Rakor:

Face is Duum

For a moment there, I thought this was a bit of trolling. >_>

Come on Xenthos, buy them! You know you want to!

Also, thanks to whoever bought 7 credits from me at 25k per a couple days ago.

and here I thought I was rich with my 1.3mil! Have to agree with the whole 'it's easier to make your curio when everyone else is also buying and trading at the same time', even working on the second set after the third set was released was a lot harder. Maybe there is the hope that people will make their sets, not so much from trades, but from saving up and buying outright enough sets to get all the pieces? Especially since coins will be rarer when the curio pieces are rubbed next month?

I know it is tempting to compare the credit prices of the earlier curios to the gold prices of travel curios. However, included in the price of travel curios is the benefit of being able to complete collections, which as we now know allow travel to cubix-type rooms. I think putting a credit price on the travel curios is counterproductive. I hoped collections would be rare or difficult to put together and those that have collections would have something unique and special. I think if travel curios were cheaper and thus easy to collect, it would be common for people to have several collections. As it is now, with the exorbitant price of the travel curios, they are indeed a luxury item.

Yes, travel curios are expensive. But they certainly aren't a must-have item and even collections aren't necessary to have. No one is putting a gun to your head to buy them, and, if you choose not collect them, I think that's fine. I appreciate those who make good arguments that they would be better gold sinks if the cost was lowered, but that isn't the only issue in the equation. Even so, despite the admittedly steep cost and worries that they aren't worth it, over a dozen completed travel curios have been created and not even 12 hours have passed since release. Further, we've already noticed some significant downward pressure in the credit market, which leads me to conclude that they are acting as enough of a gold sink to justify the cost. Ultimately, they are an indulgence aimed at serious collectors who want to possess rare items.

Eventru:


Like many things, they're out there, but in smaller numbers than we'd like. Nonetheless, we acknowledge curios will be here to stay (and these will remain for sale permanently) - it may not be of any interest now, but that may change in the future. To answer your question more directly, though, it occurs in a few godrealms.

So does this mean that we can have chocolate now? <- first thought

Why is that included only in the cost of the final curios? Not having one of the first set stops you from completing the collection equally.

The hurt comes in when everyone considered themselves a serious collector, paying in hundreds of credits for 10+ curios only to find that the last bit of the set (that arguably does the least/has the least benefit) will break the bank.

The point I think that people are trying to make in this thread in the last few posts is that if the costs were about 1mil for 25, you'd see more than twice/three times that number of curios completed in this time, with more than that purchased but not yet completed. The amount of gold out of the system would be much more! If something like this has a lower buy-in, you have a lot more people investing in them and a lot more economic movement happening. As is, the super-high price tag of the last curios may scare off someone looking to purchase a collection in the future. (That and the issue of low supply on random pieces)


EDIT: And I'd sure call the DMP bonus curios a must-have item. People with a +10 curio to their main damage type and a damage tattoo are rolling in with a +20% damage boost (before kirigami), equivalent to a 1600 credit purchase artifact. Not having that puts you behind in bashing and pvp in a bad way, just as buying that expensive artifact can put many guilds way ahead (coughcough geomancers).

Personally, seeing that the price for the curios was holding steady, I was expecting to pay in 2.5 million gold or so for 50 pieces so that I could complete the sets I was going for. I felt that was a reasonable expectation, as there wasn't any sign that different sets of curios were being valued any differently. Though I definitely felt that some of the sets I was collecting didn't really follow a theme as far as ambients went (hello jarring torch -> candelabra transition), and though I was annoyed that what started out as aesthetics turned to combat pretty quickly and most of my sets were useless to me, I stuck with it. Unfortunatly, after sticking with it all month and paying ~400 credits into curios (Coincidentally, 400 credits won't even buy you the top package of travel curios), I was dropped at the last step by a more than double price hike.

That's why I'm miffed/unhappy about this decision.

Saran:


So does this mean that we can have chocolate now? <- first thought

Yes, but only if you're an order member of my order. Sorry!

(Yes, I'm also pulling your leg.)

DP.

Eventru:


They will be available in the same sizes. I'm not sure on the second - I presume so, since they're considered artifacts, but that's in no way an official answer - and I'm not comfortable giving a price range.

Zvoltz:

ANNOUNCE NEWS #2064
Date: 8/26/2012 at 22:42
From: Estarra the Eternal
To : Everyone
Subj: Travel Curios

Just to be clear, the artifact sales does -not- apply to travel curios.
If you want them, you have to pay full price.

Penned by My hand on the 13th of Avechary, in the year 333 CE.

This is the part that find somewhat irksome. Even without Eventru's caveat the implication was there that the sale would apply to this set. Not because of his post necessarily but because the curios are artifacts and timing of the sale with their release.

Sorry! It's not my decision. And I feel like I said quite clearly, "I'm not sure" and "that's in no way an official answer". You have my apologies if that was felt to be misleading (I am not infallible!).

I'll be sure not to speculate in the future.

They were expensive, but I suppose that's the true cost of a cubix type item, most of which to rooms that are rather unhelpful in most situations. Thank Nil I got the ones I wanted, and never have to worry about this again. All in all I think they turned out very neat, and I doubt anyone out there thinks they'd be actually worth their cost. The bonuses are truly minor, almost negligable, and while they're nifty as all heck, they remain trivial (also intended it looks like). Thanks for the work and efforts admins, once the craziness of getting them is over I'd be willing to bet people will actually be able to start enjoying them more without the stress.

Now if the untrapped errors are fixed I'd be able to use some of them!

Update:

Astro Collection: the Arthrar'rt Observatory
Bird Collection:
Bone Collection:
Face Collection: the Village of Duum
Feather Collection:
Figure Collection:
Flower Collection:
Flutter Collection: the Verasavir Valley
Light Collection: the Cay of Cloadahi
Mechanical Collection:
Scholar Collection: the World Library
Sky Collection: the Cloud Maelstrom
Snake Collection: the Caverns of Muhanlesh
Spider Collection: the Feyranti Estate
Tool Collection: the Chancel of Clangorum
Torture Collection: the i'Xiia Asylum
Toy Collection:
Utensil Collection: the Grey Moors

A big thanks so far to the folk helping to complete the travel curio page! Just the ambients left for them and, of course, the rest of the locations for a completed collection!

Estarra:

I know it is tempting to compare the credit prices of the earlier curios to the gold prices of travel curios. However, included in the price of travel curios is the benefit of being able to complete collections, which as we now know allow travel to cubix-type rooms. I think putting a credit price on the travel curios is counterproductive. I hoped collections would be rare or difficult to put together and those that have collections would have something unique and special. I think if travel curios were cheaper and thus easy to collect, it would be common for people to have several collections. As it is now, with the exorbitant price of the travel curios, they are indeed a luxury item.

Yes, travel curios are expensive. But they certainly aren't a must-have item and even collections aren't necessary to have. No one is putting a gun to your head to buy them, and, if you choose not collect them, I think that's fine. I appreciate those who make good arguments that they would be better gold sinks if the cost was lowered, but that isn't the only issue in the equation. Even so, despite the admittedly steep cost and worries that they aren't worth it, over a dozen completed travel curios have been created and not even 12 hours have passed since release. Further, we've already noticed some significant downward pressure in the credit market, which leads me to conclude that they are acting as enough of a gold sink to justify the cost. Ultimately, they are an indulgence aimed at serious collectors who want to possess rare items.

Compare to how many were completed of the other sets in the same time period, and you're selling far, far fewer of these. Twelve? I completed ten each of the last two sets by myself!

Noticing downward pressure is great, but you'd be noticing more if more people were participating.

Twelve just indicates that there aren't many being sold, that people are having a hard time completing the things, and that it's (still) not worth the time / cost / aggravation. :/

I agree wholeheartedly with the pricing concerns folks have and participation rate for the last round. I actually thought that the final release would spur folks to buy more pieces in old sets and spur trade in curios overall rather than just the latest and greatest.

I do want to give a kudos for the travel type and collection powers themselves. I suspect many of us were concerned that the benefits of a collection or the final type of curios were going to being so significant it was a must have. I really feel the travel bonus and curiobix collection power are nice but not something that is not a must have. Thank you for making the expensive gold curio pieces the travel type too. I think in some ways they are the less desirable than the magic item, dmp and damage enhancement types.

Eventru:

Sorry! It's not my decision. And I feel like I said quite clearly, "I'm not sure" and "that's in no way an official answer". You have my apologies if that was felt to be misleading (I am not infallible!).

I'll be sure not to speculate in the future.

I did state that even without your post the implication still remained that the artifact sale would apply to the price of this set. To be perfectly clear it was not meant to be a dig at you. As a player reintroducing themselves to the game I find your participation on the forums very useful, and welcome,especially as far as being able to obtain information. A lesson other larger so-called AAA graphical MMOs could learn from.

I really do cherish and enjoy the assumption that the "travel set should be worth more because it completes the set"

Personally, a travel set would in fact not complete a set, and setting an outrageously high cost on them, as Enyalida put it, essentially ensures that I won't be finishing any collections. I'm just going to enjoy the ones I have, for what they're worth.

This was a pretty good promotion up to this point. I was fully ready to spend 3, 4, hell, 5mil gold on a full 100-piece set, even though I don't readily have 5mil. Nine million gold, really? The potential for this last bit to make some real progress towards "fixing" the even further broken credit market was looking really good.

This does not accomplish anything, and makes people hoard more gold, refuse to buy packages, and anchors the credit market at a price three times twice what we started with at the beginning of the promotion. Congratulations!

I have enough gold to buy a 10-piece package - if I use up all my savings, all the gold I have in my pack, and shop funds. 10 pieces isn't enough to get me both the flutter and the flower curio of this collection that's now out. Let alone if I want to try for the sky ones either. I'm sort of disappointed, but oh well. I'll enjoy the pretties I have now.

Someone should sell me a completed collection... of my choice... when I get some more credits.

For those who are curious, the bird collection goes to Kiakoda nature reserve.