited subscription.

I'd like to point out that just because it's 'legal' does not mean it's ethical or 'right'. There are lots of things that are perfectly legal that everyone knows are wrong. Sometimes laws are passed later to make them 'illegal' or somehow alter the practices that are either un-governed (like 'new' things often are) or are just slipping through the cracks in the existing rules.

But yeah....like slavery in the 1600s....what they are doing is 'legal'. Like selling cocaine in soda pop in the 1800s....it's 'legal'. And marketing cigarettes to kids in the 50's and 60's...it's 'legal'. All the same thing? Nope....just using those things as examples. I'm not saying that TCs are like slavery (although with the grind I put in to get the stabilizers for free...it might not be far off), just that things can be 'legal' and wrong at the same time.

Reinheld

If a law like that were to pass, businesses wouldn't just give up their biggest money maker, they'd just change the rating. TC's are very successful for Daybreak. I'm sure they'd sooner just change the rating to M. Not that this would stop people from complaining. Maybe if people spent more money in the game and supported in in other ways, they wouldn't NEED Time Capsules to make money..Just a thought. My personal opinion is that the biggest complainers are the ones who want to spend as little as possible. They want new legends, everything fixed, all new maps, new new new, but don't want to put money into the game lol.

Obviously just because it's legal doesn't mean it's "right" or "ethical", but I don't think anyone is violating ethics here. No matter what, if you spend money for a time capsule, you get SOMETHING that will help you in some way. You're not dumping money into something and getting nothing out of it. Also, since people are very concerned about the teens, I think it's up to the parent to monitor what their kids are doing, not Daybreak. I'm not sure what the age groups are, but in several years of playing, I can't remember many non-adults anyway. I'm sure we can bicker about this all day, but from my point of view, you're paying and getting something, so it's not much different than mystery boxes or a pack of baseball cards.

Not disagreeing...just saying that you can't really use the fact that 'it's legal' as a defense. I'd guess within a year there will be restrictions due to the fact it is a form of gambling and it is marketed at kids or teens and it will no longer be 'legal' in it's present shape and form. Not saying they will go away...only change. Hopefully for the better.

Reinheld

Actually it is a scheme. It's a money making scheme. Scheme doesnt mean illegal.

Daybreak wouldn't get to "just change the rating of a game". That is done by an outside company called the Entertainment Software Rating Board. In order for DCUO to have a "M" rating they would have to add blood, adult themes, etc... Essentially they would have to re-do the game entirely which we all know won't happen. They would either have to adapt and publish a game that brings in subscribers along with putting quality styles and materials in the Marketplace directly, instead of hiding them behind Booster Bundles and Time Capsules, or close the game down.

Because you answered your question, RNG is against you yet you seek the items and blew $50-$100 lol

Devs 1 - you 0

Tack it up as lesson learned.

I havent spent a penny on DC in 3 years, I only have access to metal 2 because friend bought me a psn code for that dlc

If I was told this how dcuo would end back in 2011 I wouldn't have dumped 1000s upon 1000s into this game like I have

And if I knew Google was going to become such a massive and profitable company I would've invested when the stock price was cheap- but nobody knows the future for certain and we all make decisions based on the information currently available so it is really a waste of breath to talk about how you would've done things differently if you knew how things would end up.

That's not true at all. Gold spammers existed before the money glitch and still exist after because gold spammers don't depend on a cash glitch. Just look at what they used to spam for exchange rates and what is available now- buying cash from a gold spammer has become much more expensive than it was a month ago.
Also, saying the broker has not changed is factually incorrect. Prices have come down from what they were before the broker was taken off line- they're not back to normal, but if you really don't think that the broker has changed at all then you're not looking.

Thanks Capt obvious lol