I believe PSO2 would thrive more for the people if there was a marriage system added to the game. it would bring people together, give people something to talk about, and possibly bring people back to PSO. There can be special things that can be given to people from special items to new fashion clothes. Marriage has always been a big thing to people and just about every game has one and they all have done pretty successfully in the sense. Of course, the only drawback that could ever come to a person's mind is you could be sitting in the lobby and a random person comes up to you and bugs you to marry then but that is why we have a block system so a person does not really have to deal with stuff like that for very long.

How the system could work is there can be a big event that can have a set date so people know when to attend, special fashion outfits can be given out to the bride and groom along with a special ring. People that attend the wedding can get special items also that do special things that can give Power boosts, Experience boosts, or Rare Drop boosts so; it would give the person a really good reason to attend and the person that is getting married would really feel like it is there day.

There can be tiers of weddings that cost Star Gems to activate and the higher the Tier the higher the gifts.

• Tier 1 can be just a simple wedding with the lowest set gifts and rewards. it could cost 200 SG so even people that are just starting out can afford it and it can be really fun for the new person just starting out also it would get the person thinking "wow maybe ill stick around this game for a bit longer than I thought."

• Tier 2 can cost 500 SG and would be the middle event of the wedding. It would have more to offer from the ceremony to the gifts along with better stuff for the people that attend.

• Tier 3 can be the grandest of ceremonies of the wedding. It could cost 800 SG and give the best possible rewards and gifts along with a special fashion outfit and the highest rarity ring.

There can be a special Tribooster that can apply to the happy couple for as long as they are in a party together. If a couple were to first join the game and would be looking to get married ASAP just so they can get that little extra boost they can do the Tier 1 wedding and then later down the road, once they saved up the SG, they can do the Grand wedding and get the better things that come with it. If divorces were to ever happen there can be a timer set on the two people where they cannot get married for 6 days and there can be a 24-hour cancel timer of set divorce so if the couple changes there mind they can stay married instead of going through the whole waiting process.

This is just a little thought I had and I do think this would help the game really thrive. It would give people something to look forward to in the game and maybe add much more excitement to it.

Why? You can roleplay that to your hearts content already. Oh, it's all about the rewards again. Of course...

In most cases, the "gifts" from weddings in MMOs are...

• EXP/etc. increase for partying with your married player character.
• Teleporting to your married character. (Not possible in Base/Vanilla PSO2. Will be possible in NGS.)
• A cosmetic fashion item/set.

Usually regardless of tier. (FFXIV's higher tiers give a mount, and fashion items become dyeable.) But this is all they give.

I haven't played a game with a marriage system before, but I agree that this could be a fun feature for people that get really into character creation! And I think linking the ceremonies to the in-game concerts would work nicely as there's already a crowd and folks getting married could be displayed on the monitors during the song and cause unique animations like everybody raising a toast at the end.

I'd also be all for unique cosmetics (maybe you pick out the ring/outfit your partner gets at the ceremony?), but my vote would be for marriage to not confer any gameplay-related benefits beyond what currently exists in the game. Like I could see reducing certain requirements so that they apply to a 2-person party (e.g. giving full 4-person party Triboost (40%) to married couples instead of the 2-person boost), but anything extra feels like it would encourage marrying for the wrong reasons and would take away from its in-game significance (other than a limited-time boost like a Honeymoon Triboost for a couple days after the ceremony). Maybe I'm just worrying about seeing those cringeworthy party Triboost Symbol Arts for marriage, i.e. "Don't be stupid, join me in matrimony for the Triboost!"

However, I do think you could change certain in-game features to make your marriage feel more "real" without affecting gameplay much. For example, you could share the same personal quarters or connect your 2 quarters together. You could also gain the ability to join your partner's block even if it's full (regardless of premium membership), you could change your (last) names 1 time without paying, etc.

And this one would probably cause the same "wrong reasons" I wanted to avoid, but I'd also be cool with adding a shared bank account and/or allowing trades between partners without having premium. Or if that's too extreme maybe just give partners a tax break on purchases from the other's Personal Shop. Like you said, you'd need to add a significant delay (1 month?) for a "divorce" to be finalized to prevent folks from exploiting the system, and you'd also probably need to add a freeze period on new characters to prevent RMT bots from ruining everyone's good times as per usual; but, I think it's a fun feature to brainstorm about and agree that it'd add value to a dedicated part of the playerbase!

i like the idea of a well thought through wedding system especially with the new NGS title coming up not only would it be more fun for the girls who wanna test pso2 NGS but also for the guys who like to play with their girls also i see it being fun to "summon a special person close to you" on the new large worldmap or to flex with unique wedding emotes also its a nice income for SEGA cause i bet that alot of people gonna have fun doing it (according to the numbers on another big mmorpg)

adding a "buff system" to it where you gain lets say more rdr and exp by doing/gathering/crafting specific things with your partner (like the daily boosts or premium boosts for example) might even encourage people to do it who think "its silly"

Phatasy Star New Genesis 2, electric boogaloo, dating SIM edition.

In all seriousness, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Elder Scrolls online has a marriage system, granted a poorly implemented one, that allows you and your spouse to garner increased experience gains whilst both of you are wearing your wedding ring. So I wouldn't mind players actually dating in this game as well.

All I stated was just a fairly small portion but if it came out I think a lot more people would check out pso2 and the marriage cutscenes would make for great streaming highlights.

I guess something cosmetic and event-y could be of a little interest. The nature of online coverage means including same-sex marriage would be a no-brainer; not allowing it would likely see the game attacked, while allowing and showcasing it would likely see the game run a brief online circuit of praise.

If anything I kind of draw the line at permanent stat gains or triboosts for married characters. I don't see why that would be necessary. It should be enough that they give temporary boosts in line with boosts that can be obtained by spending the same amount by non-marriage means so players don't feel forced to do something they don't want to to keep up.

@Miraglyth Well the boost would only apply if you were in a party with your spouse/partner if the two were not in a party then there would be no boost

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

@Miraglyth said in Marriage system:

I kind of draw the line at permanent stat gains or triboosts for married characters.

Well the boost would only apply if you were in a party with your spouse/partner if the two were not in a party then there would be no boost

Okay, but how long for? 2 days after the wedding would be fair enough. If you're thinking forever, then I'd register objection.

For one thing this would be unfair to players who don't care to roleplay marriage stuff who would be forced to either pretend or miss out on boosts that subsequent drop rates would account for to avoid making things too common.

For another, if it's like a 50% triboost on top of the regular party boost, you're basically devaluing premium by saying "Hey F2P players, spend some of the SG you got from story quests on a one-time purchase that gets you a permanent replica of one of the benefits that premium players pay a subscription for!" - bad idea.

@Miraglyth Well the time limit could be up to the PSO team if they deem it fit but if I had to slap a time limit on it I would say why not on the anniversary. When the date comes up they can renew their marriage for a fraction of the price or they can let it expire cause they just do not feel the spark they felt when they first got married. Also again the effect would only take place if they were in a party together, you can have a party of 4, that gives a 40% tribooster, and if 50% is too high they can make it 30% if they did the Grand Tier wedding so it could equal out to 70% tribooster, and that is just from having 2 couples in one party.

If people do not want to get married then they do not have to, people are allowed to make choices like that every day of their lives just like they do not wish to roleplay with people and instead just do UQ and chat with people in the lobby. There are always going to be those people that do not wish to do the things that the PSO team pushes out or they will either do it once or look into it and say "Nah not for me." That is just how people are.

The tribooster thing does not even have to be 50% it can be whatever the PSO team Wants it to be. Even if I was to get married in the game I would still buy the 90-day premium pack because it offers more than just a 50% tribooster you get your personal quarters extended for 90 days so you do not have to grind out fun points to keep your house, you get a shop for 90 days, you get 3 gold mission pass tickets so that saves you 600 SG right there, and you can trade with people; there is probably more that I am forgetting but I would not believe just cause people can get married it would "devalue" the premium pack. Honestly, for me the 50% tribooster that the premium pack gives it just Icing on the cake for me, the pack already gives so much to the player it feels like the PSO team is just being super nice to the players that invest money into it by giving players a 1-3 month permanent tribooster.

I know the Marriage System I came up with Is not 100% perfect; it is more of a foundation of an idea that would require a little bit of brainstorming to make sure that the system does not break the game but if a person was to first play the game and see there is marriage system in the game they can message their real-life girlfriend to also play the game with them so instead of one person joining the PSO community there could be two that venture into the game and after a certain point if they like the game they can marry to get the added effects so they can get that slight edge to catch up to everyone else.

@Miraglyth said in Marriage system:

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

@Miraglyth said in Marriage system:

I kind of draw the line at permanent stat gains or triboosts for married characters.

Well the boost would only apply if you were in a party with your spouse/partner if the two were not in a party then there would be no boost

Okay, but how long for? 2 days after the wedding would be fair enough. If you're thinking forever, then I'd register objection.

actually a time limited boost sounds fair enough - a 100% tri boost wich you may activate once per month on a day of your choosing (lasts 24 hours) - maybe something like a "wedding celebration buff" - wich only works if youre in a party with your partner to give it more spice

and maybe also add this buff into some kind of "system" itself wich got several perks - lets say you can claim monthly points by doing quests/other stuff with your partner (similar to mission pass) and then spend said points into the stuff you like (the monthly tri boost for 1 day OR 5 free scratches a month OR weapon grinding boost for 1 day OR flat amount of meseta OR whatever else comes to mind...whatever the devs feel like its not too much but also rewarding enough for the stuff youre doing....each perk having its own points wich you can collect by doing weekly quests with your partner)

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

but if I had to slap a time limit on it I would say why not on the anniversary.

@JuggernautGTX said in Marriage system:

actually a time limited boost sounds fair enough - a 100% tri boost wich you may activate once per month on a day of your choosing (lasts 24 hours)

Congratulations, you've just devalued both timed abilities and premium day on the 22nd.

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

When the date comes up they can renew their marriage for a fraction of the price

That's fine, so long as it's not better value for money than other temporary buyable boosts of course.

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

Also again the effect would only take place if they were in a party together [snip] and if 50% is too high they can make it 30%

I didn't ignore this point, I just think it's not a point. What's the equivalent for an unmarried person? Because if there isn't one, that's not fair. It doesn't matter if something is conditional if other people cannot ever meet the condition, so I didn't bother replying to that part.

@Lonewolf-69x said in Marriage system:

If people do not want to get married then they do not have to [snip] There are always going to be those people that do not wish to do the things that the PSO team pushes out or they will either do it once or look into it and say "Nah not for me." That is just how people are.

This highlights your misconception, that this would be harmless for people who don't do it.

It's a little easy to forget since the PSO2 Global team are seriously rushing us through PSO2 and in the process giving us all a ton of upgrades and even now best-in-slot items for free or almost insultingly cheap exchanges. But at it's heart and especially once we've caught up to JP and get into NGS, this is going to be a game about repeating content to hunt for rares that are not going to be as easy to come by as they have been for the last 2-3 months.

Suppose NGS starts with the equivalent of 7★ equipment as its highest tier, and that a few months in they start drip-feeding us the first 8★ drops. They won't want everyone to get them on day one, they'll want to give them some mileage by having challenging drop rates. As a simple example, suppose they want it to be 1% after boosts. If the basic drop rate including all the accessible boosts like daily boosts, party triboost and so on hits 1%, great.

But suppose they add this wedding system and give it an extra triboost. Uh-oh, now players with that will have a 1.2% drop rate, and that's a little too common for their liking, and might cause too many to enter circulation too soon. So they'd better lower the base drop rate of the shiny new content so players with that boost will still have the intended 1% drop chance. Guess what that means? Players who haven't roleplayed a marriage now only have a 0.84% drop chance.

So no, this wouldn't be a harmless choice that could safely be ignored. The addition of a boost exclusive to weddings would hurt them. That's what matters.

@JuggernautGTX said in Marriage system:

lets say you can claim monthly points by doing quests/other stuff with your partner (similar to mission pass) and then spend said points into the stuff you like (the monthly tri boost for 1 day OR 5 free scratches a month OR...

The funny thing is you're getting at a workable solution here: This would be fine, at long as those points were available by other means. Let's call them Boost Points. If completing a quest with a marriage partner gives 5 Boost Points, but you could also get those 5 Boost Points by inviting a random player avatar to a party for the quest, great! Ideally this would either be mutually exclusive (so you couldn't do both at the same time as that would give marriage an advantage) or there'd be an accessible cap like 100 Boost Points every 4 weeks.

Of course this would also mean that Daily/Weekly/Tier Missions and even more importantly Bingo tasks should never involve marriage. Because as much as people complain about a Rappy Slots PSE Burst weekly missions once every three months, they can still do that without signing up to any kind of roleplay commitment.

Let me get back to my main feedback: Weddings are a neat idea, a fun way to add player-driven social content to the game for those that like that kind of thing, and I'm sure they'd be highly entertaining for people who really care about that side of things. They don't need to cause permanent problems for game balance to accomplish any of that. Their existence as an event should be the important thing, no?

@Miraglyth it might cause problems if the wedding was "AC only" and not "free" by spending SG (and only gives bonus outfits if you buy a luxury pack with ac but otherwise has no difference to the SG wedding) - i think the devs are doing a good job on keeping the game as f2p friendly as they can while also earning enough money for future updates...so i think theyll find good ways on making this "enjoyable as possible" without hurting the game...even if its just cosmetics you can get by doing "monthly missions" (seperate from other weekly/monthly stuff) or maybe even housing stuff (if it gets implemented) i think ppl would be happy with that....

something fun could also be: you can earn a key for a special cocoon (dungeon) by doing special tasks with your partner... that only 2 people can enter once per week - depending on how "well you are doing" you can earn special rewards randomly...like grinding mats etc or maybe even fashion on a low rate (fashion changes each 2 months) - you also earn points at the end depending on your rank - you can spend said points to "pity" some of the fashion the dungeon can drop but only max 2 item per - and a couple small insignificant items on a low point cost

@JuggernautGTX said in Marriage system:

@Miraglyth it might cause problems if the wedding was "AC only" and not "free"

This entire time I have been discussing this wedding suggestion as though it cost SG, as that was what the original post said. It being "free" (a contentious statement given SG supply and scratches) does not change a single thing I've said. If it gives otherwise unattainable permanent bonuses that cannot be matched by doing anything else and which contend with paid and temporary bonuses, this would be objectionable. Period.

@JuggernautGTX said in Marriage system:

even if its just cosmetics you can get

Yep, no objections there. Make it the only way to get a wedding dress outfit or whatever and there's no issue whatsoever so long as that outfit doesn't give a permanent 100% triboost just for having it equipped.