Please do not make augments items

[Ood]

Well, I've said it before, I'll probably say it again... here's more of why I think augments as items is a bad idea.

First, assuming augments would be like any other item we have seen so far in Grid, they would be meldable. This is a nice feature for things like storage, where every little bit adds up, and eventually you can make your level 5 storage drops into level 10+. However, augments are upgrades to a tank and directly affect your ability in game, these drops would permanently make your tank better. Given the loot system currently in place, each drop could make a whole horde of people's tanks people's tanks permanently better. Given that trading is likely an eventuality, it also means that eventually people will find a way to 'merch' augments, and make themselves better at the game without really playing it.

Second, it eliminates the (current) need for VP. If there's no VP, why does there need to be gridshards? Yes, VP is quickly becoming obsolete, but that isn't to say that a new viable 'sink' for it can't be found. Having VP upgrade buildings that are placed with gridshards is a simple option that would be quite effective (with some adjustment, obviously) in my opinion (but that's talk for another topic).

Finally and perhaps most of all it, along with trading, will fundamentally change the game. Instead of:
Play however you want > Get gridshards > Upgrade towns and stuff > Get VP > (previously unlock tanks) > Upgrade tanks.
The game becomes:
Find X (with X being the most 'profitable' thing available) > Trade profit of X for augment wanted > Upgrade tank

All in all:
Currently, augments are an eventuality, no matter how you play, if you can kill things and survive, eventually you are rewarded with the ability to upgrade your tank. As items, augments become 'currency', not necessarily representative of the dedication, play time, or effort one has put into his or her tank, but more representative of how well one can trade.

[hypevosa]

I'd also like to add that making augments items would add another item to the storage problem we have right now with melding for more slots - it already is a beast taking a larger and larger number of slots to meld items together for more slots or better tank upgrades, etc. If we add another item to this load any time soon it'll mean players have to ignore/dump loot or will constantly be forced to delete unfinished melding projects.

[rob]

I replied in the other thread ( grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=195 ) about our plans in this area. We are planning to increase pressure on storage even more. The idea is that people will have to specialize in only a few sorts of items, trading away extra stuff that have no room for, to acquire the stuff they can't meld up themselves.

As for Ood's argument that the game changes from "play however you want" to "hunt for most profitable items", I'd say that the game is currently "hunt for gridshards as profitably as possible, in order to get VP, and thus augments". Nothing really changes in terms of individual incentives -- you still try to maximize profit per minute of playing time. The difference is that people will be able to help each other via trading.

[Ood]

May 20, 2013 14:51:28 GMT -5 rob said:

The difference is that people will be able to help each other via trading.

Which eventually leads to grey/blackmarket trading, and the whole bit that goes along with that. And honestly, I'm the sort of person who would hoard augments for myself since eventually I could use them (In realm, if I couldn't use it I more or less gave it away, but augments wouldn't have such restrictions) once I meld enough.

I suppose you have a point that it is a lot of 'hunting for gridshards profitably'. But there are still other ways of playing the game. Before this surge of people when it was more common than not to be playing solo, scouting cities was arguably better for gridshards than clearing. People still scout, less frequently, but it still happens, and they don't get the drops that someone does when clearing.
Augments are going to be sought after in the fastest way possible by their nature. But having them be items opens the door to realm of the mad merchant 2, in my opinion.

[rob]

I agree that Grid12 will rapidly become a lot more about acquiring, crafting/melding, and selling items. This is a bit of a pivot but it's where we are headed. A lot of the new direction was described in this post: grid12.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=173

We are hoping that our new model will avoid most of the black market activity and spammyness that plagues RotMG. This is because there is a legitimate path to pay real money for any item in the game. Jetbolt doesn't sell the items; other players do. Jetbolt just taxes the trades.