Inflation managment
Description
Lets brainstorm about some potential features to manage the inflation that is coming oROs way with new maps and players and activity. Also for visibility/brainfood for the devs.
Rationale
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W39TtF14i8I
Additional Information
Some of the ideas from this video seem implementable and manageable and potentially effective.
Many of the cash shop items effect game flow or cause balance issues. Some of them however seem like a good thing to put in for players to spend thier zeny on. Would Death insurance coupons that cost a sizeable amount of zeny have an end result any different from floating rates? Its allowing players to spend zeny(curbing inflation) to level easier. Even custom weight increase vouchers seem like a super good idea. They each add an alterd amount of extra weight on a specefic char. Then increase in cost is some exponential function to make getting all 5 or 10 of them on 1 char you love playing incredibly expensive but worth it if you play it that much!
Similar to the idea of the increased weight and exponential cost would be to apply the same thing to stats. At first this idea made me want to vomit but the more I thought about it the more it made sense. Say something like each char can gain 10 stat implants (you could even do a cool custom lighthalzen quest to get access to the npc) they cost radically more if you get multiples of the same type. If a player wants to gain say all 10 implants in str or int it could cost them a total for 2b or something unimaginably high. But if you diversify between stats it wouldnt be as expensive nor game altering. Say getting 3 str 3 dex 3 vit for example could end up costing you something like 500m. It allows the player to keep building a single char while curbing inflation. At the end of the day what do stat foods do but something like this but without the positive effect on inflation. You are absolutely right to think it will alter builds and metas ect but is that really the end of the world? It feels more positive than gamebreaking to me. Bonus it can also be used to help people correct builds instead of a resseter or some other bogus thing.
Another idea from the video about inflation was a tax system. Yes it talked about taxes on transactions like we have on oRO from vends (go devs) but in another gitlab post I suggested taxes for prime vending spots. Many games have a system like this where if you want to have exclusive rights to a place to do business you have to outbid other players and then the zeny goes to an npc. Sounds like a helluv allot of work to implement but it would be a radical way for players to interact and curb inflation. Imagine every month or quarter the 25 best vending spots around the pront fountain are up for grabs and you get to compete with other market minded players for the privileged to use them exclusively!
The last idea to touch on is high priced npc goods / consumables. Again very similar to the cash shop topic or comparison to floating rates; would it really be that barbaric to just add items that make playing the game easier and curb inflation? My first gut reaction is to do this with ele resist potions. Make it so you can no longer brew them, redem players for the potions / materials they have gatherd, and make them an NPC only item that cost a good chunk. Shift content that can just be farmed, a net positive to zeny count, to a net loss on zeny count. We will get this with speed potions. There is a few ways to change the speed potions "mini game" to help it curb inflation more. Increase the potions cost ofc. Or just make them flat out buyable from an npc so the volume that people use is way higher. The list of items custom and not custom you could put into NPCS to decrease inflation is near limitless. Im sure there are some very clever custom items that wouldn't be game breaking or mandatory but players would still want that would help inflation. +11 stat foods? Idk im not the creative type!
Lets use this git lab ticket to discuses other clever ways of dealing with inflation. I know you all have some sensational ideas! Lets hear them.