How Many Of You...

[*Mr_Otyugh]

There's very few items worth their prices in the NPC stores. I don't think there's anyone particularly trying to defend the NPC stores, it's more that it has never reached a priority status on a primarily player economy driven server.

Though if I were to make a change, I'd make it one store at a time rather than bulk them all in one. And I'd likely change the varieties a little to add planescape flavor items in them that are "discounted" compared to others, and designed purposefully to take care of specific challenges in server areas (especially less frequently traveled) to help new players out leveling and exploring different areas without needing to waste zounds of gold just to survive the challenges.

[*Mander]

One character concept I'd considered was a traveling merchant who would set up shop in rest zones of grinding areas and give new characters some deals on things that would help. Maybe a minor enchanted silver weapon for wererats, some cold iron stuff for fae, healing items, etc.

[*MimiFearthegn]

The special store items are, as I'm sure some of you know, general community submissions. Its like a holding tank, which is easy to add new stuff to. And of course, since the creators were players, and could see the cost of the items they were making. . presumably the answer to "would you buy this" was yes at least once for each of the items in there.

But for those who do not want to grind forever for lots and lots of gold, the items which are deemed appropriate have gotten sent to the drop lists before, and all of them are available as gambling rewards (though granted, that latter option also requires lots of gold or luck).

[*falathara]

Well there does need to be more things that consumes money from the players, that means some high end and expensive non-crucial but maximize your potential trinkets as well. I mean lets consider something like Aurorum armors. The effect you are getting is +1 greater regeneration, but people are willing to pay hundreds of thousands for those after they've sorted out all other item needs. That's the effect you want for high end items, marginal improvements for expensive investments, but if you really want to get best out of yourself, you'll get it, eventually.

Longterm characters will gradually build up wealth and that wealth does need some places to drain into also. Granted most wealth people have is in the form of excess number of items, so there really needs to be some way to consume those for benefits akin to what Magic Electrifier already does, just make it do it somehow else.

Doesn't player housing do this? Last I heard this is what characters on the server were eventually saving up for...

[*Mr_Otyugh]

To some extent, yes. But playerhousing is a finite resource. After you have one (and presumably you become content with it in one go, or doomed to pay more later on), then you're going to keep accumulating wealth with no goal again. So there needs to be either loads of places to sink money into, or recurring place via some kind of consumable effects.

[*Aidan Airna]

I have bought a few of the NPC store items on a few toons.

They were quite worth the price tag. *nods*

Few of them were way past the 150k mark.

It jest depends on what your looking for.