Returning Veteran Bonus? (in General)

As opposed to the New User Bonus. I have no idea how it would be implemented and to what extent. But I'd like to see it. I'm basically a New User but I don't get a bonus and it really bites. I get penalized for having played CB in the past.

OR, another new idea that occured to me just now:
Spending X amount of money to increase your max BA cap. Could be temporary, could be permanent, I don't know. I have no idea how to balance an entire game. I just thought it was an interesting idea.

Think of it not as a penalty, but as not getting a reward. And there's always the NCB.

Just start a new character with a NCB.

Start an NCB?

I don't like these ideas, whats the cutoff to being a vetern? and how long would you have to be gone, to return with bonuses? It would be abused, i can tell you that.

3 words: New Character Bonus!

and be happy you get that!

if he didn't play much in the past and doesn't have all the money, then he sure is missing out. New users get it great, with five times the normal money and exp rates for six months. I personally think there should be a returning veterans bonus as well.

Go look at his character. I'd say his most expensive item is a mageseeker. Now, a new user can fully equip one minion in probably less than a month. After that, it gets easier because they make even more money. However, for Tetra, it is much harder. He doesn't make five times more money than normal. He never equipped his character. I agree that he is being penalized.

Anyways, that's just my two cents.

IND: be gone for nine months to a year? I don't think that can be abused really. You'll lose out on a LOT in that amount of time.

Yeah, I had that problem when I came back after an extended break. So I just played an NCB mage, with little equipment.

PDR, it can and would be abused. There are multies out there as we type abusing the system as it is. Granted, we have a great staff of admins and I'll wager a good most of them get caught eventually but just think, if one manages to get away with one round, they move on to their next multi for 6 or 9 months then return with the previous one to get their old guy returning bonus and abuse the system even more.
My head hurts just thinking about it. I need some cake.

not to mention just selling out because you know you can get back in the game easily.

Yet if Tetra (and myself for that matter) weren't supporters our accounts would have been wiped long ago and we'd be playing with a NUB anyway. In our cases being a supporter actually hurt us. I'm OK just playing an NCB though since those are the rules, but Tetra is right. It really does bite. I played my NUB for 1 month back in 2005, become a supporter, and moved on.

There isn't an easy solution though. It would have to be something that you applied for if it was even considered. Not something you could just click at your own discretion. A voluntary wipe of your account, after review by admins, to prevent selling off any gear for USD first. Either way I don't think it is an idea that would even be considered by Jon.

Any thoughts on the max BA cap?

PDR: You're right, and keep in mind that my Combat Gi, Mageseeker, Helm's Gauntlets, and HoE are all rented. I own nothing but my old Rune of Solitude.

How about a Didn't Leave Veteran Bonus then? Maybe twice as big as the Returning Veteran Bonus? I left for a year or so and I had a CoI and ~1 mill CB$ and a level 300k tattoo. After running one NCB (and missing lots of BA during due to work/appointments/sleep/whatever), I now have 4 million CB$, DBs, 3 AoLs, BoF, 2 ACs, 1 BoTh, 1 level 660k tattoo, NSCs, EBs, EGs, AoAC, 2 MengCapes, SoC, and more I can't think of.. So you could probably invest a small part of the time that everyone else has and still be competitive.

If you're trying to brag about your "leetness" then I'm very happy for you. If not I have no idea what that post was trying to communicate. Please refrain from needlessly aggravating other people in the future.

heh. I'm not trying to brag about any 'leetness.' though thanks for the stab. The entire point you wanted to overlook was that you aren't being "penalized for having played CB in the past." Within a few months, you can accomplish whatever you want to accomplish on this game with or without USD or a NUB. And you can accomplish it without stepping on all the people who've remained playing the time that you were gone.

No, Khardin's right.

The NUB was implemented so that new players have an opportunity to get into the game without any (at first) idea of strategy.

Everybody else, in that aspect, has an unfair advantage over them as they have experience.

The new rule change that only the accounts that do not finish the tutorial will be purged helps enforce that rule nicely.

If Khardin can come back with a NCB and make loads of cash, so can you. Just invest the time and don't look for an easy way out. Unless you want a magic weapon that will allow you to win every single fight and give you 10k per victory. If that's what you want, it's time to move on from CB.

Just so you know, I never had a NUB, I've quit numerous times and come back numerous times.

And I don't think Khardin was needlessly aggravating other people. It's not his fault that you took offense to his example.

I say, your own fault you left during your NUB, get an NCB and deal with it like the rest of us. And this could be abused, Sell out right now, quit for 9 months, come back to a NUB, play 4-6 months, sell out, rinse and repeat.

And this could be abused, Sell out right now, quit for 9 months, come back to a NUB, play 4-6 months, sell out, rinse and repeat.

Sell out? Who spends USD on cb anymore? there's like 100 million for sale right now at ~3 USD per mil and noone's interested. Why would I want to sell out? Why would anyone want to sell out, or even be able to?

Besides, the bonus should be something you have to A.)apply for and B.)Be eligible for only once.

also khardin sorry for being a prong
I dont like challenges, I just like being the best at everything.

Just have the N*B apply to first X used-up BA instead of first X days of character lifetime, and you got the perfect solution.

Problem with that is, it reduces the advantage of being able to drain a large amount of BA per day. While I don't agree that the ability to succeed in CB should be based on how many hours you can spare at your computer, there IS something to be said for people who take time out of their day to drain each set of BA and try not to waste any. That's the reason they succeed more than others. If the N*B period was based on BA you really wouldn't have to worry about missing BA.
And what about buying BA? It would completely defeat the purpose of buying BA during N*B periods because it's a bonus you could get for free anyway just by waiting, as opposed to the current system where there are actually benefits to buying BA during N*B periods.

Raising the BA cap using money?
No, bad idea.

Give the big money spenders more of an advantage on the rest of the field.

NUBs have bonus cash because they start out with nothing; no equipment, no characters, no money, no knowledge.

As a 'veteran' (unless you sold out, in which case it's your fault, and you can use the money you got to buy back in anyways), you should have money, equipment, and knowledge. The characters can be created with the NCB; that's the point of the NCB.

You can make enough using the NCB to do well. I know I have. I've been playing on and off since I started, and in the past six months really playing consistently, and I think I'm fairly successful.

Nobody says you need to have gear or anything anyways. My current NCB is doing fine without gear. You don't even have to buy BA or minions to be successful. It just gives you that extra push towards the top. There's always rentals if you absolutely need some gear.

So... what's the problem again?

There are a whole bunch of people still here, still playing who never had the NUB, including me. And then, to cap it all, we didn't have any kind of bonus for some time until the NCB was introduced.

I'm not sure it put people at a disadvantage, especially when you consider that a good chunk of the top twenty standings are in that bunch of people.

The NCB is what you're asking for, although cash is obviously less it's still enough to buy decent gears, if you aim for base. And, to be frank you don't need more than a tattoo to run a strong character.

Commenting directly on Returning Veteran Bonus, at would point would you be eligible for it?

For instance I take a week off, would I then be able to get it? Or six weeks, or six months or a year?

There are people here who don't really run chars: could they be eligible because they haven't run a char, even though they may actually not have been away?

But also what's to stop someone like Ranger quitting for a little while then coming back to claim his Returning Veteran Bonus and make a lot of money on top of what he already has. See if you're a returning veteran there's always a good chance you have a lot of gear just sitting here waiting for that cash bonus so you can boost it super huge.

You get a XP bonus as it stands: that's more useful than the cash bonus in the longer run. Stick around for a while, run an NCB char and see actually how quickly your cash pile starts to grow. You won't need a cash bonus.

JohnnyWas, you should re-read the thread; for one, your questions have almost all been asked already and second, he's already stated it wouldn't be available at the click of a button but rather would have to be applied for on a case-by-case basis.

I doubt the admins want more on their plate...

Oh, I've read the thread, but the questions still need to be asked; because we have a returning veterans bonus - the NCB. That was the whole point of it. And it doesn't differentiate between people who have left or people who have stayed. And it doesn't need a case by case study for it to be implemented.

I'll tell you something, if somebody leaving for six months could come back and get a CASH bonus then those of us who have never leave would be yelling for one too. Guaranteed.

RVB, if it ever happens then Jon's doing nothing but creating a license to beg.

Who said I was begging? I had an idea and I put it forward. Feel free to critique and disagree, as I can see you plainly do.

Its late and I'm very crabby. I'll take another look at everyone's opinion in the morning. Sorry for snapping at anyone, I'm very impatient, especially at 4:30 in the morning

Don't worry about being 'crabby'. I don't take offense!

I do disagree, but only because I've never had the NUB so have never had a cash bonus. I don't do USD. Everything I own I own through 'normal' cash rewards. And I can tell you the majority of it has been bought within the last four months.

It is perfectly possible to fight competitively without huge amounts of cash. What do you think you're missing by not having cash? You have a tattoo. Fight for a few weeks and you could have enough money for weapons if you so wish. Low level high end weapons are the cheapest thing to buy at the moment, because not many people are wanting to start off tank teams.