Adding comms to Otto's Boxes is a dirty move turbine. Pathetic and petty.

[Cetus]

The reasons for my title are self-evident. More pay to win garbage in light of a forcefully grindy mechanic.

You guys gave us double drop rates, we said it was more balanced, and you REMOVE IT. Now you simply allow us to pay for them instead?

So we can buy epic hearts straight, and now you further incentivize the purchasing of otto's boxes to make more cash - yet refuse to alter the comm drop rates in game.

Then you wonder why people exploit when they get the chance. Or...do you?

[Vellrad]

Of course its evil.
Everyone should be avarded with 500 comms on each character after first login per day, and 4,200 after reaching lvl28.
Also, while we're on it, lets give everyone 100k XP per day just for logging into game.

[Qhualor]

So people are finally understanding "profiting irritation grind"? Its not surprising as they have been doing this for the past few years and a couple of us have been saying this all this time. They just make it more obvious now and you know people will buy them.

[jalont]

So people are finally understanding "profiting irritation grind"? Its not surprising as they have been doing this for the past few years and a couple of us have been saying this all this time. They just make it more obvious now and you know people will buy them.

You have it completely backwards.

They are meant to be premium items. They are not meant to be free items. Turbine is a business.

Turbine hasn't implemented an annoying mechanic so that people have to bypass it. They've made a premium item and given freeloaders a way to bypass it if they wish. Think of it as a gift. The alternative is no free option.

[zwiebelring]

Nope, the alternative is: no ETR. And that's totally fine.

[jalont]

Nope, the alternative is: no ETR. And that's totally fine.

Well yes. People are free to pick that choice as well. I'm all for people living within their means.

[HungarianRhapsody]

You have it completely backwards.

They are meant to be premium items. They are not meant to be free items. Turbine is a business.

Turbine hasn't implemented an annoying mechanic so that people have to bypass it. They've made a premium item and given freeloaders a way to bypass it if they wish. Think of it as a gift. The alternative is no free option.

I'd be fine with these being premium items if there were an end game to play in DDO. Instead, Turbine has decided that eternal reincarnation *is* the end game, so if they want me to keep playing, then they need to provide a reasonable way for me to TR eternally. Now, "reasonable" doesn't have to mean no-grind-at-all and "reasonable" doesn't have to be 100% free, but what they have now isn't even remotely close to reasonable as far as I'm concerned.

To my mind, there are two solutions to this - either drop the required number of commendations by about half OR make a viable end game again for DDO. The first solution would obviously be MUCH easier for Turbine, but I would absolutely prefer the second.

[jalont]

I'd be fine with these being premium items if there were an end game to play in DDO. Instead, Turbine has decided that eternal reincarnation *is* the end game, so if they want me to keep playing, then they need to provide a reasonable way for me to TR eternally. Now, "reasonable" doesn't have to mean no-grind-at-all and "reasonable" doesn't have to be 100% free, but what they have now isn't even remotely close to reasonable as far as I'm concerned.

To my mind, there are two solutions to this - either drop the required number of commendations by about half OR make a viable end game again for DDO. The first solution would obviously be MUCH easier for Turbine, but I would absolutely prefer the second.

Would you also be offended if the new endgame was a couple raids released that you have to buy? They released an update with one premium piece. These hearts. It should be obvious to you and everyone else that if they decreased the amount needed to what people want, then no one would ever buy a heart from the store and finance that update. The belief that people are good and caring and will monetarily support things out of the goodness of their hearts is a myth. The truth is they are all selfish and greedy, and the money has to be pried from their wallets.

For people that can't afford to buy hearts, the option is the same as every other aspect of the game you can't pay for. It becomes slower. It becomes grindy. This should surprise no one.

[Miow]

Of course its evil.
Everyone should be avarded with 500 comms on each character after first login per day, and 4,200 after reaching lvl28.
Also, while we're on it, lets give everyone 100k XP per day just for logging into game.

All excellent suggestions i can't understand why the op didn't come out with that as his opening salvo.

Not.

[redspecter23]

I don't approve of the change, but I at least get the logic behind it. I'm sure Turbine heard the complaints from players that using boxes and xp pots was hurting them due to skipping over content and gaining the 2 mil+ xp but losing out on the coms. Turbine had their "math experts" sit down and figure out how many coms you would get while farming 2 mil xp and came up with this number. It's not how I would have handled the issue, but I at least see where they were coming from.

[Miow]

I don't approve of the change, but I at least get the logic behind it. I'm sure Turbine heard the complaints from players that using boxes and xp pots was hurting them due to skipping over content and gaining the 2 mil+ xp but losing out on the coms. Turbine had their "math experts" sit down and figure out how many coms you would get while farming 2 mil xp and came up with this number. It's not how I would have handled the issue, but I at least see where they were coming from.

Yup makes sense, plus they would sell more boxes I'm sure that factored in a little bit .

[Pandir]

I don't approve of the change, but I at least get the logic behind it. I'm sure Turbine heard the complaints from players that using boxes and xp pots was hurting them due to skipping over content and gaining the 2 mil+ xp but losing out on the coms. Turbine had their "math experts" sit down and figure out how many coms you would get while farming 2 mil xp and came up with this number. It's not how I would have handled the issue, but I at least see where they were coming from.

This pretty much, the fastest way to ETR is still buying the hearts and xp pots directly of the store. I figure hardly anyone bought the epic boxes since they do more harm then good to your ETR run, now you basically get the full benefit of them.
Next logical step would be to increase the valor gain by the % your xp is increased from pots since their value is much diminished too, if you don't want to buy a heart.

I fully agree that the comms needed are too high/the drop rate too low, but this change makes perfect sense to me.

[kned225]

Adding comms to ottos was obviously an attempt retain the desirability of one of their biggest cash cows

But this drives players nuts. They scream the comm system in general has eroded the desirability of their BIGGEST cash cow...the game itself!

Which is a valid point....if there weren't so much etr-ing going on

Maybe players need to worry less about falling behind this imaginary power curve and learn to put their money where their mouths are

[Thrudh]

I don't approve of the change, but I at least get the logic behind it. I'm sure Turbine heard the complaints from players that using boxes and xp pots was hurting them due to skipping over content and gaining the 2 mil+ xp but losing out on the coms. Turbine had their "math experts" sit down and figure out how many coms you would get while farming 2 mil xp and came up with this number. It's not how I would have handled the issue, but I at least see where they were coming from.

Exactly.. There is no problem here...

Turbine would be "evil" if they added a NEW thing to buy to get comms... That's when you could say they made an artifical bottleneck, and then charge us to bypass it. But this is free comms in an existing item.

I'd say it's a rather nice moce actually.

[Cetus]

Of course its evil.
Everyone should be avarded with 500 comms on each character after first login per day, and 4,200 after reaching lvl28.
Also, while we're on it, lets give everyone 100k XP per day just for logging into game.

You are very perceptive

[Franke]

You are very perceptive

I'd translate this for you Vellrad, but I might get cubed.

[kierg10]

/signed to the return of double comms.

[Ovrad]

Putting in an eye-bleeding level of grind just so we'll pay to bypass it is disgusting. Seems they are trying to get rid of every player that don't pay more than 60$ per month.

[Postumus]

Of course its evil.
Everyone should be avarded with 500 comms on each character after first login per day, and 4,200 after reaching lvl28.
Also, while we're on it, lets give everyone 100k XP per day just for logging into game.

[SilkofDrasnia]

Of course its evil.
Everyone should be avarded with 500 comms on each character after first login per day, and 4,200 after reaching lvl28.
Also, while we're on it, lets give everyone 100k XP per day just for logging into game.

Nice way to miss the forest for the trees!

We included Commendations of Valor in unopened and future Epic Irresistible Otto's Boxes to address a concern we have heard from players who felt that using the box was a negative experience rather than a positive one in terms of Commendations. This aims to make sure that they're receiving the commendations appropriate to the XP received. Nothing is set in stone, though (remember that this is a particularly early state of Update 21 on Lamannia), so if there is a serious concern about including the Commendations in the boxes, it is something we could remove.

You are perfectly correct to include CoV in Otto's Boxes.

You DO need to address CoV drop rates in-game though. Between Reinc costs and Wyrm crafting, this has become a must. As many have said, somewhere between + 50%-100% is reasonable.

This exactly, I don't care about otto boxes and if vcoms are in them or not but you still need to fix the drop rate because this is seriously making my game play a negative experience rather than a positive one.

Exactly.. There is no problem here...

Turbine would be "evil" if they added a NEW thing to buy to get comms... That's when you could say they made an artifical bottleneck, and then charge us to bypass it. But this is free comms in an existing item.

I'd say it's a rather nice moce actually.

Baloney! They added it to the epic boxes because they they realized they were cutting their own neck on the sales, period. They are just attempting to make the value of the otto boxes remain the same as before since XP in epic levels isn't the problem but rather a really really bad vcom drop rate is.

.....
I think that there should be more opportunities to earn comms. Put them in chests, make some sort of barter option, and increase end rewards on them.
....

If you really think hard about it it will become apparent to you why they put them in end rewards rather than in chests.

.......

Not be rude, but of all the things to get annoyed with.. how the heck do people make the jumps in logic needed to get their britches in a wad over getting MORE stuff for their money?

Missing the forest for the trees just like Vellrad. People are annoyed because this strongly indicates they will not fix the drop rate and will claim they did listen to us and fix it via this "method".

...
This sense of entitlement that people should retroactively get everything is simply amazing. "I bought an otto's box a year ago! I should get all the new good stuff that comes with it now!" That makes a ton of sense.

Have to agree here.