Replace Upkeep with a gear-penalizing system based on the autobalancer

[Rumblood]

I am not sure how the proposed system would work out but it would make sense to a certain extent at least for me.

The best class I can play with is cavalry and ever since I started, I have been unable to do that because of the monstrous upkeep fees that come along with having a decent horse.

All because of the upkeep, I have been forced to play some other class and I chose polearm infantry at that. This has a plus side too, as it has honed my blocking and attacking skills beyond what there used to be (not suggesting I have become a pro or anything, some of you might still call me a nab).

Nevertheless, I would love to play cavalry someday without having to worry about some 1k-ish upkeep that might possibly hit me at the end of the round.

Well perhaps I am misunderstanding Kafein's suggestion, but this statement suggests you could still be fucked, just in a different manner.

Amongst the advantages of such a system :
- Getting rid of upkeep but keeping a limiting factor to gear.

[Silveredge]

Why not 0 upkeep before level 30 for Gen 1 characters?  When they hit level 30, then upkeep kicks in.  That way they will have the money to buy all the gear they need and start their cRPG career.

My first thought was 0 upkeep for Gen 1 characters, but there are plenty of players who have not retired, and they would be making way too much money(Indefinitely).  The money you earn from level 1-30 is probably somewhere around 200,000-300,000 without upkeep(ballpark figure thrown into the air).  This would be very reasonable to buy gear throughout the leveling process.  Gear costs quite a bit when you add it all up.  I would be willing to bet that it would be just about right and they wouldn't have too much money left over, just enough to start paying to upkeep and slowly build their money afterwards depending on the gear they wear.  And even if they saved a lot of money from it, all the better for new players to start out with.

[Daunt_Flockula]

Well perhaps I am misunderstanding Kafein's suggestion, but this statement suggests you could still be fucked, just in a different manner.

Most probably the misunderstanding is on my side but as far as I am concerned, Kafein proposes higher gear cost replacing upkeep (a Desert Horse costing say 200,000 instead of 12k for example or maybe even higher). That would make a lot more sense but this is just an immediate consideration of mine. There always has to be a limiting factor that prevents everyone from using the top-notch stuff.

If, for example, this was to get implemented as I comprehend it at this time, the long-standing players would still have the edge with all the wealth and full armories they have.

Still, this is the just the way I understood the suggestion.