When the Virtue vs. Vice system is implemented, it appears that there is a very strong likelihood that players who don't participate in that system but who currently rely on the existence of faction vendors for purchasing magery reagents, empty bottles, bulk wood and iron ore will need to use other means to acquire such supplies.
According to the "in-concept" thread about the Virtue vs. Vice system which Mesanna started in July (http://stratics.com/community/threads/in-concept-virtue-vs-vice.301505/), all existing faction vendors will be deleted when this new system is implemented.
The new system will include a small encampment "in the overworld" for each of the two sides in the system and that is where you will find the replacements for faction vendors.
There is no information in the thread regarding how many of each type of vendor will exist in these encampments. However, the thread does say that the encampments will be smaller than the existing faction strongholds, so it's not clear just how many vendors they could hold.
The thread also doesn't say whether the vendors will restock themselves over time at doubled amounts (the current method) with the same price, or if they'll always sell in quantities of 500 and the price will just keep increasing over time as the purchased quantity increases. Also, there's no way to determine at this point whether all purchases will draw from gold piles in your bankbox or if you will have to carry gold to make smaller purchases. (I'm assuming purchases of these types of supplies, as opposed to purchases of "gear," will be made using gold and not something else such as silver.)
The thread says that there will not be any kind of rankings in the new system, so it doesn't sound as if there will be anyone on each shard who will have any ability to affect the number of vendors selling things like reagents and bottles in each encampment. In other words, if there's only one vendor for each type of item, that's all there will ever be.
There is also no indication in the thread regarding whether the purchased items will land in your character's backpack in loose form or as commodity deeds.
There is also no information in the thread regarding whether or not there will be banking NPCs in the encampments.
It's also not clear what is meant by the term "in the overworld" as far as trying to figure out where the encampments are. Are they going to be in T2A or in Felucca? Will you only be able to walk to/from the encampments?
Another issue affecting the use of these new encampment vendors is that there will only be two sides in this new system. This means there is a strong possibility that folks who normally would not ally themselves with other folks on the shard could be thrown together on the same side in this system. As a result, I can imagine there will be a lot of shenanigans involving players who are forced to be on the same side attacking each other every chance they can do so without any serious repercussions. There will be a "traitor penalty" that will apply on the Virtue vs. Vice battle fields and in the encampments if you attack another character that is on the same side as you. This "traitor penalty" is described as a debuff that will have dire negative effects on skills and stats. However, it doesn't sound as if the debuff is guaranteed to kill the traitor that initiates an attack on another character that is on the same side. I seriously doubt there will be any kind of a guard zone in the encampments. So, if you plan to buy your supplies from the encampment vendors, the environment in which you do so has the potential to be a very hostile one and you could lose any gold (or silver?) you bring in to make purchases and, depending on how the purchased supplies are delivered to your backpack, could also easily lose your purchased items.
So, given all of the above, I'm wondering what other players are planning to do with respect to items they currently purchase from faction vendors (e.g., magery reagents, empty bottles, wood, and ore)? I've thrown together a poll to try to get an idea of how Stratics readers feel about this issue at the present time, given the information we've currently been provided. I've probably overlooked some possible reactions, so don't hesitate to add your own comments and thoughts below!
According to the "in-concept" thread about the Virtue vs. Vice system which Mesanna started in July (http://stratics.com/community/threads/in-concept-virtue-vs-vice.301505/), all existing faction vendors will be deleted when this new system is implemented.
The new system will include a small encampment "in the overworld" for each of the two sides in the system and that is where you will find the replacements for faction vendors.
There is no information in the thread regarding how many of each type of vendor will exist in these encampments. However, the thread does say that the encampments will be smaller than the existing faction strongholds, so it's not clear just how many vendors they could hold.
The thread also doesn't say whether the vendors will restock themselves over time at doubled amounts (the current method) with the same price, or if they'll always sell in quantities of 500 and the price will just keep increasing over time as the purchased quantity increases. Also, there's no way to determine at this point whether all purchases will draw from gold piles in your bankbox or if you will have to carry gold to make smaller purchases. (I'm assuming purchases of these types of supplies, as opposed to purchases of "gear," will be made using gold and not something else such as silver.)
The thread says that there will not be any kind of rankings in the new system, so it doesn't sound as if there will be anyone on each shard who will have any ability to affect the number of vendors selling things like reagents and bottles in each encampment. In other words, if there's only one vendor for each type of item, that's all there will ever be.
There is also no indication in the thread regarding whether the purchased items will land in your character's backpack in loose form or as commodity deeds.
There is also no information in the thread regarding whether or not there will be banking NPCs in the encampments.
It's also not clear what is meant by the term "in the overworld" as far as trying to figure out where the encampments are. Are they going to be in T2A or in Felucca? Will you only be able to walk to/from the encampments?
Another issue affecting the use of these new encampment vendors is that there will only be two sides in this new system. This means there is a strong possibility that folks who normally would not ally themselves with other folks on the shard could be thrown together on the same side in this system. As a result, I can imagine there will be a lot of shenanigans involving players who are forced to be on the same side attacking each other every chance they can do so without any serious repercussions. There will be a "traitor penalty" that will apply on the Virtue vs. Vice battle fields and in the encampments if you attack another character that is on the same side as you. This "traitor penalty" is described as a debuff that will have dire negative effects on skills and stats. However, it doesn't sound as if the debuff is guaranteed to kill the traitor that initiates an attack on another character that is on the same side. I seriously doubt there will be any kind of a guard zone in the encampments. So, if you plan to buy your supplies from the encampment vendors, the environment in which you do so has the potential to be a very hostile one and you could lose any gold (or silver?) you bring in to make purchases and, depending on how the purchased supplies are delivered to your backpack, could also easily lose your purchased items.
So, given all of the above, I'm wondering what other players are planning to do with respect to items they currently purchase from faction vendors (e.g., magery reagents, empty bottles, wood, and ore)? I've thrown together a poll to try to get an idea of how Stratics readers feel about this issue at the present time, given the information we've currently been provided. I've probably overlooked some possible reactions, so don't hesitate to add your own comments and thoughts below!
I don't think that I can ever run out.
