Key Shards, QoL and General Suggestions

[Man]

Terran and I were discussing the current state of the server, and why playercount has been consistently declining despite no apparent disinterest with TTT as a gamemode.
It's apparent that other TTT servers are rather successful, and constantly fill out their servers, while FRG only ends up being full when there is an update implemented.
That's not an issue that I'm unfamiliar with. Many servers suffer from this update-oriented mentality, and it's simply because people get bored of content quickly and don't have much of a reason to stick around after they feel that they have accomplished everything the update has to offer, I.E. unlocking everything in a crate, or after everything has been discovered in a given crate.

Another issue that I've identified is the clunkiness of our inventory system. While I'm sure that many people are content with it, the FRG inventory is rather clunky, and many drops and systems are monotonous and time consuming to convert into something useful that the player actually wants to have- Some players entirely delete items below a given rarity that they've deemed worthless. This leads to a general atmosphere of monotony, and it's definitely hard to get excited when most things you get are just going to get turned into a key that get turned into an item of (usually) a similar rarity. That isn't to say that keys are a bad thing, it's just that making them from piles of inventory clutter can be both time-consuming and unwelcome for a lot of players. (Assuming that they even stick around long enough to learn that we have a lobby)


So...

I suggest adding a few things to make drops something you actually want to get, instead of something that clutters your inventory.

This requires...

A streamlined way to turn your post-round drops into something that can be used, regardless of level. This would be implemented in a similar way to the planned creation of godlike shards. You can convert any item into shards (or essence) by pressing and holding the conversion button. Anything of primordial rarity or above (or above a given rarity value, to prevent deleting say, a triple suffix rare - may be a good idea to assign each item a rarity value given this update) will query an additional text box (this can also be disabled). You can use this essence to then make keys, re-roll specific stats on a weapon (with specific states each costing varying amounts of essence - damage and firerate being the most expensive next to suffixes and traits, etc), and it could potentially be used as a secondary currency with some specific vendors. (specifically a reworked key vendor- more on that later.)

However...

• I recommend a currency page that keeps track of all of these shards, which would also include a conversion of coins to a simple value that can be found on the currency page.
• As a side note, you would be able to lock a given number of coins to prevent you falling below that value. A lot of people want this implemented to help them save money. This would also be available to lock any specific essence at a given cap.
• Keys can be created by simply going to your currency page, clicking a given essence, and converting X essence to a key.
• It's also possible that keys may not require going to the lobby, since that's also a little bit restricting, and they can be obtained on TTT from dailies anyway (which new players can't currently use)
• It should also be noted that you should be able to obtain common, uncommon, and ordinary essences from higher tiers, albeit in smaller amounts than a respective tier.
• The newly introduced vendors would be player specific, and have no timer on the items that are available - Instead, a player can roll one item at a time with a given number of essence. This item can then be bought for the stated price, or passed to clear the shop and find another item.
  

The result?

• Something more to progress towards, instead of chasing discoveries on guns and crates, or being a collector.
• This creates a system to upgrade guns that you may not otherwise be able to use rather than throw all of them into keys and call it a day.
• Allows some of the lower rarity tiers to be upgraded to their full potential, allowing for the maximization of potency when perusing dailies with a given tier.
• Essence has multiple uses, and allows players to manage their wealth in ways a little more complicated than simple coins-
• Do you want to upgrade your weapons, try to roll new ones, or collect essence and spend them on vendors to look for a gun with great rolls?
  

Some notes:

• Naturally, lower tiers would cost less to upgrade than primordials and godlikes. The progression for primordials would be slow enough and costly enough to keep someone occupied for a very long time maximizing a high-tier gun.
• The cost of enhancing a gun to its highest value would also naturally be more expensive the closer you get to perfect.
• In order to balance the potential of essence, essence shop items would have access to traits and suffixes similar to that of the refreshed market.
  

OR:

• The simple version is simply allowing items to be broken down into essences and turned into keys at will. Essence would be 1:1 with items, and a key would be made upon reaching 10 essences.
• However, I like my idea a bit more. I know it's insanely complex and to be honest you probably just read this last part before scrolling back up, but I do think this would help our player count immensely and expand the potential of the server a lot.
  

Also, if you want to break this suggestion down into smaller bite-sized pieces instead of implementing a huge overhaul like this, I'd understand completely.

Thanks for reading.