Cash for Cash

[HR-Mickey]

Having been immersed in Guildwars since the beginning of the past weekend, I find that my character is depressingly poor more often than not due to the rarity of cash; subsequently, I've found several auction/purchase type sites that offer GW gold in return for RL money... I think the best rate I've seen so far is $19.99 for 50,000 gold -- a transaction I've seriously considered. This, in turn, had me wondering (and only for curiousity's sake):

Based on Haelrahv's economy in Beta (assuming that Beta were hypothetically the end product -- no new version), how much would you, as a player, be willing to pay in real-life money for a fixed amount of monetary assets in-game?

RULES:
1) The specific amounts and factors were deliberately left open-ended in my query; you can pick and choose whatever makes your point in your response.
2) If possible, avoid boring us with specifics about how you're hunting 37 levels above your character and grabbing uber-boxes; that stuff isn't really relavent (not to mention, better handled in other threads).
3) I'm interested in rational, mature responses; if you can't post like a big kid, click your browser's Back button. This includes the usual barrage of faux-pithy one-liner trolls.
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Mickey Brunner

To make a long story short, don't tell it.

I may be going nowhere, but I'm going nowhere fast.
---
Kelvin Watt says, "I stopped drinking coke when no longer drinking beer didn't make my gut disappear."
---
Kaelin Rae says, "Wait a minute..."
Kaelin Rae says, "You mean they have a COKE machine that dispenses beer."
Kaelin Rae nods to you.
Kaelin Rae says, "Greaser."
Kaelin Rae looks at you and sighs.

[Brokyn]

At least I'm not the only one addicted to Guild Wars. I hope this isn't spoiling any of the storyline or something, but...

The economy in GW gets a LOT better/easier once you reach Kryta. Everything starts dropping between 30-150 gold and way better weapons. It's frustrating when you're trying to get the pimp armor in Shiverpeaks (which is right before Kryta), but I would advise skipping getting the armor for a little while.

That being said...

I, too, have been considering going through one of those kinds of transactions. Even with my current pot of about 5000 gold, which is more than enough for now, it's really tempting to go ahead and grab that kind of boost.

As far as Haelrahv is concerned, and given that we're assuming that the current game's economy remains constant forever and ever, I highly doubt I'd ever exchange real-life cash for in-game cash. As it is, it's pretty easy to come across money. Hell, the least you have to do is ask the right people and usually they'll just fork over whatever amount you requested.

Festivals are great in that the price of pretty much everything skyrockets, which seems to fire everyone up to open their wallet. When compared to the $10 jeans at the mall, those flashy mistsilk pants that cost $10k are oh-so-awesome and must be bought because they are obviously going to be in high-demand at some point and will turn a pretty profit. It's that mentality, as well as the wanting to appear hip and cool (yes, even in a game), that skews the spending habits of the populace, in my opinion.

On second thought, MAYBE I would do it, but only if something very essential for my character popped up (scenesters are like that). Given that it's easy to obtain money under the right conditions, I wouldn't expect 10,000 credits in-game to sell for more than maybe $2 or $5. It's very out-of-character, I know, but if a market for it opens... well, it's up to those desperate few to decide if they want to participate.

--William
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Haelrahv Wiki!
++Brown Nosing Points

[the blue fairy]

I think the games are built the way they are to make it a challenge. I think paying for in game cash with real life cash is defeating the purpose of working to get what you want.

Nothing good comes easy

P.S. I hate you all......I wanna play!!!!!
_________________
Mellie Amresh says, "Send someone with a bigger dick."

A set of breast implants fall from the sky with a soft plop.

Caretaker Jornnoj Vunn looks up at the sky.

A passing guard suddenly shits himself.

[soundless]

i think that if the money was created on the fly (ie: a GM makes $1mil to sell to a guy as opposed to a player earning $1mil then selling it) it would severely unbalance the economy if enough people took advantage of it.
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A bright-eyed Thekko Ku Kalla dressed in a dapper sailor suit takes to flight and careers through the air toward the Modan Kucho and slams into him!
With a high-pitched cry, The Modan Kucho collapses in death.

[Kit]

I'm a little confused as to what this is asking...and I think it can mean a few things. So I'll just reply to everything.

1. Buying IG cash from other players for RL money.
Heh. I did this in DR twice, selling large amounts of plats for RL money. Same thing with goods. And, when I left DR for good, I sold my characters for money too. I really did make some good money from all of that. Would I ever buy IG money for RL money? No. Would I pay RL money for IG stuff? Yes...but for things like owning a home. I've also paid that awful SIMU money for a wedding that wasn't as good as the one Rosie did for Zachary and Kit.

2. Paying the company money for perks.
Yes. I've suggested this over in DR a million times. Instead of paying premium for a slew of things I don't use, I'd MUCH rather pay a little but for the stuff I do have. For instance, I would pay for 2 extra characters on an account, not 10. I would pay for a house. I probably wouldn't pay for the type ahead line though. Or for access to special merchants or quests.

As for currency in HR...
Well, let's just say that all of us with loads of unused cash tend to give 50-100k to new people. Now, have 3 or 4 people give that new person 50-100k and they've got a massive bank account already. Several of my female characters have been given money/loot, none of my male characters have though... Okay, this is getting off track.

I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't pay RL money for cash in HR because it's easy to get. I wouldn't pay for it even if it was hard to get. That's a little creepy for me.

However, I think it would be cool if you guys offered packages here instead of the set price for an account. Having levels with certain goodies that cost RL money for a subscription to that service would be pretty cool.

This would be ideal for me:

1. $5.00 a month for a standard account. This is one character per account. This would be the 'free' accounts people have.

Now, you can add on extras that get counted per month

- $.50 for an extra character (upto however many)
- $1.00 for a type ahead line
- $1.00 for the right to have a house (with no stupid 90 day rule)
- A small fee for non-premium people to join in a quest (say $1.00-2.00 depending on the quest)
- $.50 for a bigger vault (per 50 extra items so you can pay this a few times).
- $1.00 for access to regular merchants (paying for the ability to customize things) or say $1.00 per month for 1 guarenteed alteration session a month....and you could buy up to 3.

I'd rather mix and match what I get than be forced to get a whole package containing things I don't use. Also, $5.00 a month is almost nominal for an account. Adding all this up...I'd be paying you guys $21.00 a month for what I currently have. It's a dollar extra than what I do now...but only because I'd want that one guarenteed alteration a month.

Sorry if this wasn't what you were looking for....
_________________
"I reject your reality and substitute my own!" -- Adam Savage

AIM: KitMurphyHR
Email: yojibalinese@hotmail.com
Technician Database: http://tech.haelrahv.net/

[soundless]

[the blue fairy]

guarenteed alterations I think are a bad idea.

I thought one of the goals of this game as apposed to certain others was that you could play free. (one character, missing out on a few things) or you could pay once price and not have to pay extra for each lil thing that came along.
Wasnt that one of the main things about Simu is they did things for money as apposed to doing things for the player. Like the forty dollar quests and the ridiculous weddings.
_________________
Mellie Amresh says, "Send someone with a bigger dick."

A set of breast implants fall from the sky with a soft plop.

Caretaker Jornnoj Vunn looks up at the sky.

A passing guard suddenly shits himself.

[Kit]

[Kit]

[the blue fairy]

I thought there would still be free accounts with one character but I can understand that much
_________________
Mellie Amresh says, "Send someone with a bigger dick."

A set of breast implants fall from the sky with a soft plop.

Caretaker Jornnoj Vunn looks up at the sky.

A passing guard suddenly shits himself.

[ragonda]

ive seen these transactions in action and i feel for some people it actually works well but for most the seller or the buyer feel in some way cheated and money has been the root of several ig pvp actions..

i personally believe that ig money should be aquired ig as buyin and sellin ig money in rl defeats the object of one earning it yourself ig also the whole system of gaining and selling ig money in rl is open to exploitment with many high ranking high earning characters making money ig wichever way they can to sell in rl and not actually enjoyin the whole experience of the game but seeing it as a rl commodity

[HR-Mickey]

Oops, yeah. We're talking players selling their own money here; no freaking way would I endorse GMs handing out instant-cash for a Paypal transaction.
_________________
Mickey Brunner

To make a long story short, don't tell it.

I may be going nowhere, but I'm going nowhere fast.
---
Kelvin Watt says, "I stopped drinking coke when no longer drinking beer didn't make my gut disappear."
---
Kaelin Rae says, "Wait a minute..."
Kaelin Rae says, "You mean they have a COKE machine that dispenses beer."
Kaelin Rae nods to you.
Kaelin Rae says, "Greaser."
Kaelin Rae looks at you and sighs.

[Platinumyan]

[HR-Trevor]

I do feel a need to point out this is only hypothetical discussion and not something the staff are discussing in terms of implementing changes to policy or pricing re: Hael.

That said, I'm finding the posts interesting. It's always intriguing to hear what each individual player "values" most.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." -- Plato

-- Trevor Rage / Rich Mondy

[HR-Mickey]