Obligatory post about current promotion

Moirean

Style scrolls and voxes are a fine prize - the issue is that these are the same ones from the last round. A new iteration of the promo should introduce new scrolls/voxes. Put the older ones into chests as an extra (not default) reward, maybe into each chest that gets a heart/bullseye. I can pretty much guarantee that if new voxes/style scrolls were in giftbags, interest in buying them would jump up.

Trager

So, I just want to say, that I am wholeheartedly happy with this months giftbag promotion. I mean this, 100%. Giftbag promo 4 lyfe please.

(Seir-iously)

Aren

I got one when it was 1/612 and it was a major arti. Just saying, it happens

Trager

@Lim: The hate is reeeeal.

Rowena

Gwenith said:

I just want to point out Aetolia is part of a bigger company and these 'nerfs' are probably handed down from above. From what I've heard/seen players of Aetolia were pretty spoiled when it came to promotions. It's just now that they are being scaled back to come into line with other IRE games we the players are feeling the lose.
Yes it sucks, but I have the feeling there is little Oleis and the other admin can really do about it other than the little wiggles they are doing to placate us.

Being in the service industry it sucks when people tell you over and over your product sucks and there's nothing you can do about it. To add one to Rowena's example : "It's like going into a supermarket to buy a bag of chips because you like the chips and seeing the packet get smaller and smaller and the price keep rising so you complain to the clerk." Clerk's got no control on how a company packages or charges for their chips, they just serve you.

Be nice to clerks, they have bosses as well and still do the best to serve you with a smile on their faces. One misaimed comment can turn a good day into a shitfest for them.

I work in retail. So I know all about it. We have an online referral system to the company though where customers can pass on complaints and feedback so that the company knows where they're doing things right and wrong. Lots of things have been implemented based on it and team members have also been awarded due to positive feedback.

No one wants to be abused working in the service industry. There's a difference between a gripe and abuse though. If you don't say something to someone, nothing changes. Speaking up allows the administrators to pass on feedback to the bigger company handing the margins or what have you down the food chain. It's constructive, not just negative as it's being portrayed.

I actually find the community around this particular game overly defensive of the administration. Not that it's a bad thing to stick up for them now and then, it's nice that people care as much as they do about the game and the staff work hard. They're largely volunteers and they do a lot of good things. There's always room for improvement though and it's hard to improve when you're not getting honest feedback. The good and bad.

Trager

I think 99% of this 'overly-defensive' issue you think the majority of the player-base has for the Administration falls back to roughly 99% of your posts transcending well and beyond constructive criticism, and more into the realm of blunt sniping. I'm not at all sure you're humanly capable of even amiable statements at this point, but hey, it might be worth a shot! People tend to react better to them.

Gwenith

Meh, what can we do? We just love our admins and hope they will stick around and because most a volunteers we know it's not just for the money! -knucklebumps the admin team-

Rashar

Don't do it, bro. People here do not respond well to direct confrontation. Unless it's on the other side of a computer generated kung fu, anyway. And even then, only when it's a contrived scenario involving Aetolia's version of crude oil with well defined rules and restrictions.

To stay on topic:

I said it earlier and I'll say it again - the promotion isn't bad, man. The majority of it is free, unless you're spending 15 credits per on giftbags. And they only added that as a credit sink for people with ridiculous amounts of credits anyway. Nobody is -making- you spend 15 credits per. The real promotion here is the -extra- bags that come with credit purchases. And at 3 credits average, that's a 90 credit bonus to a 300 credit purchase. (I dun math too gud)

I've won three minor giftbags. One with a decent credit purchase, and two with random purchases that were both over 1/300, unless I am not recalling properly.

If city logs are any indicator, they're selling credits at a decent rate. Is it the most popular promo? Nah, probably not. But just because you (with all your credits and your things and your stuff) don't think it's worth it doesn't mean all those 234536 people I watched hit Yeleni in the last 2 days because of chocolates and stuff agree.

Lim

Yeah, just to make clear that I've looked at it again. Aside from the fact that some unicorns are luckier than others, I don't think it's an unreasonable promo.

Oh, except, I do think that all chalices should be retrospectively made trade-in'able. I have a whole bunch of chalices gotten from previous promos (I assume giftbag) that can't be sold. Yet new chalices can be traded in for 20cr. Don't quite know why the discrepancy exists.

Obyn

It is my understanding that they can be turned in if they bear your mark. If they cannot, consider bugging it.

Lim

@Obyn‌

Okay so here's my understanding, and I'm not sure if it's faulty anywhere:

Giftbag chalices were recently made to bear your mark, and are thus able to be traded in.

According to HELP GIFTBAGS, artifacts in your giftbag are meant to be bound to you, except the chalices.

So to explain the fact that I cannot trade in a number of my chalices, I assume that it is because chalices from past giftbag promotions are not bound to me, and cannot be traded in. On the other hand, chalices from current giftbags are bound, and therefore can be traded in.

If so, I think there's a pretty odd discrepancy.. right? Should we not also be able to trade in chalices from past giftbag promotions? Or should we not be able to bind unbound chalices to us in the same way unbound credits are worth at least the same as bound ones?

Oleis

Lim said:

@Obyn‌

Okay so here's my understanding, and I'm not sure if it's faulty anywhere:

Giftbag chalices were recently made to bear your mark, and are thus able to be traded in.

According to HELP GIFTBAGS, artifacts in your giftbag are meant to be bound to you, except the chalices.

So to explain the fact that I cannot trade in a number of my chalices, I assume that it is because chalices from past giftbag promotions are not bound to me, and cannot be traded in. On the other hand, chalices from current giftbags are bound, and therefore can be traded in.

If so, I think there's a pretty odd discrepancy.. right? Should we not also be able to trade in chalices from past giftbag promotions? Or should we not be able to bind unbound chalices to us in the same way unbound credits are worth at least the same as bound ones?

Unfortunately, it's just not quite that easy to do it retroactively. I agree with you on principle. It's just kind of a bear to implement.

Lim

@Oleis‌
Completely fine with manual trade ins if it's not too much of a hassle to do it that way! I have 8 of them currently, and would really love to have all of them traded in.

Zsadist

Lim said:

@Oleis‌
Completely fine with manual trade ins if it's not too much of a hassle to do it that way! I have 8 of them currently, and would really love to have all of them traded in.

Don't trade them in. Sell em to me. Seriously.

Ashmer

Could do a chalice (drug) takeback weekend and temporarly allow all chalices to be turned in. After that, no more, and complaining about it is punishable by a very uncomfortable wedgie.

Serrice

Pray to RNGesus.

Toz

Amberlea

I've been keeping an eye out for chalices because I like helping level people up, and I've only seen them in 3 shops, all in spines, with gold prices that translate to ~15-22cr apiece if you convert at 1cr = 4500g. Might be more I can't see, because of bin/shop permissions etc, but to me a low supply indicates they are pretty well sought after. Being able to trade them in is only going to drive supply lower, for an item that is never really going to go out of style.

Consider trading in your extra chalices through sales to other players? Put them in a shop or in the auction house.

Jensen

They might not be in shops because they're sitting around. I've given out at least 15 for free in the last 2 years. Less recently since I don't make purchases here anymore aside from membership/no brainer

Areka

Yeah I have 20 just on me so I can toss them out to folk as needed/sought after/etc. Can't be bothered to run to a store and grab one and then run back to bash and I'm lazy.

Zsadist

@Areka, why not toss a few my way. I'm always seeking them out.