Economic question

[Aeronor]

Hi, I'm new to this game and considering whether to deposit and start really playing it. I hear much of the game doesn't open up until you have some PED, but I'd like some info before spending any money.

I hear some people refer to deposits as investing (meaning you'll eventually make more than you deposit), while other people say you'll only make a certain percent or so from what you put in (~80% from hunting, for example).

I guess my question is, can a well-informed casual player who makes some small regular deposits ($10-$15 a month or so, average MMO subscription) expect to make a profit in the game? And if so, what are the chances of having fun while doing this?

 

[xXx Goose xXx]

I would say you should depo about $10 to start, but just dont expect to make a profit.

If you do profit then you are doing well but dont have it set in your mind that you will. People say that you should only put money into EU that you can afford to lose.

But you are correct in the way that the game opens up more when you deposit and is much more fun.

So my adivice would be, put $10 into the game and see how it goes

 

[Gluepot]

Hi, I'm new to this game and considering whether to deposit and start really playing it. I hear much of the game doesn't open up until you have some PED, but I'd like some info before spending any money.

I hear some people refer to deposits as investing (meaning you'll eventually make more than you deposit), while other people say you'll only make a certain percent or so from what you put in (~80% from hunting, for example).

I guess my question is, can a well-informed casual player who makes some small regular deposits ($10-$15 a month or so, average MMO subscription) expect to make a profit in the game? And if so, what are the chances of having fun while doing this?

You can make profit with any investment amount, but obviously the smaller the investment the more tedious it is to earn profit.
And it depends on how much fun you have doing certain things. If you enjoy healing people for example, it is very easy to turn a profit while having fun.

 

[aridash]

if you want to have some fun, deposit or rather spend some money, see how it goes.

if you expect to "profit" from a game, walk away, you'll only be disappointed unless you spend lots of time at it (be better to get real job then deposit some of your earnings).

 

[bigdeal]

I guess my question is, can a well-informed casual player who makes some small regular deposits ($10-$15 a month or so, average MMO subscription) expect to make a profit in the game? And if so, what are the chances of having fun while doing this?

Not a healthy mindsetting.
U better reverse your question.
like;

................expect some fun in the game? and if so, what are the chances of having profit while doing this

This mindsetting prevent from disapointing playing this game.

And as long that u aren't aiming to high, u can play for 10 or 15$/month.
If u set your expectations to high, the more change of losing big buck's (or for very few lucky ones, win big buck's).

greetings,

bigdeal

 

[Hurrikane]

It should be fun to use $10-15 a month for the first few months. Maybe give your avatar a birthday now and then and get a $50-100 upgrade to your gear; also welcome, hope you have a nice time here

Hurrikane

 

[Legion]

If you play smart and learn the game then yes you can make a profit.

 

[Coop_]

At that level of investment, don't expect to profit off MA from the mechanics of the game. The way you can profit is if you find ways to enhance the game experience of your fellow avatars in ways they are willing to pay for.

Healing is one example. Sweating is another. Trading works as well. But all of these take time and work, and some degree of knowlege of the game. As you deposit $10-20 a month, you can play the game enough to get a better sense of how it works and what ppl might be willing to pay you to do. Then you can start using some of your monthly deposit as investment, while you use the rest to continue having fun and learning.

Best of luck to you, I hope you decide to become a part of our world

 

[flyboysolo]

more fun usually equals less money, but think of it this way. if you are in the market for a good mmorpg. This is the best one to get involved with. You could just deposit 15 bucks a month like you would for that world of credit card charging game made by the bad winter weather company, but here you get that chance of playing it smart and gaining money and being able to bring that money back. there is no better time than now to start doing that also, with the banks being talked about and the new engine.

 

[Zacariaz]

When it comes to the question of money, this game is rather complicated. I usually use the slotmachine analogy. Most slotmachines have a fixed return percentage, but you never know when the big proce will arrive. It's may take minutes, it may take years.

The consequense is that if you wan't to go anywhere in this game, it will either take a lot of work, thinking or luck. This is also what makes this game what it is. It's is a challence to even brake even, and most people just keep pumping in money. Then again, appart from being more expensive, it's not that different from other MMO's for which you pay maybe $10 per month that you know you'll never see again, while in EU, there is the possibility that you'll see them again.

In anycase I believe that all should deposit 10-20 bucks per month and don't complain if they loose then.

I my self mind it hard to play the game the way I want to, for less than $100 per month, which is way too much and this is the real downside to EU.

 

[Karmic]

I would say don't expect to regardless of your deposits, however, with a little knowledge and the will to stick to a plan I'm sure you can. I know it's possible to go for years without depositing at all.

 

[Sparhawke]

Some fairly good answers here, especially Z' with his slot machine analogy, if you think that a slot machine you put in £10 in a weekend and very rarely get £50 back how many times will you have to put your money back just to get the 50?

It may be a sweet night but you certainly are not in profit, and the extreme Jackpots/ATHs are very unlikely to happen because everything here is geared towards you hemmorhaging money, maybe slowly or quickly depending on your style but it will eventually happen, and if they do you will end up piling it right back in the game or helping someone else to by producing goods for them to consume lol

What you have to do is figure out some way to profit on the mark-up of items in such a way to have people coming to you so you can profit in order to play, a few people have done so in spectacular fashion, but for every 1 that does this, 100 more are explaining to the bank manager why they cannot pay the mortgage lol

Someone mentioned earlier that this is the best MMORPG in the world, it certainly is not...it is simply the only one with real money involved so makes things a little interesting, if a company brought out a game tomorrow with a RCE attached and they fixed all the fuck-ups Mindark have made and refuse to sort out everyone would go to them without any kind of loyalty at all lol

The best thing for you to do would be to stop buying yourself a 10 pack of donuts everyday, give up a beer or two and putting it into the game for a while, and then figuring it is gone...you will more than likely never see it again so you might as well use it to run around with a gun or mining probes for a month and maybe get a longterm investment or two at the same time...

How many times have I heard people saying "I wish I had invested in a modfap when they first came out"?

I dont like to brag* but I have put in £50 and still have around £40 with investments and trading interests and a modest part share in a business which brings in a few ped though I still have yet to collect, all you can hope for is to slow the bleeding

 

[Sweat]

I'm sure you could survive a month on $20 hunting, but with eco weaps/guns on high markup mobs that you can take down. (the items they drop are worth more than their trade terminal value, people need them, and will pay more) And if you throw in some trading/ sweating now and then, you can make that "investment" last longer. Also, skills gained in this game can be sold, which means even if you have no "real money" on you, your avatar is still worth something (though might not be very much..).
I've been here for a month, sweating/trading, now a full time trader. I find it fun to trade, and so I haven't deposited yet. I do go on soc swunts (sweating a mob, then killing it, to get the most out of it) where I end up almost breaking even because of the sweat I get. Any good loots/ skills are bonus
So, like everyone else said, deposit 10$, and have some fun. If not, it's going to take you a long time and lots of dedication to actually be able to go hunting with "enough" ammo

 

[Draggger]

and join a society to be wiht people doing the same thing when your 10 dollar investment runs out before payday you can always talk a couple memers of society into going sweating it builds up your evade and give teh the sweat you need to sell later on

 

[Rave]

Don't deposit with the mindset of making a profit. You should concentrate more on just breaking even. Learn the ins and the outs, read all the important posts in the forums, and figure things out. If you play to win, you'll probably lose. Play to stick to the middle ground and you can probably do that.

But depending on how much time and money you put into the game will definitely decide how much of the game will open up to you.

I'm very far below breaking even, but I've enjoyed every minute I've played and have experienced much of the game over the years.

How much are you willing to lose?

 

[Aeronor]

I appreciate all those responses! I'm certainly no stranger to throwing money at games, never expecting to get anything back.

I guess the difficulty I'm having is that I don't really care about making money off of the game, but I would like to feel successful in-game. It seems like that would be difficult when you're struggling to break even. That sounds more stressful than fun! The community is really nice from what I've seen so far though.

This game reminds me of Eve Online (which I love) in that it's complicated and has a realistic player-driven economy. But in Eve, the more you play, the richer you get in the game. In this game, it sounds like the more you play, the poorer you get?

 

[Draggger]

I appreciate all those responses! I'm certainly no stranger to throwing money at games, never expecting to get anything back.

I guess the difficulty I'm having is that I don't really care about making money off of the game, but I would like to feel successful in-game. It seems like that would be difficult when you're struggling to break even. That sounds more stressful than fun! The community is really nice from what I've seen so far though.

This game reminds me of Eve Online (which I love) in that it's complicated and has a realistic player-driven economy. But in Eve, the more you play, the richer you get in the game. In this game, it sounds like the more you play, the poorer you get?

sucess is rated in skills earned from the work you do once you deposit hunting mining crafting

it all addes to your skill levels to creat the success it will not happen over night it is a long slow road with new skill always just ahead

 

[timmmers]

investing in your ava is true, but you have to assume that some day you will wish to sithdraw should you think of EU as a moneymaking excercise, and should therefore think of the costs ad fees doig that.

If you whacked 50 dollars into EU and geared up...500 ped sould get you decent low level armour like shogun and a decent weapon but limited by your skills...after that hunt assuming all the rest was spent on FAP, decay on weapon and armour etc...you'd maybe have 80% value in loot ...plus ay good trading markup and skills gained (which also have value).

This wouldn't be worth cashing out. Over time, even the skills will be worth extracting ad selling ...and the total value would make fees involved seem much easier to bear.

I would struggle on 10 dollars a month personally, but I know people who have never deposited a thing, it's all about how you spend time and how much fun you want to have. And LUCK.

A subscription game however...that is dead money. You don't see many people selling up to pay for major RL expenses like we have in EU from time to time.

I think that MA got one thing really right here, as a n00b you are limited by your skills what you can use well, and skills are fastest to gain as a new guy...so coming in chucking peds around really makes little sense until you have experience and time in the game. Gives you time to make sure before you waste money and decide it's not your cup of tea.

Good question and some great answers to it here.

t

 

[deanie]

This game reminds me of Eve Online (which I love) in that it's complicated and has a realistic player-driven economy. But in Eve, the more you play, the richer you get in the game. In this game, it sounds like the more you play, the poorer you get?

Go EVE, I have always thought if you could land on planets in EVE you would be in Entropia...

 

[Mukke]

I guess the difficulty I'm having is that I don't really care about making money off of the game, but I would like to feel successful in-game. It seems like that would be difficult when you're struggling to break even. That sounds more stressful than fun!

What makes you feel succesful in other mmorpgs? Making (virtual) money? I think we can all agree that making virtual money in other games is pretty straight forward, so not really a challenge is it?

Yes, breaking even is difficult, if not impossible for most people, but that's the challenge, that's the fun of it. Let's rephrase it: Making the best of the money is the challenge. With a budget of $10-$15 per month, being able to play (and enjoy) your time, enhancing your avatar, growing your skills and not going bust after one hour is a good and rewarding challenge.

The community is really nice from what I've seen so far though.

Apart from the random rotten apple, I think you will find that most people in Entropia are generally quite nice, yes, and also very helpful. Also, for what it's worth, you will find that the average age of people in Entropia is higher than other games.

This game reminds me of Eve Online (which I love) in that it's complicated and has a realistic player-driven economy. But in Eve, the more you play, the richer you get in the game. In this game, it sounds like the more you play, the poorer you get?

A realistic player-driven economy where everyone gets richer all the time?

Your observation is generally correct, but this is exactly what interests me compared to all other games. Money has no value in other games, hence it becomes a fruitless adventure to try to earn it.

...

Overall, my recommendation is, forget everything you have heard here or elsewhere about making money. Seriously. The sooner you can forget that notion the better, and the more likely you are to enjoy Entropia.

Yes I know it's more complex than that, but for the vast majority this is the true. Maybe revisit the thought again after having played 6 months on your budget so you understand it first hand, but for now, please just forget about it. You will be better off for it.

 

[Brooklyn]

It may not be for you...

I guess the difficulty I'm having is that I don't really care about making money off of the game, but I would like to feel successful in-game. It seems like that would be difficult when you're struggling to break even. That sounds more stressful than fun! The community is really nice from what I've seen so far though.

This game reminds me of Eve Online (which I love) in that it's complicated and has a realistic player-driven economy. But in Eve, the more you play, the richer you get in the game. In this game, it sounds like the more you play, the poorer you get?

If you enjoyed the guaranteed progressive reward system of that other game…then this may not be the environment for you and in the end you might be unhappy here. Look at this environment fresh with out referring to any other mindset and you stand of chance of having wonderful and successful time here…but since you are already buying into the mindset of whiner loserville…I doubt this is for you…

If you are not playing for free or in other words in balance with your in game income and expenses...ammo...bombs...repairs and rent... with a slight profit...then you are not surviving in this environment or losing or underachieving... choose your own words... but remember thousands of others are successful... and enjoying and prospering in this adventure in alternative living...so why aren't some?... They don't get it... but you can and hopefully will...i

Deposits should be considered loans to your avatar for special needs...such as amps... or upgrades in equipment, investments in real estate or starting a business skilling events...etc... that should be paid back with interest...

For example Friday I had some extra cash so I DP and invested in an 105 ore amp which matches my skills and equipment….I went to work up in the north east corner of Endura where high mark-up ores can be found…not only globaled twice but paid for the amp and the ores and walked away with a 50+ped profit or 22% ROI…which will now go to buying a e-matter amp to look for growth crystals, sweetstuff, to match the enormous build up fruit and dung I have…which will I hope will pay for another amp etc…making the same investment pay over and over again…

Just some suggestions...good luck...