isn't the new Weapon lottery bad for everyone - INCLUDING BIOWARE / EA ?

Your plea is admirable, but utterly pointless.

Personally I was on the edge prior to the added weapon attributes to throw some money. Afterwards it felt clear the target audience was whales and it was no longer worth tossing extra money to the pit. At least with the likes of Destiny and Overwatch the chance of getting something you want during an event or within a limited stock is fairly high from 30-60 bucks. Even pre-patch one could drop hundreds on ME and still not get what they want while the added grind makes that even more unlikely.

I know the plural of anecdote isn't data, but: As a previous buyer of andromedabux (and the super deluxe edition), any and all chances of me paying money for a pack went out the window with the great loot pool chlorination of 1.09

Anybody who spends real money on this game is very quickly crushingly disappointed and dissuaded from doing do immediately when they are handed the same garbage they would have got anyway regardless at an outrageous mark up. I have always said spending money should guarantee UR unlocks otherwise there is literally no advantage to spending real money when there absolutely should be.

Expecting customers to pay for a chance of unlocking something rather than offering the actual item is criminal and should be banned imo.

I also stopped spending money on Andromeda points with 1.09. It's just tossing pebbles into the ocean. There NEEDS to be a fix for this situation. Leveling one really good gun and one good character, just ONE of each is almost impossible.

Last patch stated firmly that they're not going to change the diluted pool. Complaining now is useless, and the only way we can speak and make a point is with our wallets now. Sales must've plummeted after 1.09, hence we got the mail asking politely "how can we milk you for money again?"

Interestingly Bioware asked some of these exact questions in an email survey they sent out last week.

imgur.com/a/Wj5Ox

No guarantees of course but it looks like Bioware may be considering allowing people to spend real money to get guaranteed items.

It is bad.

Mainly because Bulwark and Concussive weapons are largely unwanted.

I would be interested in being able to buy specific items as long as the price wasn't ridiculous.

Lets see, takes on average about 400K to unlock an UR. And there are 21URs so...mm lets say 8.4M for a "likely chance" to unlock or get a specific UR. What is the equivalent in American cash to a premium pack $2.50? (if I'm wrong ignore everything afterward) 4*$2.50*21 is what $210.... that means for every specific weapon sold Bioware would be cutting a guestimated potential $210 dollars... I don't see a selectable UR being anything less than $20... if it is, a player is literally better off paying real money to cap a weapon they want.

But that is the plan I guess so... what $10 for a specific UR card? lol $100 for a that Hurricane X or Human Kinetisis X. I'm actually curious on what people would pay for a single UR card pack if they could select. I forsure see this being a thing players would empty their pockets over. Shyt people are already tossing $100 at random country...

are you serious about that calculation??

Remember the marginal cost to produce is $0. The calculation should be "what price will raise the lifetime value of a customer?"

If I had access to Bioware's store data, I could work that out. It isn't a simple calculation because some prices will motivate different groups to purchase, etc.