Ranger Archive
Thread: Would you continue harvesting if it wasn't profitable?
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Ducimus
Sun Sep 05, 2004 1:56 pm
#1
I'm curious, im sure a large number of people here harvest organics as a source of income.
Would you continue with this trade if it stopped being profitable as compared to other ways to earn credits?
I get the impression most crafters/docs would rather pay us peanuts for our labors. 10, 20, 30 CPU is about what they seem to prefer. Hypothetically, what would happen if they all collectively got together and said they were only play 15 or 30 CPU tops.
Would you continue harvesting at that rate? ( I wouldn't).
--------------------
Here's my theory.
Lets say docs/merchants got their way, and now harvesting is pennies on the dollar. Harvesters represent the server's organic supply, because its their way to earn money (and have a little fun at first, but you gotta admit, it gets tedious). Now the old profits are gone, and your left wth less motivation to tediously harvest.
I think most would give up harvesting for income and go pursue other forms of generating income. This would dwindle a servers harvesting supplier pool, which in turn would make organics less plentiful.
This means doc/merchant types will either have to take time out of their precious schedules to harvest the stuff themselves. Either by themselves, or with friends. Somethign that they may or may not have the skill credits for. Personnaly i think it would be easier to just pay someone else to do it.
So the harvester pool becomes smaller, so what would you do? Maybe bid competivly? So the profit in organics goes up, and will probably reach its former levels at some point, which will attract new and old harvvesters back to the field.
At some point, this cycle repeats itself.
End theory.
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Right now on Bria its Famine time. No hot comedity's that im aware of. Docs are fat and happy with their stocked up Avian and Herb meat (we've two good consequtive shifts on avian, and a good long one on the endor meat before it shifted, with LOTS of docs buying). Point is, what offers i do see 10cpu , 30 cpu max on hides, are simply not worth the time in my opinion because the spawn is really low yield. Id make more doing solo missions unbuffed. In other words, its not profitable, so im not harvesting.
Comments? Thoughts?
Would you continue with this trade if it stopped being profitable as compared to other ways to earn credits?
I get the impression most crafters/docs would rather pay us peanuts for our labors. 10, 20, 30 CPU is about what they seem to prefer. Hypothetically, what would happen if they all collectively got together and said they were only play 15 or 30 CPU tops.
Would you continue harvesting at that rate? ( I wouldn't).
--------------------
Here's my theory.
Lets say docs/merchants got their way, and now harvesting is pennies on the dollar. Harvesters represent the server's organic supply, because its their way to earn money (and have a little fun at first, but you gotta admit, it gets tedious). Now the old profits are gone, and your left wth less motivation to tediously harvest.
I think most would give up harvesting for income and go pursue other forms of generating income. This would dwindle a servers harvesting supplier pool, which in turn would make organics less plentiful.
This means doc/merchant types will either have to take time out of their precious schedules to harvest the stuff themselves. Either by themselves, or with friends. Somethign that they may or may not have the skill credits for. Personnaly i think it would be easier to just pay someone else to do it.
So the harvester pool becomes smaller, so what would you do? Maybe bid competivly? So the profit in organics goes up, and will probably reach its former levels at some point, which will attract new and old harvvesters back to the field.
At some point, this cycle repeats itself.
End theory.
---------------
Right now on Bria its Famine time. No hot comedity's that im aware of. Docs are fat and happy with their stocked up Avian and Herb meat (we've two good consequtive shifts on avian, and a good long one on the endor meat before it shifted, with LOTS of docs buying). Point is, what offers i do see 10cpu , 30 cpu max on hides, are simply not worth the time in my opinion because the spawn is really low yield. Id make more doing solo missions unbuffed. In other words, its not profitable, so im not harvesting.
Comments? Thoughts?
DeamosInfinity
Sun Sep 05, 2004 2:24 pm
#2
I'm a professional Resource hunter, and as such I have a select costumer base that directs me of spawns they need and I get back to them with a CPU price and an estimate of how many units per day they can expect. I make sure I am well payed because I am dedicated, so I will not give them 1K units and call it a day. This also helps to keep the worst of Doctors off my back as alot seem to think I can be asked to harvest anything for 30cpu. Alot of them should really read that Guide to hiring a ranger 
So to answer your question.
If it was not profitable to harvest I would redo my entire template and just do Janta/mokk missions from an improved Job Market and earn a million or more a day doing that. I would keep some scouting skills and just regain the Ranger should they be needed. I mean, why waste the huge amount of money to stay a master ranger if there is nothing to hunt?
DeamosInfinity
Sun Sep 05, 2004 2:26 pm
#3
Quote- I mean, why waste the huge amount of money to stay a master ranger if there is nothing to hunt? /end Quote
Oops, that should have read
I mean, why waste a huge amount of Skillpoints to stay a Master Ranger if there was nothing to hunt?
Owen-Lars
Sun Sep 05, 2004 3:09 pm
#4
If i wanted to be the best hunting machine i wouldnt be master ranger hehe. Yes i do very well with the skills i have but thats only through perfecting my techniques and lots of experience. I KNOW i could be a better pro resource collecter if i used other templates, ive tested multiple templates out and found some prety fun hunting templates that have minimal involvement in ranger and even scout.
Im master ranger because i love the idea of rangers, i love the community, i have fun being the rarish, underpowered, aparent waste of skillpoints player and someone other less informed players find interest in learning about rangers and what we do, how we work and what our limitations are. Its definatly the lifestyle and i think that will never change, even if costs change.
I will always harvest, i will always hunt. Its the frequency of whichi hunt what will change for me. The amount or resource specific hunts i embark on would decline considerably if the profit was not there, not because there wouldnt be any motivation anymore, just because the profit that makes resource hunting aworthwhile act compared to other much more 'funner' hunting alternatives (such as taking down one of each animal on a planet hunts i occassionally do)would not be there anymore, making the alternatives much more desirable.
All in all resource hunting is only attractive to me because of the profit atm, i dont have much fun out of it, i get enjoyment out of the pay packet but nothing to help me have 'fun'. If there was no profit, i would still hunt but it would be the planet wide hunts and hunting trips i do instead of targeting specific resources. I would still harvest of course, but i wouldnt be resource hunting as i understand it.
Washell
Sun Sep 05, 2004 6:40 pm
#5
Resource hunting is repetive and with small yield creatures it quickly becomes boring for me. Scale on the left: doing fun/my ownthings in swg, Scale on the right: boredom/repetivity/reward.
Given the fact I haven't taken a hunting contract in about 2 months you can guess which side the scale tips to.
As for the crafters holding out on high cpu. It's usually one of their own that starts outbidding a "colleague" on the trade forums. We get the blame naturally but they're the price raisers and they will break their own clever syndicate forming schemes because there's always one who believes in a free market economy 
.
.
Fodder650
Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:01 pm
#7
Same as pax. And as well as what my alt needs as master tailor/master AS
Kinnison75
Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:29 pm
#8
If it wasn't profitable... why would I be a ranger except to use lame camo, and tracking skills. not to metion near useless camps.
Kinnison75
Sun Sep 05, 2004 8:30 pm
#9
If it wasn't profitable... why would I be a ranger except to use lame camo, tracking skills and near useless camps?
Tho I have rarely gone out buffed, and fail to see why so many do. Simplify man, simpplify
Tho I have rarely gone out buffed, and fail to see why so many do. Simplify man, simpplify
Phenix1050
Sun Sep 05, 2004 9:18 pm
#10
Kinnison75 wrote:
If it wasn't profitable... why would I be a ranger except to use lame camo, tracking skills and near useless camps?
Tho I have rarely gone out buffed, and fail to see why so many do. Simplify man, simpplify
Ummm...because it's FUN?!?
I don't know why so many people are obsessed with credits in an imaginary world. I sell for no more than 20cpu and usually only to Fred or to others whom I know in-game. There is no need for me to stockpile millions of credits to buy rare l33t loot. I have a medium house that's becoming a small hunting lodge and a small house that's gonna be my hunting/fishing school (complete with lectures on armor, camping, buffs, and weapon selection).
If harvesting only could get me 10cpu, I'd still hunt. It's the way I like playing the game, and it's a great community.
Kinnison, if you really want to be profitable, let me give you bit of advice. Go for a complete combat stacker and get master scout at most. That's the most profitable way to hunt. Buy some veghash, a super droid and just go to town on creatures. Ranger isn't the most profitable way to hunt, only the truest way to hunt. most Rangers are hunting the way that the devs forsaw it- with a single combat proffession and therefore an element of danger.
In the end, the people I think are smartest play for fun, not for money. Honestly, unless you're selling the credits on Ebay, credits are nice only up to a certain point. So long as I can buy the things I need to hunt, I don't need much money. As long as I can pay my entertainers and buy my weapons, I'm perfectly okay not having much money.
lammergeier
Sun Sep 05, 2004 9:36 pm
#11
'profit' can be misleading.
on Live servers, and on TC, I don't hunt resources for creds.
I do contract work, and take 'credit' for my yields.
once I hit the endgame of SWG, I found that my time playing was better spent assisting other players. whether that means tracking falumpasets for a jedi intiate to finish a trial, or harvesting talus avian for docs, or chasing other resources for armorsmiths, chefs, and other crafters, my harvests are directed by the players I deal with on a regular basis.
sure, I could push to combat and grind money missions, or faction points, or whatnot... but the players I spend time with need resources to 'play' their professions as crafters.
as such, I've garnered millions of various resources for other players, and I offer them to those in need without charge. in exchange, I live on a small, but comfortable, bank balance... and I can't remember the last time I paid for buffs, foods, armor, or anything else.
the 'profit' I look for is in the relationships that develop between players that pool their time and resources for greater reward.
on Live servers, and on TC, I don't hunt resources for creds.
I do contract work, and take 'credit' for my yields.
once I hit the endgame of SWG, I found that my time playing was better spent assisting other players. whether that means tracking falumpasets for a jedi intiate to finish a trial, or harvesting talus avian for docs, or chasing other resources for armorsmiths, chefs, and other crafters, my harvests are directed by the players I deal with on a regular basis.
sure, I could push to combat and grind money missions, or faction points, or whatnot... but the players I spend time with need resources to 'play' their professions as crafters.
as such, I've garnered millions of various resources for other players, and I offer them to those in need without charge. in exchange, I live on a small, but comfortable, bank balance... and I can't remember the last time I paid for buffs, foods, armor, or anything else.
the 'profit' I look for is in the relationships that develop between players that pool their time and resources for greater reward.
Nemo0
Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:31 pm
#12
Usually I don't do anything for credits. If the credits come, fine. If not, I'm still enjoying myself. And it is only a game. Often I end up with stacks of resources anyway. Usually those go to my friends. The only thing I have been spending money on recently is the Death Watch Bunker. It gets expensive going in there (armor, PSGs, brandy, doctor buffs, entertainer buffs, etc). But it's a ton of fun.
Darl
Sun Sep 05, 2004 10:44 pm
#13
Yes, I would. The credits are nice, but that isn't the end all of this experience.
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