@pancake
I'm not ignoring it, I'm flatly saying it's not true. You said that people are less likely to compulsively grind for pebbles than shards and I was pointing out that, when lacking the ability to grind shards, a player (me, as example) will just focus on grinding pebbles because that's the only thing they can do. It only slows down the progress of ftp players, not curbing undesirable behavior.
Essentially, no-lifers gonna no-life.
As for whether pebble sinks or ms injections are better for solving the disparity, from an economic standpoint it does the same thing: it increases the relative purchasing power of pebbles to ms.
The questions more pertinent than which one should be done are:
What is the ideal exchange rate for ms-peb?
What is the lower and upper limit of time necessary to be financially stable? Well off? Super rich?
How significant do you want irl money to affect a player's financial success in game? How do you want it to impact game experience?
Frankly, I'm fine with the shard limits staying exactly where they are- I'm going to claw my way out of the poorhouse either way because I have enough experience and assets in other games to establish myself.
But if we're talking about establishing how “hard” the economy is for a casual player or a ftp player vs a no-life or whale, it's about deciding how accessible (in the non-disability sense) you want the game to be. Essentially, how much do you want to reward hard work, time, and/or irl money, vs how much you want new players to be able to experience and engage and have fun.
Dark souls doggos or picrew puppies. Both are really fun games! And the natural answer is a sweet spot where both demographics are pleased, but you can't make all of both happy.
