WTB Manastone (65k)

[Alawen Everywhere]

Why do humans think they can predict the future?

Manastones are not comparable to rubicite breastplates. There are not multiple upgrades for manastone in Kunark.

[Noleafclover]

Originally Posted by Alawen Everywhere [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Why do humans think they can predict the future?

Manastones are not comparable to rubicite breastplates. There are not multiple upgrades for manastone in Kunark.

Can make a lot of money if you can predict what will happen in the future correctly 51% of the time.

I can't obviously predict correctly, but I'm willing to bet that manastones will drop in a way obviously related to kunark by 10 or more k.

And we both know you won't take me up on that.

[Alawen Everywhere]

Originally Posted by Noleafclover [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Can make a lot of money if you can predict what will happen in the future correctly 51% of the time.

I can't obviously predict correctly, but I'm willing to bet that manastones will drop in a way obviously related to kunark by 10 or more k.

And we both know you won't take me up on that.

How much would you like to wager? I saw a WTB in East Commons today for 80K for at least two hours. Here is my bet: the price will continue to climb and it will be 10K or more higher than it is by the time Kunark release. I further stipulate that the price will be at least another 10K higher 60 days after Kunark's release than the price at release.

I've done a little bit of research about this. Somewhere between 250 and 400 legitimate manastones dropped on this server. That's not enough for even half of the population at prime time. Some people have more than one. Many people who had manastones have quit or been banned.

Anyone who lacks the cleverness to realize that the item is still amazing after Kunark and for the life of this server will learn from the people who are clever. If there is a significant price drop after the Kunark release, it will be brief and most of the manastones sold during that time will not be resold later.

If someone is duplicating manastones, they are being so careful about selling them that it doesn't appear to be affecting the market at all.

Manastone is possibly the most rare and valuable item for the duration of this server. If I didn't already have mine, I would be trying to scrape together 75K.

[Toony]

Originally Posted by Alawen Everywhere [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I've done a little bit of research about this. Somewhere between 250 and 400 legitimate manastones dropped on this server.

Just out of curiosity how'd you determine that number?

[Alawen Everywhere]

Originally Posted by Toony [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Just out of curiosity how'd you determine that number?

I talked to about 20 people who had camped it about how long their camps took both before the camp was nerfed around the beginning of the year and afterwards, assumed that it was camped 24/7 whenever the server was up until the drop was removed and came up with low numbers and high numbers based on the rates those people agreed sounded within their experience. I never had the camp myself, although I sat there several times waiting until I decided that it would be easier to farm the platinum and buy one than to get screwed repeatedly.

Edit: I should add that some of the people I talked to had the camp for long periods of time, often 24 hours or more. Also, I think Daldolma's explanation is very good and hard to argue against.

Edit #2: Also, as a small note, paralleling the wizard epic, druids get increasingly efficient regeneration, both in terms of hit points per tick and mana cost per hit point over time.

[Slax]

Originally Posted by Alawen Everywhere [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If I didn't already have mine

Well I guess that explains it. If you had it your way they'd be worth a million, too bad their not and never will be (actually some servers on live they may go for this much, but no one gives a shit about them). For a guy who played a druid for 8 years on live, they were pretty much worthless for my class for that whole duration afaic (I did not play in classic).

It takes 600 hp's away for the cost of mana just to port / gate back if you're counting clicks on the stone and all the "free mana" you get from it (not to mention the mana cost to keep perma chloro / regrowth going). It just isn't worth it unless you can use it on the spot while hunting / quading / grouping where you can instantly sit right back down letting life regen faster.

Now for use on classic? It's great, I love it. As for other classes and their usefulness? I can't say. I guess I could port a cleric out and keep healing him over and over and over so he can get a full bar then gate back, sure would be awesome for him, yea I bet. Or the Wizard epic clicks... But as for a Druid who you say it's so essential for? I don't think so.

[Daldolma]

Originally Posted by Slax [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Well I guess that explains it. If you had it your way they'd be worth a million, too bad their not and never will be (actually some servers on live they may go for this much, but no one gives a shit about them). For a guy who played a druid for 8 years on live, they were pretty much worthless for my class for that whole duration afaic (I did not play in classic).

It takes 600 hp's away for the cost of mana just to port / gate back if you're counting clicks on the stone and all the "free mana" you get from it (not to mention the mana cost to keep perma chloro / regrowth going). It just isn't worth it unless you can use it on the spot while hunting / quading / grouping where you can instantly sit right back down letting life regen faster.

Now for use on classic? It's great, I love it. As for other classes and their usefulness? I can't say. I guess I could port a cleric out and keep healing him over and over and over so he can get a full bar then gate back, sure would be awesome for him, yea I bet. Or the Wizard epic clicks... But as for a Druid who you say it's so essential for? I don't think so.

There's no reason you'd have to heal the cleric. They can stone/CH to full in like 2-3 minutes max -- shorter if they have Donal's Arms or Donal's BP, which are mana-free 200hp heal and CH (though with long casting times) in Kunark. If you love it in classic, then there's no reason not to in Kunark. It just becomes more useful, because with expanded mana pools and increased hp regen/heals, it's going to be more and more of a pain to regenerate mana, while you have more and more hp to spare. The initial 200 mana pay-to-play hit is not that big a deal when you're regenning 20+ hp a tick with regrowth up. If you're medding from OOM, a manastone basically cuts your downtime into 1/2 to 1/3 of what it would be otherwise. It might be annoying to port/gate and do all the actual manastone/healing/regen-ing rather than passively medding, but it's well worth it in terms of actual utility.

[Slax]

Originally Posted by Daldolma [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

with expanded mana pools and increased hp regen/heals, it's going to be more and more of a pain to regenerate mana, while you have more and more hp to spare.

When I quit your average higher end druid had around 30k hp's, now they got around 40k. So with expanded mana / hp regeneration and way way bigger HP / mana pools, the manastone should be better than ever, right? Never ever ever never in all my time of playing a druid, with other high end druids, have I seen a druid port out to Karana or something to use a manastone then gate back. Now if I got to port a cleric out too, so he can make use of it? It triples the mana cost.

No way is it useful enough, not for a druid. Not to mention the danger of being in a deep dungeon and taking the chance of dying while bound down there, if you even can bind there.

[Daldolma]

Originally Posted by Slax [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

When I quit your average higher end druid had around 30k hp's, now they got around 40k. So with expanded mana / hp regeneration and way way bigger HP / mana pools, the manastone should be better than ever, right? Never ever ever never in all my time of playing a druid, with other high end druids, have I seen a druid port out to Karana or something to use a manastone then gate back. Now if I got to port a cleric out too, so he can make use of it? It triples the mana cost.

No way is it useful enough, not for a druid. Not to mention the danger of being in a deep dungeon and taking the chance of dying while bound down there, if you even can bind there.

No -- with expanded mana regeneration, the manastone becomes useless. What makes the manastone so awesome is the fact that max mana regen through Velious is garbage. There is no flowing thought or AAs or anything of the like. It takes for-the-fuck-ever to med from OOM to full. And when you're porting out clerics, it would typically be in raid or grouped situations, when druid mana means dick anyway. Clerics are all-important.

I don't know what eras you played in, but porting out for manastone usage is literally an every-day strategy in Kunark and Velious. Both for soloing and for raiding.

[Alawen Everywhere]

Originally Posted by Slax [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Well I guess that explains it. If you had it your way they'd be worth a million, too bad their not and never will be (actually some servers on live they may go for this much, but no one gives a shit about them). For a guy who played a druid for 8 years on live, they were pretty much worthless for my class for that whole duration afaic (I did not play in classic).

It takes 600 hp's away for the cost of mana just to port / gate back if you're counting clicks on the stone and all the "free mana" you get from it (not to mention the mana cost to keep perma chloro / regrowth going). It just isn't worth it unless you can use it on the spot while hunting / quading / grouping where you can instantly sit right back down letting life regen faster.

Now for use on classic? It's great, I love it. As for other classes and their usefulness? I can't say. I guess I could port a cleric out and keep healing him over and over and over so he can get a full bar then gate back, sure would be awesome for him, yea I bet. Or the Wizard epic clicks... But as for a Druid who you say it's so essential for? I don't think so.

Apparently you think I am trying to talk up the price so I can sell mine. That would be incorrect. Perhaps you would like to ponder this item:

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/item.html?item=5526

This conversation will not affect the long-term value of manastones. Manastones are not about fashion but function. If you do not think it will be worthwhile for a druid leveling from 50 to 60 to port out, stone down and gate back, then... don't do it. I will be. So will the other druids winning the leveling race. Perhaps that is not important to you. That's not what this discussion is about.

Manastones are rare and useful. Demand will drive up the price. If you don't want one, don't buy one, but your irritation and implications will not lower the price.