Rocket Impacts

Day 1,680, 17:37 • Published in Ireland Ireland • by Sweet Drinker


If logging in today was a 'wtf moment' for you, don't doubt that it was a 'Ho-o-lly-$hit' moment for National Financiers!

Today has brought us a radical change to the game. There is a wiki update regarding the New Rocket Factories and several articles discussing their military implications.

Alot of people are asking questions about the wisdom of upgrading their land for production of these new toys.

The fact are that:
>Your playstyle/goals is probably a big factor in how useful these may be to you,
>Military matters are not my specialty so mine might not be the best advice to seek,
>the release has driven the mkts haywire and solid financial advice is really a few days coming.

This article is about the longterm economic effects this change is likely to cause.



Previously the problems of overproduction and undesireability of lower Quality weapons were compensated by an ingame automated purchasing service (the infamous 'bot'). This method of market correction lead to unrestrained indirect 'printing' of new cash daily by the game itself. Driving cash values ever lower, while merely slowing the rate of product value depreciation.

The major economic change these Rockets bring is that now the players themselves will replace the market correction service that was formerly automated.
*That's the theory atleast

A look at any low quality weapon mkt will show how huge the reaction to this change was: the markets have been virtually devoured within hours. Most horded up by ultra-wealthy players and gold-tankers.
Someone who monitors the global weapons markets regularly will probably have noticed 'something going on' for the past few days, particularly in the Q4 weapons sector. Evidently some players had a little prior knowledge of what was going to happen today.
*More about Q4 weapons later

Because the market tends to 'overreact' to major game changes it will not immediately be clear where pricelines will stabalize at.

Beyond cash prices of weapons, we must consider the value of cash itself.
Currently automated purchasing has stopped.
The question everyone should be asking is:
Is this the end of automated market sales?
If bot-purchaing has been permanently disposed of the implication are huge.

It may actually be wise to move your longterm holdings out of gold and into cash. A strategy that would have been ridiculous for the last year and more! Over time the loss of automated cash production combined with the ingame systems for destroying cash (MPP's, RW's, Rocket fees, some buildings) could drive cash values back to rates we havent seen in a year.

This change is likely to devestate the Government Revenues of smaller countries. Many of which relied upon the automated mechanics to fund expensive programs. We may see many countries 'tightening their belts' in regards to MPP's and social programs.
Time will tell on this matter.

Also, I mentioned Q4 weapons earlier. That's because Q4 weapons are the rarest variety in erep. With purchasers now needing equal amounts of each quality level, scarcity effects price. Making Q4 the most valueable Quality.
While (likely due to it previously being top Q) Q5's are quite abundant.
It would currently be far more profitable to downgrade your Q5 factories.
However we can't say if, or how long, it will take the general populace to recognize this fact and respond to it. Making it no longer a fact!

*The contents of this article are observations and suggestion. I DO NOT take responsibility for any decisions you make based upon it's contents. Everyone is responsible for their own bank balances and landholdings.