Runes of Magic has created
a player
base that few subscription-based titles enjoy in this overly
competitive MMOG market. With a player base of over two million, a
major content patch only six months after launch, regular content
patches, and awards coming from every major gaming site in the US RoM
is easy to mistake as a subscription-based game. This game really
has it going on; especially for a free-to-play title.

So, how do they keep all of
these
updates rolling? Simple, they have a micro transaction store that
helps players along in the game.

So the question always
presents itself
with free-to-play games.

Do you have to use
the micro
transactions in order to play the game and/or be competitive?

First let us explore the
basics of
diamonds.

The first thing you need to
know is
that in order to use the Item Mall in game you need Diamonds. Diamonds
are the currency for Runes of Magic; without diamonds you
will not be getting things out of the Item Mall. So, what do
diamonds cost?

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Diamonds

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Cost*

100

$4.99

200

$9.49

500

$21.99

1000

$39.99

2000

$74.99

3000

$99.99

4000

$129.99

*all costs are in USD

Now that you have purchased
your
diamonds you can start getting things from the in game Item mall.

Next, what do items from
the mall cost? The cost varies but the most expensive item that I have
found in the
item mall to date was 395 diamonds and that was a permanent mount,
which is not exactly game breaking. Most items in the mall seem to
be under 50 diamonds. The items that are used to upgrade items or
other runes mostly range in the 15-70 diamond range. This means that
if you want to get ahead quickly at end game you are looking at
dropping a fairly serious amount of money - or are you?

You have to consider that
the average
MMOG subscription costs $15 per month x 12 months in a year = $180 a
year. For $180 you can obtain roughly 5200 diamonds. That is a fair
amount of diamonds and if you only have one or even two main
characters I think you can get very far into end game content with
that amount.

So getting the diamonds
seems that it
will cost you about the same amount as if you were playing any other
MMOG. But, the question is still out there: Do you need them to be
competitive in end game? The answer here is both yes *and* no, which
I’ll explain in further detail below.

Why Yes?

Yes,because if you want to
get to end
game and then be competitive you are going to need pile and piles of
runes and stones, not to mention gold to get items off of the auction
house to be able to craft gear to what is considered acceptable terms
with in the game in a reasonable amount of time.

Why No?

No because you really do
not “have”
to jump right into raiding once you reach end game; also you can farm
up everything you need in game. It really is not imperative to have
diamonds to be able to reach the absolute end of the game. It may
take you the balance of a year or two but you can get there without
diamonds.

What else you need to know

In the item mall you can
also spend
Phirius Tokens and Rubies. Phirius Tokens can be gained from doing
daily quests as mentioned in the Arcane Transmutation Guide. Rubies
are gained in varying amounts with each purchase using either
Diamonds or Phirius Tokens. All three “monies” in game seem to
allow you to purchase different things. Rubies are the only ones
that you cannot get without making another purchase. All purchases
have a varying degree of usefulness and should be tried out. Just
don’t get too crazy.

In Conclusion

Frogster has done a
brilliant job of
taking a thing like micro transactions (aka diamond buying) and
turning them into a thing that makes the game much more enjoyable
rather than something that you “must” do in order to even play.

I would say that purchasing
diamonds is
a good idea. There is no real reason why you should not, especially
if you are only using them end game to max out your equipment so that
you can more quickly enjoy all that is the “end” of the game. They also
do not cost that much. Sure, you can over spend, but you
can do that with your lunch as well.

I would also say buy in
bulk and don't
buy until end game. Buy in bulk because it’s cheaper; the 100
diamond purchase averages out to just under $.05 each while the 4000
diamond purchase averages out to about $.03 each. Buying at end game
or at least very close to end game keeps you from spending them on
crazy things like potions and dye for your clothes and allows you to
focus on getting the runes/stones you need to upgrade your gear.

I have had my say about why
you might
want to get diamonds. What do you think? Leave a comment or
question in forms!