Hello,

As some of you may know, I am a gun rights enthusiast. All of my legal characters carry gun licenses, unless they lost them somehow.

Back in the day, in LSRP when economy was inflated, an entry to a club would cost $500; a pack of cigarettes would run you another $500. Insurance for a cheap car would cost $5'000. If you wanted to hire someone to work for you, be it a bodyguard or an escort, that's at least $10'000 per hour. Firearm license was split into PF and CCW, just like here, PF would cost $10'000 and CCW would cost $20'000. There was also a Guard Card, that cost an additional fee I don't remember.

All and all, a decade ago, on LSRP you could get a conceal-carry permit for a total of $30'000 (PF + CCW), and then spend at least $7,500 for the cheapest pistol (Colt 45) with 50 rounds of 9mm. However, at the time a $37'500 investment at $10'000/hr approximate wage would be - 3 hours and 45 minutes of approximate time it would take a new player to get a gun. And it didn't feel egregious, given how inflated the currency was at the time.

That being said. What we have here is an attempt at a realistic economy, mixed with this aforementioned pricing. Basic goods like clothing, food, insurance, phone credit, cigarettes are all priced reasonably like any other common good in real life - no more than $250. However, guns and even gun permit processing fees, are absurdly overrated in comparison: $2'500 for PF + $7'500 for CCW, total $10'000 to be able to legally carry a firearm in public, when in real life such only needs $150 at most, even in CA. This is before even spending any money on firearms or munitions.

If you want a realistic economy, then all of it has to be realistic, otherwise it will cause disruption. With gun permits processing's cost being so expensive, anyone wishing to own one, even just for self-defense, will need to pay part of their starting capital. So, it takes them 0 hours and 0 minutes to be able to afford it, unless they started as a low-class character. There are already OOC activity requirements of 5 hrs for PF and 15 hrs for CCW. However, the price hike of the firearm licenses makes no sense, as it's supposed to be merely for "processing fees."

"It keeps trolls from quickly obtaining guns."

It does nothing of sorts. Anyone who doesn't start out as a poor character can afford it, there are already OOC playtime requirements for them to have to invest time before they can even consider this way of trolling. While technically it's possible that they AFK for 5 hours just to get a PF and troll, they can only go until they're caught before they would be banned.

In my opinion, it is not a good practice to punish all players just because some of them may not be legitimate.

But let me know what you think.

Edited August 24Aug 24 by Userone

I’m going to copy and paste what I put in discord:

“The prices are fine for what the server is. Yes, we are aiming for a realistic economy but certain things still need to be balanced around gameplay and that is one of those things. As you know, CCW is a privilege that allows someone to legally carry a concealed firearm, it shouldn’t be something every character can immediately obtain without any meaningful investment. The $7,500 fee keeps it accessible while still requiring some effort and giving the license actual value (since you are putting time and effort into it)”

Even the lowest wealth can obtain a PF/CCW. I see no need to change the cost related to either or.

-1
I'm with Kaos on this one

This is from ChatGPT:

For a game, though, you can create a fictional average U.S. state and make the economy feel believable.

Firearms — good game prices

I'd use roughly these retail prices:

Item	Budget	Mid-range	Premium
.22 handgun	$250	$350	$500
Compact handgun	$350	$550	$900
Full-size handgun	$400	$650	$1,000
Revolver	$350	$600	$1,200
Basic shotgun	$250	$450	$800
Hunting shotgun	$400	$700	$1,500
Basic hunting rifle	$350	$600	$1,200
Modern sporting rifle	$600	$900	$1,500+
Premium rifle	$1,200	$2,000	$4,000+
Used firearm	~50–75% of new price

Those ranges are reasonably believable for a contemporary game economy; for example, 2026 market listings include inexpensive handguns around $200–$300 and rifles around $750–$1,000, while more specialized guns run considerably higher.

For gameplay, I'd actually simplify that into tiers:

• Cheap gun: $300–400

• Decent gun: $500–700

• Good gun: $800–1,200

• Excellent gun: $1,500–2,500

• Luxury/collector: $3,000+

Licenses / permits

Because there isn't a single U.S. national gun license, I'd make your fictional state work something like:

License/expense	Game price
Firearm purchaser license	$40–75
Background check	$10–30
Firearms safety course	$75–150
Basic firearms training	$100–200
CCW application	$75–150
CCW training course	$100–250
CCW renewal	$50–100
Firearm registration, if applicable	$20–50

That gives you a $200–400-ish total cost for someone who wants to legally obtain a gun and get a carry permit, which feels much more realistic than making a fictional “gun license” cost $1,000.

If you want different states in your game, you could have:

• Very gun-friendly state: $0–50 CCW, minimal requirements

• Average state: $100–200 total permitting/training

• Restrictive state: $200–500+, courses, fingerprints, waiting periods, etc.

That variation is important because U.S. firearm regulations genuinely differ substantially between states.

Ammunition

For game balance:

Ammo	Price
.22 LR, 50 rounds	$5–10
9mm, 50 rounds	$12–20
.45 ACP, 50 rounds	$25–35
.38 Special, 50 rounds	$25–40
5.56, 20 rounds	$10–20
5.56, 30 rounds	$15–25
12 gauge, 25 shells	$15–30
Hunting ammo, 20 rounds	$20–50

I'd make ammunition noticeably expensive enough that the player thinks about using it, but not so expensive that shooting becomes impossible.

I'm incredibly hesitant to agree straight off the bat. But, I want to make clear this isn't about "punishing" players. Not once has that been a decision I made while setting the prices for the firearms system, originally and nor is it ever something I would want the economy team to do. I've made our goals clear, supporting players.

I will listen to feedback on this more.

Please don't ask ChatGPT things just to compare how we do it. All you're doing is wasting water and also asking something completely out of context without a much larger picture attached.

im also gonna say those prices dont seem all too unreasonable too me. especially since the server is basically california

The PF and CCW both have activity criteria to even apply, plus have active cooldowns (24 hours IRL for PF, and 72 hours IRL for CCW) Not to mention the prices of guns and ammo themselves are a deterrent. As for abusing guns that is a server rule and will be enforced strictly, (I could see removing non semi autos from the menu). However as it stands the process itself deters people due to all the built in checks.