Meh raising the cost doesn't make it harder on new players, just makes it so people have to commit to buying a static if they really want it or simply just buy a house. A minor extension could be given to buy statics outside of town for the current price.. maybe, but leaving it as is, not likely.
Right now, for statics out of guard zone, it is roughly the same price as building a custom house per tile. Custom houses can go slightly above or below the price of static tiles but for the most part its nearly the same. This doesn't seem right when you think of the fact that statics aren't limited to 18x18 and they tend to be in prime locations or have decorations beyond what you can do with custom housing. Plus with static housing you can get minor decor around the area of said static as well.
As for statics in town, they are going up in price tomorrow, the 1st. I only lowered it in the first place for any players who might want to set up shops and such but what can be done is statics in town that are public will be 3k and guarded statics (that are first approved) that are locked, will be 4.5k.
Maybe the out of town statics can raise in increments over a course of time instead of jumping straight up. Seems like a better idea actually.
About a limit on statics, right now there is a limit of 1 per account/ip. However, I have an exception to that rule but I doubt 99% of people would qualify for that
The only way I would allow such a thing is if someone was buying a static to solely contribute to other players, such as constructing a rune library for anyone to access, which would mean absolutely no locked doors.
Also, I can't help but feel like there is a very specific reason why you suggested the prices stay the same all of a sudden.. could it be that you weren't going to make some sort of deadline maybe?
Anyways, we'll see what happens on the first
I should have some sort of decision by then.