February 17, 2011

Limited Quantity Shops

Rare Collectors... Starts Your Engines!

If you're a fan of EpicDuel then you already know what about Limited Quantity Shops. Some people love them, some people (the ones who forget to set their alarms) hate them but it has added an interesting new element to ED for Rare Hunters and it's about to come to AQW!

If you have ever lined up to buy a limited edition of some video game, stood in line for concert tickets, tried to win a prize by calling into a radio station or tried to get into a popular movie on opening night then you know what to expect.

What Is the LQS?

The Limited Quantity Shop is just what is sounds like... it will have a certain number of items in it and once that number has sold out then that's it. The total number of items is the same across all servers so if you see 300 items left on the Galanothserver, everyone on all the other servers will see 300 left also.

The LQS will look a bit like this (NOTE: The amounts of items are only sample quantities) ...

Will There Be Enough Items For Everyone?

No, of course not. The number of items will vary depending on the item (the lowest quantity items being the most rare). The point of a Limited Quantity Shop is that the there is a limited number of them to sell. If we made enough for everyone it would defeat the purpose.

However, we are looking into some of our other Limited Time Items, AC items and Seasonal Rares, seeing how many were purchased, balancing that against server traffic at the time and coming up with what we believe to be a reasonable quantity for the LQS items in most cases.

How Will You Make It Fair For Everyone In Every Time Zone?

After discussing this idea with a lot of you over Twitter you have helped us come with a way to make the LQS as fair as possible for everyone.

1) SOME LQS items will return. We might have a small number of items that will appear once a month so that only a few people each month can get the item but you know it will return next month.

2) We will announce the release times of most Limited Quantity Shops at least a few days in advance of the shops arrival in-game so everyone who reads the DNs will know exactly when to line up.

3) We will randomize each LQS's release time. For example: The first one might open at 7:00 PM Server time, the second one might be released at 5:00 AM Server time, the third at 1:00 PM Server time and so on.

This last step will ensure that, at some point, EVERY rare hunter has to set their alarm for some unreasonable hour to make sure they get one of the items.

Will The Items Be Member, Non-Member or AC?

Generally most of the LQS items will be sold for AdventureCoins, but there will be some Member items and a few Non-Member items from time to time. For the FIRST LQS we plan on having one of each.

Will I See Quantities Dropping Before My Eyes?

No, however every time you purchase an item from the shop or re-open the shop you will see the updated amounts of remaining items. If you see only a few left, click quickly... the LQS might already be sold out!

When Will The First LQS Be Launched?

This Friday at 6:30 PM Server Time (Eastern Standard Time or GMT-5) Khuddar Khamundi, the Black Market Vendor, will return to Battleon with the first Limited Quantity Shop. This week's Sandsea release might arrive before or after that.