PWE is based in the US, that means that we don't have to pay any international transfer fees

So, assuming the Dilithium market makes 100 D = 1 Z and 1 Z = $.01, then 1,000 D = $1.00.

SO, if an Investigate officer Report takes ... 15 minutes and grants 996 D (plus FM), then you are "working" for about $4.00 an hour.

Naturally, if the D Market has a higher D ratio to Z, then the numbers are skewed. AND if the Investigate Officer Report takes you longer to complete, then you are working for less money per hour.

For my part, if I want Zen, I'll just pay out of pocket. Faster, easier and allows me to play the game my way. If I need D ... well, that's another story

What does Zen cost?

How can one ascribe value to utter peace of mind?

Methinks more meditation is in order.

My post was directed at the person complaining about paying international fees.

It would help if PWE had the amounts for buying zen before you started letting out credit card details

But you do pay a markup at the store (sometimes) plus sales tax (unless you're in Oregon or other no-tax location).

For example, at my local gamestop after everything is added up the prepaid $20 card costs $25.70 which makes it not worth buying even during the 15% bonus zen sale.

They accept Paypal, so you don't have to give your CC information to Perfect World if you don't want to.

You're not giving your CC information to PWE in the first place. Even if you choose direct debit, you're still running your information through a third-party processor.

That's the reason PWE (and many other companies) use third-parties at all. They deal with the information and therefore the liability that comes with it.

Your CC number isn't stored by Cryptic or PWE unless they want turn there Data Center into a Fort Knox level of security. No your credit card is stored at PWE's payment processor. PCI compliance is even worse that the US government's security policies (with I have deal with at work).

Sorry for piggy backing on this guys post, but I'm new and cannot post a new thread yet. Relating to his question, when you trade Dilithium for Zen, can you really buy/unlock everything Zen paid for with Money can buy/unlock, such as extra character slots? I do plan on buying a limited amount of Zen, so I want to know what I should save that for, and use the Zen I get from Dil trading for ships and etc.

Also, a few other questions if you're so kind to answer:

What career is best for noobs? I'm guessing the answer is either tactical or it doesn't matter. However, I'd assume if any career path helps you grind out levels the fastest, it would be tactical for killing enemies faster. Also, if a certain career is better for grinding resources, I'd like to know because I can use that to fund another character (if possible) that I'll like more after learning from all the mistakes I made with the first one.

What can you regret doing as you learn this game / what will prevent me from having to buy the respecialization/reset item? I'm guessing it's just what skills you level up. I'll be reading guides so I specialize on what I intend to. Also, are there quest caps. Some games, new players sometimes regret not knowing about certain quests that give special items and/or points and when they find out about it, they cannot do the quest anymore.

That's pretty much it for me. I spent one day trying to play the game, and I was really lost. I tried to read up on the game, but it resulted in basically a braindead person staring into space. Think it's best to just jump in and learn, but the above three questions pretty much prevented me from diving into the game at full force. Thanks STO community!