Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Hello fellow capsuleers,

As you might already be aware, the PLEX market took a big hit recently and there is something that can be done to prevent it from happening again.

But first, let's clear something up:
I don't have anything against PLEX prices going up in a natural way. If it hits 1 bil and still can be afforded by those who extend their game time with PLEX, then it's totally fine. It means that the inflation is under control.

Now we can proceed with the currently available 1 year PLEX market history graph from Domain region (Amarr trade hub):
http://dl.eve-files.com/media/1404/2014.04.05.17.34.21.png

Having an external influence on the PLEX market can and will make the same results as when the ship skins are introduced. Whether PLEX prices are pumped by market manipulators or it's directly caused by the volume of bought skins is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that the connection between PLEX and AUR (as a premium currency) is causing this sudden jumps in price because:
- a part of the PLEX market will be subject to trading manipulation due to new items being introduced;
- PLEX prices will rise due to new items becoming available that can be bought by converting PLEX to AUR. To what extent will they rise depends on the interest in those items;
- a percentage of PLEX market that is used to buy cosmetics will increase hurting the part of the market that uses it for its originally intended purpose - adding 30 days of game time.

What we already have:
- AUR tokens can already be bough directly on your Account management page;
- AUR tokens can already be traded on the in-game market;
- AUR has it's own price and place on the market dictated by supply and demand.

Proposed changes:
- Remove the possibility to convert PLEX to AUR as it is already redundant and servers no purpose. It only creates damage;
- Use AUR as a premium currency for all out of the game events like "PLEX for good", buying Fanfest tickets,... and so on.

Desired effects
- A dedicated and independent PLEX market that is not directly affected by external factors such are charity drives, OOG events and introduction of new NeX store items;
- PLEX as a dedicated item for extending game time.
- PLEX market following the general inflation/deflation trends in the game making it more manageable for players that depend on PLEX as a mean of paying for the game.
- More vibrant AUR market.
- Easier management of charity drives as we would not need 3rd parties for "PLEX for good" program like we had the last time. Players can just donate any amount of AUR that they can afford without any need of a 3rd party.

What will not change if this goes through
- AUR <-> ISK connection will still exist;
- NeX store items can still be bought with ISK. You'll just need to buy AUR tokens on the market directly;
- OOG events can still be paid with ISK by buying AUR tokens instead of PLEX;


Please feel free to discuss potential downsides here.
Support this idea by hitting the "Like" button on the original post or by stating your support in the replies.

o/

if u can get more AUR per RL money through plexes than u can straight buying AUR, then thats not fun. but if they are equal, the answer should be to just advertise AUR more.

provided swapping AUR for isk is working fine and that AUR/RL money is equal through straight AUR purchases as it is to plexes, there shouldnt be a need to link AUR and PLEX. It shouldnt affect CCP's income as far as i can see.

it just comes down to a kick in the knackers to plex sellers, although if it was done, the plex should still be subject to normal supply and demand.

Plex has been high for a while. It's not because people are all of a sudden using aurum to buy fancy clothes or 3 ship skins.

if thats really the case, then someone can use RL money to get AUR and then sell it on the market for mad isks. but if it turns out that AUR isnt in much demand this way, then the increase in plex price is not to do with AUR.

Why is the price of Plex going up bad? That means I can get more isk when i buy plex, motivating me to buy more often. CCP selling more plex = CCP getting more money, = Eve being around longer. Plex prices rising are great, I hope they hit serenity levels (5b isk per plex)

If PLEX prices are to high, CCP started to sell the GTC / ETC cheaper.
Have seen PLEX at website of their partners for 31.49 $ instead of the ordinary 34.99 $ and even on other website you could get GTC for much less money.

I am talking about LEGAL website only!

Personal experience would suggest it to be a very variable amount.

Of my associates :

2 quit when it hit 500m.
1 quit when it was around 600m.
3 quit when it hit 700m.

1 is currently in the process of quitting since he can't make enough to play Eve at current plex costs.

And around 7 more have spoken about leaving since they can no longer afford to play, buy a plex and then have ISK left over to buy new ships and so forth, if it passes 800-850m.

Those people directly told me they were leaving because they could not afford plex and would not subscribe because they didn't feel Eve is worth the subscription fees. Those players are by player, not account. For example the one currently quitting is desubbing 5 accounts.

One person has 5 accounts and still cannot make 28M per account per day??. Are you for real??.
If you cannot make enough ISK to sub your own account then your doing something wrong, even T1 manufacturing will earn you that!. There's lots of passive income sources!

-1

for a new character, this means six hours of mining per day with no days off. if u dnt have SP and the capital to put down, 28mil isk/day of passive income is not at all realistic. and the reason one of my friends plexed before he left was because coming from a poorer country, paying the monthly subscription fee was nearly a weeks rent.

@Kueyen

So, if I got it right the price of PLEX and AUR will be connected by the decision of RL buyer which item to buy (whichever is more profitable ISK wise), thus limiting the supply periodically and rising/lowering the prices of PLEX and AUR accordingly.

In that case, you are correct. The risk of decoupling PLEX from AUR directly could produce a different environment, but the increased AUR demand will not in all cases stop the PLEX prices going up. The problem is then more suitable for a professional economist who has an internal insight of both markets, CCP Dr.EyjoG for example.