Why the ability to trade with other players is not just a generous gift by DE...

[DreisterDino]

...but also a clever way of keeping players invested into the game which basically have everything.

 

I had this thought some time ago and maybe its nothing new for some of you.

but if you read the forum posts, sometimes it looks like some people think DE just added this feature because they are so nice even if "they wouldnt need to allow trading"

Its correct that they dont "need to allow trading", but they benefit of this feature aswell, not only the players. Why?

 

- it keeps players that basically have everything invested in the game (there are many "vets" i know that primarly do relic runs because the gameplay is a little different, but also because you might always get something you might need (plat). Would you still play fissure missions if you have every Prime Weapon and Frame already?

- it reduces frustation if you farm for something. Every Prime part has a certain value for you even if you have it already. Imagine you couldnt trade Prime parts - opening relics would feel like you would only be drawing blanks all the time at some point and probably would be a huge disappointment 90% of the time spent

- it makes players get hyped up for unvaults of certain frames and weapons they already have. There wouldnt be any reason for them to get hyped for something like that if trading wouldnt be a thing.

- basically allowing trading adds value to items players can get in several ways in the game (Relics, Sorties, certain openworld ressources) that otherwise wouldnt have any value at all. Adding value to those items makes people play the game more and keeps a healthy playerbase active which is needed for any game, especially for Free-to-Play games.

- allowing to trade with other players also adds value to the currency (plat) itself. Because you can use the plat in several ways (buy Mods, Rivens, ressources, Prime parts or simply anything you dont want to farm for there is a bigger incentive to buy plat. Imagine you would be limited to use it on stuff you can get in the market, plat would be much less important for the players.

- it is a marketing tool. F2P-Games can get negative reviews pretty fast if something is locked behind a premium currency that players feel should be free. In Warframe, the most basic stuff is locked with the premium currency (Warframe- and WeaponSlots). But is their a negative backlash because of this? No. Because you "can get everything for free if you trade". When there is a Youtube-Video of someone trying the game out and mentions that you have to pay to get slots, there is always someone from this community to mention that in the comments. The game kinda gets immune to "pay to win" or similiar accusations.

 

That are the most important aspects i can think of. Yes, it is nice that we can trade basically everything besides most non-prime weapons and frames in the game, but its not only a "generous gift" by DE, i am pretty sure they are aware of everything i said here and know the positive impact trading has on their game.

 

PS: With all this being said, i know that there are negative aspects of trading.
 

Spoiler

 

After reading this you might think i am a grofit-player. but i dont like excessive hoarding of PrimeParts/Plat. There is this one "plat-youtuber" for example that is doing nothing good for the community with everything he promotes. If greed takes over, we ruin a good system for ourselves. I dont understand why you have to buy 50 or 100's of prime-sets from the market when something gets vaulted just to sell it really expensive to players that werent able to get it in time.

I sold all my Saryn Sets i farmed already although i know that i could sell those for a lot more in the future. And i was making sure that i was selling the Sets to players that dont have her yet, because if i am the cheapest seller i wanna know that someone gets Saryn who still needs her, not someone who just wants to make profit with buying/reselling.

 

 

[(PSN)OriginalEquinox]

It's a simple business strategy really, players buy plat to buy stuff from other players more than they do to buy cosmetics and such.

[(PSN)robotwars7]

1 hour ago, DreisterDino said:

Would you still play fissure missions if you have every Prime Weapon and Frame already?

I do. XP isn't bad, and at MR25 you can have a LOT of Traces stocked up, and it's wise to stock up ready for the next Prime so that you only have to worry about relics and not traces. being able to radiant a dozen relics off the bat means a good chance of getting those rare parts faster, which can give you an edge in trading (or just give you something to lord over your friends) 

that said, i don't really trade that often myself, but I have plenty experience in not having enough traces at the worst times. nothing more infuriating than having tons of rare relics and no traces.

 

[DreisterDino]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb (PS4)robotwars7:

I do. XP isn't bad, and at MR25 you can have a LOT of Traces stocked up, and it's wise to stock up ready for the next Prime so that you only have to worry about relics and not traces. being able to radiant a dozen relics off the bat means a good chance of getting those rare parts faster, which can give you an edge in trading (or just give you something to lord over your friends)

Well, i meant "would you still play fissure missions if you have every Prime already and cant trade" ofc because thats what this topic is about.

So your given reason of making them radiant faster to get better chances at trading (or even gifting) doesnt really work here^^

Besides that, you are right with XP, but most Fissure Missions still give less XP then Hydron/ESO even when the booster is at ~50%.

When you can use everything you get there on the market AND lvl stuff its fine ofc.

[Sloan441]

2 hours ago, DreisterDino said:

Would you still play fissure missions if you have every Prime Weapon and Frame already?

Yeah, I would. And, yeah, I do. 

Once you're done farming up a PA there's another one a few months away to prepare for. I don't run them nonstop and only run certain kinds, but there's traces to be farmed, relics to be farmed 'for later' and so on. Large numbers of relics are necessary both for actual prime part construction and to sell for ducats. Also, you constantly need traces, especially on the eve of a new PA. 

I'm still missing a Chroma part, even though I don't really care about Chroma particularly. I should have enough relics for that last part, but you don't know so you keep farming that particular relic. Also, I need the traces to open those relics since the one in question is, of course, a rare drop. Even if it weren't I'd need traces for the next PA (less than two months away...) and I have a large trace pool to fill. 

So I will run fissure missions even though I don't really trade much with other players. Having and not needing is better than needing and not having.

[Zeclem]

the ability to trade is not a "generous gift". its what has kept their income source alive, so they arent exactly doing it out of generosity. Can we please stop praising such a basic thing that is supposed to be there? 

[Oreades]

And? 

I'm kinda waiting for the punchline or was this just a late epiphany? 

[DreisterDino]

vor 9 Minuten schrieb Zeclem:

the ability to trade is not a "generous gift". its what has kept their income source alive, so they arent exactly doing it out of generosity. Can we please stop praising such a basic thing that is supposed to be there? 

Are you talking to me?

And if you are, did you read more then the headline? 😉

[Volinus7]

Plat is WF trade chat's limiting factor anyway, basically the trading is just a buffer (aka lottery with extra steps). 

[DerGreif2]

It's a win win situation and makes the community feeling stronger than in other games and also makes clans more interesting. A relatively new guy had only two parts for rhino p and got the last two parts from the clan. Also that would not be possible without trading. And it's not a easy thing to implement and not normal for games at all. It's a special point that makes the game more interesting in a number of ways.

 

And no it's also good that DE also benefits from this.

Edited November 5, 2018 by DerGreif2

[Zeclem]

1 hour ago, DreisterDino said:

Are you talking to me?

And if you are, did you read more then the headline? 😉

yes, and i did. and it was nothing more than a waste of my time. trading has to exist in this game for it to survive. its not "generosity". its not "a smart addition". its a very basic idea/staple that has existed in multiplayer games for generations and needed for this game to survive. so no, im not gonna praise a very simple idea that is supposed to be there. 

[MagPrime]

If trading wasn't an option, yes, I would still play Fissure missions. 

As stated before, the xp is good and it's a good idea to keep stocked up on ghost sperm for the next round of Primes but also because they're fun missions that give progressive bonuses for going longer.

Due to DE's policy of punishing people for unknowingly trading with plat scammers, I refuse to partake in a large portion of trading, restricting it to clan, friends and family, and only for items. 

[SenorClipClop]

4 hours ago, DreisterDino said:

sometimes it looks like some people think DE just added this feature because they are so nice even if "they wouldnt need to allow trading"

Its correct that they dont "need to allow trading", but they benefit of this feature aswell, not only the players. Why?

Well good job for puzzling this out, but... you didn't need to. Trading has been a core feature of multiplayer games for decades (longer if you count real-world games like those based on trading cards). It's a staple way that games allow players to interact with one another, especially in games in which randomness allows for unique experiences for each player. Sure there are benefits to the company for allowing trading, but I doubt any of those reasons are why DE put the feature into their game. Warframe has trading simply because players of video games have come to expect p2p trading in online multiplayer games, period.

Edited November 5, 2018 by SenorClipClop

[Hypernaut1]

27 minutes ago, MagPrime said:

If trading wasn't an option, yes, I would still play Fissure missions. 

As stated before, the xp is good and it's a good idea to keep stocked up on ghost sperm for the next round of Primes but also because they're fun missions that give progressive bonuses for going longer.

Due to DE's policy of punishing people for unknowingly trading with plat scammers, I refuse to partake in a large portion of trading, restricting it to clan, friends and family, and only for items. 

How do you just casually drop "ghost sperm" and then walk away? Am I out of the loop here or something?

[Hypernaut1]

Did you guys know that this entire game isn't just a generous gift from DE, but also a clever way to make money for themselves off us!

Edited November 5, 2018 by Hypernaut1

[SenariousNex]

It's a genius marketing strategy that puts immense value on player's time. For example you can purchase most things like warframes, weapons, resources and credits with plat of the market, but they are priced incredibly so that if you want a vet has, you will have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars making it impossible to just pay to win. I remember investing about 30 bucks for plat when I started years ago, I was able to buy Nekros and Dual Vipers, Syandana and that's about it. Now at this stage in the game I can get those things, faster than I can earn the 30 bucks in real life, making buying most things to be a redundant waste of money. I don't regret my initial purchase.

[MagPrime]

42 minutes ago, Hypernaut1 said:

How do you just casually drop "ghost sperm" and then walk away? Am I out of the loop here or something?

Does soaking your magical cabbage in god jizz work better?

 

[(PSN)WyleECoyote]

Slightly off topic but along the same lines... I know this has definitely been brought up before, but please please please DE add an auction house where players can post items for sale that other players can browse.  Trade chat hurts

[DreisterDino]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb Zeclem:

yes, and i did. and it was nothing more than a waste of my time. trading has to exist in this game for it to survive. its not "generosity". its not "a smart addition". its a very basic idea/staple that has existed in multiplayer games for generations and needed for this game to survive. so no, im not gonna praise a very simple idea that is supposed to be there. 

Well then...i didnt mean to "praise" this system, id rather wanted to explain why this system exists from a marketing perspective.

You seemed annoyed by ridiculous praising of certain aspects of the game or the Devs themselves...i am too sometimes 😉

While i like the Game and think DE does a lot of things right, i think some of the praisings get ridiculous.

And yes, i have read "DE is so nice an noble in allowing us to trade with each other although they a) dont benefit of it or b)even lose out on money" more then once in this forum 😉

And maybe just one person reads this and thinks about it^^ and if not, i at least have something written down i can link the next time i read it 😄

 

 

 

vor 30 Minuten schrieb (PS4)WyleECoyote:

Slightly off topic but along the same lines... I know this has definitely been brought up before, but please please please DE add an auction house where players can post items for sale that other players can browse.  Trade chat hurts

Can you plz just use any of the 1848732 other threads about that topic to talk about that?

Edited November 5, 2018 by DreisterDino

[_Eclips3_]

6 hours ago, DreisterDino said:

...but also a clever way of keeping players invested into the game which basically have everything.

 

I had this thought some time ago and maybe its nothing new for some of you.

but if you read the forum posts, sometimes it looks like some people think DE just added this feature because they are so nice even if "they wouldnt need to allow trading"

Its correct that they dont "need to allow trading", but they benefit of this feature aswell, not only the players. Why?

 

- it keeps players that basically have everything invested in the game (there are many "vets" i know that primarly do relic runs because the gameplay is a little different, but also because you might always get something you might need (plat). Would you still play fissure missions if you have every Prime Weapon and Frame already?

- it reduces frustation if you farm for something. Every Prime part has a certain value for you even if you have it already. Imagine you couldnt trade Prime parts - opening relics would feel like you would only be drawing blanks all the time at some point and probably would be a huge disappointment 90% of the time spent

- it makes players get hyped up for unvaults of certain frames and weapons they already have. There wouldnt be any reason for them to get hyped for something like that if trading wouldnt be a thing.

- basically allowing trading adds value to items players can get in several ways in the game (Relics, Sorties, certain openworld ressources) that otherwise wouldnt have any value at all. Adding value to those items makes people play the game more and keeps a healthy playerbase active which is needed for any game, especially for Free-to-Play games.

- allowing to trade with other players also adds value to the currency (plat) itself. Because you can use the plat in several ways (buy Mods, Rivens, ressources, Prime parts or simply anything you dont want to farm for there is a bigger incentive to buy plat. Imagine you would be limited to use it on stuff you can get in the market, plat would be much less important for the players.

- it is a marketing tool. F2P-Games can get negative reviews pretty fast if something is locked behind a premium currency that players feel should be free. In Warframe, the most basic stuff is locked with the premium currency (Warframe- and WeaponSlots). But is their a negative backlash because of this? No. Because you "can get everything for free if you trade". When there is a Youtube-Video of someone trying the game out and mentions that you have to pay to get slots, there is always someone from this community to mention that in the comments. The game kinda gets immune to "pay to win" or similiar accusations.

 

That are the most important aspects i can think of. Yes, it is nice that we can trade basically everything besides most non-prime weapons and frames in the game, but its not only a "generous gift" by DE, i am pretty sure they are aware of everything i said here and know the positive impact trading has on their game.

 

PS: With all this being said, i know that there are negative aspects of trading.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

After reading this you might think i am a grofit-player. but i dont like excessive hoarding of PrimeParts/Plat. There is this one "plat-youtuber" for example that is doing nothing good for the community with everything he promotes. If greed takes over, we ruin a good system for ourselves. I dont understand why you have to buy 50 or 100's of prime-sets from the market when something gets vaulted just to sell it really expensive to players that werent able to get it in time.

I sold all my Saryn Sets i farmed already although i know that i could sell those for a lot more in the future. And i was making sure that i was selling the Sets to players that dont have her yet, because if i am the cheapest seller i wanna know that someone gets Saryn who still needs her, not someone who just wants to make profit with buying/reselling.

 

 

Because DE wont get money for unobtainable things that most will usually pay for.

[wrenchedup]

Getting to the point that higher level players are at doesn’t mean you have to buy everything,it depends on how much you wanna play I’ve gotten vaulted radiant parts from others relic choice and as for trade chat most of the time on pc you will find people like us that will actually trade part for part or riven for riven, if we didn’t have trade we would Have to buy everything, plus usually what I do is throw in a free arcane or something on purchase, but I do agree that 12k plat for a Rubico Riven is just crazy!!