Marketplace Woes, v2

[Djanee]

One thing you DO have to offer is your TIME. I think as you grow in Istaria, you'll find that most all things boil down to time vs. reward. If you need or want something, I strongly encourage you to be willing to put in some time to get it. If you want cargo gear then it'd be best to find out what ingredients go into it (grab Horizons Craft Calculator here http://community.istaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16649) and gather / barter for / purchase as much of the ingredients as you can for the item. That gathering is the biggest time component of making anything. Then when you ask for an item to be made, mention that you have all the components for it. I can just about guarantee people will be much more likely to take the few minutes to do the combine for you if you provide the gathering time.

While you're at it, get double of all the ingredients and ask for 2 of everything to be made. You use one set and consign the other to help out the community and fellow new players like yourself.

Also look at the skills you do have. For example, my plot needs TONS of sandstone bricks. Gathering them gets me no experience and and takes up a bunch of time. If you can't gather say the flax from cargo gear, then offer exchanges in marketplace. Then you're trading time/effort for time/effort. I wouldn't mind gathering flax spools in exchange for sandstone bricks for example. In the early days even when there wasn't much coin that was often how it worked. I made cargo disks for anyone in resources they could gather. I figured out a cargo disk took 10 bronze bars, 8 orbs and 40 bricks. I'd trade them for 75 of any one of those resources and combine people's talents into more disks, tools, etc.

When I look at a task in Istaria, I have to weigh what's fun for me and what I need to accomplish my goals. There's very little reward in stocking the newbie consigner. 99% of the time I never meet the people who consume my goods and I can't remember the last time I got a Thank You tell from a new person who benefited from my time stocking. It seems to them, they paid their 150c and they're off on their way. To me, that coin is as you say a drop in the bucket. I could make that amount of coin in 1/100th of the time it takes to get the materials to make a gear for newbies.

Just try to consider the person on the other side of the screen and I think you'll find Istaria a wonderful place with a rich community of great people

[Creme]

On another angle, I wonder how everybody got their items when the game was first released? I bet they crafted themselves up to doing it themselves. Shargrailar / Manshoon

Players got their items by exchanging or buying goods/wares off other players. A considerable number of players, back when there was a high demand for all types of crafted items, routinely placed items on consigners so all a player had to do was go connie hopping and purchase what they needed.

Back in the "old" days there were a large number of adventurer only types and crafters to meet the demand.

Now we've come to a point where most of the "old timers" have leveled up all the crafts they want to take care of themselves and their friends, but aren't in it for the money.

Istaria used to have a crafting economy and crafters didn't complain when players tried to buy wares. Now that the coin/effort expended isn't worth it on lower tier materials, there is less interest in spending an hour to make a T1 item (w/out materials) for a silver, when some 150 rated player can earn that much in 2 minutes hunting.

[Shur]

yeah, crafting economy is pretty well dead in this game. Makes it a pain in the *** for a player who wants to play just adventurer. I myself have a Saaris alt i hop on every know and then when i get really bored, i have absolutely no interest in raising craft on the character, because, well, it's boring, and i already only play the char if i am bored. because of this, i'm running around in (at best) a mixed suit of copper ring or chain mail pieces, no techs. i have a socketed weapon i can't quite use yet (lack skill req) but that's it, and i was lucky to get that. if there isn't a guildie on who can perform a crafting task, it's impossible for me to get equipment for that character. I must agree that if one is going to inhabit the marketplace channel, it should be because one is either looking for help or willing to provide it, if you wanna just chat, join a general chat channel.

[LOVWYRM]

well spoken, Djanee, very well!!!!

I second every word you wrote!

[Weston]

I'm a habitual crafter of the Grandmaster sort on Chaos, back after 18 months of vacation. ;p Since being back, I've focused on learning what's new in the world of Confectionary, and enjoyed that very much.

I have a large plot with enough room to freely store most resources from tier 3-6. I generally go grab T1 and 2 when I need it, generally for a new silo, storehouse, or some such. Always tinkering with the plot, so to speak.

On several occasions, I've joined the Marketplace channel to ask a thing, and often get no response from the 30-50 folks who are usually there. Sometimes they can be VERY helpful. Just depends on the time of day, I think. (I'm generally in and out of the game from morning till evening, USA). During several of those visits, I'd leave the chat window up, and often it will go *hours* with NO conversation at all. No requests, No questions, No interaction of any kind. Again, I suspect that's a function of the time of day.

In any event, it CAN be frustrating to be in the middle of something, or several somethings, and be interrupted by someone frantic for some T2 set of something or another. They ARE time consuming, as well noted by previous posters here. Still, on an infrequent basis (which should be the case given the sparse population), I would welcome a direct tell from needy individuals.

So, if you see either Weston or Goldwing on, and need a thing desparately... .... give me a shout. I generally meet in Bristugo, as my plot's on Shepherd's Mountain, and I, too, love to craft for resources. You want it teched, tho, and you'll be supplying those...

Happy Hunting. Or Crafting.. what ever turns your spigot.

Wes

[Mensar]

Dhalin,
Let me start by saying, I feel for you. Regardless of what other characters you have in the game, the POINT of your post is clear. A request for disks on the NT connie and some newbie gear.

I understand your frustration and when you cut to the chase: The solution seems simple enough. I'm sure some enterprising person that wants to make some money will stock it.

Be careful asking for help on here though. The responses from certain people (as you can see) can be brutal.

[LOVWYRM]

Bad, bad Certain People.
Who and where is this guy?
I`m gonna eat him up or roast him with a dragonbreath.

I play this game more than 4 years now- never met him- on none of our servers.
He must be new, I assume.

[pevil2000]

The point I get out of the post (and others on a similar vein) isn't so much a whining "no one helped me" post (not saying anyone else took it that way either) as a request for politeness. I've seen it happen myself in other channels, such as Dragon. And am as guilty for it too hehe.

A common one in Dragon is that we're all messing around, munching gnomes and generally just chatting, then someone asks "where do I find x critter for x quest?". The chatter continues. No help for the player, not even a 'sorry, not too sure' sometimes. This is in extreme cases, I hasten to add, not very often. Usually someone will reply either with the answer or at least say they don't know, which is better than merely ignoring the request. Same in marketplace; if no one in there can make the item, it is better to say so than leave the player feeling ignored!

Luckily with Dhalin, he has been around the game a while so it's not such a huge deal. If a genuinely new player finds their way to MP though and gets completely ignored, how likely is it that they will stay in the game? We always say we're proud of the community, it's not so tough just to let someone know you can't help. At least it makes them feel someone paid them attention.

[Vlisson]

i would love a conny/pawn with no time limit

this would give the player the chance to support lower/newer players

im sure there are a lot of players who are willing to help, but hey "send me a tell" is no solution its a nice gesture!

the problem is that

-some channels are "abused" as chatrooms ^^
you dont get auto-kicked from the chat after 30 mins afk ^^
-new players dont know that its difficult to get an answer via chat and dont know how/whom to send tells to get help ^^

[Teto Frum]

Heres how i saw it when i played, getting ignored in mp is not limited to lvl, if folks are busy they are busy, ask later again and you might not be.

Getting stuff at low lvls in such a high lvl world is always going to be hard, too much of the player base is very high lvl. Only an influx of new players will change this.

the only thing i every found hard to find as a younger player were cargo clothes and discs do to work involved in making. There is a low lvl spell vendor refurbished weapons and refurbished armour, i believe somewhere the devs mentioned adding refurbished cargos and discs. This would solve the problem of lack of discs while you grow familiar with the player base find a guild or can make yourself.

To those taking offense to being ignored in chat rooms, its always going to be a problem, we all pay to play and can sometimes get busy, its why in a store you ask an employee for help not another shopper, though ive been ignored several times over the years( sometimes by friends just busy) i feel the community here over all is very helpful considering most of player base gains nothing( no xp, no coin value etc) for the low lvl stuff.

Just my two cents worth, but game will most likely never get a big influx of players to change this, be thankful there are still plenty of helpful high lvl toons in istaria willing to make stuff for low lvls the dont know, not like that in most games for newbies or strangers.

[LOVWYRM]

The key to everything is communication and integration, in my eyes!

When I started that game in 2oo4 on Earth/Unity I was an absolut newbie (mmorpgs).
But there was no question that hasn`t been answered. And in the first months I only was in guild channel (too shy to join others^^). And all the help I needed came from my guild.
Later I joined the German channel, and others (multinational),incl. boss mob hunting channel (before I was able to fight them^^). Same there, Always got help and answers.
When I started on Chaos 2007- I knew nobody and vice versa. Later I met one to 3 old mates. But I was in a guild from the beginning. All help and infos I needed I got there and in the various group channels, I was kindly invited to from the beginnings (special huggs to LeWatcher, TelShyia & Dru and all the others who treated me like an old mate). I´`m still impressed what happened to me there. Later we had a German then, and some others- and the famous
UoP channel.
I never was in dragon or market (if, only for some mins).
Then came Order, which is something different, because wonderful people were waiting for me, others knew me from the forum. But again, from the first minute I had the privilege to be in a great , friendly guild (with an adorable big- hearted GL:-) ). Naturally , I have no probs to get what I need.
And last not least we founded a German channel on Order with my friends and mates from Unity- and new players who enrich our old clique:-)^^
(and I`m still not in dragon chat but in market cause this is main on Order)

And no- I do not wear my rose clored glasses atm- I still experience our community as something very special and heart- warming.
I meet a lot of people on all shards. I`m sad to hear what pevil tells us, and I believe her.
BUT- how come, that different cognitions of reality??

[pevil2000]

ah as I say, don't get me wrong Lov, it is very rare I encounter such a thing! Usually it is when a lot of chat is going on, things get missed, but very, very occasionally next to no one is talking and still no one will reply in any way to a question.

[Vahrokh]

I'd love to sell stuff, but my RP prohibits me from doing "everything for free", since I take fun at the selling activity per se (crafting the thing is just a mean to it).

I also answer on Dragon chat about coords everytime I am not afk.

The only thing I hate are cheap people. One tried asking and then demanding me to craft him a whole T4 teched craft set for 5-10s. Failing that, he put common friends in the middle, to peruse his "cause" and to make me feel bad.

Needless to say, that guy will never have a brick made by me regardless of sum.