I admit, I am fairly new to AO, but I am not completely green. I have been playing for 6 weeks or more, have a L129 Soldier (Main) - as well as a low-level alt to team with some friends of mine. And I am a Unit Commander within a respected Guild (The Order of Chaos). Yet, for the life on me, there is one aspect of the game that continues to evade me, a seemingly basic feature who's system I simply cannot understand: Credits. What do I mean? I scrounged and saved forever-and-a-day, won Guild Events and even accepted *unsolicited* donations from good friends to gain what I thought was a respectable amount, but apparently 10 Million Credit is child's play. Heck, I didn't have a Yalm until I was L110. Now, to flame the wealthy population of RK1 because they possess nigh-limitless amounts of liquid assets would be a waste of the your time and mine - not to mention irritating. Thus, I pose a legitimate question: How does a Soldier actually acquire enough money to buy high-end items? I asked this of one of my Generals and the response, after some in-depth conversation and class comparison, came down to a few realities:
1. Soldiers can't Calm...So Soldiers cannot Calm missions.
2. Soldiers don't have Grid Armor or any comperable faxsimile...So Soldiers cannot Run missions.
3. Soldiers are not viable solo artists until, at least, L150...So Soldiers cannot Blitz missions.
While a general and cursory analysis - granted - the point remains, there is, to my limited knowledge, no *consistent* means for a Soldier to accrue large amounts of High-QL, High-demand items (for sale on the open markets) and, thusly, no way for members of the class to achieve significant financial standing...period. Please do not misunderstand however; I am aware that there are play-balance issues with a number of classes within AO. I also would not even begin to suggest that Soldiers should be able to calm, cast run buffs, be given access to pseudo-Grid Armor, or any combination or extension of the above - If I did, that would be a subject for the Soldier forums. I just ask again: How does a Soldier acquire wealth of the sort needed to advance his character into the high-level range? Praying to stumble upon -a- QL190+ Soul Fragment cannot be the answer and waiting for a Grid Armor or Nullity Sphere ID to drop is akin to some twisted form of the lottery... Therefore, I leave it to you, the people of the forums, once again. Your input is greatly appreciated. Thanx.
- Aelist