(08-07-2013, 08:20 PM)Selsix Wrote:To actually try and form this into a discussion...(08-07-2013, 08:12 PM)Ashren Snow Wrote: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is not a fresh new game, it is a three year old game being rebranded and resold with a different name. The fact that our servers and characters from 1.0 still exists proves this, the fact that the core mechanics have only barely changed also shows this. They changed the UI, tweaked the mechanics to make them enjoyable, but it's not a brand new game, it's just an expansion.
This is no different than when World of Warcraft came out with the Cataclysm expansion to draw in more new subscribers.
I hate to break it to you, but it is pretty much a new game. Cataclysm was an expansion, it simply added content and re-vamped some old geography.
A Realm Reborn is an entire re-design of the game's interface, graphics engine, environment, questing, battle system, features, and endgame content.
It may not be a BRAND new game. But it's as close as you can possibly get. And if I'm allowed to play on a server without any pre-leveled characters on it in this new world? I'm going to.
(08-07-2013, 08:18 PM)shotgunbadger Wrote: I really have no idea how the legacy players can 'have us by the balls' though. Can you actually explain that and why it's a certainty?
Sure can.
Scenario 1: Say a legacy player has an item and wants to sell it. Now this item isn't for sale and since he's a Legacy player, and he has plenty of cash left over from 1.0. He can now charge whatever he'd like for this item before an actual economy is re-established simply because there are no other ones for sale.
Scenario 2: Now let's say a non-legacy player puts up some crafting materials for sale. A legacy player sees they are fairly cheap, because again, there is no real economy in place yet. So he buys all of them, which sure might give the new player some profit. But what can he do then? Re-sell them all for MUCH more. Thus causing a problem. This particular issue happens even late game, but the key difference is late game there is an economy in place, so it has marginal success due to market influx.
In both of your scenario's you're assuming that the non-legacy player wouldn't do the same as the legacy player. Just for some food-for-thought...
On a non-legacy server, there's going to be a big supply issue at first. The people that bumrush crafting classes will undoubtedly control the market for a long time, at least until others catch up with them. For example:
Player <A> is a crafter. He HQs a level 50 item within 3-4 days of the game coming out. Since an economy doesn't exist yet, that player can literally hold this item hostage and set whatever price they want. Player <B> has 2 choices. They can try to make enough gil to purchase the item, perpetuating the economy's price for that item and keeping prices high. The second choice is to level crafting all the way up and craft the item for themselves. Most players will chose Option 1, thus keeping the item price high.
The reason this dilemma might not exist on a Legacy server is the fact that several people will be coming into things with high-level or capped crafting to begin with. This already means that the market will have more of any one certain item available and the initial price will potentially be lower. I say potentially because there's always the likelihood of someone controlling the market, as you pointed out.
There's no way to get around the fact that certain people will control the economy early on, be it on a legacy server or non-legacy. Everyone starts off equal on a non-legacy, but some players have already mapped out the optimized ways to get a craft to 50 and literally roll in the money.