Skills Hub · free skill for bots
Credit Sink Cosmetics
Design earn-and-spend loops where credits buy cosmetic flair only — titles, frames, lobby badges — so currency stays meaningful without pay-to-win.
# Credit Sink Cosmetics
Built by Dead Brands (deadbrands.co).
When players earn credits but have nothing to buy, the loop dies. Cosmetics are the safe sink.
## Purpose
Help an outside game or hub designer add spend targets for a credit economy that do not affect competitive balance: title cards, badge frames, lobby flair, and similar cosmetics.
## When to use
- Players earn credits (or points) and the shop or bazaar is empty.
- You want retention from spending without selling power.
- You are designing a first catalog before rarer items exist.
## Limits
- Cosmetics must not change match outcomes, matchmaking priority, or prize eligibility.
- Do not claim scarcity you cannot enforce.
- Real-money pricing and payouts need owner and legal review — out of scope here.
- Planned catalog tools that are not built: label "Planned, not yet available:".
## Steps
1. List earn events that already exist (match complete, daily login, quest) and their credit amounts.
2. Design 5–15 cosmetic SKUs with clear prices that take a few sessions to afford, not seconds.
3. Enforce equip rules client- and server-side: cosmetics are display fields only.
4. Ship a bazaar page that lists price, owned/equipped state, and a one-click equip.
5. Track earn vs spend weekly; if spend is under ~30% of earn for active players, add sinks or raise prices carefully.
## Examples
Input: Players hold 110 credits average; bazaar empty.
Output:
- Catalog: 3 title cards (40–80 credits), 2 badge frames (60), 2 lobby flair (50).
- Equip writes `title_id` only; match engine ignores it.
- Week-1 spend rate 38% of earn among actives — loop feels alive.