Trion - Please do not ignore this post

[ironcladtrash]

I requested more information on this because this is something that has been around since release. Here is what I've got from them:

A copy/paste error was discovered that had been hanging out since release. A number of high quality shields had common and uncommon stats associated with them. Many of these did not even have appropriate secondary effects to account for such a mismatch. As such, we assigned all shields of all rarities the stats appropriate to their tier. Shields of the same tier and design share the same stats with variation in secondary effects to improve their value rather than as a detriment to their value.

You may not understand it yet but who ever is giving you those answers is flat out lying!!!
Here is how shields used to work to help you understand. It's a little a complex but any who plays the game can follow it.

http://forums.defiance.com/showthrea...69#post1107869

Here is the current discussion.

http://forums.defiance.com/forumdisp...ral-Discussion

[BJWyler]

Okay let's see if I got this.

Carbagagoolian cores I don't give a crap about so we'll table those.

Arkforge is an endgame currency?

It is not intended for use by low and other ego levels to keep weapons current with the wielders ego?

Then why is it for sale in the bit store?

I must be missing something.

Yeah I was going to mention this. If Arkforge is on sale in the bit store, there is absolutely no reason for it not to be included in the Daily and Weekly reward boxes.

[SxB_xPUDDYTATx]

i am having a huge problem with this new saying "originally meant to..." because your talking about something that was meant to be 12 MONTHS AGO!!! in that 12 months, the community has adapted to your "typo" and the "5" shields created a value of their own. going back and changing that now is ridiculous. the only thing i am gathering from the answers is more of the story:

a longer, more fullfilling chase because grenades were meant to working as intended

[Lenny732]

OH BOY! Risk assessment? I hope this means ammo boxes in the bit store. Would sure come in handy!

[TrickDempsey]

Ark hunters,

Careful-eyed observers may have noticed that we have a currency in the game called "arkforge." These observers will have noticed that arkforge begins as a VERY rare good and increases in frequency over time. High rating characters get ahead of the curve in big events and as such earn more score. This means they cross the threshold at which even open-world events generate arkforge. These same players can enter into advanced and expert instances and complete them in sufficient time to earn a higher arkforge-per-minute output than anywhere else in the game.

While arkforge certainly is useful throughout the game, for keeping prized weapons at the same rating as the ark hunter, it becomes absolutely vital to high-rating characters for its use both for bringing up low level gear, but also for its ability to allow for a reroll of mastery bonuses. Arkforge will continue to provide additional benefits as we continue adding features to the game.

Given that it is tied to achievement both in performance and progress, we are not going to be giving it out for free on login. Players who wish to get a leg up on progression either early or late in the game, may purchase arkforge in the Defiance Store, much like they may purchase boosts to XP, loot, and reputation. (These also being means to increase the rate of progress in the game.)

The daily and weekly ark hunter rewards point directly to two activities: acquiring lockboxes and calling down arkbreaks. The scrip, salvage, and keys within are the most basic currencies of the game world, and the ark spike batteries keep the arkbreak system going.

Advanced currencies have no place in the daily and weekly ark hunter rewards at this time.

[SxB_xPUDDYTATx]

so, arkforge is a very valuable, very vital commodity that will not be given away for free, is available in extremely limited quantities in game, but can be purchased in bulk in the bit store.

does that sound like the definition of pay to win?

[UnknownHinson]

Ark hunters,

...Players who wish to get a leg up on progression either early or late in the game, may purchase arkforge in the Defiance Store, much like they may purchase boosts to XP, loot, and reputation. (These also being means to increase the rate of progress in the game.)
....

[polarity]

Players who wish to get a leg up on progression either early or late in the game, may purchase arkforge in the Defiance Store

I'll be taking option B.

Spend my money elsewhere.

You do not respect me, therefore I do not respect you, and I refuse to contribute towards your salary.

[TrickDempsey]

Let's discuss shields, shall we?

Any time you make a change to base stats on items, you are always balancing the time and resource investment of existing established players with those of new and learning players. (Someone who is a top-level gear vendor has a very different set of priorities than someone who is still making progress through the story and pursuits.)

The gear vendor sees statistical anomalies as an opportunity to capitalize. "OP" weapons and gear become the target of desire and exploitation. They seek out people who do not know the value of what they have, they acquire it, and then sell the goods to another player at an increased price. This is the game of "buy low; sell high" and it is a wonderful and exciting game for those who play it.

Conversely, players making progress through the game have a very different experience. They are seeking higher rarities and higher numbers. The chase for them hinges on the opening of every lockbox an the defeat of every boss. The instant an orange item appears in their rewards box, they reach the climax of their experience. The moment when they open their inventory and compare that gear to their previous gear is the most pivotal moment in their daily or weekly gaming experience.

When that piece of gear, that legendary gear that they've slaved for, is inferior to the green or blue they already have, they have a negative experience. They have a negative experience that quite commonly directly causes them to leave the game. When the shields were wrong, this experience happened every single day to quite a few players. It's a terrible gaming experience, and we're not going to encourage it to continue.

With the update to shields, to correct high rarity gear with low rarity stats, we only improved inventory items. We're not going to maintain a negative experience for most our players so that a select few may maintain a competitive advantage.

[BJWyler]

Ark hunters,

Careful-eyed observers may have noticed that we have a currency in the game called "arkforge." These observers will have noticed that arkforge begins as a VERY rare good and increases in frequency over time. High rating characters get ahead of the curve in big events and as such earn more score. This means they cross the threshold at which even open-world events generate arkforge. These same players can enter into advanced and expert instances and complete them in sufficient time to earn a higher arkforge-per-minute output than anywhere else in the game.

While arkforge certainly is useful throughout the game, for keeping prized weapons at the same rating as the ark hunter, it becomes absolutely vital to high-rating characters for its use both for bringing up low level gear, but also for its ability to allow for a reroll of mastery bonuses. Arkforge will continue to provide additional benefits as we continue adding features to the game.

Given that it is tied to achievement both in performance and progress, we are not going to be giving it out for free on login. Players who wish to get a leg up on progression either early or late in the game, may purchase arkforge in the Defiance Store, much like they may purchase boosts to XP, loot, and reputation. (These also being means to increase the rate of progress in the game.)

The daily and weekly ark hunter rewards point directly to two activities: acquiring lockboxes and calling down arkbreaks. The scrip, salvage, and keys within are the most basic currencies of the game world, and the ark spike batteries keep the arkbreak system going.

Advanced currencies have no place in the daily and weekly ark hunter rewards at this time.

So those of us who cannot or do not want to partake in the higher tier co-ops are essentially screwed. It's play the game with a challenge in order to stay relevant or not play at all.

I'm sorry, but if Arkforge is supposed to be a limited commodity, there is absolutely no reason for it to be in the bit store where the only limit on the quantities a player can obtain is the size of their wallet. I am forgiving of a lot of things, and have a very tight definition of pay to win, but that is the biggest bunch of bull I have ever heard in a mass market game released in the western market.