Krono – MMO Fallout

The Krono is an item similar to PLEX in that it is purchased on the cash shop and can be traded between players for in-game currency, and then redeemed for a month of subscription. The idea behind the item is to undercut gold farmers and (in the case of Everquest II) to allow for the safe trade of platinum for subscription time (players trade platinum for SOE codes, which is incredibly risky for the buyer). While some of the community disagree with the item as a concept, the introduction has prompted an unexpected, but hardly unwelcome change to the way Sony limits accounts.

Under the current system, Krono is kind of self-defeating. The item is selling for hundreds (seven or eight hundred, approximately) of platinum on the trade broker, and the item is impossible to buy for anyone who isn’t already a subscriber due to the hard cash limits placed on accounts. However, in the patch notes for the public test realm for Everquest II, the following note popped up:

Memberships: There will no longer be coin limits on any account types.

Since Krono is coming to other titles in SOE’s library, it’s probably safe to assume that those games will lose their cash limits as well, if for no other reason than to open a larger market for people to buy Krono.

(Source: EQ2 Forums)

PLEX is an item in Eve Online which allows pilots to purchase subscription time without spending a dime. In essence, one player purchases a PLEX for the cost of one month’s subscription. The PLEX is a real item that exists in the game world, and can be sold to other players for ISK, thus creating a sanctioned form of real money trading, without the negative effects of having gold farmers rolling over the server. Since then, the system has been adopted in other games, from the gems in Guild Wars 2 to a vanity pet in World of Warcraft. TERA introduced Chronoscrolls, and several other MMOs are coming along with their own special items as well. So it comes as little surprise that Sony Online Entertainment would eventually add this tactic to their arsenal.

At SOE Live 2012, John Smedley revealed that the Krono would soon be hitting Everquest II, on October 29th. The Krono can be traded between players, and offers one month of premium game access in whatever game it is redeemed in. Initially the Krono will only be available in Everquest II, however Sony hopes to implement the item in the rest of its library as time goes on. With Everquest at least, this should put a stop to one of the game’s black markets. On Everquest, currently, players regularly trade platinum (in-game currency) for game card codes, a similar but unregulated version of the Krono. As is common with such a market, scammers are always about with fake or used codes.