#1 - Oct. 21, 2014, 5:34 p.m.
What do you guys think?
Lets talk about the new Gem conversion [Merged]
#196 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:26 p.m.
Hey there,
Here are a few tidbits from the team:
- A lot of newer players had trouble with the interface. That doesn’t apply to you, you’re veterans who have been around the conversion block a time or two. But newer players will benefit from the updated system.
- The goal was to make the Gem Store more like other shopping experiences, and if you think about it, there is more of that feel to it now.
- You may be surprised to know this (I know I was) but very few people bought gems at smaller denominations than the first one offered in the new system. That’s not to say they never did, nor that there wouldn’t be the desire to do so. But overall, the current options were selected based on player purchases in the past.
- The team is going to listen to your feedback and, if and when it’s practical and desirable, they can look towards adjusting the new system to better meet your needs.
So please keep your thoughts coming on the new system. Feel free to make suggestions but please, keeping them constructive would be very much appreciated.
#217 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:33 p.m.
Immediately before this patch: 10g = 70 gems.
Immediately after this patch: 10g = 57 gems (going off the 400 gem exchange rate).
They tampered with prices to make gems more expensive at exactly the same time as they removed the price history and made 400 gems the lowest increment you can buy in. Did anyone else see this? No other holiday event has had that big a fluctuation before.
Hey Tulki,
I wanted you to know I went immediately to see if I could get an answer on this, and don’t worry, there was no “stealth nerfing” of gem costs. 
What happened is a common occurrence with new builds: A whole lot of people made exchanges when the new build went live. And as you know the conversions are market driven.
So that’s why you saw the seeming discrepancy in the exchange rate. All is well, and it will continue to ebb and flow according to the volume of exchanges, as always.
#223 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:35 p.m.
Hey there,
Here are a few tidbits from the team:
- A lot of newer players had trouble with the interface. That doesn’t apply to you, you’re veterans who have been around the conversion block a time or two. But newer players will benefit from the updated system.
- The goal was to make the Gem Store more like other shopping experiences, and if you think about it, there is more of that feel to it now.
- You may be surprised to know this (I know I was) but very few people bought gems at smaller denominations than the first one offered in the new system. That’s not to say they never did, nor that there wouldn’t be the desire to do so. But overall, the current options were selected based on player purchases in the past.
- The team is going to listen to your feedback and, if and when it’s practical and desirable, they can look towards adjusting the new system to better meet your needs.
So please keep your thoughts coming on the new system. Feel free to make suggestions but please, keeping them constructive would be very much appreciated.
And yet in the history of this forum there has never been a post saying “the gem exchange interface is confusing me as a new player” or anything similar.
Really? You’re 100% certain there’s never been such a post? Good for you, then! 
Concerns of this nature come in via tickets, when someone takes the wrong step, buys too many times, isn’t able to process the acquistion or exchange, etc. By the time someone’s on the forums, they’re usually comfortable with the systems.
#252 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:44 p.m.
Ok, guys. Some of you are unhappy about this change, I can see that. BUT… quite honestly, most of you are sort of (I hate to use the word) ranting (sorry!) instead of offering suggestions.
I assure you, the team leader told me not 15 minutes ago, they will listen to suggestions.
- Does that mean you get everything you want? Probably not.
- Does that mean you should suggest something? Yes, of course! Because they’re expecting player input.
So you want lower increments? Think it through and present a suggestion! You want XYZ in the interface? Post that idea. You would rather see something else? Post what you think about that other thing. Please don’t get into the whole “I’m going to kick the devs and their little dogs, too” because it’s not doing you or us any good at all.
I’m not here to apologize. I’m here to communicate and right now, the communication is coming in without a whole lot of substance. Over to you for suggestions and constructive input!
#260 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:46 p.m.
Add an option buy gems in 100 gem increments instead of making 400 gems the smallest denomination possible. Problem solved.
THERE! Thank you, Errant Venture — that’s a solid suggestion with a reasonable tone. Thank you.
#270 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:49 p.m.
The interface did need adjusting, but not at the expense of freedom.
Yes it was confusing. Yes it was a little buggy.
How to fix?:
Leave its current functionality in.
Put the graph back in.
Put a custom amount section in too.Thus you’d have the new and the old.
Reasonable input on the former system and another suggestion. Thanks.
#301 - Oct. 21, 2014, 7:58 p.m.
Add an option buy gems in 100 gem increments instead of making 400 gems the smallest denomination possible. Problem solved.
THERE! Thank you, Errant Venture — that’s a solid suggestion with a reasonable tone. Thank you.
Regardless of the increments (though I also wish for smaller increments if this new system is here to stay), please keep in mind the pricing of current, new, and on-sale items. The system you have right now is inconvenient with anything priced at 500 gems, 900 gems, etc. This goes especially for items priced anything in between those 100 gem intervals (125 gems, 275 gems).
Hey everyone, whatever your opinion is on this new currency exchange, hyperbole doesn’t help. It wastes everyone’s time trying to read them and filter out the BS.
I understand what you’re saying, WindFall, and thanks for providing the team with a clearly expressed suggestion.
#310 - Oct. 21, 2014, 8 p.m.
I would like to know why the conversion history was removed.
I don’t know the answer to that, but I can certainly ask in the morning.
#338 - Oct. 21, 2014, 8:09 p.m.
LOL, looks like torches and pitchforks time.
And Gaile, people are reacting in an understandable manner.
It’s because they are angry.
The big question in my mind, is why?
Yeah, I was thinking the same about the pitchforks and torches.
I don’t discount players when they are upset, though, and I truly understand that sometimes things hit close to home and cause some angst, anger, upset, any sort of reaction. (I’d think it was possible to have the discussion without it devolving into unpleasantness, but then, I always was an optimist! 
)
I asked a quick question of a team leader about the changes. I thought the answers were pretty clear so I posted them. But if you want more info, maybe there’s more to be learned and I’ll ask about that tomorrow.
#1690 - Oct. 22, 2014, 7:56 p.m.
Here’s an update for you:
It’s clear that quite a lot of you would like to have greater flexibility in using the Currency Exchange. Our intention when we designed the new interface was to streamline large volume purchases, which make up the majority of transactions.
In light of your feedback, we will update the Currency Exchange so that you can decide how you want to use it. We will keep the new streamlined system and also offer a new “Custom” button on the panel that you can use to exchange any increment of gems or gold.
We anticipate rolling this out soon. Stay tuned!
~~~~~
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but out of respect to our international community, we wanted to be able to post in several forums at once.
#1701 - Oct. 22, 2014, 8:07 p.m.
Will the graph be coming back?
I don’t know that. I will ask tomorrow and try to let you guys know.
#1709 - Oct. 22, 2014, 8:13 p.m.
Thank you, Gaile, for an official response here on the forums.
Absolutely!
I’m sorry we weren’t able to answer earlier, but it took a bit of time to research how best to address player concerns. I’m glad that this is going to be resolved in a way that will give players a great deal of flexibility, customization, personalization, the whole lot.
I was just thrilled when the devs said the custom option could be done. I think my “Yaaaay!” was heard in downtown Seattle.
#1715 - Oct. 22, 2014, 8:19 p.m.
Thank goodness they listened. The mistake was starting to look like it would kill any fun to be had from the halloween event.
It’s nice to have this sorted out, even if it’ll take time to implement the change. But in the end, I feel that players will be patient while this change is enabled because the exchange and the customization will be great.
In the meantime, there’s candy corn to be had, kings to be back-talked, and so much more! <3 Halloween.
(And hey, I like your name a lot, btw!)
#1999 - Oct. 24, 2014, 12:08 p.m.
In reading the comments here, it seems that some forum members may have missed the update, originally posted at about 6:00 PM Pacific on 10/22. There are a lot of posts in this thread, so here’s that update, reposted for your convenience:
Here’s an update for you:
It’s clear that quite a lot of you would like to have greater flexibility in using the Currency Exchange. Our intention when we designed the new interface was to streamline large volume purchases, which make up the majority of transactions.
In light of your feedback, we will update the Currency Exchange so that you can decide how you want to use it. We will keep the new streamlined system and also offer a new “Custom” button on the panel that you can use to exchange any increment of gems or gold.
We anticipate rolling this out soon. Stay tuned!
~~~~~
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but out of respect to our international community, we wanted to be able to post in several forums at once.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As of today, Friday, the developers have been actively working on creation of the Custom option. They then will put it through a testing pass after which it will be rolled out into the game. We think you’ll like the option, and I believe you’ll be pleased with the timeframe for this implementation, as well.