Reagents buying macro

[SeTiDaYeTi]

Reagents buying macros: should they entitle you to a ban?

There's this guy who's been recalling from Nujel'm bank to various reg shops, buying regs, then recalling back to stock what he's bought into the bank box. On and on again for more than SIX hours. Let's face reality: NO WAY that's an attended macro. I've also talked to the guy, who defended with "I've got those kegs to produce, how am I supposed to get the reagents?".

Now, that's resource gathering, is it not? Unattanded, is it not? Breaking, to some degree, the game's economy, is it not? Should he be reported? Should he be banned? Should I get a clarification on what's allowed and what's not as to "resource gathering macros?".

Signed, a sincerely pissed player.

[Jay]

Not illegal. AFK spending money to get something is not the same as AFK spending nothing to get something. For further information please feel free to read any of the two threads linked below.

10 Pages worth of discussion started Nov. 2011
4 Pages worth of discussion started Nov. 2012

[SeTiDaYeTi]

Derrek has a point there, but I do still LARGELY agree with the OP's mining parallel.

[Aeris]

I don't recall gather regs, but I must say, I'm sure glad that more than 50% of the time I go to buy regs at the NPCs, there are significantly more than 20 of each reg on each vendor

Let's face it, on these lower population shards (OSI had thousands of players at any given time, we have hundreds), the vendors would be perpetually resetting their counters, and only holding 20 of each reg.

No way in hell can you argue that reagents would be cheaper or more available (or both) if afk reg buying was banned. Quite the contrary in fact. People would just be spending all of their allotted playing time each week acquiring reagents at NPC vendors instead of out in the lands hunting, pvping, etc. because it would increase reagent value by so much, that it would be more worthwhile to spend your time scrooging your gold and camping NPC vendors, instead of going out and farming gold and paying player vendor prices.

Right now, it's more worthwhile to go farm gold, and pay an extra gold piece for each reagent at player vendors, than spend that potential farming time bouncing around in NPC mage shops... and I think that's how it should be.

[azheman]

I don't recall gather regs, but I must say, I'm sure glad that more than 50% of the time I go to buy regs at the NPCs, there are significantly more than 20 of each reg on each vendor

Let's face it, on these lower population shards (OSI had thousands of players at any given time, we have hundreds), the vendors would be perpetually resetting their counters, and only holding 20 of each reg.

No way in hell can you argue that reagents would be cheaper or more available (or both) if afk reg buying was banned. Quite the contrary in fact. People would just be spending all of their allotted playing time each week acquiring reagents at NPC vendors instead of out in the lands hunting, pvping, etc. because it would increase reagent value by so much, that it would be more worthwhile to spend your time scrooging your gold and camping NPC vendors, instead of going out and farming gold and paying player vendor prices.

Right now, it's more worthwhile to go farm gold, and pay an extra gold piece for each reagent at player vendors, than spend that potential farming time bouncing around in NPC mage shops... and I think that's how it should be.

This.

[Missy B]

i already told you its for kegs, mostly purple kegs. if you need some regs, just ask. if you need help making a macro, ask.

[SeTiDaYeTi]

i already told you its for kegs, mostly purple kegs. if you need some regs, just ask. if you need help making a macro, ask.

Don't get me wrong, this goes beyond our little discussion. I'm moving towards the big picture. Somebody quoted the bible/derrick saying "Ye who macro reg gathering, you're allowed to do it dude" and, although I don't share derrick's point of view on the matter, he's reasoning is sound and I'm OK with that.

As to efficiency in gold farming/reg gathering: I agree, assuming you have a somewhat "established wealth" in your bank account. It poses, though, a (not that large to be honest) problem to new players (with me among them) who cannot afford those 4k gps for 1k roots "deals" at player vendors. I'm just done with GM magery and that drained all my liquidity. Buying regs in bulk is not an option: I *have* to recall to the various NPC shops and, yes, I do prefer when they have just 20 of each reg than NONE. With 50 regs per type I can go gold farm. With 0, well, not really.

[Missy B]

We all understand what its like to be new and strapped for cash. we all had to deal with it when we started. Remember that if you need regs, just ask. Deals can always be worked out. Dont just assume that 4gp per 3pg reg is the going rate. For some player vendors it is, but not everyone charges those rates. Just remember that everything is negotiable.

[nubnub]

Those AFK macroers are usually carting around a bit of gold and/or a pile of regs and a runebook of shops... It is always fun to purp pot town kill them and loot them. A minor speed bump in their operation but it is entertaining.

[Pac]

Ah, Gucci. Excellent mark. I AFK killed him a few days back in Moonglow.

[Capitalist]

We all understand what its like to be new and strapped for cash. we all had to deal with it when we started. Remember that if you need regs, just ask. Deals can always be worked out. Dont just assume that 4gp per 3pg reg is the going rate. For some player vendors it is, but not everyone charges those rates. Just remember that everything is negotiable.

^ Gives me good prices even though I'm rich. Missy B for admin.

[Malaikat]

I don't recall gather regs, but I must say, I'm sure glad that more than 50% of the time I go to buy regs at the NPCs, there are significantly more than 20 of each reg on each vendor

Let's face it, on these lower population shards (OSI had thousands of players at any given time, we have hundreds), the vendors would be perpetually resetting their counters, and only holding 20 of each reg.

No way in hell can you argue that reagents would be cheaper or more available (or both) if afk reg buying was banned. Quite the contrary in fact. People would just be spending all of their allotted playing time each week acquiring reagents at NPC vendors instead of out in the lands hunting, pvping, etc. because it would increase reagent value by so much, that it would be more worthwhile to spend your time scrooging your gold and camping NPC vendors, instead of going out and farming gold and paying player vendor prices.

Right now, it's more worthwhile to go farm gold, and pay an extra gold piece for each reagent at player vendors, than spend that potential farming time bouncing around in NPC mage shops... and I think that's how it should be.

This.

Here's a logical idea: Don't implement "accuracies" that will break the damn shard. First off, a handful of things that are currently in were rapidly patched out...because they broke gameplay. Second, this isn't 1999, and the aggregate population on every free shard is less than that of a single OSI shard in this game's prime. They very obviously needed an economic model that would...and should...be vastly different than what UOSA demands.

Here's the gamers experiences expressed by way of mathematics. Convenience = Fun > Novelty

[Bixby Legbone]

I've heard rumor of vendors selling up to 999 each reg. Yet I've never seen it. They appear to be very fickle creatures. The most I've ever given to any vendor is around 2k gold for it's regs. I do think there is something missing here.

[Aeris]

Bix, getting up to 999 of each reagent on a just a single NPC would require it to be bought out every 50 minutes for 109 hours in a row - just not going to ever happen here unless someone concentrates on doing it, and has quite a number of million gold in capital to get the job done.

Mal, was not suggesting how it is is the best way and shouldn't be changed, just that banning for it and leaving the current system in place would break the damn shard 100x worse than this reagent thing is breaking it right now. I don't think this reagent thing is breaking the shard that badly right now, but it does break it for some new players, specifically the type of new players who want to scream out of the starting gate as a mage, rather than building other chars first to build up to where they can afford a mage. Perhaps the population would indeed be higher, and we'd have more new players running mages, but in my opinion, it's part of the UOSA game to start out as a shitty 50 sword/50 tact deer hunter and work your way up from scratch. Bandaids are cheap, reagents are not. So, the longer you play the game, the more affordable reagents become to you, and then the better monsters you can farm, etc.

At first though, better gather that cotton and spin it into bolts.

[Capitalist]

I agree that reg buying and afk mining are exactly the same in concept.