Suggestions

So as we've probably seen, the economy of the site is going down fast cause let's face it, there are simply too many dragons on the market and too few players to buy them. While opening up registrations permanently (or even for some time) would help the issue, it wouldn't completely remove it.

I think many are going to disagree with me, but what WOULD really help, would be an actual aging system for the dragons.

Say, you have dragons you're breeding and they've produced three or four batches of kids already. That is, realistically, at least 10 new dragons in the market. Count that for every single breeding pair you have and we soon have the origin of the economy problem. Which brings me to the first of my suggestions.

Aging System Update:

My suggestion being, giving dragons a certain age fork in which they can breed, after which they'd either

1. Start producing less and less eggs
2. Be unable to breed entirely.

Of course taking in different cooldown periods, these age forks would have to be shorter/longer depending on the species.

This would force players to recycle their dragons, breed new ones to be used as active breeding dragons, and also actually buy dragons off the market more often. It would also, hopefully, make people a bit more thoughtful about what they breed and reduce the 'mutt population' of dragons that have no visible value at all. Again, reducing the population in the AH and actually making dragons worth something.

What this would inevitably cause, however, is that all those perfect dragons youve worked hard to earn and perfect are going to get old at some point. Having them as deadweight in your lair is no option and I doubt many would like to exalt them, so it brings me to my second point :'D

"Elderly/Tribal Court" / Dragon Display:

We already have the bestiary, so why not have a gallery where you could retire your old dragons you dont want to exalt, preserving them as mementos of what you've accomplished on the site? Lorewise it could function as a 'tribal court' of sorts for your lair, composed of the wise, elder dragons of your clan who've seen a lot in their life but are not as fit of functioning in the active duties as the younger ones. What could be displayed maybe would be the birthdate and retirement date of the dragon, as well as the size/colors/genes/lineage. Just as they are displayed in the dragon profile and exaltation pages.

Speaking of exaltation.

I know there are many suggestions considering it, but I am emphasizing the fact that exaltation also needs some perk-ups to make it an actual valid option for people. The bonuses are nice, but they're still not enough to make exalting a very fetching idea.

How about adding a point system which you could then cash in for things you couldnt obtain anywhere else? If the exalted dragons are sent to the elemental deities to serve them, maybe make a spiritual advocate kind of npc (pearlcatcher or imperial, perhaps? i dunno.) to keep track of your points on how many dragons you have exalted. Alone it would probably encourage mutt-breeding, but combined with the aging process it could very well work. Another, less maintenance option would be to make gems a permanent payment for exalting. One per dragon, for example. Personally though, I think a point system would be more effective in the long run. Maybe the exalt items could even be flight-locked? It could also raise treasure circulation between members as the items would start popping up in the AH.

Hope you guys won't hate me for this, but I feel like the site really needs a little updating in this manner, otherwise the economy is inevitably going completely down at some point.

For anyone who reads this, thank you!

-Zhoid

No support on the aging system, this game was made so that you could leave if RL required it and come back without losing your progress.. Aging dragons don't contrubite to that..

As for the exaltation.. I don't think adding gems would help.. It would only devaluate gems.. Having exalt-only items that can be exchanged for exalt points is something interesting however, that I happened to have suggested on a different thread about exalt tweaks as well..

I was think in the direction of, in addition to treasure, getting exalt points (depending on the level of the dragon) that could be exchanged at an exalt shop. This shop would then include some items that can only be obtained in that shop (and thus through exalting).. Giving exalting more perks than just treasure...


As for whether exalting is viable or fetching. I make my FR-living of exalting, and I have no trouble doing so.. so IMO payouts aren't too low and IMO the economy also isn't broken.. In a market like this, whether new players come in or not,there will always be a point at which it is saturated.. Changing things only disturbs the equilibrium for a bit, but eventually it'll go back to its saturated form..

Anyhows; for the overall idea, no support, sorry

@Gaia

Actually I saw a rather interesting idea of a hiatus option being suggested in a thred elsewhere on this forum, which would allow people to lock their accounts for a set period of time in case they need to take a breather or leave for, say, a vacation. Combined these ideas could function better than alone, which I forgot to add into the initial post.

And even if it's no support, some changes need to be done or else the site is going to eventually die.

@Zhoid; yeah I saw that suggestion, but what if you break a leg, end up in the hospital and the last thing in your mind is FR until, the moment's there that it's already too late.. A temporary lock or vacation mode is only useful if you leave is planned and you have a return date in mind.. But more things than just holidays or planned leaves can interfere with FR game play.. So that won't be foolproof..

And I agree things need to change, but those things are mainly content (more genes/familiars/games, the adventure mode, new coliseum levels and all that other jazz that is in the making) and not the way most things work now,because they work just fine. Change should be for the better of the site, improvement on the long run. Not short run fixes that'll do nothing but just shake the existing equilibria for a bit.. And those changes shouldn't deteriorate what the site initially stands for; being playable for a casual player, that can leave without losing its progress..

@Gaia

Well, I agree not everything can be planned ahead. But I'm still going to stand by the suggestion for now :/ I know it's a radical one and im not saying it should be necessarily implemented fully or right off the bat, but since we have the right to speak our minds on the site, I decided to do so.

@Zhoid; Oh I didn't mean for you to take it down whatsoever.. Im sorry if I sounded harsh or anything.. English isn't my native language, so I might express things differently than I mean them.. Same as you, I was simply expressing my opinion and I just happen to disagree! But disagreeing is fine right?! =3 Besides, conversation and discussion might even sparkle more suggestions and improvements ^^

@Gaia

Oh no no no, I didn't mean you offended me or anything! |D When I posted the thing I knew people would inevitably disagree and I accept that. And hey, english ain't my native language either so no worries :'D

And it's good that things raise some talking. The worst thing that could happen is that no one would say anything about any of the problems that appear.

There was another topic suggesting a similar thing as your aging system. I quite happen to like my custom dragon. If the aging system was added then I can no longer use my custom for breedings. (Total agreement with DragonSage)