Vindictus Reduces Bound Gold Rollout After Player Feedback

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Vindictus is scaling back its planned Bound Gold changes for the December update after players pushed back on the original rollout. In a developer note published October 29, Nexon said the system is still coming, but it won’t hit every tier as heavily as first planned.

Bound Gold is meant to separate some character progression currency from the tradable Gold economy. The idea is to slow Gold flowing into the Marketplace while still giving players enough currency to enhance gear. Players weren’t sold on the first version, mainly because it made rewards feel smaller and spread the new restriction across too much content at once.

Until the next level cap increase in March, Vindictus will use reduced Bound Gold rates in several areas, with a slower tier-by-tier rollout planned after that.

  • Eriu Raids will not use Bound Gold for now. Completion Gold will stay the same as current live rewards.
  • Orna Raids are being reduced from 60% to 50% Bound Gold with Core Boost, and from 80% to 65% without it.
  • Uaithne Raids are being reduced from 40% to 20% with Core Boost, and from 65% to 40% without it.
  • Special Dungeon rewards are changing to 20% Bound Gold with Core Boost and 40% without Core Boost.
  • Ardri Raids are unchanged from the previous plan, staying at 70% with Core Boost and 85% without it.

The studio also said Space Time Distortion, Royal Army, Red Moon’s Energy, Niflheim, Redeemers, and normal battles will follow the original plan.

There’s one progression change tied to the update as well. The Seal of the Journey Shop will add Enhancement +1 Coupon bundles, up to 18 coupons total. Players will be able to take the +12 Orna gear awarded at level 115 up to +15 using those coupons, without needing Superior Enhancement Elixirs. The catch: items enhanced with these coupons will no longer be tradable.

Nexon says it will watch Gold flow, Marketplace prices, and character growth speed once Bound Gold goes live. The system’s wider scope and rates will be reviewed again around the March level cap increase. The developer also plans to make Hero’s Leap permanently available after its January run, to help keep upgrade materials in circulation.

Further reading: Official Vindictus Bound Gold Adjustments dev note