Death to the Vielo! (and why it should happen.)

[Aamer Khan]

This is not a rant nor a complaint. This post is to voice feelings I and others have about the current state of the game, and specifically what should happen to the vielo. The developers have mentioned in IRC their desire to be done with the vielo. I post this in the hopes of getting the comments that have been made to me, passed along to them, and hopefully see a change.

Since merge, we the gifted were "blessed" by having the Vielo supply hard to find ( sometimes IMPOSSIBLE to find ) comps and forms.

I say "blessed", because it certainly has been a mixed blessing. Where as it was easier to get needed componants for armor, tools, spells, etc... this came at a price. The price is much more that just the coin cost of these items. It also involves the impact it has had on the overall economy, and player attitudes in pricing. Many have commented on these subjects, so what I'm saying is not going to be all that new.

To illustrate what I mean, let me use the example of what we are seeing on chaos consigners.

( now bear in mind, I fully understand that for some, making money IS the game. And that a few simply have no idea of the worth of stones/regals/hoard/blighted items. )

One example is folks selling Dark Jade Tool Crystals from 60s-200s. Now if I were going to be cynical, I would just conclude these players are greedy and leave it at that. But not only is that probably wrong, it's way to simple. Most likely, they need to charge these prices because they feel like they have to buy all the comps for their next set of ( whatever ) from nadia. To offset having to pay this price for a +30 health crystal, the crafter will now hike up his price. This of course cascades across the shard. What appears as greed, is really an artifically induced need to have a small fortune, to buy comps from nadia.

It actually goes one step deeper. Most will simply buy what they need all at once, instead of hunting for them the old fashioned way. I know this to be true for armor/cargo/tools since I make alot of those things for others outside of my guild. How long will players continue to enjoy this process of over paying, and agressive attention to money before they get burned out, or just tired of it all? In real life, how long do YOU put up with buying your groceries at the convience store?

Convience stores are a fixture in most western contries. That will not change, nor will the desire to take advantage of them from time to time. But leaving the Vielo ingame, and especially nadia is contributing to a culture of forced averice. Too many newer players complain to me that they cannot afford to buy many things because folks charge too much. So, they continue to hunt with armors 30 levels lower than there skill, because they believe they have to pay the Vielo to get what they need. They try to hunt for componants, but the mobs they need to kill are a bit out of their range due to inferior armor and gear.

Too many don't want to see actual changes, because it would upset their personal applecart.

BUT... if the comps not in game were put in other mobs loot tables, the drop rate was increased a bit upwards, and the vielo were REMOVED, more of us would have a sense of accomplishment. We also would have an economy based upon player actions and not artificially inflated by an NPC.

Regardless of the stated reason we play, one thing that is common to us all, is the desire to be part of something bigger. Be the hero vanquishing the mighty foe, be the leader of a band of valiant warriors, race against the clock to construct the escape route, or reclaim a lost city.

Accomplishment drives us forward, it brings us together. The Vielo... just make us weak.

[Snowdonia Honeythorn]

Nice post and I completely agree with you. I hated the Vielo since day one. I knew they would set a precidence that Istaria's economy couldn't handle and now the economy is worse off than it was before they came in. Our economy isn't driven by the players it is driven by the Vielo. People aren't making masses of money to fund their next set of gear or equipment, they are massing money to feed the Vielo.

[Hasai]

ACK. I myself have been guilty of doing this; creating thousands of whatever, usually essence orbs, to dump on a nearby pawn broker so I can put together the cash I need to get some unobtainable whatsit or other from Nadia.

Unfortunately, there can be two definitions for unobtainable. One is for those items that simply do not exist on the in-game drop tables; the other is for those items that drop so rarely, and are associated with mobs that are so lethal relative to the tech's tier (big problem among dragons), that for someone trying to gather them it consumes far less time and generates far less frustration to just fork the cash over to Nadia.
[li]

[Aamer Khan]

Of course Hasai, if the drop rates were increased, and the not ingame comps were at least put on other mobs, then those that could gather them would be selling them to you...

And at a much lower cost than the Gyppers. ;)

[Unicorn's Lady]

I unfortunately can't totally agree with you Aamer.

It's good to hear that Chaos' economy is that healthy, but Order's isn't. There is barely ever a crystal for sale on the Consigners and most of the tech components are also never there. [:(]

A crafter having to hunt for all the needed tech components for an order was not the "Old Fashioned" way back on Dawn a year ago. It was an option, but there was enough hunter types that sold their loot on the Consigners that most of the time a crafter could purchase what they needed. Or the customers just brought the needed components.

We do not have that anymore on Order. Dropped formulas, techniques, and components are rarer loot now and the hunters of such seem to be even rarer. So at this time the Vielo are a necessary evil on Order because they are pretty much the only ones carrying the groceries. [:S]

I do agree that if AE wants more people to have teched gear, then the drop rate of formulas, techniques, and components needs to be raised. But that will, of course, make such gear not as special & nothing to brag about. (Personally, having good equipment so I can work properly is better than having Leet equipment, but that's just me. So I would like a slightly higher drop rate.)

Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton
of Azure Twilight on Order

[kengar]

I have to disagree, on several accounts.

First, I don't fall neatly into your model. I hunt for what I can, but if I reach the point that I really want what I'm saving up for and I have the money, I have no problems paying for the balance. When I got a set of T5 teched Mithril Plate this weekend, I had hunted or picked up from consigners over 60% of the comps needed, and still spent over 2g at Nadia. 2g is a full weekend of hunting for money, but still less time than it would take me to finish hunting the rest of the trophies, even if they were all in game.

Second, I don't mark up crafting prices because of Vielo prices. I used to charge a good bit for T5 crafting, when Expert forms were rare and expensive, but now that almost any Expert form can be obtained with 20s and some patience, I don't charge more than 5s for anything less than T5, and only charge more than 5-10s for more complicated T5 orders. In fact, i pretty much work for tips on T1-T3 crafting, because there's no point in charging significantly less for my time than I can earn from hunting, and I can't justify charging 10s just for the 10 minutes it usually takes just to get back to civilization, hook up with the buyer, make the item out of pregathered materials, and then run back out to the hunting grounds. You might ask why I bother to fill crafting orders when I'm loosing money on them. I'm not sure myself, though I suspect it's mostly because I want other people to enjoy the game too.

Third, the rediculous prices on crystals, to use your example, is a relatively new trend on Chaos, at least, much newer than the Vielo and even T5 techs. Even newer than the consigner inventory access through this web site. I've always kept an eye out for crystals to buy, and until recently, the only crystals being sold for more than 20s or so were the WD crystals or the questable crystals. However, a week or two ago, people started selling WD crystals on the consigners for 200-700s. A few days after that, you started seeing regular crystals for outrageous prices. I suspect this is either people that don't realize that the WD and Aroah crystals are special and better than the regular crystals, or it's people trying to take advantage of people that don't realize this, though a new money exploit is always a possibility whenever inflation hits. I remember how the prices in marketplace plummeted immediately after the last widely known money exploit was fixed.

I don't think the Vielo would be an issue if there were a decent market for comps. After all, it's been a very long time since I saw a formula sell for more than a tenth the Vielo price. After all, there's a decent formula market going. Not a day goes by that marketplace doesn't have many forms for sale. However, T5 comps are almost never for sale there. When they do come up for sale, they're sold for less than the Vielo price, often by wide margins, and never more than half the Vielo price. Standard price for T3 comps in marketplace is 1s each, compared to 4.5-7s or so on the Vielo.

Why do we not have a market for comps? I suspect because most adventurers are like me, not willing to part with comps that I might need in the future, given that they're not easily replaced. Now, when I get a stack of 300 of the same comp (Imbued Armor Splinters, last time it happened), I'll sell 200 or so of them, but given that most comps aren't easily replaced, I could be placing myself in an awkward position. If the drop rate were increased, that would probably change, but I'm not sure that's the best answer, just the only one I can think of at the moment.

Fix the lack of of comps market, and the Vielo pricing becomes a non-issue, and the Vielo become no more than an expensive convenience for those times when you're a little bit short for a crafting order that you want to finish right now.

[Aamer Khan]

I can appreciate what your saying Nellie.

I have to wonder though why your lacking in adventure types? Part of my view is that the accomplishment factor that keep such ones playing has been watered down to such a degree, that many have simply gotten bored and moved on.

What you say in your reply illustrates my point exactly. True for you guys on Order, the problem is worse. If adventurers once again had something to fight for, and a reason to participate in the economy we would not need the vielo. Just like a year ago.

[Kulamata]

Not all can hunt for the comps they need. In the case of a high level crafter who is a mid level adv., it is simply not possible to go harvest mith golem comps.

There is no one way to play the game, and allowing for variant paths is best. I do think comp drop rates are too low, as I also see almost no comps on the connies on Order.

And a year ago, the comps dropped a great deal more freely. But the game has been steadily "greyed" since then, which I fear alienated more players than almost any other factor.

[Aamer Khan]

Reliance on the vielo, and the impact it has on the entire playerbase is what I was illustrating. I don't expect many to "neatly" fit the model. But as you say Kengar, players will take advantage of the vielo out of convience. I can respect that. We just have different views is all.

I believe the reliance upon the vielo has watered down the feel the game had at the start. Increasing the drop rate, and adding the currently not in game comps to the loot tables would help that.

I will freely admit it would remove some of the convience... But to me thats a good thing.

[Unicorn's Lady]

There are many factors why and here's the ones I can think of:

We are not the default shard anymore, so we don't get everyone who doesn't think twice when they are making a character. (I consider this a good thing because those who do come to Order are wanting RP.)

Many left when the weekly/biweekly events dried up. They wished to interact in a story, but didn't want to have to make up a story to entertain their fellow RPers.
(It's a special player who makes a good in-game storyteller and can hold others' attention for an extended story that may go on for months. These special few have a tendency to burn out from trying to keep coming up with storylines to keep the interest of other RPers as well as coordinating the whole sheebang. I saw it happen often in UO.)

A bunch left when City of Heroes, EQ2, WoW, and other games came out. There always will be those that chase the newest, shiniestpromise out there.

A bunch left when things got scary last summer when the news hit that AE was having financial problems. One of my guildmates stated that he just couldn't stay and watch Horizons die.

A bunch left right before and right after the great Merge. Again it was scary and for many the stresses of the Merge was just too much.

A bunch left because they were tired of waiting for fixes and to hear whether or not Horizons was going to survive.

I think most left because of a mix of these and other reasons.

If we have in-game events again, some may return. If we get new nifty monsters & items, somemay return. If the bugs get fixed, some may return. If it is broadly broadcasted with great fanfare that Horizons is still alive & here to stay, some may return. But many have set up new homes in other games and we have lost them.
To get new blood AE needs to go where the dreamers reside, such as Elfwood http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/and press the flesh at Gamer & SciFi conventions like Origins and World Con.As well as trying the old tired ways.

Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton
of Azure Twilight on Order

[Aamer Khan]

Even though my experience come from Chaos, and I understand that Order has a different dynamic, the concept still applies to both. The problems are just greater on Order due to having fewer players.

If this idea really worked, there would be more player on both shards and the vielo would become moot. I also fully admit I don't know if it will work. I do know that Manga has mentioned the desire to remove the Vielo, and a WM chimed in "death to nadia". To me there must be a reason those two would say such a thing in IRC. Maybe they will post here what they feel... :)

I expect some to not agree with what I have posted here. Like I originally posted, folks don't like change when it upsets their applecart. Some don't like it even when the applecart has a viper hidden amongst the apples waiting to bite them. "It's MY applecart!"

[Aamer Khan]

I could not agree more Nellie. Many still here, hang on in the hopes that things will improve.

I really appreciate you adding other reasons folks have left. I am illustrating a small part of the overall problems. We both know TG understand these things. If they want the game to continue, they will work towards what they feel will be the solution. This we see them doing.

All I'm wanting to do here is voice concerns and the suggestions made by others to me.

Agree, disagree, come up with something better, it's all good.

It all works together to make up the world we love.

[Kaze]

Humm Death to the Vielo I second that emotion.
Why you ask its simple. I need for my lv80 dragon scales ignoring all the other trophies 30 x frost hellhound manes. This trophy isn't ingame atm therefore vielo are the only options, if you get your calculators out the figure comes to a nice rough figure of 850s. Then I look at what other stuff I need I am still missing 21 vet ghost vapours and 47 vet skeleton sternums and these come to 1g650s. Now someone in an example above stated that you can get 2g in a weekend hunting. Please tell how???
On unity if you can even make 500s in a weekend thats a miracle we just don't have that kind of economy on Unity server.

[HratLi]

Wow ... some awesome thoughts in this thread.

Some other things to consider. Not only is the money inflation a problem, mob 'inflation' is an issue as well. The Devs have stated (perhaps changed their minds since?) that they wanted techs to be VERY special, and much rarer than pre-merger. Ok, I can take that, but there is a vicious circle that they then kicked off.

Mobs were farmed to get get parts to have the most fully teched gear. Mob difficulty was raised because the stronger classes with fully teched gear were mowing them down and there may have been a cry for harder mobs. It's turned into an escalating arms race such that mass killing by characters WELL above the level of the monster is the only effective means of getting parts. And since they are usually harder to find, they are held a lot closer than they used to be.

I was NEVER a heavy adventurer, but since merger I have begun hating hunting even more. I don't know if it's intentional or not but the distribution of mobs in a 20-30 level range in the same area is madness. Take for example someone hunting in their early 80's and can take down level 75-80 ogres. Sure, one on one, they can win, but can they take down the level 93 ogre next to him? Or the level 100 Wind golem walking around the corner? Want some grulet bits (Level 80-85)? Pah! Hope you are ready to handle the regular grouks (85-90), Angry Grouks, or ferocious angry peeved, irked grouks (up to 106+ Mouf)... oh wait, I'm forgetting about the Purple spider breeders that make a level 100 Monk fully teched out with evasion purple with envy... or how about the Bloodskulks ::shudder:: You get the picture. I'm just a silly SpiritDisciple who can pretend to kick butt once every 10 minutes when I have SpiritForm active.

To be effective at hunting your level, well, you have to be WELL above the level of the component you want or grouped (I hate bugging people to hunt comps). Comp farming for anything other than NecroFly wings or Spider venom ( :p ) is now the domain of powerful. Almost enough to make you want to power level huh?

Anyways I'm all for fixing the comp market, but upping and adding the drops won't be the only thing that does it, we need to look at the mob layout again as well.

-HratLi

[Unicorn's Lady]

I think some of the problem is Chaos is now ready for the removal of the Vielo selling components, but Order isn't yet. If AE could change the Vielo for Chaos, but not Order, that might work. But I can see another great exodus on Order if the crafters can not get the needed components due to their removal from the Vielo. We just don't have the needed support to fill in if the Vielo don't carry them. (I hope we will and fairly soon, but we don't at this time)

Why Manga & one of thw WMs said what they said, I don't know. Maybe because they too can understand our feelings. The Vielo are selling the components and such partly because they are lacking in game (we even recently got a new type of NPC selling weapons & armor due to the lack in game) and also to be used as a gold sink. Maybe they said what they said because that gold sink use is waning as well as the need for a component supplier. (The game still needs gold sinks, but maybe they have thought of a better one that will be received better. I can think of a Beautician and a Plastic Surgeon. [;)])

So my suggestion is the Vielo should settle down and become farmers on Chaos and as soon as Order can stand on its own like Chaos can now, then their Vielo do the same thing. Who knows, maybe someday Nadia will become a Hair Dresser! [:)]

Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton
of Azure Twilight on Order

[Unicorn's Lady]

Yup! If you tweak one part of the web called Economy, you can get all kinds of strange and unforeseen results. [:S]

So I agree HratLi, it will take a lot of tweaking & twitching of the web to get things to finally balance out.

Nellie Lovett/Ochre Tekton
of Azure Twilight on Order

[LaughingOtter]

The Devs have stated (perhaps changed their minds since?) that they wanted techs to be VERY special, and much rarer than pre-merger. Ok, I can take that, but there is a vicious circle that they then kicked off.

This is the major reason I disagree with removing the Vielo under the present circumstances:

People like nice stuff, and they will do what has to be done to get it. The more extreme the measures taken to keep people from having nice stuff, the more extreme the measures people will go to in order to obtain what they desire.

The first changes in tech requirements resulted in near-nonstop farming of a few mobs. Raise your hand if you remember people charging 20 silver for a granite golem frag and endless bottom-feeding at the Lakes of Crystal Tears. Things were not just tense - they were explosivly hostile. The comp requirements were far harsher than they are now, and comps themselves more rare - and still people found a way to get what they wanted.

Things are better now. Those who can, camp. Those who can't, have the Vielo. They are the resource of last resort; I have no problem with that, honestly. Getting a full set of T5 gear, fully teched, *IS* an accomplishment. It *IS* a great deal of work. It is also *attainable*.

The Vielo were a band-aid solution to a systemic issue, and now they have become the system. The only way they can be removed without making matters worse is to overhaul the entire system and make them unnecessary.

AddT4-T6 forms and quests to trainers. Yes, add the missing creatures and boost the comp drop rates enough to sustain an interdependant economy. Introduce more craftable/repairable looted items in the manner of the Dryad Event items and the Regal weapons. Increase cash or sellable junk drops enough to remove the incentive to grind for the pawnbroker. Up the frequency and availablity of hoardable loot drops, enough so thatdragons can sustain their hoard withoutgrinding gems for cash to buy fireworks.

Until the entire economy is reworked to be self-sustaining, the Vielo must stay. Voting Nadia off the island is, quite literally, the last thing we should do.

[Flin]

I agree that the Vielo need to be removed. However I am not sure of the steps needed to get there.
In order to remove the Vielo there needs to be several things active and working first.

Here I am , Fist of Lighting ready to smash any mob that I might be need to in order to get the Component that I need for better armor, let's say I go to the Wind Golems after the comp they drop, vapor I believe it is. If I am close to their rating I am going to have a nice tough fight to kill one.. I seem to remember it taking up to 3 minutes or more to kill a single one what with stuns and such that they have. Realizing that , and also realizing that I *might* get really lucky and get 1 comp for every 5 or so kills I can expect to be there a while. I don't know about the rest of you but I get really bored after a bit of doing the same thing over and over and over.

So I stick it out and get those comps.. hmm now I need Giant Ice Beetle Mandibles.. Off to Ice Island I go.. where I end up in the same mindless kill after kill after kill, on what seems to be an endless quest for comps to upgrade my armor.. when lo and behold, I finally have all the comps I need.. well except for the manes that are not in game that I have to buy from the vielo.. and at this point I have had two things happen.

I realize that my adventure level is now high enough for me to move up to the next level of armor without even using the comps I have just spent 4 weeks amassing. So I try to sell or trade them for comps I am going to need and discover that my time I just spent is only worth about 20% of what the Vielo sell them for.

Or, I finally get all the comps I need for my well planned T4 suit, only to find out that not a single player has the Forms or Techs I need to build the suit I had planned in the first place. The stuff just does not drop often enough for anyone to have all stuff they need to make the suit I want. Another 3 weeks shot.

So, how you gonna fix it? I suspect the Vielo will not get taken out until the comps are all available, and also much more readily available.

I don't want to be a naysayer, but I just don't see thos problem getting worked on in the near future. Content, fixes and upgrade have to get the upper hand now if the game is going to maintain a playerbase that will support it. Especially on Order.

The only guilds who are gaining members are those consolidating with other guilds. The current guild I am a member of had 15 to 20 players on at any given time just before the Merge. We now have from 3 to 8 at most times, unless it is an announced guild function like guild build night. For the first time ever I was the solo guild member on for over 3 hours the other morning. To make matters worse it seems as if most of those players who left were the ones who were the most established ones, with a greater variety of crafting and adventure skills than is now available, and that the guild is now struggling to make up for the loss of.

I hope it can change, it needs to.. but don't make so many sudden changes that it causes another exodus.

[Guinness]

I also tend to disagree with the main idea being put forth in this thread. It's not as simple as just taking out the vielo and upping the drop rate on comps.

Sure the economy is partially screwed now, but it will be just as screwed with your solution. What happens when I have a tech that needs blue vexator fringes? They are next to impossible to find for sale. I'll tell you what happens - you simply won't get any gear with that tech unless you gather them all yourself. The same folks that are selling crystals for 50-200s will be selling blue vex fringes for 50-100s. People cry that the vielo are overpriced....wait and see how bad things get when they are gone. Don't believe me? On occassion, I saw energy bone splinters selling for 30-50s each at times before they were added to the vielo. (on Chaos) Right now I'm happy to give the vielo 25s and walk away with my blue vex fringe. The vielo serve an important function here, putting an upper cap on what something is worth. Take that away and you are no better off than where you began - greed still reigns supreme.

As it stands right now, it's definately not easy to find people selling comps. Most of the more common tier5 ones range from 8-15s (mandibles, chips, frags, fangs, etc). Even if the drop rate is doubled, I suspect you will simply see more people selling at the SAME price range, not for a reduced price. If an adventurer knows people were willing to pay 15s for something before, you can bet they will sell it for the same price afterwards - knowing that I can't get it from anywhere else but from them.

I've spent the last 4 months making myself teched gear and have a pretty good stash built up now to aid me when crafting. Still a bit more to go yet, but I'm getting there. During this time, I've bought or traded for in excess of 300 compsfrom other players. Others I hunted for, and others (zombie ogre toes, red/blue vex fringes, frost hellhound manes, etc) I've had to pay the vielo. There's no way in hell I could afford to pay 25s per comp for all that I've needed, it's instead required me to shop everyday for 4 months in hopes of finding what I need.

The counter argument to thisis obvious: too many people depend on the vielo now to get their goods and don't even bother looking for other players selling. They instead resort to overpricing goods on consigners or farming the pawn broker. I'm sure this is what Aamer is getting at - and I will agree that it needs to be fixed - but you have to be more careful in how you do it. Part of the problem is that when somebody decides they want new gear they want it now, not 3 days from now, but now. The only way to satisfy this craving is by using the vielo. I guess I am the opposite - I planned out a bunch of gear - and then spent 4 months getting it done.


If you want to fix the issues, then you must keep the following in mind:
The following comps you'll generally never see for sale by other players: vet skeleton sternums, zombie ww skulls, zombie ogre toes, red vexator fringes, blue vexator fringes, wind golem vapors, vet abomination chest skulls, vet aegror pus packets, and I seldom see vet ghost vapors (this 1 does sell a bit though). These are the ones (t5 at least) that will cause problems. Upon removal of the vielo, you must provide a source of these at least equal to the old in terms of both cost and availability. The solution of just upping drop rates across the board comes nowhere close to achieving this.

[imported_Frith-Rae]

Things are better now. Those who can, camp. Those who can't, have the Vielo. They are the resource of last resort; I have no problem with that, honestly. Getting a full set of T5 gear, fully teched, *IS* an accomplishment. It *IS* a great deal of work. It is also *attainable*.

But that's just it - it isn't a CHOICE to go to the Vielo. Its a REQUIREMENT! For many techs in game.

See, I have no issue with having Nadia (even at high prices for resources) for all techs and whatever. Because I think yes, if you don't want to hunt yourself you can at least buy - but it will cost you for not putting in that time to get them yourself.

The whole problem comes because we have NUMEROUS tech resources we must get in game that DO NOT EXIST! AT ALL!

Getting a full set of t5 gear for a dragon anyway - YOU *HAVE* to go to the vielo and spend tons of silver/gold. Its impossible to do it otherwise, the drops simply don't exist in game.

So what needs to happen:

1-either the techs that require things that don't exist need to be reformulated to ONLY ask for things you can actually get by hunting

2-the resources that don't exist need to start existing!!

Its one thing if the mob is really hard, so you want to buy it instead of trying ot get a group together (which due to rate of loot dropped, could mean a group together for several hours a night, several nights in game).

But its quite another to know that you have no alterantive but to spend your silver at Vielo simply because the item just doesn't exist as a drop.

And because of the absorbantly extremely idiotic high prices for the comps on the vielo, even though we can't get them anywhere else in existance in game, we've got the problem we've got now.

So we've gota lack of adventures for those really tough mobs? Well guess what - its because we have an end game that once you hit - you're done. You can't fund yourself as a pure adventure in this game, due to the stupid logical $*#& loot that gets almost no coin to the effort. (unless you decide to camp one of the few coin dropping mobs for days on end...ooh fun).

So crafters want the vielo because they can't get the resources for themselves. That's fine. But the prices need to be nerfed!! If it costs 2 gold to get the resources for a tier V teched scale set - then yea...what are those crafters giogn to have to charge??

And adventurers, who can't make money and keep afloat without boring amounts of camping grindage with the same mobs - can't afford that!

I mean after 14 months in game, selling all my teir IV comps and below on the conni in the last month I've saved up a WOPPING total of 600 Silver (and I'ma pure adventurer..so that's not craft inflated savings).

I HUNTED, or begged and was given by good friends (thankfully) for every single one of my tech resources needed for my fully teched out Teir V scaleset (gonna hit level 80 very soon).

Yet, I still have to buy 12 zombie ogre toes and 12 blue vexator fringes from teh vielo to complete what I need - cost of that 650SILVER.

And it took me 14 months to GET 600 SILVER?!

Unforutnatley, removing the vielo alone solves nothing - its the system we're now stuck with. We'd need several *huge* systemthings happening at the *exact* same instant in order to both keep the game alive, and to fix the problem.

I mean if you took out the vielo but the needed drops weren't placed in game - mutiny - cancelled acccounts. Because lieterally EVERY TIER would probably have some part of it come to a grinding hault craft wise - if not an entire shutdown for some crafters.

If the rates aren't increased for drops - then you're going to have continue cancellation over the frustrtation and lack of *fun* it represents to try and camp a mob for a handful of tech drops.

Now I had to camp the dire wolves for 12 dire wolf fangs. How long did it take to get 12 fangs. Hrm..Four nights straight..at 4+ hours a night - killing dire wolves every time my attacks refreshed - continuously - nothing else. And for all this I got about 700 copper (because we have lovely logical crafting useless drops)< but I did manage to get 51 trophies!! The tech resource drop rate needs to be improved.

All these things woul dhave to be put live IN THE SAME DAY! OR else...well..it won't be pretty.

Or you can forgo that whole system and just make the Vielo not so ******** #*$&# expensive!! *ESPECIALLY* For tech resources we haver no other *CHOICE* to receive anywhere else. THOSE at least should be cheaper!!

ugg