Shooting themselves in the foot?Follow

Since you already paid for them, you are quite welcome to use them under the restrictions set forth at the time you purchased that, which was a subscription. That exact same option is still available from when you already purchased them. Feel free to make use of it. This argument is full of fail.

If you'd would prefer a different option, there are some available to you as well.


Edited, Mar 16th 2012 8:19am by amastropolo

If you're this mad about mercs, wait till you hit above 70 and start getting passed up for most groups because 250AAs isn't enough to effectively fight your way out of a wet paper bag in any relevant content. After playing every other MMO I could get my hands on after I retired EQ (SOD beta then bailed) and capping toons in WoW, EQ2, DDO, and rift - I guess I'll see what all this F2P is about. Don't be fooled even a little bit, this is more of a free sample from a crack dealer than a free to play game, it's just meant to hook you and get you to re-sub.

it would be upsetting to me anyway if a F2P person got the same benifits as a paying person like my self .

Edited, Mar 17th 2012 10:30pm by pamela49

A lot of EQ players don't understand the models (there are several) nor should they be expected to understand it. SOE themselves have tried to modify the formula that worked (the formula that made an almost bankrupt developer so ridiculously profitable that a multinational entertainment conglomerate felt they HAD to have their company) and from all accounts, it's been successful but not nearly as successful as the offshoots of the original concept (see: City of Heroes, whose results were so good, NCSoft felt the need to spin the same model off into all of their other subscription based North American titles). The major thing SOE is missing for EQ1 is system unlocks. Even time limited ones (like in CoH) will sell as people pay for what they want, when they want it. This model would've been awesome in 2003ish when I bought LoY when the only thing I wanted was the additional bank slots (that were tied to the expansion). A la carte pricing is what makes the more popular freemium model shine. SOE's model seems designed to drive users into subscriptions, which is valid, but isn't nearly as profitable as Turbine's model. But then, Turbine doesn't have to support multiple underperforming games that they can't justify devoting developer time to (hi Vanguard!). This model would've been awesome for Vanguard. Their previous connection to LiveGamer would make it an easy transition (within the community, such as it is, and without).

Sorry Inida, this model isn't about what you want. It's about what drives subscriptions (gold memberships). By year's end, I have no doubt there will be multiple unlocks available on the marketplace (for the merc system, possibly for augs, blocks of AA (250, 500, 1000), etc) otherwise it will fail to attract the audience they appear to be shooting for. EQ, to its credit, while not nearly as "difficult" or "time consuming" as it once was, still isn't of faceroll difficulty, still does not have a directed progression system (Golden Path in EQ2, "rails", as it were), and can drown a new player in sheer options due to its depth of content ("Where should I go for level 34?" *people rattle off 8-14 different zones*). That is not what's going to appeal to the themepark crowd. Then when they run into the paywall (somewhere between 65 (AA) and 71 (Rk2)), it could magnify the little niggling issues into big ones.

You do realize that if they allowed people to buy these things, these unlocks, that eventually, there would be no need for subscriptions at all (I pay 150 dollars and have the same things unlocked as someone who pays 15 a month... 10 months of subscriptions, but then also lose future payments made...) In theory, that would be an infinite amount of dollars lost.

Um, you're looking at this totally wrong. Step out of yourself for a moment. Realize this isn't about you. You are not a whale (reference). In some games (CoH being one of them), I am Shamu. I estimate I poured about $470 into CoH last year (and that doesn't include the $286.80 I paid for annual subs for two accounts) and the game didn't go free to play until September. That doesn't even count Forsaken World, LOTRO, Star Trek Online, Champions Online (for which I've had a lifetime sub since open beta), or the other games I play. Sparkle pony? I have six of them. All you're thinking about is the loss of $15 per month per person but you're failing to realize that there are people out there who will pay FAR more than that for convenience items (potions), "fun" items (cosmetic items and clothing, illusion items, etc), and access to things that do not affect gameplay (so no 'I WIN' weapons or armor). Whether that be the crafting system (CoH) or mercs here, people will pay to have what they want when they want it without being tied down to a subscription. Let them give SoE money when they feel like it for things they want. If they trade someone handing over $800 a year for someone's piddly $180, who comes out the better for it?



This is the psychology behind it. People don't equate 'Station Cash' or 'Turbine Points' or 'Paragon Points' to actual dollars (or pounds or euro). It's buying play money. It's also not about losing your inhibitions (at least not for me). Personally, I don't play around when it comes to my entertainment and I sure as hell don't nickel and dime myself. I was always told, if you work hard, you earn the right to play hard, so I do. My problem is, I don't want to pay for something I'm not actively using so given my penchant for playing what I feel like playing at any given time, being locked into a sub doesn't work for me, typically. There are systems that work to stave off my boredom (Star Trek's Duty Officer system, EVE's skill training system, Fallen Earth's crafting system, just to name a few) but if there's no hook, there's no guarantee I'm going to log in every night. I'd rather pay $50 in a month for the choice to play what I want on (roughly) my own terms, than pay $15 and HAVE to log in due to some sense of obligation to get my money's worth. Some people might say that's crazy but then some people might also say buying lifetime subs before a game even releases is crazy (and I've done that three times: LOTRO, Champions, and DCUO). It's a personal determination. I don't value some sums of money like other people might.

It might be a case of folks who play EQ as their ONLY MMO not understanding that some people prefer to spread themselves around, so to speak. I don't always feel like fantasy, I don't always feel like PvE, and so on. The free to play/freemium model has opened up the genre to a lot of people who might otherwise not have experienced different environments. The financial barrier to entry is lowered (almost to the ground) so they can see how the other half lives.

It's apples and oranges really. There are people that look at $13/month and think - less than a movie out. There are people that wouldn't touch this without the pretense of being free.

There are lots of people that once they think it's free will pay much more to unlock stuff... cause, well, it's only 150sc and I can get that for half off sometimes.

The $13/month crowd is still here, subscribing. The freebies are here buying SC and generating more income. All of us have it better cause there are more people in game. Win-Win!!!

i can't believe this either, the pay options should of been there and ready to go at launch. soe really missed the boat on this one. espically the unlockers for gear and augs. we had a number of people come back over the weekend. a few did rage quit and every single one of them that did, was due to not being able to use their gear.

I don't think we can really be surprised that SOE chooses to do things differently to everyone else. Its kind of their USP

I have to say I've been tempted but my last foray floundered on the bugs that are still in after all these years, the little annoyances like having to separate items to hand in, but mostly on the enormity of the changes since I last played.

There are so many things that "everybody knows" and nobody explains. Yther here does/did a wonderful job of helping but the game itself should have some more helpful resources. I still have no idea what a "shroud" does. Once when I was "in the know" it felt good to understand all the acronyms. Coming back from what are "easier" games it just feels like a hassle.

That's exactly what I was saying. I think people need to realize that different models have different goals. Turbine's (and by extension, Paragon Studios' and Cryptic's) model is meant to make the game self sufficient and have it earn profits from either subscriptions or cash shop purchases or both. It doesn't heavily favor one over the other. SOE's model is designed specifically to drive subscriptions. They don't seem to care much about marketplace revenue generation, treating it as icing and not a layer of the cake itself.

Different models, different goals.



No, it's greedy developers trying to make as much money as possible off things in their cash shop that makes F2P in general look bad (see: Allod's Online). What makes f2p look bad are the games that don't offer subscription options but put every little thing in the cash shop. Most people, when they think of f2p, think of these Asian ports that do just that. SOE's riding the wave of 'free to play' when in reality, their model is 'freemium'. But 'freemium' isn't as catchy or well known or recognizable as 'free to play' and it doesn't have the word 'free' all by itself so they try to ride the coattails of a Turbine or another developer (GamersFirst, as an example) who has made that moniker mean something.



I completely agree with you here. SOE is leaving lots of money on the table but they're doing so ON PURPOSE. It's stupid and totally contrary to what a for-profit company should be doing (their subs aren't making them nearly as much money as a combination of subs AND microtrans revenue could). But it's yet another example of SOE being stupid, of which there are many examples (from data security to game integrity (SWG; cancelling The Agency) to using EQ's clueless devs to help develop a so-called 'next gen' EQ, and so on), it all fits within SOE's historical shortsightedness. Now, I went gold on two accounts (SK and Paladin because I HAD to. They're not playable missing 40k in hp/mana and 3-5k in AC from yellow'd gear) but I only did that so I could farm fableds for alts. I have a lot more than two accounts and unlocks would've made SOE ridiculous money just from ME. Given that I know several box teams who regularly use more toons at once than I ever did, I could see others throwing even more into the till. But they can't, because for whatever reason, SOE values subscriptions more than flat revenue.

Double post edited out..

Edited, Mar 21st 2012 4:03pm by hexeez

Simple solution. Give gold access to new expansions without paying extra then cash shop players will have to drop money yearly on that and whatever unlocks are needed. As it is now gold members are getting LESS for their money than before the conversion. This gives more incentive to go gold nd evens the field a bit.

Definately agree on this. The problem is that EQ is not a modern MMO. Especially the old,large but vocal minority of the playerbase that pays regular subscriptions. Many do not want F2P/Silver characters to be too close to gold for a myriad of reasons,many of them irrelevant but some have had genuine concerns imo. Though most agree that the game needs some new blood to keep EQ sustainable.




Agreed, I think they could have been so much more creative with the marketplace without damaging the integrity of the game (which seems to be the main area of arguments on EQPlayers forums-re any item that increases a characters stats for sale). It just does not look as if they spent much manhours re the other items either. For instance,the ornamentations are horrible...The reason imho is pressure towards the developers and their moderators on EQ Forums from certain segments of the population that feels the game is being dumbed down by even a decent looking ornamentation.

EQ has a great opportunity on their hands right now for a renaissance..The population has at least doubled on most if not all regular servers since FTP launch.The chat channels is alight like never before in my time (about 7 years-never took a break..I know it's not good lol).Even VOX server is full from what I've read on these forums and EQPlayers. I hope SOE gets their act together, puts in the time and does some creative things with this most fortunate opportunity they have at their fingertips now and only now.. Otherwise a year from now it would be back to one general chat window empty sub 75 zones and another server merge in 2 years or so..


Edited, Mar 22nd 2012 6:21pm by hexeez