A new player might complain, saying everything is too difficult, while an old player might complain, saying everything is too easy and there is no challenge anymore. Problem lies in finding the proper equilibrium, such that a majority of both groups will be satisfied with the result. I think the "Dita" event was yet closer to that equilibrium.

I do not believe one can say that there's no such thing as too high a price when that same person complains other people are wanting to pay too low a price. The market is subjective. Value is determined by an agreement between buyer and seller. Beastkeeper's community is so small, we could hardly even be said to have an average market value to gauge the worth of items. And besides, when some people are giving items away for free, it can make those who sell the same items at extravagant prices appear very greedy indeed. But that is all a matter of perspective.

I think many event items were overpriced, but that is only because I have my own idea of how much I would pay. Personal supply vs demand, if you will. For instance, as a newbie I was hesitant to pay more than 1,000 silver for a pet. Just a couple days ago, though, I bought a unicorn for 55,000 silver and still think I got a bargain. 

If you don't like the price someone's offering, don't sell to them. If you don't like the price someone demands, don't buy from them. The RNG of Explore is another matter, though, and I do feel sorry for those who had terrible luck.

It's basically the free market. Most if not all command economies have failed, historically speaking, because so much information required for the setting of prices and the quantities demanded and supplied cannot be said to be endogenous to the markets concerned.

Classical economics states that if you have a product being produced, and buyers for that product, markets will automatically form and solve to a fair market value, but in practice this is far from the case. For one thing, there's monopolies and cartels and black markets, and for another there's the problem that most humans are not acting out of enlightened long term self interest.

Of course, price is not a determinant of demand. Demand AND supply determines price. So in a case of high demand but low supply you will naturally see very high prices. That's micro economics 101. If it was high demand but high supply, prices would stay low as more and more supply came into the market. Buyers could pick and choose. And of course the lack of time to wait out sellers  means that buyers were forced to accept high prices.

This game's markets are in fact a brilliant microcosm of real world economics, but if I arry on any further I fear everyone else is going to go crosseyed with boredom :D

No crossed eyes here, I didn't enjoy my econ course very much but found the subject matter very useful.

I do think this Kami is the most accessible by far. This is because it required resources independent of player wealth - time, community, a single level 50 pet (although 900,000 silver helps when the deadline is approaching...). Fragrance is one of the easiest traits to come by due to the popularity of unicorns. No special genetic combos or perfect battle squad required.

It's just...People have other resources, too. Socialization, and strategic thinking, and creativity. Instead of doing nothing but exploring...maybe if gaining pearls involved some kind of a puzzle? Some kind of cooperative player vs. environment challenge where you and another player send a pet against a common enemy? A feature like this could serve a dual purpose of walking new players through battlefield mechanics without the stress and time expenditure of the Battlefield.

Well, now I'm daydreaming. I know these kind of features would require significant programming and design effort. They are the opposite of trivial...!

But the next time I find myself looking at 250 explores over the course of four days I don't think I'll be able to do it.

Puzzles would be nice. I like the crafting of intricate items. And the breeding of beasts with specific traits is fun, too. But stuff like money tree seeds and liquid vermillion is just hard to get. I managed to get some liquid vermillion over the winter event and am hoarding it just in case.

Exploring is really tedious, but what I enjoyed about the drake and etelia events is the fun of hunting and destroying the hounds and etelia to get pumpkins and ice. In fact, the orthrus hunting had me playing all afternoon, once I build my state portal service branch :)