Possible Content Involving Rare Parts

I had a brain fart today so indulge me. One of the problems with Neocron's economy is rares and the hoarding of rare parts. Some people sit on rare parts and have cabinets full of them, mostly to trade for the rare parts they really want. With RNG being what it is and with unpredictable loot tables many players get frustrated chasing that dream weapon (e.g a cursed soul).

I thought about a possible solution. Why not have an NPC(s) that you could trade unresearched rare parts with in exchange for the parts for the weapon you do want. For example I farm all day and get 15 rare parts, I go to the NPC and exchange these 15 parts and I pick from the options a Liberator out of the choice of pistol rares. You could have an NPC for heavy weapons, psi and so on and so on. That NPC gives you the parts needed to craft the weapon (the core and what not etc etc) but you don't get the complete weapon. It still needs to be constructed by a player so that doesn't eliminate that side of the industry.

But obviously there are balance issues. This system makes researchers slightly redundant but also has a wide range of implications for the economy. I think to balance this these NPCs can only be accessed by wisdom of ceres accredited players, which in turn drives up the demand to complete that content. Players that want rare weapons the traditional way, while they work up to wisdom of ceres, can farm like normal and make use of researchers like normal.

It's not a full proof solution but maybe there it's something to consider. Something usable.

What would also help a lot of new players is if loot tables were adjusted so that mobs dropped weapons with better stats than shop quality weapons rather than just junk. But that's another point altogether.

Thoughts?

Good? Bad? Should I shut my dirty whore mouth? :p

I like the idea. I would suggest making the price paid to get the part you want somewhat higher than 15 parts. I realise this is an arbitrary amount for discussion but I think it should be a high price. This would mean that this isnt the "go to" way to get your rares.

I think it hinges on how easy it is to get rare parts solo? are they obtainable now? Is PVE back to being how it should be?

Would/could you limit the NPC to only having access to the lower end rare weapons? To ensure that the really rare ones can still retain value. Perhaps just low tech weapons or just those below Tl100 - to allow people levelling up to access the first bracket of upgraded firepower?

I dont think this system is something I would necessarily use due to having ways to get rare parts easily already and 3 accounts etc but if i was starting out as a new player trying to get my first Pain Easer this would probably be a great system.