Howdy folks,

The monthly supporter packages are one of the best ways we have to ensure long term financial health, and I'm grateful to everyone who supports MagicDuel. But a fixed bundle doesn't fit every player. A crafter burns through Forge Fire, a collector wants gold, and a fighter may care most about credits for tokens. Many of us end up with rewards we never touch while running short of the ones we need/want. The people who may be on the fence about being subscribers could be pushed over the edge to commit to monthly subscriptions.

So I'd like to propose a simple change: give each supporter tier a monthly point budget, and let players spend it on the rewards they actually want.

How it would work:

Each tier grants Supporter Points every month, and every reward has a fixed point cost. Here are example values to start the discussion:

Reward	Point cost
1 Gold	15
1 Silver	1
1 Regular Forge Fire	15
1 Magical Forge Fire	40
10 Credits	10
Other current package items	Valued at their usual share of a package

A supporter whose tier grants 500 points could take all gold, mix Magical Forge Fire with silver, or split it however they like. The total value matches what the tier gives now. Only the mix changes.

Why it helps

• Supporters get rewards they'll actually use, which makes supporting feel more worthwhile.

• Crafters, fighters and collectors are all served equally, without separate packages for each.

• Prices stay balanced, because every item has one clear value and the total budget is fixed.

• It's easy to tune. If something is too strong or too weak, only its point cost needs to change.

Possible safeguards

• A monthly cap on high-impact items like Magical Forge Fire, so the economy isn't flooded.

• Unspent points could roll over for one month, so nobody loses value over a busy week.

• The current fixed packages could stay as "quick pick" presets for players who don't want to choose.

I'd love to hear what other supporters think the right values would be, and whether there are items you'd want added to the list.

With respect and a well-stoked forge,
Seigheart
Master Craftsman of the Maker's Circle

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Seigheart

I don't like the idea of someone being able to put large quantities of points into a specific thing, e.g. buying large quantities of gold. I like how it doesn't necessarily encourage whaling by giving a selection.

I already have a concern that forge is Pay-To-Win where those who have lots of cash can just keep making OP items.

That's a fair concern, and I agree the forge already leans toward whoever can spend the most. A per-item monthly cap, like the one I suggested for Magical Forge Fire, would stop anyone from pouring their whole budget into gold. But maybe the bigger problem is that gold just piles up. Perhaps we need more gold sinks to pull it back out of the economy.

Fish worries me too. Now that fish can be sold for copper at the Fish Market, I foresee a lot of market turmoil when the population returns. Some ideas for draining coin back out:

• Armour repairs: let players pay a machine to repair armour, priced so crafters can still undercut it. That way coin leaves the game and crafters keep their work.

• Public machines: charge silver to operate them, and gold for higher-tier jobs like cutting diamonds.

• Pickles: raise the price at the pickle vendor and make it climb the more someone buys in a month. Heavy users pay more, and casual players hardly notice.

• Auction tax: We love this one

Sinks like these would keep supporter gold from flooding the market, whichever way the packages end up.

i am still not convinced its achievable to get silver by non paying members, and they should be able to get this silver, if a tax is to be put on auction or gear. Letting people pick their poison in game credits is totally not a good ideea...in a similar sense it is totally not a good ideea to leave the shop open to buy anything at a different price.

On the fish thing, all the fish I caught would have given a little bit less than 2GC, I believe.

It was a LOT of fish.

5 minutes ago, Muratus del Mur said:

i am still not convinced its achievable to get silver by non paying members

Auction solves that IMO. Any trading people do can let them grow their gold and silver.

1 minute ago, Muratus del Mur said:

i am still not convinced its achievable to get silver by non paying members, and they should be able to get this silver, if a tax is to be put on auction or gear. Letting people pick their poison in game credits is totally not a good ideea...in a similar sense it is totally not a good ideea to leave the shop open to buy anything at a different price.

I hear you, Mur, and I agree non-paying players need a real way to earn silver. Right now it takes a lot of time and effort for them to get very far without gold and silver. We already have many ways for creative people to earn it, through crafting, trading, events and services for other players, and those paths could be strengthened. Starting a new account without any shop purchases... It's rough. My line of thought is beyond just gold and silver/forge fires. It's more concern with other players trying to catch up.

What I'm really after is this: if gold and silver weren't so uncommon, people would be more willing to spend them instead of hoarding them. Coin that keeps moving between players, both paying and non-paying, makes for a healthier market than coin sitting in a few vaults. More movement in the market is good for everyone.

3 minutes ago, Chewett said:

Auction solves that IMO. Any trading people do can let them grow their gold and silver.

Not really though. Auctions require time invested in the game to be sold off (labour or days on crits). We aren't getting new players sticking around long enough to do that. I'm trying create a path forward for new players to catch up with us old farts.