[MrSparkle001]

Originally Posted by socialist [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For the most part, there isn't any true P2W on TLPs. You can definitely buy a lot of convenience, though. What you can't generally buy is something better than what can be obtained through playing the game (with the exception of 40-slot 100% bags.) Most of it is cosmetics and some consumables that are worse than (and don't stack with) conventional buffs. It's just that having a clarity potion running 24/7 is way more convenient than having to go get KEI cast on you every two hours. And there are of course XP potions, but at the end of the day, XP is just XP. Everyone can level just fine without one.

But where the RMT really stands out is kronos. It has become the main currency of the game. You can buy them from players for plat so it's not as if you're locked out of the economy just because you don't buy kronos from Daybreak, but you will definitely be expected to use kronos to buy anything remotely expensive. Or at least abide by the fluctuations of the krono exchange rate. And since you can buy unlimited kronos from Daybreak, people willing to spend RL cash get to have all the tradeable stuff they want while those trying to play without RMT will find that the prices are prohibitively high because some are able to throw $100 at an item.

Like when Kunark launches on a server, the first many fungi tunics are all basically reserved for rich idiots willing to spend bizarre amounts just to have a fungi tunic early, so when it comes to high-demand items, a "legit" player is sidelined until all the sons of oligarchs have had theirs first. There will be things that a regular player can't buy until a good while into an expansion because things will be too expensive until the demand of the whales is met across the server. For instance, elemental bows start out costing obscene amounts when PoP launches, and then the price drops off a cliff the moment there are no more trust fund kids who need one. But this can take a few weeks.

You can play TLPs for free, however, by farming stuff and selling them for kronos and trading these in for game time. It's just that if you do this, on top of not buying any to supplement your in-game finances, you will have very little spending power in-game and would struggle to buy anything expensive unless you're a farming god.

So it's a kronos-based economy, not a plat-based economy?

I'm not willing to sink that kind of money into a 23 year old game lol.