Please be courteous to staff in this thread. Thank you! As of 28 November, it's been confirmed by Undel that items will cycle in yearly during the week of Cyber Monday as well as in mid-May.
Nevertheless, I think the sheer quantity of items cycling in at once is still a problem, especially considering the timing of the November cycle (right before NotN!) and the fact that more items keep getting added to the cycling list; a problem that I still believe is best solved by a monthly schedule as outlined in this post.
This is a suggestion I've made before in other threads, but really it deserves its own, so here goes —
Currently, items cycle in the Gem Marketplace on a frustratingly unpredictable schedule. Very infrequently, a 'cycle event' will suddenly be announced, and for a few days to a little over a week, all cycled-out items (barring those linked to special events) will suddenly be returned to the Gem Marketplace, at once. After this they're gone again and, like the Silver Sylvan apparel during the last cycle event, other sets may also suddenly be cycled out.
Going by other players' reactions, this is not a particularly popular way of handling cycled items. Players are overwhelmed by these events: suddenly, everything's available for a relatively very short period of time, and it becomes a race to get whatever's finally available again (especially items that suddenly cycle out, and the ever-popular and very expensive Wildclaw scrolls) before they're locked in the vault again for a year or so. Unlike events that involve the Gem Marketplace, like Night of the Nocturne, Warrior's Way, and the Talk Like A Pirate Day mini-event, the cycle events are still rather unpredictable. As the amount of cycled-out items increases, they also become more and more overloaded with items over time, thus making it even more difficult for players to get everything they want.
Instead of this overloaded, overwhelming, everything-at-once yearly model, I therefore would like to propose an alternative method of handling Gem Marketplace item cycling: a month-based schedule, in which each cycling set and/or item is assigned a month during which it will cycle in, and thus be available in the Gem Marketplace. This does not need to be an entire month (and shouldn't, since much of this suggestion is about following the precedent set by preexisting event Gem MP items); it can be restricted to the first week of a month, or in the case of event items, restricted to the event's duration — but it mainly needs to be consistent.
An example schedule, borrowed from one of my original posts, could look like this — note that this is only an example of how such a schedule might look, and that the staff is better-equipped to predict what would be best for gem sales (plus, there's plenty of room for thematic fits)"
I would also like to request that when previously non-cycling items get cycled out of the Gem Marketplace, sufficient advance notice — at least two months — be given, and that those cycling items' place in the schedule also is communicated immediately. This way, players are aware at all times of when items cycle in and out, and can appropriately plan their gem purchases and spending. Rather than the FOMOfest system that is in place right now (spmething several players have described as "predatory" in the past), the system of Gem Marketplace items cycling out of standard stock and back in at specified times remains in place, but is shifted to a fixed monthly schedule, which should hopefully ensure a far more comfortable and fair experience for players looking to purchase any of these items.
TL;DR: Current Gem MP cycling system of everything cycling in at once for ~1 week a year is scrapped, and replaced by a schedule that assigns each cycling item/set a month. Every month will have a set time period (sometimes this is a preexisting event) during which specific cycled items are available in the Gem MP. The schedule is available to view at all times and communicated clearly: users know at all times when to expect which items in the Gem MP.
Thank you for reading! If you have any other ideas to add to this suggestion, please do post them below. I've seen a lot of unhappiness from the community over the years about the way cycled items are handled; I hope this suggestion provides an adequate solution to most of the currently-existing problems.
Nevertheless, I think the sheer quantity of items cycling in at once is still a problem, especially considering the timing of the November cycle (right before NotN!) and the fact that more items keep getting added to the cycling list; a problem that I still believe is best solved by a monthly schedule as outlined in this post.
This is a suggestion I've made before in other threads, but really it deserves its own, so here goes —
Currently, items cycle in the Gem Marketplace on a frustratingly unpredictable schedule. Very infrequently, a 'cycle event' will suddenly be announced, and for a few days to a little over a week, all cycled-out items (barring those linked to special events) will suddenly be returned to the Gem Marketplace, at once. After this they're gone again and, like the Silver Sylvan apparel during the last cycle event, other sets may also suddenly be cycled out.
Going by other players' reactions, this is not a particularly popular way of handling cycled items. Players are overwhelmed by these events: suddenly, everything's available for a relatively very short period of time, and it becomes a race to get whatever's finally available again (especially items that suddenly cycle out, and the ever-popular and very expensive Wildclaw scrolls) before they're locked in the vault again for a year or so. Unlike events that involve the Gem Marketplace, like Night of the Nocturne, Warrior's Way, and the Talk Like A Pirate Day mini-event, the cycle events are still rather unpredictable. As the amount of cycled-out items increases, they also become more and more overloaded with items over time, thus making it even more difficult for players to get everything they want.
Instead of this overloaded, overwhelming, everything-at-once yearly model, I therefore would like to propose an alternative method of handling Gem Marketplace item cycling: a month-based schedule, in which each cycling set and/or item is assigned a month during which it will cycle in, and thus be available in the Gem Marketplace. This does not need to be an entire month (and shouldn't, since much of this suggestion is about following the precedent set by preexisting event Gem MP items); it can be restricted to the first week of a month, or in the case of event items, restricted to the event's duration — but it mainly needs to be consistent.
An example schedule, borrowed from one of my original posts, could look like this — note that this is only an example of how such a schedule might look, and that the staff is better-equipped to predict what would be best for gem sales (plus, there's plenty of room for thematic fits)"
Quote:
January
- Wildclaw scrolls
- Jester apparel set
- Silver Sylvan apparel set
- Mock Firebird
- Dunhoof Ambassador
- Goldslab apparel set
- Bard apparel sets
- Ornate Platinum Armor apparel set
- Rainy Day vista
- Pastel Lace apparel set
- Desert Dynasty apparel set
- Firefly vista
- Warrior's Way items (event)
- Seaspray apparel (event)
- Fox Rat familiars
- Talonclasp Pendant apparel
- Night Sky Silk apparel
- Night of the Nocturne items (event)
I would also like to request that when previously non-cycling items get cycled out of the Gem Marketplace, sufficient advance notice — at least two months — be given, and that those cycling items' place in the schedule also is communicated immediately. This way, players are aware at all times of when items cycle in and out, and can appropriately plan their gem purchases and spending. Rather than the FOMOfest system that is in place right now (spmething several players have described as "predatory" in the past), the system of Gem Marketplace items cycling out of standard stock and back in at specified times remains in place, but is shifted to a fixed monthly schedule, which should hopefully ensure a far more comfortable and fair experience for players looking to purchase any of these items.
TL;DR: Current Gem MP cycling system of everything cycling in at once for ~1 week a year is scrapped, and replaced by a schedule that assigns each cycling item/set a month. Every month will have a set time period (sometimes this is a preexisting event) during which specific cycled items are available in the Gem MP. The schedule is available to view at all times and communicated clearly: users know at all times when to expect which items in the Gem MP.
Thank you for reading! If you have any other ideas to add to this suggestion, please do post them below. I've seen a lot of unhappiness from the community over the years about the way cycled items are handled; I hope this suggestion provides an adequate solution to most of the currently-existing problems.
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