Merchant Archive

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MurfThrelklya wrote:
A rifleman does not have monopoly on killing things, not even on doing mind damage. Using a T21 is not on the same level as controlling commerce. This is apples and oranges.

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Any one can use a T21, only a Rifleman can use one effectively. Anyone can use the bazaar and trade window, only a Merchant can effectively sell large scale. Combat professions control combat. Service professions control healing. Crafting professions control production. Pray what exactly is Merchant's area of control if not commerce?

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Creating a droid and resurecting players are skilled actions. There is a reason Engineers and Doctors spend years in college. You don't even need a high school diploma to start a business.

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Neither do you need a high school diploma to fire a rifle effectively. And don't argue that an investment in Rifleman represents time spent training and gaining experience, because the exact same argument applies to Merchant.

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Bottom line, merchants were given control over the only convenient means of selling goods. Now it has come down that visibility will force merchants to compete. You still have your commercial monopoly. Buying on the bazaar is no more convenient than it was and the trade forums still suck. All you have now is increased competition.

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Yes. From non-Merchants. If this had been a Merchant skill then there would be far fewer complaints.

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Merchant is like Pilot in some ways. You are only as good at the profession, as you are personally. A rifleman earns the ability to use better weapons and do more damage. Allsimilarly skilled rifleman using the same weapons are essentially the same. A merchant, pilot, or politician relies on an X factor to be successful. For pilot it is twitch, politician maybe personality. Merchant is about the commercial skills of the person at the keyboard, not what boxes a person earns. That is why I think it the skill point requirement should be dropped.

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And this argument does not apply to combat, either PvE or PvP? Last I heard knowing what weapon to use when, which foods to take, what armour to wear etc. were all skills that people brought to the profession that were not granted by skillboxes.

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I don't know why anyone would have more boxes than they need. And now you need less of merchant, hurray for all merchants.

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Again, would you like this argument to apply to combat professions? "By the way, we've decided to move all specials and skills into the marksman/brawler tress and make all the elite combat professions virtually useless, but don't worry, it's good news, now you don't have to spend the skillpoints".

EnigmaBSc

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EnigmaBSc wrote:

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MurfThrelklya wrote:
A rifleman does not have monopoly on killing things, not even on doing mind damage. Using a T21 is not on the same level as controlling commerce. This is apples and oranges.

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Any one can use a T21, only a Rifleman can use one effectively. Anyone can use the bazaar and trade window, only a Merchant can effectively sell large scale. Combat professions control combat. Service professions control healing. Crafting professions control production. Pray what exactly is Merchant's area of control if not commerce?

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Creating a droid and resurecting players are skilled actions. There is a reason Engineers and Doctors spend years in college. You don't even need a high school diploma to start a business.

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Neither do you need a high school diploma to fire a rifle effectively. And don't argue that an investment in Rifleman represents time spent training and gaining experience, because the exact same argument applies to Merchant.

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Bottom line, merchants were given control over the only convenient means of selling goods. Now it has come down that visibility will force merchants to compete. You still have your commercial monopoly. Buying on the bazaar is no more convenient than it was and the trade forums still suck. All you have now is increased competition.

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Yes. From non-Merchants. If this had been a Merchant skill then there would be far fewer complaints.

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Merchant is like Pilot in some ways. You are only as good at the profession, as you are personally. A rifleman earns the ability to use better weapons and do more damage. Allsimilarly skilled rifleman using the same weapons are essentially the same. A merchant, pilot, or politician relies on an X factor to be successful. For pilot it is twitch, politician maybe personality. Merchant is about the commercial skills of the person at the keyboard, not what boxes a person earns. That is why I think it the skill point requirement should be dropped.

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And this argument does not apply to combat, either PvE or PvP? Last I heard knowing what weapon to use when, which foods to take, what armour to wear etc. were all skills that people brought to the profession that were not granted by skillboxes.

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I don't know why anyone would have more boxes than they need. And now you need less of merchant, hurray for all merchants.

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Again, would you like this argument to apply to combat professions? "By the way, we've decided to move all specials and skills into the marksman/brawler tress and make all the elite combat professions virtually useless, but don't worry, it's good news, now you don't have to spend the skillpoints".

EnigmaBSc

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I understand your concerns. All monopolists by their nature are against others being able to compete.

Instead of splitting these hairs over and over, I'll just stand by my earlier argument. The skill of the merchant is in the person at the keyboard, not on the ctrl-S page. And this is true ofother professions to a much lesser degree.

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Honest truth is that I think the Merchant profession should have never made it into the game. If a restriction on the ability to sell is desirable, it should have been earnable withineach profession. A player gets a vendor and x amount of listings at each master profession box. Master Swordsman, you get a vendor and 20 items (sell loot or whatnot). Master Armorsmith, you get a vendor and 1000 items. Combine that with a global, ebay-like sales system...Sorry getting way off topic. I'll put my nose back in the GCW and JTL boards where it belongs.

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MurfThrelklya wrote:
I understand your concerns. All monopolists by their nature are against others being able to compete.

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Thanks for making me laugh. So, I'm a monopolist. Funny that. I could have sworn that I have been told by many many people that I have the cheapest prices on any server. I could have sworn that there are at least ten other serious merchants on my server in the same area of business as me. I also could have sworn that I have stated several times that I would not be registering my vendors on the global vendor search because I did not want to destroy the businesses of those merchants. Sounds like a funny definition of a monopolist to me. Obviously I must be mistaken.

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Instead of splitting these hairs over and over, I'll just stand by my earlier argument. The skill of the merchant is in the person at the keyboard, not on the ctrl-S page. And this is true of other professions to a much lesser degree.

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This skill of the PvPer is on the ctrl-S page? The skill of the profession loot hunter is on the ctrl-S page? The skill of the most successful entertainer groups is on the ctrl-S page? No profession (OK, few professions) give winning advantages through the skills on the ctrl-S page. They provide tools. It is the player who must develop the skills to deploy those tools in the most effective manner.

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Honest truth is that I think the Merchant profession should have never made it into the game. If a restriction on the ability to sell is desirable, it should have been earnable within each profession. A player gets a vendor and x amount of listings at each master profession box. Master Swordsman, you get a vendor and 20 items (sell loot or whatnot). Master Armorsmith, you get a vendor and 1000 items.

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But the devs decided it was a profession that should make it into the game. And it did. And many people enjoyed the rich economic simulation that resulted. Honest truth is that I think the Merchant profession should have had much more power - consignment, bulk buying/selling, price/unit options etc. Your arguments up to this point have been that Merchant was not fun and was not worth the skillpoint investment. The first is an opionion, and one not shared by many Merchants. The second is also an opinion, and one obviously not shared by the thousands of people who were willing to pay the skill point cost, at least before this vendor search system.

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Combine that with a global, ebay-like sales system...Sorry getting way off topic. I'll put my nose back in the GCW and JTL boards where it belongs.

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If you're not willing to debate the issue and instead throw out an insult and repeat arguments that I had already counter-argued then please do go back to the GCW and JTL boards.

EnigmaBSc

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MurfThrelklya wrote:

I understand your concerns. All monopolists by their nature are against others being able to compete.

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ROFL...monopolist? yeah right man..i may be against this latest change but i'm no monopolist...hell i give armor out all the time because i like to help people..i assemble for free for the most part, and my prices are not the most expensive by far on my server..i share crafting formulae and tips with fellow armorsmiths all the time..monopolist? psshhh..

what i am (or was, after this patch) is a dedicated merchant, who's seeing my profession being ripped apart slowly, a piece at a time..

so why don't you take your holier-than-thou assumptions and stick it where the sun don't shine..mmmmk thanks

Message Edited by Andymantium on 03-26-2005 01:10 PM