Is it just me or is anyone else concerned that you can still buy gold in the cash shop on release.
I mean $10 gets you 100 gold. That's just ridiculous.
I feel like there is no point in playing when anyone who wants to can just buy gold and high end gear without even working for it.
Kills the point of the game for me..
It's true that Eldevin's cash shop has some very heavy P2W elements. However, in the case of the gold chests, while it's certainly somewhat unbalanced early on, it may not be as terrible of a thing in time.
For starters, as Neon points out one of the main purposes of selling gold directly from the shop is that it discourages third-party gold selling websites, which traditionally have been a thorn in the side of many MMO economies.
What may happen in the future is that the prices in the shop will set a base value for player-to-player, EP to gold transactions. F2P players will want to buy EP from cash shop spenders, and will have to set a trade radio more attractive than one offered from the shop. Since the best ratio is currently 8:1(2000EP:250gold), the base trade rate for EP to gold will most likely be slightly more competitive than that, like 7:1.
For example:
A player spending 2000EP at the cash shop can get 250 gold for it.
A player who wants to trade for EP and has gold needs to offer a better ratio than 2000/250 to make it a worthwhile trade for the cash shop player(otherwise they could just buy it from the shop with no hassle).
Therefore, the market value for EP to gold will most likely be a minimum of 1gold for 7EP, or 100 gold for 700EP. If this occurs, you won't see players buying gold from the cash shop, instead you'll see them buy gold from other players, who can now get EP without spending on the cash shop by buying it from other players. This way, the gold rates at the cash shop set a base value for EP/gold exchange in the market!
There's a bit of a catch though: if a market develops for EP to gold trades that is more attractive than the cash shop rates, it also opens up the market to third-party gold sites who can also offer attractive EP:gold ratios. So the system of offering gold on the cash shop is a deterrent, but it's not an outright prevention.
It's true that there are a lot of cash shop goodies that give paying players a significant in-game advantage, and I agree that it is not very balanced. Ultimately, though, how you play the game is up to you, the player. I enjoy the challenge of being a completely F2P player, because it DOES make the game harder versus players who have the advantage of supporter bonuses, exp potions, gold chests, etc. If you're playing the game to compete with other players in leveling or gearing up races, though, I can see why the cash shop would frustrate you.
In an ideal world, there would be no tangible benefits to cash shop spending other than cosmetic changes, but then the company wouldn't make enough money to cover operating costs! Hopefully, though, a solid in-game EP to gold market develops so F2P players can still get their hands on some cash shop goodies for a price in gold.