Isildur speaks out on the state of PVP and the PotBS economy
Pirates of the Burning Sea patch 1.3
has been making more than a few waves since its inception. In a recent post to the PotBS community, Flying Lab designer Isildur discusses his views on the state of the economy. The basis is that Isildur, who mentions the economy as his baby, is not performing to specifications it was originally designed for. Players are making more than enough doubloons as traders, but PvPers are increasingly left behind.
As he states, "PvP is not sustainable without doing other non-PvP activities." The economy has fallen into the hands of the care-bear. That's not a bad thing, of course, since money is being made and doubloons are being generated. The problem lies in those warehouses so many folks in PotBS like to store things in. There are a lot of doubloons being generated into the hands of a few people and those coins aren't going anywhere. This leads to inflation which means PvPers, who don't necessarily make too much from PvP, are forced to partake in economic activities in order to stay afloat.
Isildur continues to explain that this may have something to do with PotBS only containing around one third of the economic package that was originally designed. This one third provides for a few ways to make money but only one way to get rid of it. The way to get rid of it is ship loss. If you spend all of your time crafting, trading, and the sort, you may never have to leave port. Since the money sitting in coffers isn't going anywhere, we are met not only with inflation but also depreciation. Depreciation sets in because that money that players are making isn't doing anything, making the value of the doubloon decline. Sounds like pirates need a stimulus package too!
That shot in the arm is coming in two changes. One is the Mark of Trade which is now acquired with Marks of Victory or traded for. This will allow PvP players some additional income. The second shot is, temporarily, PvP victories will bring a monetary reward equal to an NPC of the same level as your sinking foe. This sounds like more inflation, and Isildur admits that he's willing to accept that in the short term in order to get long term goals implemented. The problem has been around since PotBS released, but he promises that he has not given up on the in game economy, but is merely setting the stage for more changes to occur down the road. This news comes with numerous other 1.3 updates that are changing the course of the game slowly but surely.
