ArcheAge makes it (temporarily) safer to regrade gear, drama llamas come out to play

One of ArcheAge’s more… interesting features is its gear upgrade system. In short, it’s a risky proposition to “regrade” gear because it costs money, it doesn’t always work, and in higher tiers there’s even the chance that it will destroy the item.

So is it a relief or a cash grab that ArcheAge is hosting an event for the next two weeks to ease up on these restrictions? Through June 21st, players can regrade gear with a 1.5x bonus to success while replacing possible Celestial item destruction with a mere gear demotion. Buy one, get one free regrade sales promotions will be ongoing during this period.

The event triggered a wave of negative player reaction, with some upset that Trion didn’t give a heads-up in advance, that the divine notices are spamming screens, and that it has had a noticeable impact on the game’s economy.

“I just, two days ago, spent my savings in gold trying to get divine weapon,” one player wrote, “and this was totally unplanned or pre-announced. I would of saved my cash and gold for this. To [compound] the issue, the regrade pack can only be purchased once even though it does not note that. I bought it when it was released.”

Then again, this could be just the expected response of players upset that others are catching up in gear levels with reduced effort and risk.