Armorsmith Archive

As a customer, here are some of my thoughts regarding the market for armor, specifically considering Composite Armor (since that is what I use mostly).

There are all sorts of people and strategies for buying armor, but the majority (say 80%+/-), it seems to me, fall into a couple of categories:

(1) a smaller market of those people wanting the highest capability armor ('Uber' type stuff), and
(2) a larger market of those people wanting regular continuous protection from the environment ('Env' type stuff)

The 'Uber' types want that last percentage point of protection at (just about) any cost. The armorer is wise to try to offer 'effectiveness sliced' armors here to try to get that last ounce of armor goodness for these people, as a single percentage point of effectiveness is critical for this type of customer. These customers are the PvP and high-end content (Genosian Cave, Death Watch Bunker, Corvette...) people. These people will want 'Stun' protection for PvP, and 'Kinetic' protection for (most) mobs, and some others like 'Electrical' protection. They are not concerned with the encumberance of the armor, since they will always have the best doctor/dancer/musician buffs going. So don't waste your experimentation points on the ham cost. The cost for this type can (and has) gone into the millions per suit, so the markup is the best for the armorer. Spending the time to search out the very best of resources, tools and skill-enhancing items is very important in this category, since that will give you that one additional percentage point or two. Offering this armor mostly in individual pieces, but with some full suits, is quite effective. Often an armorer will often get custom orders here, especially as they get more well known. A great many armorers try to appeal to this market.

The other group, the 'Env' types, want good continuous protection. For this group the 'low-ham' armors are attractive, since they are not always buffed, but still want to be able to equip good armor to wear. The armorer is wise to try to offer 'encumberance sliced' armors here to try to get the most lowered ham for these people, as unbuffed wearability critical for this type of customer. If you have to compromise on the ham costs, do the compromise in the helmets and the gloves. Most people I know will leave unequipped, first the helmet, and then the gloves, if they cannot afford the ham for the whole suit (and meanwhile casually search for more attractive ham pieces). The base protection is important for this group, as the armor is expected to provide protection for just about everything. If this group considers special protection, they usually think of 'Kinetic' protection, since most mobs dish out this type of damage. As this type of armor gets more punishment over time (at least I certainly do), since it's used all the time, the replacement is faster. The armorer can sell repair kits, and replacement pieces, and more sales of full suits since they tend to be more economical. The 'Env' type armor appears to be a strongly growing market. Some very good armorers are appealing more to this market segment.

Also, I have seen more than one armorer with a recycled armor vendor, for people to donate their used armor parts to instead of just destroying them. These are used to provide economy priced armor (often packaged in whole suits) to the newbie players at a greatly reduced cost. This is good for the armorer too, since this builds up a future customer base for the 'Evn' and possibly later the 'Uber' armors for this armorer, as the newbies tend to go back to the same place to get more.

Further, I find that the use of 'barker' droids (or even AFK player macros) at the major transit points, like Starports, is a very effective marketing straregy. Include the waypoint in the text, as your droid will not give out the WP if his battery goes dry. I advise the armorer to mention both the high protection and low-ham armor to appeal to the greatest number of people. (assuming that he offers both types)

Well, those are my thoughts, for whatever they are worth. What are your thoughts?

.../Wayfar Nemo
(Fairview Ridge, Talus, Kettemoor)

.../Wayfar Nemo
(Kettemoor)

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