SOE now selling PLAT for RL money!

[Skaff]

I can't really tell if your complaints are with the "Bayle Marks" or with the mercenaries themselves. I know you did slightly inform us about how they work, but I can pretty much tell that you have never used one before.

But I do agree with you, it is sad to see a RL currency enter a game. But I really don't see the effect being huge or used at all for most situations. Platinum is pretty much disposable to anyone who has been in the game for a period of time. I played on the 51/50 server and I was able to easily obtain enough platinum to eventually buy a merc and pay his upkeep. Keep in mind this was on the 51/50 server and that naturally attracted players to run around with and you were thrown a very nice set of gear to begin with.

If I had decided to start a new character on any of the non 51/50 servers, I would have started out close to where you start out in project1999. I would have been given a weapon* and a tunic. I know there is some tutorial where you can get a little more cash and a little gear but you still start pretty broke. The main point is that you are basically thrown into an empty world. The game has been around so long that the player base has become very top heavy.

Now enter the mercs and eventual "Bayle Marks". Will any player who has been around consider real life money to pay for the mercs? Hell no! They are cheap to maintain. Will a player who is new and has a limited source of income consider it? Possibly, but I would love to see the stats of new players entering the game. Regardless of the slight parallel that can be drawn between "Bayle Marks" and RL money... yes, a direction connection can be made but in reality there does not appear to be much of a significant application at all. If you want to complain about mercs, thats a whole other discussion!

It was also pointed out that WOW has the mount offer for $25 bucks. I heard about that the other day from a friend that was still playing the game. I personally thought it was funny and commend Blizzard on the use of well designed micro transactions.