Merchant Archive
Thread: Proposal...Delete the Merchant Class and put vendor placing skills in Crafting Class hands
[S] Barrel
[S] Bofa Treat
[S] Bowcaster
[S] CDEF Carbine
[S] CDEF Pistol
[S] CDEF Rifle
[S] Casual Pants
[S] Casual Shoes
[S] Chance Cube
[S] Chemical Survey Device
[S] Fishing Pole
[S] Flora Survey Tool
[S] Gas Pocket Survey Device
[S] Generic Crafting Tool
[S] Generic Melee Weapon Kit
[S] Grip
[S] Mineral Survey Device
[S] Simple Shirt
[S] Six Sided Dice Set
[S] Small Glass
[S] Spiced Tea
[S] Survival Knife
[S] Ten Sided Dice Set
[S] Travel Biscuits
[S] Type 1 Firework
[S] Type 2 Firework
[S] Type 3 Firework
[S] Water Survey Device
[S] Wind Current Surveying Tool
[S] Wookiee Hide Jerkin
Message Edited by Lotussutol on 08-08-2004 01:55 PM
Message Edited by Khristen on 08-08-2004 03:01 PM
You worded it a little wrong there. If they limited to only selling 110 items per day then every crafter would quit. Limit is on items on vendor, am sure you know that just wanted to point it out so no one takes it the wrong way.
Khristen wrote:
Why limit the number of items a merchant can sell in a day?
Good point. Previous post edited for clarification.
EvilAlgorithm wrote:
You worded it a little wrong there. If they limited to only selling 110 items per day then every crafter would quit. Limit is on items on vendor, am sure you know that just wanted to point it out so no one takes it the wrong way.
Khristen wrote:
Why limit the number of items a merchant can sell in a day?
ElitrosFF wrote:
Should make this a petition.. Merchant is retarded and serves no relevent purpose other then to force people into buying another account if they want to do anything combat related..
The purpose of the merchant class is to increase interaction between players. This is also why the miner and industrialist professions existed in beta. The thought was that no single player could control the entire supply chain for a product. Merchant also provides another playstyle that is distinct from the crafter, combat, or entertainer playstyles.
I'm not saying that merchant, as it exists accomplisheseither goal (it pretty clearly doesn't), but that is the point of the profession.
Happymob wrote:
The purpose of the merchant class is to increase interaction between players. This is also why the miner and industrialist professions existed in beta. The thought was that no single player could control the entire supply chain for a product. Merchant also provides another playstyle that is distinct from the crafter, combat, or entertainer playstyles.
I'm not saying that merchant, as it exists accomplisheseither goal (it pretty clearly doesn't), but that is the point of the profession.
But,as it exists, merchant is not "as intended" in the fact that crafters don't want to have to trust merchants with their goods and hope that they get paid and buyers don't want to pay more just to buy from a merchant if they could get "wholesale" directly from a crafter. The way it is currently designed does not increase interaction between players. The vendor item cap will not help it increase interaction between players either, it will only serve to create frustrated merchants who can't list everything they have for sale and angry customers because they have a harder time finding what they want and have to pay more for it.
In an ideal world, yes merchants provide a valuable service. But we're in a game world and it's far from perfect. Certain exceptions to RL ideas have to be made in order to make the game available to a "casual" gamer and a hardcore one.
Without a way for crafters to be guaranteed payment upon sale of an item by a middleman merchant, you will not see high-quality items on vendors of non-crafter merchants. Those items are far too expensive to be given away in good-faith considering the amount of exploitation possible. There would be no way to have CSR intervention because a secure trade is a done deal. You give it to them, you're on your own. Without useful skills in ALL the merchant boxes, the merchant class is one of those skill-point sinks. It's the same reason there aren't many Master Politicians. There's nothing there worthwhile that is necessary to keep because they're one-hit-wonders in many cases.
You have a well-established community who is accustomed to merchant crafters (i.e. the crafter is the one selling their goods). Bringing in a change that drastically alters what is the current norm isn't going to fly in an environment already saturated with bugged combat classes and ill-will about the delayed Combat and GCW revamp.
I think the merchant class "as intended" would be nice, but unless it can be given a full-revamp and attention it's better not to mess with it until you have the time. Better to take it out completely (or just leave the major changes out) and let the community be happy with their current system and revisit it later when you DO have the time than to alienate the entire community by breaking the one thing that many players found solace in. The fixes that were ASKED for--the removal of empty vendors from the planetary map, the deletion of "illegal" vendors by players who don't have the skill, and the removal of abandoned vendors--are all that needs to go in right now. Vendor item caps will completely change the merchant class, and that's not something we need right now in an already unstable environment.
Siddalee wrote:
Instead of deleting the merchant class, why not reduce the skillpoints needed to Master?
I couldn't agree more. Merchant is good for selling things, that's it. Nothing else on it but placing venders is of real use to anyone. Really they should just make it a 0 SP profession, since as it stands with 90% of the people with venders, it's that way anyway.
ElitrosFF wrote:
Should make this a petition.. Merchant is retarded and serves no relevent purpose other then to force people into buying another account if they want to do anything combat related..
Me thinks someone just cracked the nut ... yeees, that me thinks. 
Lotussutol wrote:
Sad part is...Merchant Class would be better off deleted and have the vendor placement skills put into the crafting classes and have the sign changing skill put in politican and or master artisan.
To this point I agreed with everything. You also have to factor in the PvE people who make their income selling looted items, so sadly this would not work. Though the elimination of the SP requirement would work wonders for everyone.
Barris wrote:
Lotussutol wrote:
Sad part is...Merchant Class would be better off deleted and have the vendor placement skills put into the crafting classes and have the sign changing skill put in politican and or master artisan.
To this point I agreed with everything. You also have to factor in the PvE people who make their income selling looted items, so sadly this would not work. Though the elimination of the SP requirement would work wonders for everyone.
hehehe...I was saying oh oh oh oh crap I did forget about the PVE loot sellers...hmmm...placing a vendor does not fit with putting it in the combat classes. hmmm...I wonder how many combat people pick up merchant though to sell loot.
I don't know I am stumped on this one. 