Hey GGG, MTX Idea!

So I've noticed in the threads lately people are inquiring about MTX cosmetics and taking a stake at the loot boxes GGG has made. Trying to find a work around with duplicates and making them trade-able.

*Before I begin I want to thank GGG for this wonderful game, I'm still a fairly new player and I absolutely love the game, and shown support already with two packs.*

Recently with v3.1 I saw that GGG made Navali the Divination Card trader designated to you HO now, which has saved loads of time for me swapping the cards out for items, and that gave me an idea.

Here is my proposal, why doesn't GGG introduce a new character in the game, that grants the ability to trade your duplicate MTX cosmetics for the one you are missing to complete a set, or one you've really wanted but just don't want to spend the points for it..

This is how the system would work:

Say you want the new Ice Cloak from the Fire and Ice chest, which is 320 mtx points. You've opened say 50 loots boxes and nothing but Ice Frogs and Ice Gales come out of the chest.

An Ice Frog is 30 mtx points and Ice Gale Decoration is 40 mtx points. Go to this new character and they ask you in a very thick Shaper's accent "What are ya offering?" and then gives you the option to make an offering to the desired MTX cosmetic you want.

Also the system will apply to other cosmetic items in the characters shop, like Colossal Swords, all you would have to do is sacrifice cosmetics you no longer want, or duplicates, to be equivalent to the desired MTX cosmetic.

5 Ice Gale Decorations and 1 Ice Frog is equivalent to 1 Ice Cloak. 40(5) + 30 = 230

Now as far as the exclusive MTX cosmetics, those cannot be made as offerings to the merchant.

Also I do not want or believe MTX cosmetics should be trade-able among players!


So what are your thoughts? Does anyone have anything to add to this idea?

Let me know with your comments below :)

Hiya,

Wow you're an incredibly generous person. Kudos!

To comment on your suggestion;

The thing with the Mystery Boxes (which I personally dislike rather strongly...) is that there's a balancing act of what is acceptable to GGG and what is acceptable to players.

GGG has set the price of the boxes at 30 points, and the value of the contents range from 30 points to 320 points, with an average value of 110 points. It's conceivable - though admittedly unlikely in the extreme - that a player could open ten boxes, receive ten copies of the same item, and still have achieved an overall profit of 20 points over buying the MTX directly.

Often when players come up with ways of improving the boxes, those improvements come at GGG's expense. With the average value of the contents being just shy of four times the cost of the box, there has to be something to balance that out - currently it's the risk of duplicates.

If you want to remove or lessen one of the drawbacks of the system, you have to be willing to suggest an alternative. Otherwise the option of trading in duplicates is indirectly improving the relative value of their contents with, presumably, no increase in price. That makes a lot of sense for those buying them, but it's not necessarily attractive to the people selling them.

As for trading in other cosmetics, I feel that's also something which GGG would be opposed to. They sell points packs & supporter packs for money, and the MTX in the store serve as a points sink, with the hope being that when people run out, they will buy more. You're fundamentally changing that. For GGG's current level of ongoing development to continue to be feasible, they may view anything which impacts their ongoing monetisation of the game as an unacceptable risk.

Your example of trading in 5 Gale Decorations and an Ice Frog for one pair of Ice Wings an Ice Cloak shows no deterioration in overall value. Maybe if the system was implemented similarly to many games, e.g. Hearthstone, where you can trade in items for a fraction of their value then GGG could justify giving people the choice of exercising agency in a way which reduces the overall value of the total MTX on their account. That might be a win-win scenario for all involved.

Let me ask you a few questions;

• If the ability to exchange MTX for no cost made it possible for people to continually use different MTX without spending more, what would encourage them to spend more regardless?
• If the option of exchanging MTX for no cost resulted in less revenue for GGG, and thus slowed the pace of development, would you consider that a fair / positive trade-off?
• If Mystery Boxes had a similar average value as what they do currently, and duplicates could be traded in for their full value, what incentive would people have not to buy them? I think this is the elephant in the room. Mystery Boxes are intended to supplement existing MTX sales, not to cannibalize them. If there's no reason not to choose them, the system is too good.

I'm naturally quite long-winded, and sometimes people see one of my tl;dr posts and react negatively to them. Just for the record, posts this long take a while to write and I don't waste that much time on someone I consider a troll / stupid / whatever. While I'm skeptical of your suggestions I view them as being in good-faith and I'm certainly open to having my mind changed.


P.S. Both Valve and Bethesda have experimented with the idea of players being able to create mods for games and to sell them. The internet's response was... not kind. In the midst of some players reacting with horror at the thought of having to pay for what was previously free, and some warranted ire aimed at those companies expecting a substantial cut of the transaction, one detail often went unnoticed. When asked, modders consistently said that the Donate button on their pages was effectively never used, that they did it either out of passion or in the hope of it leading to a job, and the money they made from creating mods was minimal. Everyone was quick to claim paid mods weren't necessary because someone would donate to modders, yet that prediction seemed optimistic and unfounded. This is why I asked my first of three questions.


P.P.S. I changed your example of a pair of Ice Wings to an Ice Cloak. The combination of Gale Hideout Decorations & a frog equates to 230 points; the Wings cost 320 points.

Hey Sarno!

If the ability to exchange MTX for no cost made it possible for people to continually use different MTX without spending more, what would encourage them to spend more regardless?

Well I can't really think of something enticing to encourage the community to spend more, but I know that people either have a tendency to purchase more out of addiction, or are drawn in the pursuit of acquiring an item they really desire. GGG does a fantastic job with their cosmetics for that.

If the option of exchanging MTX for no cost resulted in less revenue for GGG, and thus slowed the pace of development, would you consider that a fair / positive trade-off?

I wouldn't consider that fair or positive either. But again GGG can easily just make slight balances to make it more in their favor.

For example: The Colossal Sword skin costs 170 mtx points. The mtx trading character will offer it to you for 250 mtx points, at the expense of trading/sacrificing in your less desired mtx cosmetics or duplicates. Simple balance mechanic.

If Mystery Boxes had a similar average value as what they do currently, and duplicates could be traded in for their full value, what incentive would people have not to buy them? I think this is the elephant in the room. Mystery Boxes are intended to supplement existing MTX sales, not to cannibalize them. If there's no reason not to choose them, the system is too good.

Well I wasn't around during the Mystery Box era, but I speak for myself at least that I'd prefer to know what I am guaranteed to potentially get, then possibly a shoe lace that serves no purpose without the shoe.

Although to answer the question, I'd say for balance purposes either make the duplicate or cosmetic you own half its value when traded in, or simply make the desired item you want cost more. But players still have the choice to purchase the desired cosmetic for full price, guaranteed to receive it.