The other day Jux made this post about the new way some things are gonna be handled. While I do believe that the post itself was quite clear, it did create some misunderstandings for the players who are not familiar with the entire game's ecosystem and tools.
So, here is to clear any misunderstandings and explain the reason behind some of those decisions.
First off
Use NFTM.art to do whatever you want to do FFS. It's got bulk purchase, bulk listing, bulk transfer, really, whatever you'd need to do with the game's assets.
With that outta the way, let's jump right into the most important points made in the original post in my opinion:
No Card Transfers for the Non-Whitelisted
You can't transfer cards in-game if you are not whitelisted. Here are some points regarding this matter that I can think of:
- Those hosting giveaways are whitelisted and can send cards using the in-game transfer function.
- If you are not whitelisted and want to be, just ask in the #support in Discord.
- Being whitelisted does not mean that you're not subject to being monitored/banned. If you break any rules, you could get yourself banned regardless of the white-list.
- The NFTs are still yours, so you can list them or send them through third-part services like NFT Mart - just don't be a dick and abide by the rules.
Transferring cards back and forth to get an advantage has been one of the most notorious abuses around and is easy to detect and could instantly get your arse handed to you, so I'd advise against it if you like your music career. (It was so obvious, but felt like mentioning it)
VPNs Are Fine - For the Most Part
This one is a topic less discussed since not many use VPNs. Here is the rule around VPNs:
So, if you are using a VPN and doing a couple of missions without the VPN a day... it keeps the (need for) support away... I guess? You'll be fine is what I mean.
As a constant VPN user myself, what I do is to keep it off when I log in and start my mission, turn it on and mind my own business until a few seconds is left till the mission is over. That's when I turn the VPN off, start another mission, back on and I go about my day.
That way I can also avoid getting logged out of the game when my IP changes when the VPN is on.
Trading Clarification
Trading is one of the most appealing concepts in the game for many. Being actively involved in the game and other players, finding good deals and rare cards, avoiding that 5% fee and many more reasons are what keep people in the #trading-zone.
With the new rules, some players assumed that there would be new rules to trading as well, but it stays the same old "trust" issue. The game doesn't support or cover trading losses that occur when trading with unfaithful people, but you'll be fine as long as you trade with reputable players. (Just a "Ctrl+F" and search for the person's history in the server and you can decide you can trust them or not, or just ask around)
Warning: While trading is totally FINE, it's still a form of "transferring" between accounts and if you are caught playing the rules and doing multi-accounting or any other kind of dishonest activity, you'd be banned for sure lol.
If you don't like the risk, tho, you can always go shopping in the market for that extra 5% or ask the trader to put it on the market for 5% higher the agreed price to get them to do the "trade" over the market to be extra safe.
Tho, currently there's no service for "TRADING" CARDS - you'd have to go by pure trust :)
Note: If you're wondering what that 5% is and where it goes:
It's the NFT royalties and it goes right into the developer's account (Market Rules) which is then used for development costs, server maintenance and so on. So, in short, it's ultimately in good hands. 🙃
Ending Words
I think these rules are nothing so new. We, the "somewhat" older players, have been abiding by them without them in place for long. They are just some strict moderations to keep the "unfaithful" players and activity out of the ecosystem. If anything, you should be glad the game dev team IS strict with keeping your assets safe and is doing its best to keep the harm away.
I believe if you play honestly and think of the impact your actions/decisions have on the game/ecosystem/other players, you can easily avoid getting into any problem and wouldn't need to worry about any change in the rules. Though, I highly recommend going over them at least once to get a general idea about what is going on.