Debate: Overhyped and Overpriced?

[dan2012]

I know this is likely to offend most high level players, but it was just a thought of mine while playing last night regarding high level game items, are they really worth it? (the idea came from seeing a level 85 comment about how long he had saved to get a Fury Ammy).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The items i have thought of i've listed below, but please feel free to add more items you think come under this category.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

** please note the values in this are purely speculatory and i've not gone into massive detail over current market prices, etc. but they should all be relevant)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Dragon WC Axe (2.8m-3m) vs. Rune WC Axe (18-20k)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does anybody feel that the new changes to the dragon wc axe justify the 2.8m difference between dragon and rune?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Robin Hood Hat (3.4m) vs. Archer Helm (78k and Fremennik Trials)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've checked the bonuses on these (using the new Tip.It item database) and the robin hood hat only gives a +2 range bonus ahead of the archer helm, but the archer helm gives +2 defence on top of all stats given by the Robin hat - is a +2 stat bonus worthy of the 3.3m price difference?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Amulet of Fury (4m) vs. Amulet of Glory (90k)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, i've checked the stat difference on these and the fury amulet gives +2 strength, +2 prayer and +12 on all defence stats over the amulet of glory, but with the relative ease at which there is to get an amulet of glory, is the price difference of 3m justifiable?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From my understanding (and speaking to other players) choices for the above appear to go along the lines of they can either afford it and why not, or it is a statement of wealth to other users - possibly with the robin hood hat a statment of fashion, but in runescape is there even a market for fashion items or is it purely to show other players how rich you are?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of the above, I personally own a dragon wc axe and feel that although it is better than rune, it takes a while to get going and in the grand scheme of things if i ever need a quick 2.5m i would quite easily be prepared to sell up and go back to rune. However, although i am very proud of my 104 combat and my 1650+ overall i am only a part time player and it has taken me a long time to make any money at all really and as such have become accustomed to a "budgeted" way of dealing with runescape in that i would much rather have a 78k archer helm than fork out 3.4m to get a robin hood hat when it won't really help me out much with regards to my attack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just wondered what other players' thoughts were on this topic (apologies for it being so long, that's what happens when you don't post your idea straight away and it ferments in your brain overnight)

[AerialWjnd]

Errrrmm...glory is 90k? I thought it was 55k-65k... :?

[dan2012]

i did say the prices weren't exact but also i didn't realise i was so far off - i bought my glory over a year ago... :-k

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but having said that it highlights the price difference more!

[Jake_Corsair]

Justified? Maybe not, but it's no different than things in real life. Such as a car. Is a better radio, company name, etc. worth the price jumps in them? If you have the money, then yes, it's worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Items in game are no different. Functionality has little to do with the prices, supply and demand are more of a factor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Dragon woodcutting axe - I also own one, I got lucky and happened to buy mine 1 week before the update at 1.5 million. Now having achieved 99 woodcutting, I sometimes think of selling it. But something always makes me stop. Because of the fact that the only way to get a new one would be to buy it from another player again or go to the Dag Kings. One way is easier than the other, as such, it's gonna cost more to get it that way. Is it worth risking 9-10 million in items to get a 3 million gp item?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Robin hood - This one is a bit more rare, because you have to be lucky 2 times. Once to get a level 3 clue scroll and then to actually get it in the clue. So while the danger factor of getting it is considerably less than a dragon wc axe, you will probably spend more time at trying to get it. Which makes it again easier to buy from other players, but it's going to cost you for "their" (meaning whoever originally got the hat not neccessarily the seller) time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Fury - This one I would probably agree with, being that it's also arguably the easiest one to obtain. I have one, and it's from doing the "chaos runes to tokkul" way. In my training, I've hardly ever used the spells that use up chaos runes. So all of mine have come from drops and such. At some point, I noticed I had collected over 45k chaos runes. It took no time at all (relatively speaking) to sell them to the store and buy a onyx. But the price does reflect the amount of money you would put into chaos runes to buy (or the amount you would have gotten if you sold for gp). So while easiest to obtain, the price is actually set by jagex and the players. By players in that chaos have a "set" street price, and by Jagex for the price in tokkul for an onyx in store (which is the only way to get one at the moment).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All because of supply and demand rather than paying for the bonus any item gives. And like most things in game, in the future if there comes a different way to obtain these items, the prices will drop. Maybe not to a reasonable ratio between other similar type of items, but somewhat closer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But back on the subject of the dragon wcing axe, the real question would be. Before they updated it, was it really worth spending 1.5 million on an item equal to a rune wcing axe?

[dan2012]

i accept that my original posting of this could have been slightly misunderstood, it wasn't really question of why these items are so expensive, but rather the reasons in which players themselves choose one item over another in that the relatively small stat bonuses they give don't necessarily reflect the enormous price difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

having said that, i accept the reasons for your response as to why the prices were set (i for one wasn't aware of the chaos/tokkul thing)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i guess i should have worded this slightly differently - i suppose at the end of the day i'm just jealous for not being able to afford any of those items, i had to fletch for weeks so i could buy full dharok and then when i got it i was too worried about losing it and sold it to get a dragon wc axe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

perhaps that was the main reason for this post, i'm as stingy with money in game as i am in real life :oops:

[poochu]

Does anybody feel that the new changes to the dragon wc axe justify the 2.8m difference between dragon and rune?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think of it this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just say you wanted to cut 5000 magic logs, you may only see a little time difference between the rune and the dragon hatchet when cutting a single log (just say 2 seconds, im not sure on the actual rate). But that 2 seconds piles up when doing large amounts of woodcutting. You save alot of time and you could pump out magic logs into the market faster = more money.

[Duke_Freedom]

The high-cost items are far rarer than their low-cost alternatives that you mentioned. The high-cost items are also slightly better and thus in (much) higher demand (people always want to have the best of the best, even if the difference is minor). The low-cost alternatives are in heavy oversupply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The high-cost items generally do degrade (faster) in price over a long period though.

[Peronix]

The items you mentioned are just really rare. If you really want an example of a huge difference in pries with the same supply; look at d skirts and d legs. They are just as rare a drop as one another. Yet the difference in price is 1.4-1.6m, purely because there are more guys than girls, and guys would rahter not wear a skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those items vs their lower price counterparts though are just in much lower supply. Glorys are everywhere. There are tens of thousands of people getting half key drops everyday, bringing in countless glorys. But how many people sell ~30k chaos to the store for enough tokul for an onyx gem every day? Considerably fewer. Rune axes can simply be gotten as a drop from tree spirits, and they are player made. But dragon axe forces you to brave three level 303 monsters to get it and... and archer helms are buyable in a store, vs. the robin, which is a VERY lucky drop; even rarer now that jagex has released a couple new batches ot treasure items.

[Kaphias]

I usually buy some of the more expensive items, and use them for a short period of time. My current example: Buy Dragon Wc axe, only Wc until done, then sell. You lose almost no money. I did the same thing with a Whip to get me from 65-70 Defence.

[Solidus_77]

Do you know why they are at that price? because people will gladly pay for them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but is a less rich player willing to pay that much if it takes them a week to get it? Most likely no.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shows that the person with a much lower income will probably not buy it. This is because people will buy things depending on the percentage of their income. If you buy bubblegum for $2, and bubblegum doubles in price, it's now $4. Would you suddenly stop buying bubblegum? No, because it's just an extra $2. But what if you were buying a ferrari? Say the ferrari doubles in price. Would you buy it? Probably not, because I assume that thousands of dollars is a higher percentage of your income. That is how the percentage of income works, it's used in economics for depermining the elasticity of a good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this is a percentage, different people will react very differently. For some the Differnce in price is a high percentage of their income, for others it's a very low percentage.

[Wachtwoord]

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad you're only 56 slayer :roll: . And I've heard you don't get 2 whips every 2 hours. So at least make you're lies believable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On topic: Duke said it all already.

[JIMMIE]

Too bad you're only 56 slayer :roll: . And I've heard you don't get 2 whips every 2 hours.

 

 

 

He said Abyss, not Abbys. He means Runecrafting (most probably nature runes). :roll:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Things are only worth what people are willing to pay for them.

 

 

 

For people who stake, the small bonus may give them the edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Status is also a factor. Personally, i couldn't justify paying those prices unless i had more money than i knew what to do with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Jimmie

[Solidus_77]

 

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad you're only 56 slayer :roll: . And I've heard you don't get 2 whips every 2 hours. So at least make you're lies believable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should have been more specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at my runecrafting lvl. That's right: I'm a double nat crafter. I make about 4k nats per hour, which averages out to 1 mill per hour, one of the best moneymaking systems on runescape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On topic: Duke said it all already.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He did and I much agree with it, except he didn't mention the percentage of income factor

[Wachtwoord]

 

 

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too bad you're only 56 slayer :roll: . And I've heard you don't get 2 whips every 2 hours. So at least make you're lies believable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I should have been more specific.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at my runecrafting lvl. That's right: I'm a double nat crafter. I make about 4k nats per hour, which averages out to 1 mill per hour, one of the best moneymaking systems on runescape.

 

 

 

My mistake, sorry.

[swampjedi]

I have purchased a dragon axe, which I used to speed to 90 woodcutting. I then sold it for the same I paid. To me, even the small amount of time saved was worth it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of us value time over gold - and this is why some of these items are so widely used.

[englandman66]

the dragon can get you more logs faster which means higher income faster which will eventually pay of the difference and make you an increase in profits

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

with the robin hood hat that +2 range bonus can help because you hit +2 more often as in the dragon axe it will increase hits and kills which is a good thing when training or ranging for drops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does anybody feel that the new changes to the dragon wc axe justify the 2.8m difference between dragon and rune?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think of it this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just say you wanted to cut 5000 magic logs, you may only see a little time difference between the rune and the dragon hatchet when cutting a single log (just say 2 seconds, im not sure on the actual rate). But that 2 seconds piles up when doing large amounts of woodcutting. You save alot of time and you could pump out magic logs into the market faster = more money.

[yomom1919]

Efficiency is definitely valued over price any day, even in real life. Just look at the gap in prices between a 50 inch tv and a 50 inch plasma tv. Or a mercedes E class and an S class. Its over 20k+ in real-life money. I dont see why runescape should be any different.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I know those examples arent really that wonderful, because the difference is big and the price is regulated due to that, not 10 or 20 times more. I know there are some items that the difference is small but the price difference is great, but I cant seem to think of them at the moment. I hope you still understand my point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A side note: Just noticed that Swamp was made Debate club mod. Good choice by the admins, and congrats. You'll do good for the forum.

[victor1995]

Do you know why they are at that price? because people will gladly pay for them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but is a less rich player willing to pay that much if it takes them a week to get it? Most likely no.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shows that the person with a much lower income will probably not buy it. This is because people will buy things depending on the percentage of their income. If you buy bubblegum for $2, and bubblegum doubles in price, it's now $4. Would you suddenly stop buying bubblegum? No, because it's just an extra $2. But what if you were buying a ferrari? Say the ferrari doubles in price. Would you buy it? Probably not, because I assume that thousands of dollars is a higher percentage of your income. That is how the percentage of income works, it's used in economics for depermining the elasticity of a good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this is a percentage, different people will react very differently. For some the Differnce in price is a high percentage of their income, for others it's a very low percentage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I understand ur example but I think that's a little difference between ferraris and bubblegums...

 

 

 

Well if the best weapon ingame was 50M and i heard you could hit a 1000 with it i would work the time it is necessary for it.

 

 

 

If I can wear full dragon, why full rune? Buy full dragon.

 

 

 

If I can wear a fury, why a glory?

[spikerkid]

Dragon axe - just buy it when you woodcut not worth owning all the time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I use archer helm. Don't range enough for a robin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fury will never drop heavily so worth owning

[Solidus_77]

 

Do you know why they are at that price? because people will gladly pay for them

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take the wc axe for example, am I willing to pay 2000 times more to get a better axe? of course I will, because for me, that's only 2 hours of work at the abyss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

but is a less rich player willing to pay that much if it takes them a week to get it? Most likely no.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This shows that the person with a much lower income will probably not buy it. This is because people will buy things depending on the percentage of their income. If you buy bubblegum for $2, and bubblegum doubles in price, it's now $4. Would you suddenly stop buying bubblegum? No, because it's just an extra $2. But what if you were buying a ferrari? Say the ferrari doubles in price. Would you buy it? Probably not, because I assume that thousands of dollars is a higher percentage of your income. That is how the percentage of income works, it's used in economics for depermining the elasticity of a good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since this is a percentage, different people will react very differently. For some the Differnce in price is a high percentage of their income, for others it's a very low percentage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I understand ur example but I think that's a little difference between ferraris and bubblegums...

 

 

 

Well if the best weapon ingame was 50M and i heard you could hit a 1000 with it i would work the time it is necessary for it.

 

 

 

If I can wear full dragon, why full rune? Buy full dragon.

 

 

 

If I can wear a fury, why a glory?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The point of my example is to explain this "percentage of income idea", but yes, of course the efficiency is likely to make it worth buying, or if you put it this way: If we get sufficient ammount of utility out of the higher price to make it worthwhile. However the thread author is basically asking "why is a small bonus justify 1000 times the price?"

[Zachcorp]

 

Does anybody feel that the new changes to the dragon wc axe justify the 2.8m difference between dragon and rune?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think of it this way:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just say you wanted to cut 5000 magic logs, you may only see a little time difference between the rune and the dragon hatchet when cutting a single log (just say 2 seconds, im not sure on the actual rate). But that 2 seconds piles up when doing large amounts of woodcutting. You save alot of time and you could pump out magic logs into the market faster = more money.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That still doesn't justify why i don't have one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But yes, in ALL mmo's (wow, everquest, runescape, guild wars, etc.) something that gives a slight boost over everything else IS worth much more. Explain the cost difference between full adamantite and full rune? personally i haven't worn full addy since runescape classic, but then the armor bonus difference was not too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my opinion, I'd just stick with the low costing item (rune hatchet) until it's earned it's worth and I've saved up for the higher costing item (dragon hatchet)