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Gilsellers: Jar speaksFollow

#1 Jan 16 2005 at 1:12 AM Rating: Excellent
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192 posts
Hey everyone, and I'll apologise in advance for yet another thread about the gilsellers. The thing is, I've been reading up on the forums and the thing that upsets me most about the whole debacle is that the argument is turning honest players against one another. I personally think that is sadder than the NM over-camping, botting and massively inflated prices for certain items at the AH. I've seen a good few threads where honest players, good players that I've met on this forum have been at each others throats on the issue, and in some cases it's degenerated into swapping abuse. This isn't a case of me jumping on the bandwagon or sticking my tuppence worth in, I just want to make a couple of points that will hopefully make people think :)

It's a sorry state of affairs. I've read a few posts on other threads from players along the general three lines:

1. "Stop ******** about gilsellers! It's the buyers who are at fault!"

2. "Stop ******** about gilsellers! Nothing is going to change, so just get on with it and stop spamming the forums!"

3. "Stop ******** about gilsellers! They're not doing anything wrong! The point of FFXI is do be able to do whatever you like!"


1. I agree. Gil-buying is wrong. It takes the point out of the game entirely. Surely the aim of any game is to have done the work to achieve the result? And I personally don't hold with the argument that "Oh, well you HAVE to have weapon x, item y and armour z, or you won't get parties." I'm not debating that there may be a few people who will boot you if you don't turn up with +1 everything, but I've never encountered anyone like that on Ragnarok and I've partied with a lot of people. I can't speak for what happens from level 57 onwards, but I would certainly subscribe to the view that the way you play the game and your actual job knowledge should count for more than what you're wearing (to an extent, obviously). Who would you pick for your soccer team? The player with the most expensive boots or the one with most ability? Gilbuyers are at fault as much as gilsellers, as are the elitists who demand that you spend an extra 500k for a +2 on a certain stat.

2. Forums are here for people to post their opinions. If someone wants to write a post about how angry they are about gilsellers, then they're quite entitled to, as long as it written in a sensible manner. If people were not allowed to vent some steam here in the forums, then they'd do it in-game, possibly abusively, therefore violating the ToS. And of course, no-one gets away with violating the ToS, do they folks? ;)
In addition to that, if you believe that nothing is going to change, that's up to you. But please don't put down those who are trying to make things change for the better.

3. Believe it or not, I have actually heard this argument in the forums. Yes, of course, FFXI is about doing what you want to do, but not at the expense of the vast majority. If doing what you want to do is in violation of the ToS and causing most honest players upset and a good few to quit the game entirely, then of course that's not on.

I'm sorry to take up so much of everyone's time, and to make points that have no doubtedly been aired before, it's just my response to certain points that have been made on the forums.

Thanks for listening, I'd really appreciate some feedback :)

Jar
#2 Jan 16 2005 at 3:46 AM Rating: Good
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352 posts
/total and complete agreement


If I weren't half asleep I'd post something longer lol
#3 Jan 16 2005 at 4:28 AM Rating: Decent
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222 posts
hehe, I tottaly agree with you Jar :p
#4 Jan 16 2005 at 10:30 AM Rating: Decent
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356 posts
/praise Jar ^^
I agree totally bout the ability worth part.
and if everyone didnt have this "I have to have x item or y item" mentaility then there wouldn't be so many of these problems.
Well said!
#5 Jan 16 2005 at 11:07 AM Rating: Decent
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67 posts
(/clap) you speak my mind
#6 Jan 20 2005 at 11:27 AM Rating: Decent
let SE activate PK and make FFXI a funnier game lol

E.
#7 Jan 20 2005 at 12:23 PM Rating: Decent
I agree with some of what you say, but in most part i disagree.

It would be nice to think that everything is black and white but its not, there is alot of grey areas.

Now if you take the tos out of the equation since it doesnt mean alot to SE, bots, lack of caring from gm's etc.

Lets look at each participant.

Gil sellers. They overcamp an nm, ok sure this is annoying but they are doing nothing wrong. In fact there are regular players that will camp the same nm for days at a time. So are the gil sellers doing anything wrong, no. Keep in mind TOS is out of the equation. Now if the gil sellers employ tactics like mpk to clear you out so they can get pop then there is a problem. Again regular players are known to do this also.

Gil buyers. Ok now some people dont have alot of time to play this game, this is the normal argument. Lets look at this, SE made this game very dependant on an eternal economy, if that economy fails its hurts players. Does it hurt the lvl 75, not so much. Does it hurt new players or low level players, yes big time. So what happens, they get sick of farming, who doesnt. Games are about challenge but also about entertainment. The incredible about of time need to make gil takes alot of fun out of the game. So people quit, that hurts everyone, since this game is all about parties, well with less and less people its alot harder to find a pt. The last couple of days i have been trying to pt. At lvl 75 range there were about 4 people on entire server lfp the whole night. Level 33 range there were 6, no mages as per usual. So I get forced to either farm, craft or log. I am also a believer that the gamer should be able to choose his actions or what he wants to do in the game, but SE design has made that hard to do. So now alot of people have moved to wow cause takes alot longer to make money cause only real way to make lots is to camp nms, wow that is fun.
Ok now there are gil buyers that are willing to pay anything for an item, helps to jack up the price etc. Do they cause problems, yes. Is it the act of buying the gil that is the problem no, its the attitude. Now the Gil buyer that buys gil so he has enought gil to buy materials to craft so he can provide a service to all the players to make sure there is enough equip, food, ammo etc on ah so they can party. They are buying materials at normal prices, the people that farmed the goods are makeing money. So are these gil buyers causing problems, no, they are actually helping the economy get back on track, helping farmers make gil and help players to get equip they needed.

Ok players in general. This is what i think is the root of all problems on this server. The attitudes I have been seeing is unbelievable. Walk around looking at bazaars now in jeuno, at least one third of them are scammers trying to get you to buy arrows or other 99 stackable things for individual prices. Eg 5k for one shinei powder. The greed is out of control on this server. People are out for gil at all cost. They purposely jack up prices, especial raw material prices which have a devasting effect on the overall economy. It affects everyone. Not like jacking leapings boot prices up 100k only affects a few.
I have seen ls members lie and cheat to steal from other ls members, they get their gil and move on. Its just pathetic.

So in summary, its the attitudes that cause the problems, if gil sellers and buyers or even botters act in someone of a responsible manner then they really do not have much of a negative affect on anything.

So if you want to help fix the problem, dont be greedy, and stop helping people that are. If you see someone that keeps jacking up raise 3 prices or you know who the mules belong to that scam or just scammers in general, dont help them, if they are lfp, ignmore them, if they shouting for af or mission help, send them a tell that they will not recieve help, that are outcasts. In time they will either quit or start acting as part of the communtity and not as individuals. Because this game is not individual friendly.

Ok i am done sorry for the long post, bad spelling or grammer.

and hi erinda.
#8 Jan 20 2005 at 1:33 PM Rating: Good
If people are cheating their own LS mates, you need to find a new LS.

Also, give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes. It's possible the people putting single items up for sale for high prices are just noobs who don't realize the price they're setting is for a single item, not an entire stack.

Maybe I'm just not paying attention, or maybe it's because I came here after playing on Asura and Caitsith for just about the past year, but I simply don't see the horrible attitudes you speak of on Ragnarok. Perhaps I'm being too optimistic, but the "bad players" truly are a minority on this server.

What you say about gil buyers buying materials to craft with is true. The problem is most aren't doing that. They're buying gil through a RMT site, then using that gil to buy uber equipment. What's the point of crafting? It isn't to help other players, it's to make money...at least that's how many players see it. If you already have that money, why waste time crafting?

The problem I have with gil-buying goes beyond a mere overabundance of currency in the population. When I hit level 51 with my BLM on Caitsith, I farmed and crafted and saved up enough to buy a Dark Staff, and I was so proud of it...but then the gil-buyers hit level 51 and suddenly everybody had a dark staff, and they got it with a few mouse clicks and a paypal transaction, whereas I spent several hours earning the gil legitimately. It's very disheartening to earn something, then see it become almost meaningless because so many others have taken a shortcut.

But I do understand that this game is a major timesink. Many of us are college students, and many others are college students with additional jobs who simply don't have enough time to farm, farm, farm, and for those people I can understand their desire to buy gil via RMT.

I agree with you whole-heartedly about the ToS, though. They really don't seem to mean much to SE.
#9 Jan 20 2005 at 1:39 PM Rating: Decent
"Also, give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes. It's possible the people putting single items up for sale for high prices are just noobs who don't realize the price they're setting is for a single item, not an entire stack. "

There is no benefit of the doubt here, some of the ones doing it are in melon, I think by now they know whats going on, and i know alot of the others have high lvl characters, these people sell the same items, they know what they are doing.

We kick those people out of the ls, had a new member do something and i kicked him, he didnt even know what he did wrong.
#10 Jan 20 2005 at 1:51 PM Rating: Good
I stand corrected, then. I'll admit I don't check a lot of bazaars.
#11 Jan 20 2005 at 2:04 PM Rating: Decent
The reason i bring up the bazaar thing was a few months ago there were maybe 1-2 that were doing this. Butters being the first one i remember, but now, they are everywhere.

Alot of followers in this game, cough casino cough.
#12 Jan 20 2005 at 3:44 PM Rating: Decent
Quote:
Now if you take the tos out of the equation since it doesnt mean alot to SE, bots, lack of caring from gm's etc.


This is ridiculous. Taking the ToS out of the equation renders the argument pointless. Without the Terms of Service, everyone is expected to operate by their own moral standard, and for the majority of humanity, it's not a good one. Sure, logic, reason, and the desire to cooperate with other working, thinking human beings should be inspiration enough to follow certain guidelines, even without the rules set. Unfourtunately, most people have no desire to work in an intelligent and fair economy. It doesn't matter if Square-Enix "doesn't care" or the Game Masters "won't do anything". The Terms of Service is based on the honors system, that being that you as a player will accept the honor of working alongside your fellow players to keep the game fair.

Quote:
Gil sellers. They overcamp an nm, ok sure this is annoying but they are doing nothing wrong. In fact there are regular players that will camp the same nm for days at a time. So are the gil sellers doing anything wrong, no. Keep in mind TOS is out of the equation. Now if the gil sellers employ tactics like mpk to clear you out so they can get pop then there is a problem. Again regular players are known to do this also.


While I do like the fact that you point out that players are no better than gil sellers in their tactics, it does not justify the gil sellers actions. If I called someone an idiot and they responded that Suzie was an idiot too, that wouldn't make them any less of an idiot, now would it?

I agree that by camping the NMs the gilsellers are doing nothing wrong. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that even by jacking up prices, they're not doing anything wrong. If I had an item I could get away with selling for 500k, why the hell wouldn't I? Someone will ALWAYS buy it. Prices are too high when one can no longer purchase the item. So, maybe if you stop paying prices that you think are ridiculous and start finding alternatives that are less expensive, the prices will drop. Where there is no demand and a great supply, the prices will fall. After all, gil sellers can't make cash off of gil they haven't made.

My next point. It is not neccessarily gil-selling that is ruining the economy. It is instead the ridiculous amount of consumers who will go to great lengths to pay the 1.2 million for these items that keep the gil-sellers and other overpricing players in business. They depend on you for their livelihood. if you want to do something about it, then simply save your gil and spend it on something else.If you honestly think the price is too high, don't pay it. Maybe if you stop paying the prices and the items continually find their way back to their delivery boxes, they will drop.

Quote:
Gil buyers. Ok now some people dont have alot of time to play this game, this is the normal argument. Lets look at this, SE made this game very dependant on an eternal economy, if that economy fails its hurts players. Does it hurt the lvl 75, not so much. Does it hurt new players or low level players, yes big time. So what happens, they get sick of farming, who doesnt. Games are about challenge but also about entertainment. The incredible about of time need to make gil takes alot of fun out of the game. So people quit, that hurts everyone, since this game is all about parties, well with less and less people its alot harder to find a pt. The last couple of days i have been trying to pt. At lvl 75 range there were about 4 people on entire server lfp the whole night. Level 33 range there were 6, no mages as per usual. So I get forced to either farm, craft or log. I am also a believer that the gamer should be able to choose his actions or what he wants to do in the game, but SE design has made that hard to do. So now alot of people have moved to wow cause takes alot longer to make money cause only real way to make lots is to camp nms, wow that is fun.


I agree, it is ridiculous to be expected to spend 70%+ of the game camping for the gear you want as you level. I will also point out that if no one buys the gil, it will not neccessarily never reenter the economy. The gil seller can, at his/her discrection, spend it as he/she chooses.

ALSO, most gil selling companies are floundering as Square-Enix has been deleteing trades sent to players for large amounts of gil from large gil sellers.

Square Enix does care. They are removing gil from the economy in this way.

Quote:
Ok now there are gil buyers that are willing to pay anything for an item, helps to jack up the price etc. Do they cause problems, yes. Is it the act of buying the gil that is the problem no, its the attitude. Now the Gil buyer that buys gil so he has enought gil to buy materials to craft so he can provide a service to all the players to make sure there is enough equip, food, ammo etc on ah so they can party. They are buying materials at normal prices, the people that farmed the goods are makeing money. So are these gil buyers causing problems, no, they are actually helping the economy get back on track, helping farmers make gil and help players to get equip they needed.


You are correct. Buying gil to craft items does help the economy, because you are purchasing perishable items and making them into something useful. To those of you who argued the point that "if you've already bought enough gil to buy the equipment, why not just buy it?" my response is this: what if people stop paying astronomical prices for the equipment they want? If you buy snipers rings for 1 million and go to sell them back three months later when the price has dropped to 500k, you have lost 500k. It works very much like the stock market.

If, instead of investing that one million gil in a peice of equipment, you invest it in tradeskills, you have gained a skill, not just a single item. Skill is potential gil.
The greater your skill, the more gil you can potentially make.

The gil that gil buyers buy was part of the economy before the gil sellers even made it. Even if everyone stopped buying gil, it would still be there, in the gil seller's pocket. The reason they have that gil in the first place is that you were willing to pay their outrageous prices. Supply and demand is the first rule of any economy.

Even if there were no gil sellers or buyers, someone or another would come along and raise the prices for rare items. Gil sellers aren't the only ones hungry for gil, otherwise there'd be no gil buyers. And these players would make gil because there is a large amount of gil circulating in the economy.

Well, you can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want this to stop, you're going to have to boycott the uber equipment. You're going to have to buy things from NPCs whenever possible to get the gil out of the system. You're going to have to do something different, because posting on Alakhazam isn't going to magically make everything better.

The first rule to remember when buying items is that A is A. A Sniper's Ring is a Sniper's Ring. It doesn't magically get +2 extra Accuracy just because the price jumps 200k. It's still the same Sniper Ring, crafted from the same Archer's Ring that drops the same amount of times as ever. No one drops their Archer's Ring, which means there will always be Archers Rings, in a increasing amount, in exisistence. In fact, because players are leaving prices should be dropping. Players leaving the game takes gil out of the economy and lessens demand in that there are fewer people to make the demands. Keep this in mind next time the prices jump. Is it reasonable? Of course not.

SO WHY DO YOU INSIST ON PAYING FOR IT?

No one is forcing you to have these items. If you pay these prices, you are accepting that this is a legitimate value for the item. If you disagree with the price, then you have the freedom to choose not to pay it. I advise you use it.

So please, instead of posting a new topic on this, go out and do something. Your fellow players will appreciate it.
#13 Jan 20 2005 at 4:19 PM Rating: Decent
Thats why i like being a ranger, we really dont have uber equipment to buy. I think the only really expensive piece is the +1 mantle. Hawkers are not necessary. Most of my uber equipment are drops, eg, optical hat, obow.

The reason i said take the tos out of the equations wasnt to say to disregard, i just didnt want anyone to answer the reason gil sellers are bad are because they are going against the tos. Looking to get to the meat of the problem and not using that line as an excuse.

Now the only reason SE cares now is because of WOW, WOW's sales were bigger then expected and it hurt ffxi. There has been a problem eg gil sellers for a long time, SE didnt bother to address it until WOW was released, coincedence, i dont think so.
#14 Jan 20 2005 at 4:35 PM Rating: Decent
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192 posts
Oh, this topic is still here? Didn't expect to still see it about, heh.

I certainly won't be paying scandalous amounts of gil for certain items. I could be totally wrong, but I think as a WHM it's a bit easier to get parties without the absolute top gear, tee hee. ^^

I need to get Raise II, Erase and a Dark Staff when I get back, I'm just hoping (probably in vain) that it'll be a bit less than the three-quarters of a million gil I was looking at when I left. >.<

Anyway, thanks for your comments people, whether they be in agreement or disagreement with my opinions. I apologise again for posting yet another thread about the subject, but I read a few and was hoping to start one where everyone could discuss it civilly and sensibly, and that's been the case so far. {Good job!} :)
#15 Jan 20 2005 at 5:41 PM Rating: Decent
Just throwing in my one cent worth of thought ^^;

Point to note that: I strongly feels that there is no right or wrong in buying or selling gils, though I agree with those pointers that have been argued against selling/buying gils,

I guess everyone has read about the "SE dont wish to affect your life, work, family and studies" when we log on to our game FF XI. If we use most of the time farming in order to get X equip or F spell, how long do you think we need to spend 1 day to get for example Refresh? or Raise II? To the fact that ... maybe some melee can do without some uber equipment, but ... just ask yourself, if you are around 41 ... you got a rdm without refresh .... do you really mind ? maybe some good hearted person will say .. I dont mind. Yes, I would agree with that too ... but ... you will need to spend more time in game to get the same amount of xp compared to those who have refresh.
so the amount of time spend on FF will be more ...

Another pointer that I would add is that ... if my lvl is not as high and I dont have a job that can help me farm, and lastly an LS that can help me out ... should I quit this game? Not everyone is that lucky to have good friends and good LS. So it is also gotta say that if I really REALLY like this game, I have to quit my real life job and just everyday play games like regulars ? If I cant spend the amount of time in the game to get the amount of gils that I want, why cant I spend the amount of time in my real life job to get the money to buy some gils to help me enjoy the game?

Last but not least, there are so many people out there with different thinking and ideas, nothing is perfect in this world, If you want to play this game, you have to accept the "grey" areas that existed in this game. Honestly, (I know some of you guys will hate me) as I am writing this reply, I am going to buy some gils for my character, because I have just been told by someone that my equipment suxs... not all humans are nice ... So ... help me ... beside asking me to quit FF, and quiting my real life job ... what else can I do ? Will you help me by giving me gils ?

>.<




#16 Jan 21 2005 at 9:41 AM Rating: Decent
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192 posts
I can see where idoity is coming from. As mage class, we need to have our spells like a NIN needs his shihei (sp?) and a RNG needs his arrows. I think idoity's comments go with the point I made about elitism, however the spells are a must-have, but the absolute uber gear isn't. I'm not saying we should all run around in bronze subligars or linen robes by any means, but I do believe that as long as we have people who will boot you from a party for not turning up in 4-5 million gils worth of gear we're going to have people resorting to gil-buying.

I can appreciate the problems people have though, and why some people do buy gil after reading some comments here. Not all gil-buyers are lazy so-and-so's, some are just casual players who don't have the time to spend hours farming but yet still want to advance. How can we deal with this problem as a server? Well, as I said before, for those of us that don't already, give the players without the +1 gear a chance ^^

I know the main majority of players on Ragnarok are not all-out elitists, and most do believe that skill > equipment, and I'm not trying to knock people who want the very best for their party, I'm just suggesting that perhaps one or two people take it a bit too far :)
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