The biggest problem you can get with exchanges between real-money currencies and in-game currencies in MMOs is when one is far more valuable than the other. Star Trek Online is tweaking its Phoenix Packs for exactly this reason; specifically, it’s making them a permanent part of the game, allowing you to purchase them for Dilithium whenever you want. You’ll no longer be able to claim one for free per day, though, but hopefully you will want to buy some with that Dilithium.
How does this tie into the game’s economy? Well, Dilithium (an in-game currency) can be exchanged for Zen (the microtransaction currency) and vice-versa. The inflation cap on the exchange was being reached for Dilithium, meaning that it took 500 Dilithium for 1 Zen, which could easily lead to a backlog of players trying to sell Dilithium with no one interested in buying it. The solution, then, is to offer something more to purchase via Dilithium, and permanent Phoenix Packs are precisely that.
To better help you defend the final frontier, the Phoenix Prize Pack is changing on PC. As of this morning, the Pack will remain available indefinitely, but the ability to claim a free pack a day will be suspended. These changes will come to Console in a future update. pic.twitter.com/7H1BMIpzp6
— Star Trek Online (@trekonlinegame) December 3, 2019