Buy Raffle Tickets in Market

[sbld]

I was reading through the Prizes in Market thread and I had an idea based off of it - to buy raffle tickets in the market. We would have to set a limit for how many tickets you could buy for each monthly raffle in order to ensure that all of the prizes didn't go to Platinum members who could generate 400 shards every raffle. The tickets could be 10-50 shards each. 

The biggest advantage here is that it rewards the most active players. Under the status quo, barely active members could just grab 3 eggs off the AP, dump them in a hatchery, and come back in 4 days time to get a raffle ticket, while much more active players work throughout the month to raise dragons, generating shards as they go. Depending on the price and limits, players can do exactly as they always do, except going to the market to buy tickets with their shards instead of going through the actions to register for a ticket.

Thoughts? Other benefits? Concerns? 

[Astreya]

But wouldn't that annoy people even more when they buy tickets and still don't win?

[HeatherMarie]

It's an interesting idea, but simply buying more tickets doesn't change the issue of there being so *few* Prizes available, or the fact that the vast majority of players still won't be able to get one. Honestly the only thing this would actually do is give more active players a large advantage while disadvantaging more casual players, without actually improving the Prize issue at all. The main Prize issue isn't *just* that they can only be obtained by raffles, it's also that such a tiny number are given out in each raffle. With that tiny number the majority of players aren't going to be getting one anytime in the next few years, and being able to gather more raffle tickets doesn't change that. It might change that a specific person wins, but not that more people do.

[sbld]

14 minutes ago, Astreya said:

But wouldn't that annoy people even more when they buy tickets and still don't win?

I'm not sure why it would annoy people more when they don't win. Sure, if I saved up and bought 50 tickets all at once, I would find it extremely frustrating if I didn't win, but this is only increasing the amount of tickets by maybe 3 or 5 at most. 

16 minutes ago, HeatherMarie said:

It's an interesting idea, but simply buying more tickets doesn't change the issue of there being so *few* Prizes available, or the fact that the vast majority of players still won't be able to get one. Honestly the only thing this would actually do is give more active players a large advantage while disadvantaging more casual players, without actually improving the Prize issue at all. The main Prize issue isn't *just* that they can only be obtained by raffles, it's also that such a tiny number are given out in each raffle. With that tiny number the majority of players aren't going to be getting one anytime in the next few years, and being able to gather more raffle tickets doesn't change that. It might change that a specific person wins, but not that more people do.

I understand that this doesn't increase the number of CB prizes, but if prizes go to more active users, those users are more likely to breed their prizes, producing more bred Prizes. Although it certainly doesn't solve the main issue, it does minimize the effects.

[HeatherMarie]

I've always been very against giving advantages to a subset of users simply because they are able to play more then some others. Partially because I personally don't want to feel like I'm getting rewarded for having no life while people who have actual real-life responsibilities are getting screwed over. In theory that's exactly what this suggestion would do, the more time you play the more raffle tickets you can get (to a point) and the better your chance of winning. In practice though I don't think this would really make much of a difference at all, especially if there were limits on how many tickets you could buy along with the already-low weekly shard limit. It might give more active users a slightly better chance at winning, but most people will still lose regardless of how many tickets they throw at the raffle. Then the debate would turn from 'too few Prizes are given out and they should be available a different way' to 'why are these people getting this gigantic advantage this isn't fair' etc etc. Right now, while the raffle isn't exactly great and there are way too few given out and etc etc, at least it's not biased. Anyone who enters has the exact same chance as everyone else.

 

The whole Prize issue is complicated enough, I really don't think it'd be a good idea to throw in special perks for more active players. Also, I do agree with @Astreya that most people would probably get annoyed if they spent tons of shards on 'extra chances at the raffle' and month after month they still didn't win. 

[Dracaena]

This is only a band-aid, much like the distraction of different raffle requirements that has been implemented.  The odds are still against you ever seeing a cb prize in this game's lifetime.

[tjekan]

That's not a good idea. Unless it went along with an increase in the number of prizes, it wouldn't increase anyone's chance of either getting a prize or getting the breed/color of prize they want. It'll just make everyone waste all their shards merely to keep up with the same tiny chance of winning one.

[Fuzzbucket]

Another no from me. I agree with tjekan, and also don't want one group of players disadvantaged. We need more out there, but this isn't the way.

[olympe]

Have to agree with the naysayers. Overall, even if an extra ticket costs only 10 shards and you buy 50 of those (since some months have 5 Sundays in them), your overall chances wouldn't improve all that much. Because there will be way too many players who'll always max out their tickets anyway. 

 

The fact of the matter is that, even with millions of tickets, the number of prizes given out doesn't increase at all.  

[RandomBreeder]

Seeing this makes me wonder if I ought to be more awestruck for being a first or second raffle winner, though bronze 😮

[StormWizard212]

1 hour ago, olympe said:

The fact of the matter is that, even with millions of tickets, the number of prizes given out doesn't increase at all.  

 

Yes, I think this is the issue. There might be a slight advantage, but I think the resulting problem would be people complaining that they can't save up for a CB Gold because they keep spending their tickets on raffle entries and never win. I think it would actually cause more frustration, to be honest. While there's frustration at the moment when people don't win, they don't have anything to regret. Choosing between gambling shards on raffle tickets with no certainty of winning, rather than waiting for the certainty of eventually be able to buy a CB Gold with those shards doesn't sound like fun to me and is bound to lead to frustration and resentment for those who invariably make the 'wrong' decision and end up regretting it. 

[DragonLady86]

With only 60 given out a month, tickets would make zero difference in the chances. and as for the "more active users would breed them more".  that is not necessarily true.  and even if bred every week there is no guarantee of an egg (ie: I went nearly two months without even getting an egg of ANY kind) Also we do NOT need more bred prizes, the stupid things are everywhere.  honestly, the higher their gen, the better they seem to breed. 

 

People just want a chance to make their own lineages, which is why we need more CB prizes.  No support at all for this suggestion.

[relaks]

2 hours ago, StormWizard212 said:

 

Yes, I think this is the issue. There might be a slight advantage, but I think the resulting problem would be people complaining that they can't save up for a CB Gold because they keep spending their tickets on raffle entries and never win. I think it would actually cause more frustration, to be honest. While there's frustration at the moment when people don't win, they don't have anything to regret. Choosing between gambling shards on raffle tickets with no certainty of winning, rather than waiting for the certainty of eventually be able to buy a CB Gold with those shards doesn't sound like fun to me and is bound to lead to frustration and resentment for those who invariably make the 'wrong' decision and end up regretting it. 

This exactly.

Sorry but I don't support this idea neither!

[The Dragoness]

As a Platinum member who is extremely active (as in several hours each day), I don't always meet the 100 shard limit each week. There are just some weeks that I do less breeding or catching. I do a lot of trading/gifting, so my slots are almost always full. That doesn't give me much room for saving up shards for raffle tickets.

 

I kind of understand wanting to give CB Prizes to players who invest their time and effort in the game rather than the ones who log in once a month, but the raffle requirements we've had so far have been relatively simple to allow everyone an equal chance at winning without changing their play style too much. If tickets were in the market, some of us (and yes even Platinum players) would have to significantly change our play styles to meet the quota each week. And what about the people who are saving up for pretty things, like CB Golds? I know I would be disappointed if I bought 40 tickets each month and never won, because that would also mean waiting longer for that CB Gold. I also agree with the above--so many people would max out on tickets that your chance would hardly increase, if at all. I would rather see more CB Prizes given out each month or CB Prizes in the Market than this.

Edited October 14, 2018 by The Dragoness

[angelicdragonpuppy]

It’s a neat idea (and honestly the weekly shard cap is so easy to hit that I really don’t think it favors more active folks), but like @HeatherMarie says, I think the far bigger issue is just how few Prizes are given out at all.

[osean]

I think it is a really cute idea in theory and goes along with the whole  prize concept.  I just see it causing more drama then it is worth at the moment. The only way something like this would work is if they drastically increased the amount of prizes going out each month. I do like the idea but I have always seen entering the raffle and winning as playing the lotto. 

Edited October 14, 2018 by osean
Grammar

[RandomBreeder]

And say, isn't that why the recent raffle update took place? Y'know, where we're supposed to meet unique requirements each month. Sure, this month's been a letdown, but peeps who rarely log in to grab 3 random eggs wouldn't be able to meet those requirements, would they? Though not a foolproof fix, I do agree that it's a step towards making things in favor of active players...

[olympe]

Really? By just making people raise 3 dragons, probably of a certain body type? Pretty much everyone should be able to meet that if they log in for more than an hour a month.

[osmarks]

No; this will fix absolutely nothing. It'll just result in players throwing shards away to slightly increase a ridiculously small chance.

[RandomBreeder]

Don't know, man, if I was someone that'd log in for the sake of it, I don't think I'd even be able to tell what that body type means, let alone grab three specific eggs from the biome. And then there's apparently the element stuff too. Besides, I only said it's a mere step towards the cause... and I still think it is. Certainly better than what the thread suggests or increasing the rewards in my opinion-- the former would only result in more problems as several users pointed out, and the latter would make the prizes lose their value...

[Aalbiel]

Sure, I'd like this! 

 

I'm one of those who think there is nothing to "fix" about the raffle because it ain't broken. But it would be nice to be able to purchase additional chances from the Market, especially if you don't buy much from the Market in the first place.

[Ember_Silverly]

If the complaint is that our chances of winning are already low, this does nothing to help increase our chances of winning. I'm not an expert on statistics or anything, but I actually see this as a way to decrease most people's chances of winning, especially those saving up for the higher priced dragons in the market. And it would definitely hurt newer players who don't have the opportunity to earn as many shards as platinum players. 

[osmarks]

↑ (though probably most players have  no issue with the shard cap)

 

It'll just result in a situation where people need to throw shards away just to keep up with everyone else, with nobody actually gaining from it.

 

For those claiming that prizes are good because they give everyone a fair/equal chance to get a rare thing (I disagree with this) this also undermines that.

[Soulsborne]

I also don't think this idea would fix the problem for most of the community which is that there are not enough prizes given out each month.

 

(Plus, I'd never use my shards on something this uncertain when I could use them to get pretty shinies like gold and silver after some time - gambling 4k shards away without winning ISN'T really satisfying, using them to by 1 gold or e. g. many aeons IS)

[purplehaze]

Agreed! I for one would never use my shards for a very uncertain chance of increasing my chance of winning the raffle. That is the equivalent of tossing them to the wind. I'll save mine to buy CB Golds (and Prizes if they ever become available). 

 

Without an increase in the number of Prizes given out, this suggestion just makes the whole raffle less fair. Right now everyone theoretically has the same minuscule chance of winning each month. Paying shards for extra tickets skews the odds and gives others even less chance of winning.