Drugs In The City Need Rework?

[BoomRoasted911]

Hey there Badlands community! Figured I’d put this here and see what feedback I may get. With coke lab and eppy pretty much not around it leaves us with drugs such as MDMA and LSD. I was curious though why coke being the higher street value but so much easier to make is the right path. MDMA for example required several steps, items, and tools to make even just be 100 capsules that sell on the streets for barely as much as meth. 
 

I believe the initial thought was to make this and sell to civs on order to use the healing function of it during a shootout for example. However, with the addition of THC Gummies at best buds giving the same effects without the chance of getting the addiction issues, nobody in city wants to use MDMA personally so it’s only real benefit is to sell for cash. With the time and effort that goes into making it (anyone that has can attest to this) I was curious why it wouldn’t sell for a little more on the streets then coke seeing it’s a “new drug” to the city. 
 

in the end, a group such as mine (305) would be more inclined to protect a drug like that and keep people from selling locations for everyone in the city if it was more enticing to make/sell. I believe most crims live off Coke, Meth, and PCP because PCP is the only drug that did not get raided and changed to including items needed to pick up ingredients. 
 

I believe this should be looked at because of the low pay it gives on streets to time out in to make as well as it could add a lot more RP. Drug dealing, wars over protecting items/Turf which I believe is what admins wanted in the first place when these new items were introduced into the city. I’d like to hear other opinions on this as well. 
 

see you on the streets! 
 

Duke

[Kathryn Davies]

+1 to this. Drugs that are harder to make, have more steps, etc should be worth more whereas easier ones should be worth less. I would go so far as to say a fair share of criminal jobs in general simply aren't worth the effort anymore when considering the payout. In the case of drugs I definitely think there needs to be a rebalance, based on effort plus risk, especially as most things crims can do in the city are done via gathering information and oftentimes it can be difficult to make money when you only have access to one or two pieces of info and are limited in terms of what you're able to do.

[Lildoc3]

I agree that there needs to be a rework because right now in city drugs aren’t worth the effort and doing crime is becoming a joke or there isn’t enough support for a job when we plan things out. I get that drugs aren’t really rp heavy but before the raids we made deals using drugs as an asset and now they change locations constantly due to police work and people who don’t keep it hush hush. It shouldn’t fee like a waste of time to go make drugs. All in all we need rework to drugs as well as other things but this is a solid starting point. 

[Lo4th]

It is really odd to me, that buying leaves and going to a location for an hour can net you fistfuls of cash. Considering the other routes in the city are 6-7 step process and a magnitude of time gathering (or buying) supplies in order to get similar results to legal substances with bad side effects. Not to mention selling to locals is not even that profitable. But with other legal substances having similar effects it defeats the purpose of rp selling to other organizations.  The real thing that kills me the most about this, is with coke being gone and epi being gone for the small amount of time they have been. It has shown a lack of things for criminals to do. When things like this happen you are left to robbing stores and banks, which in turn wears out the police when immediately after a car chase they are getting calls for another and another etc. This ultimately puts people in bad moods and leads to burn out and lack of caring. I feel like there are several other avenues that can be taken here. At the end of the day we are here for the RP so I understand why the prices are what they are but there needs to be a reason for people to purchase them. I agree with Duke though I think a rework is needed but I will go a step further and say its needed sooner rather than later. I have people in my organization that have been criminals since the beginning considering expungement and turning legal simply because there is more RP and money in it.  

[George Doors]

+1 I agree Drugs do need a huge rework, The risk and steps done to make and sell drugs just isnt worth the money, Make things harder with more steps but with a bigger payout. High risk high reward which is what i expected drug making and selling to be. Cops have crazy advantage with the tags they get when someone is selling, so thats what makes the whole selling thing high risk, Aswell as gangs patrolling the sites to make drugs etc. So at the end of all that risk you walk away with like 20-30k sometimes less. 

 

Edit: Also better side effects of drugs would make other things alot more interesting.

Edited July 26, 2021 by George Doors

[BoomRoasted911]

I honestly am not even in it for the money. When I was with the Vagos we patrolled and owned PCP. We would check the spots regularly to make sure nobody was producing and if so we would not kill them we would instead strike a deal with them. We would produce and sell to them and In turn they knew we would protect the spots to make sure their sales continued. In a month we sold over 4,000 PCP. People were driving to us on the Barrio to place orders. It gave us that “drug dealer” RP as well as gave the crew something to protect and feeling they were accomplishing a rewarding goal by keeping shit from happening in these locations so PD doesn’t find it. I like to think this could be why PCP is the only one that has not been raided. 
 

This is the RP I’d like to see back in the city 

[Travis Miller]

I agree that the drugs should have a rebalance.  When I was still part of the Vagos like Duke said I sold over 4000 PCP to other people in the city and that added more interactions and RP with the rest of the city.  It was enjoyable having the play it smart and make deals with people at different spots all over the city. 

That being said with the current state of the other drugs having more steps in order to obtain them I think it would be fair to increase the amount of money it goes for on the streets.  Or even just increasing the effects that they offer to be something desirable to other people.  To me it is not about just grinding out money from the drugs but the RP that can come out of dealing drugs around the city.  With a higher risk or getting caught / adding in more steps I believe that would justify raising the price of selling it on the streets.

Another thought is to have certain groups that can produce x drug to make more RP in the sense that people would have to seek out that group in order to receive the final product.  This could be a turf situation where whoever controls it has the access to produce that drug and another group could fight for the turf of that drug.  It would definitely bring an interesting dynamic to the city if something like this was to happen.  Would also make it so there could be more conflict between groups / gangs to add more interesting RP.

[DimitriPetranko]

Big +1, although I haven't sold much since they made the new ingredient changes with pickups. I think the old system wasn't broken and gangs were claiming drugs. If it ain't broke don't fix it and overcomplicating the process for something in no way comparable to the profit margin of Coke and Meth helped nothing. I agree turf wars are cool but you don't see people fighting over something that is obsolete compared to what is much simpler and more profitable.   

[dK_]

Everything that I’ve read here and the fact I almost never get to chase down drug dealers anymore cause no one wants to do it, I agree that some sort of change or rebalancing needs to happen.

[KiwiDoom]

+1

I agree with this. I personally think it would protect the spots even better if the spots were in known "protected" areas that belonged to existing gangs that have had a presence. At least for the higher paying ones. For them to have those spots in their "backyards" so to speak, would make it easier to protect the locations and give good rp opportunities and also the chance to do deals in between groups. 

I also agree that drugs that are complicated to make, like MDMA for example, should pay a lot more on the streets than those with just one to two steps. It makes no sense that someone can just pick up pills from a location, get a meth kit from another then going off into the mountains in an rv, produce a ton of drugs that sell for a high amount ; but then a drug where someone not only have to go to like 5 different locations, have tools, gather items that have RNG attached to them etc etc barely makes someone anything when counted against the time and effort they've gone through to make a drug.

People also need to get into the mindset of not blabbing every little detail they come across. Trading information, is one thing. If I have info on one thing, and you have info on something I want, coming up with an agreement I think is valid so long as both parties agree not to blab; but selling the information to some random joe schmoe you've never met, or just cuz you think they're "nice", makes no sense at all! 

I've seen gangs pick up new people in the city, take them to drug locations right away and tell them what to do to make money. That is not how that should go at all,. instead make the drugs, sell them to the new person for a percentage then once they're trusted, maaaaaybe tell them how to make it and where, MAYBE.

 

Every time a location gets raided because of the loose lips of someone, it affects the entire city and then look what happens, Crims are bored and have nothing to do right now. Everyone likes to say Snitches get stitches in rp, but then the people who blab about the locations or sell them are just as bad imo.

 

I love how hard the admins work, but as players in this server, we need to do better to make sure we don't make their job harder than we need to. This is all volunteer from them, we need to as a community remember and keep in mind the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. With that said, we need to voice our concerns and issues better and come together more to make sure that it is seen that not just two or three people feel this way cuz they're butt hurt. The Drug RP is a huge part of this Server, it benefits the Crims, the Cops and the regular Citizens to make sure things are balanced from both sides. 

[Brian O.]

What I think should happen it comes down to who really should deserve to have access to the most profitable drugs 'First' hand.    To explain my point, The drug business consists of:

1-Collecting the chemicals and materials needed to craft/cook the Illegal Substance

2-Having the Lab or Tools to cook or make it

3-Selling it to locals or players, depending on the kind of drug. 

Keep this steps in mind.   

 

Now I will mention an experience I had with my character Brian O'Connor.   I was at Lux and someone from a known gang comes and tells me -there is this dude at Integrity giving out 'locations' to people just because. I went ahead and found the guy myself. Take in consideration that I was even wearing an ear piece, so I could have been an Undercover Cop. I found the guy at the courthouse parking garage. He questioned why I had the ear piece but it wasn't hard to make him trust me. Without any hesitation he gave me all the locations, tools and the Lab for MDMA.      People like him that probably are just 'Visitors' in the server ruin the experience for those who are dedicated to RP in our server. 

Are we ever going to stop people from META or giving out Intel they shouldn't and that obviously would not give out if they would really treat RP with a realistic POV and not a game one?   Of course not.    It is in the hands of the STAFF to see and recognize the established groups.  Giving established Gangs at least the STEP #2 of the list above would make this whole process simple and more realistic.  

 

Scenario::

Relatively new Player =A

Gang Leader or member = B (Cocaine Crafter)

Both individuals engage in a conversation at Hayes Auto and after there is a bit of trust established they get into the more serious stuff.......

 

A- Hey man I am new in town and need to make some fast cash on the streets.

B- Sure, maybe you could move some product for me.

A- Hell yeah, what you got?

B- I got some white(Cocaine). 

--------At this point the Gang member can decide if to sell 100 units of already crafted materials to the individual or allow him to use STEP#1 of the list above, get the materials and the gang will get him the Drug cheaper. 

Another case would be that the person already had that kind of intel and would simply ask for that kind of deal. 

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This allows gangs to patrol collection spots  so people don't steal from them.  Where is the catch on this? Simple, the pick up locations for ingredients should also allow the 'new players to gather other materials used in maybe a less Profitable drug so its fair for them in the case that they are able to grab materials from the spot, such materials could be used for crafting in a non- gang patrolled lab, RV or location.   This will give people a chance to encounter the gang members guarding the Pick Up location and create the opportunity for them to work a deal.    We need to have some sort of 'seniority' for those who stick around and are TRUE members of our community. It could seem a nit unfair from a new players stand point. But those new players who don't really Know how to value what we have or simply just don't care because they are passing by, ruin the experience of those who are here for the long run.    

 

In summary, we should have options for the people who are just passing by and are Server Hopping or trying out. Then if they really want to make money, they have to RP with the big gangs to get access to the BIG boy Drugs.   Gangs could even test if they trust that person by having them do something for them to earn the deal. 

 

This is all brainstorming a possible solution, I just don't want to express my concern without contributing with my ideas. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Dj Naky

[- Sledge -]

+1 Drugs need larger payouts. You can essentially make as much money doing deliveries as you can from selling weed, the only incentive to sell weed is to break up the monotony. The drugs that take 3-5 steps to make sell for little more than weed and are therefore a waste of time. Drugs lack rp value and are high risk for low/mediocre reward.

[BoomRoasted911]

I love all the great feedback on here. Thank you everyone for taking the time to do so! My hope is that admins read this and understand that it wasn’t just crims in this forum as cops even indicated not getting nearly any drug related calls anymore and they look at possibly making some changes to better the RP surrounding them 

[Atryus]

I would like to see not only prices reworked but the selling system reworked. I can hunt and make 60k and thats clean money no risk in about 40 mins. to make 100 LSD (Not going to describe the grind for those of you who know you know) Cost up front as a new person about 50k just to make a run. The grind to be able to actually do so requires multiple steps and can take hours just to get whats needed to gather the materials. you then spend about 30 mins making the drug, to then have to decide "Where do I feel like selling drugs and getting arrested?" Mainly because of the way the hot spot system works where you need to stay in the same area you first started selling or lose about 80% of the value of your drugs. But lets assume you somehow by the grace of god get to sell all 100 of your LSD and cops dont run up and arrest you. You just made 20k. after hours of work. now if you move away from the hotspot to avoid getting busted in a hot location that 20k is now about 12k. meaning you need to do 300-400 LSD to net positive for the startup cost.

The other issue is due to the way drug hot spots work LEO are almost always in a rp negative situation, because no one in their right mind is about to purposely allow themselves to get caught and get a 10k fine with time when they most likely havent even made that yet. So cops will either 1. Get shot the moment they come up. 2. Have people run right away. 3. get yeeted into a gas station during a car chase.

So essentially this means that not only is it a poor way of making money for crims, but its not fun or good RP for either side of the spectrum. And because of this you get crim groups chain robbing stores and just shooting their way out every time.

 

Here is a solution. Change how dealing works, you just got done making 100 coke, you have 100 coke, 30 meth, 15 heroin, 200 LSD. You sign into a job and mark off saying you have those specific drugs, like how food deliveries works you will get random pings for you to deliver to. One location might want 20 coke, another might want 3, but in this prices go up, so rather than selling 100 coke in 5-10 mins on the pier for 40k you sell the 100 over the course of an hour for 60k-100k the catch is not every location is going to be friendly, It might be you roll up and AI's start shooting at you trying to steal your shit. You might need to chase down someone who took the drugs and ran off without paying and beat them (Or shoot them) to get your money.

So what does this change? It slows down the process of dealing but makes it far more profitable making it a decent form of making money, It adds more risk to the Crim in the sense they need to keep good stock on them and obviously with 100+ drugs in your vehicle your not going to be wanting to speed around attracting police attention, This also would add more of a Investigation element for those officers who would like to do that, where they can build a drug dealer profile on people and as such since its not a "Well you need to stay here or you are not making money" system, hopefully more people would be inclined to talk their way out rather than just resort to shooting right away.

[Mev]

any update if anything is being implemented ? trying to make drugs to sell and most of the time they are "out of stock" if you know what i mean. 

[Samantha Hatfield]

3 hours ago, Mev said:

any update if anything is being implemented ? trying to make drugs to sell and most of the time they are "out of stock" if you know what i mean. 

This is a IC question, stuff changes and things move on; just keep going through IC to find out.

[ZaxxYs]

13 hours ago, Mev said:

any update if anything is being implemented ? trying to make drugs to sell and most of the time they are "out of stock" if you know what i mean. 

Like Amos said, stuff changes constantly, im sure you can find this IC if you ask around.