New Marketplace Items: Cloak of the Snowfall (Child's Play Item 2010!) & Festive Burynai

[Amnerys]

<p><strong></strong></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/content/en/news/banners/newerbanners/station_cash_banner.jpg" width="400" height="150" /></p><p><strong>Cloak of the Snowfall </strong></p> <p><a href="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/images/en/features/articles/stationcash/10dec/cloakofthesnowfall.jpg"></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://eq2players.station.sony.com/images/en/features/articles/stationcash/10dec/cloakofthesnowfall_th.jpg" border="0" width="450" height="350" /></p> <p>Add a little festivity to your wardrobe, and a little joy to a child's day, by purchasing the Cloak of the Snowfall. The cloak is a deep purple with animated snowflakes that gently fall, just like real snow; quite mesmerizing! The cloak comes with Featherfall, which reduces the maximum falling speed of the caster. Buy your Cloak of the Snowfall for 900 SC, and SOE will donate $10 to <a href="http://childsplaycharity.org/" target="_blank">Child's Play</a> for each cloak sold, up to a total of $50,000 for all <a href="http://everquest2.com/news/read/current/3795">SOE Child's Play Charity Drive</a> items sold.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://everquest2.com/news/read/122010/3797" target="_blank"><img src="http://everquest2.com/images/en/community/buttons/readmore.png" width="175" height="44" /></a></p>

[Amnerys]

<p><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Oops! The release of these items has been slightly delayed. Check back later today!</span></p><p>And we're live! Enjoy!</p>

[Iskandar]

<p>Is the Burynai a seasonal offering, like the Frostfell backpacks and ice cube pets, or will it be available throughout the year?</p>

[Galldora]

<p>It would be nice if the cloak were identified when examined as the Child's Play item for 2010, like the bear and panda cubs are id'ed for their respective years.  <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" />  I wonder why this information was left off this year's item.</p>

[Brook]

<p>Its called streamlining, they don't have to check wording on things anymore because they have automated the stuff, its like a big rubber stamp that says "approved". </p><p>Look at all the starter area quest gear now, streamlined,</p><p>Spell names, streamlined</p><p>Spell cast graphics, streamlined</p><p>No voice acting, streamlined </p><p>Golden path, streamlined</p><p>Crafting, streamlined</p><p>Its how WoW does it so it must be the way to do it.</p>

[Gozer]

<p><cite>Brook wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Its called streamlining, they don't have to check wording on things anymore because they have automated the stuff, its like a big rubber stamp that says "approved". </p><p>Look at all the starter area quest gear now, streamlined,</p><p>Spell names, streamlined</p><p>Spell cast graphics, streamlined</p><p>No voice acting, streamlined </p><p>Golden path, streamlined</p><p>Crafting, streamlined</p><p>Its how WoW does it so it must be the way to do it.</p></blockquote><p>what do you mean by streamlining? do you mean more compacted down and simple?</p>

[Sola]

<p>As has been stated many times before, why is SOE thinking this marketplace money scheme is such a great thing?!?  Every item released on this marketplace is one more item that could have been a craftable, questable, and/or game event item!  Do I purchase Staion Cash?  Yes, but I do so for things that are not in game items (i.e. race change, server moves, character slots, etc...).</p><p>I now have 4 crafters that are level 90.  True, I enjoyed leveling them up as it's something I can do and watch tv at the same time.  However, when was the last real crafter additions?  We see all these racial armor coming out on the marketplace; what happened to the days where each race had it's own crafted armor sets?  So far, the only thing I've noticed in game is Kerra quest items in Sundered Frontier and I thank you SOE for at least that little bitty bit!</p><p>For those players who wish to defend SOE on this, please take a moment and realize that we all pay between $12 and $15 a month, each and every month!  Is it a bargain for entertainment?  Maybe, but when you compare it to other non-MMO titles (i.e. Fallout, Dragon Origins, etc..), it works out to probably the same amount of money with less development being done!</p><p>Anyhow, SOE will never rethink this strategy of charging us for new content unless we the consumer voice are fustration over this tactic.  I understand and feel for management looking at ways to continue to bring in profit, but gouging the customer will only continue to upset and fustrate us!  And it will also give us more and more reasons to leave when that next big MMO comes out!  Believe me, I, myself, have been trying each new well known MMO that comes out for this very reason.  I keep coming back to EQ2 because of friends and time invested.</p><p>In closing, SOE, please rethink your marketplace trends for EQ2.  The game was designed to be an MMO where we go out into Norrath and earn our items in gameplay and not through sucking our wallets.  Please stop looking at us like micro-transaction piggy banks!  If profits are sluggish and need boost, do it the old fashion way; make new worthwhile content that draws people to the game!  Or create new MMO's that appeal to us!  It's a tried and true method that last for many years.  Selling us micro-transactions like pushing drugs only heats up excitement, generates a little extra cash quickly, but in the end, it burns out the enjoyment of the game and will leave EQ2 as a burnt, empty corpse.</p>

[Cyliena]

<p><cite>Sola wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><blah blah blah blah></blockquote><p>I admit I lost my attention span about 1/4th of the way through your rant. Either way, the only thing I wanted to say is this:</p><p>Are you seriously going off about a CHARITY item being put on the Marketplace? <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/2786c5c8e1a8be796fb2f726cca5a0fe.gif" border="0" /></p><p>To a few posters above.. I'm guessing they copy/pasted the item's description from another and forgot to modify it to state Child's Play... hopefully today's hotfix will do that? <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[KerowynnKaotic]

<p>I'm more interested in the fact that the previous Child's Play items were $5 and they donated $10 to Child's Play.  This one is $9 and they're still donating $10.  *snickers*</p><p>Though, I'm sure it's due to all the double cash bonuses.  Someone in Finance probably finally figured out that they were breaking their charity budget because the players weren't really giving that $5 but really only $2.50 and SOE wasn't matching but actually paying an additional $2.50 per purchase. </p><p><em>We'll ignore the fact that it's still all a digital product that can be created indefinitely without any additonal cost beyond its original creation</em>.</p><p>Meanwhile .. I don't like Cloaks.  All they do is waste inventory, I've already got 2 strongboxes full of them from various Live Events/Quests! So I'm just going to make a straight donation to Child's Play instead of through SOE.  Or, actually an additional donation to them.</p><p><strong>But as a suggestion for next year</strong> ... instead of a specific item why not just say all Purchases through a specific time, up to a specific amount total will be matched and then give that to Child's Play?   That way we don't have to purchase a specific item that we may or may not really want/need and still be participating!</p><p>.. that or a Teddy Bear plushie in a different color each year! With all previous years available for purchase the current year but for double the $med$.  With their proper "Child's play donation" thingy on it. Everyone like plushies, well, all the House people do! *grin* Though, really the "All Purchases" is still a better idea.</p>

[Sola]

<p>Okay, I admit, I should have waited and/or used an older post of items placed on the marketplace for SC dollars.  I have nothing against charity drives and if you read my previous article, I did not mention anything about charity drives.  If "ALL" marketplace items were simply "charity drives", it wouldn't be such a sore spot because at least SOE intentions at that point would be focused on charitable donations.  Make no mistake, SOE intentions for "MarketPlace" is one to generate revenue from in game content!</p><p>So please, drop the notion that SOE is doing "MarketPlace" simply for charity, because it's not!  Charity drives are good publicity for companies and provide tax right offs.  I'm not against that and commend SOE in that regards.  My complaint is simply about turning our $15 a month paid service into now a forum where they charge micro-transactions for in game items that would have been craftable, questable, and/or game event items.  That to me is a disgrace for the style of game EQ2 was intended and has been in the past; an MMO we pay a monthly fee to enjoy.  Leave the micro-transaction business to those MMO's that cater for that style.</p>

[hellfire]

<p><cite>Sola wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>As has been stated many times before, why is SOE thinking this marketplace money scheme is such a great thing?!? </p></blockquote><p>Because people buy the items and it makes them tons of money......its a great thing for  them and for people that  buy station cash items...which there seems to be alot of.</p><p>Get use to it ...all games have  or will have cash shops...its another way to generate cash.</p><p>People love fun stuff and you are in the minority with the old school view point.</p>

[Laiina]

<p><cite>Kaisha@Permafrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I'm more interested in the fact that the previous Child's Play items were $5 and they donated $10 to Child's Play.  This one is $9 and they're still donating $10.  *snickers*</p></blockquote><p>mmm.. actually if you took advantage of the double cash weekend, it cost $4.50.</p>

[KerowynnKaotic]

<p><cite>Laiina wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Kaisha@Permafrost wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>I'm more interested in the fact that the previous Child's Play items were $5 and they donated $10 to Child's Play.  This one is $9 and they're still donating $10.  *snickers*</p></blockquote><p>mmm.. actually if you took advantage of the double cash weekend, it cost $4.50.</p></blockquote><p>wow .. you actually only read my 1st sentence, didn't you?</p>

[Iskandar]

<p><cite>Iskandar wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>Is the Burynai a seasonal offering, like the Frostfell backpacks and ice cube pets, or will it be available throughout the year?</blockquote><p><em>*coughs politely as the argument dies down*</em>  Is the Burynai a seasonal offering, like the Frostfell backpacks and ice cube pets, or will it be available throughout the year?</p>

[Iskandar]

<p><cite>Iskandar wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p><cite>Iskandar wrote:</cite></p><blockquote>Is the Burynai a seasonal offering, like the Frostfell backpacks and ice cube pets, or will it be available throughout the year?</blockquote><p> <em>*coughs politely as the argument dies down*</em>  Is the Burynai a seasonal offering, like the Frostfell backpacks and ice cube pets, or will it be available throughout the year?</p></blockquote><p><em>*props one paw under his chin as he idly carves a game of tic-tac-toe into the tabletop with the other, all while muttering something about Burynai*</em> </p><p>Seriously tho, all I want to know is if the Festive Burynai will be available year-round, or if they will be removed at the end of the winter season like the backpacks and cube pets are. This will determine if I pass on them for now and buy them next Winter (assuming I still am interested) or just plan on picking some up at some point in the Spring or Summer.</p>