1. Varium - Credit Conversion Rate and Separate Varium - Credit Costs
   
   
   
   • At the current time, using 2 samples from enhancements and class change 1 varium is approximately 50 credits. Using this conversion an item costing 35000 credits should also cost an alternate price of 700 varium. This is not true, using the Charbinger Sword and Elite Charbinger Sword as examples, the Charbinger Sword costs 35000 credits and the Elite Charbinger Sword with a full credit to varium conversion costs 1195 varium. Almost a 500 varium difference ($2.50) and the same item with different art. I remember items having unique credit or varium costs as of Infernal Android, why stop? The Robot is a great invention with a great price, it's main cons being negative to balance as it did obtain a nerf. The current credit and varium costs are not recommended. With a proportional credit and varium cost, regardless of payment, varium buyers are still required to play 1, 2, 6, 12 hours to obtain the credits required to buy premium items. I myself do not play AQW, but their payment options are considerable. AdventureCoin or gold. Time or money, instead of money and time or time (memberships exist, however). The main problem is the pricing of free items versus premium items. The Elite Charbinger Sword for example has a credit cost of 12000, while the Charbinger Sword has a credit cost of 35000. This is approximately 3 times the credit cost, but still a credit cost. A free player needs to only play triple of the time spent by a varium buyer to obtain said item... yet the varium buyer is still required to play 1/3 of the free player's time and pay $1->10 as well. Lets separate varium costs from credit costs and discover the right equilibrium that suits all of us. If you have spent a $50 package in time < 1 week then quote this statement in your post. $50 may be the price of a game in a big-box store and a game from a store may yield months of gameplay, so, personally- why would updating my equipment in 1 game session (an update that involves new items) cost $50? I suggest that the impact per unit of varium is increased. The conversion rate could be 100 credits equals approximately 1 varium boosted from 1 varium equals approximately 50 credits. Also, this may bring potential to implement a converter from varium to credits, converting money to time while money is still equal to time. The inflation in the value of varium does not affect the prices of credit items.
     
     So, using the new conversion rate, an item costing 1000 varium or 50000 credits now costs either 500 varium or 50000 credits (same stats and same enhancements).
     
     tl;dr- 1 varium = 100 credits, items cost either varium or credits not both, the value of varium is doubled, free items have the same status as premium items
   
   
   
2. New Enhancements
   
   
   
   • The sum of all enhancements for an item is equal to the cost of the item. The following is the mathematic equation...
     
     Let x = number of enhancements
     
     Let y = cost of item
     
     Let z = cost of 1 enhancement
     
     y = (x)z + (x-1)z + (x-2)z... (x-x)z
     
     For example:
     
     x = 10 enhancements
     
     y = 1000 varium
     
     z = ?
     
     1000 = (10)z + (10-1)z + (10-2)z + (10-3)z + (10-4)z + (10-5)z + (10-6)z + (10-7)z + (10-8)z + (10-9)z + (10-10)z
     
     1000/z = 10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1+0
     
     1000/z = 55
     
     z = 1000/55
     
     z = 18.18181818
     
     I was infuriated I thought I was going in depth with math functions when all I was doing was factoring and sigma logic.
     
     Enhancement 1: 18 varium "alternating round down, then round up, down, up, etc"
     Enhancement 2: 37 varium
     Enhancement 3: 54 varium
     Enhancement 4: 73 varium
     Enhancement 5: 90 varium
     Enhancement 6: 110 varium
     Enhancement 7: 127 varium
     Enhancement 8: 146 varium
     Enhancement 9: 163 varium
     Enhancement 10: 182 varium
     
     Enh. 1 + Enh. 2 + Enh. 3 + Enh. 4 + Enh. 5 + Enh. 6 + Enh. 7 + Enh. 8 + Enh. 9 + Enh. 10 = 1000 varium = y
     
     Voici, voila,
     
     I made a simple program logic for Rabble/Titan to quickly determine the enhancements cost on each item and saving the result on a document. No need to tell me 'thank you':
     
     #this is generic logic so you may need to format it to Flash since I believe that is what is used#
     
     *new program*
     
     string varfile = input [enter the name of the item and currency (credit or varium)]
     varfile = file.open [write, varfile + ".doc/txt"]
     integer var1 = input [enter the number of enhancements] + 1
     integer var2 = input [enter the cost of the item]
     integer var3 = 0
     
     repeat q range [1, var1] #q being the counter in the loop#
     `var3 += q
     
     var4 = var3 / (var1 - 1)
     
     varswitch = true
     
     repeat q range [1, var1]
     `if varswitch == true
     ``varfile.write [string (round.down [q * var4]) + /n] #/n being new line#
     ``varswitch = false
     `elseif varswitch == false
     ``varfile.write [string (round.up [q * var4]) + /n]
     ``varswitch = true
     `else
     ``show [what on earth... ERROR 42]
     ``exit
     
     varfile.close []
     
     end
     
     tl;dr- enhancements do not cost more than the item itself, cheaper prices for all
     
     < Message edited by Depressed Void -- 10/5/2012 11:47:31 >

quote:

2. The problem with your system is that it greatly increases as level goes up. Down at level 1 you get weapons as low as 25 varium and only 4 slots so you probably wouldn't even have to pay more than 10 varium to fully enhance it. But at lvl 35 when you buy a promo you'll be paying 2k varium for the entire thing. Let's consider the Bunnyzooka which cost 2200 varium to buy or the Eggzookas which also cost 2200. This pricing may be fine now but what happens when we start reaching the levels where permanent items cost 2200 and the promos go for as much as 3000+?