Official Discussion Thread for “Your Guide to ESO Plus™ Premium Membership”

Tsute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84zY33QZO5o
My...ahem....other words for this only gained the ire of the mods. Needless to say,

Joy_Division wrote: »

Can someone who really likes this game recommend another MMO for me (either that is out now or in development)?

I would like to know as well. I like paying for a community that rocks and a game that doesn't need a cash shop to succeed. It's sad that this is no longer that place.

DireKit

Gotta post again, adding that We actually were playing from closed beta. Bought the Imperial Edition of the game pre-order on the first day it was available, have been subscribed since launch, have always been a faithful customer and supported and defended Zenimax and ESO but this?

There is nothing else to say except YOU SUCK. Literally, there are no better words to express it. You have just pulled a John Smedley level stunt and slapped every loyal customer that has been with you in the face.

Unbelievable.

kongkim

Im on with it. Its no surprise and i think its ok fine way to do it. If you keep sub you get the crowns and get acesse what you like anyway.

ReCreare

Been playing since beta. 1000+ hours logged. My only regret is defending ZoS as people raged against them. I've been blinded by fanboy love, but I can't take the abuse any longer. ZoS' integrity has diminished little by little with every instance in which they said something and did something else. I'm out.

Sindala

Joy_Division wrote: »

Can someone who really likes this game recommend another MMO for me (either that is out now or in development)?

Shroud of the Avatar. Made with the players For the players. Open world PvP (outside of towns) Housing and basements already in, massive crafting system. Only in Alpha stage at moment but you can play now and test WITH them not FOR them.

Turelus

Additionally to my last post, here are some questions.

Q: What stops people buying accounts just for hireling mail characters?

Q: Will there be limitations on max gold/bank spaces like other B2P/F2P games?

Q: Will the value of a subscription and the rewards given outweigh the one time payments for DLC?

Q: With the announcement potions and soul gems being for sale in the store, how much will items in the store be considered pay to win?

Q: It's said items from the store are bound to account, can it be confirmed that players will not be able to convert Store Crowns into game gold via selling items to players?

Q: Will achievements or quest lines grant bonus Store Crowns like in other games (DDO)?

Q: Will we see the same issues SWTOR faced where items in the store items (even if it's cosmetic items) are the main focus of development and superior to items obtained via gameplay?

I will post more questions if I think of any.

TatsukageX

Why all the hate? I think it's better for ESO if more players came, only thing to worry about is that ZOS has to make sure this cash shop doesn't make the time people spend online to get items and levels meaningless by offering cash shop alternatives to grinding and farming.

Anazasi

Frankly this entire conversation was debated heavily during beta. Zenimax promised it would never happen. They were set on their subscription business plan. Now look, changed, just like so many other aspects they have back peddled on. Frankly they do not deserve anyone's money based on their two sided policies. This game will find its way to the bottom of the MMO feeder pool like all the other failed games.

Axamana

This saddens me. I thought I finally found a game worth playing AND paying for. I've played 2 other games that decided to go F2P with an in-game store and it ruined them both. Ruined the quality of the game and made the player base much less desirable. The devs catered to the F2Pers because they're the ones "supposedly" bringing in the money for them.

In my experience, players who don't have to pay for a game DON'T respect the game or other players. I know not all F2pers are like this but the vast majority are.

I hope I don't have to find a new game after this update.

phreatophile

This being my 1st MMO, I lack experience with the B2P model. From my perspective, those who don't subscribe get a no frills game experience in hopes of enticing them to sub.

The rest of us can go on almost the same as we have all along, apart from whatever is bought with crowns, which I assume (with the inherant risk) are vanity and utility items.

Can anybody explain without the apocalyptic hyperbole why this is so terrible?
Seems neautral to me, not great, not the end of the world.

ForsakeMe

I have 30-days left on my prepaid sub, I'm not going to renew it. Every game I have played with a f2p with or without paywall has been unenjoyable because of the immature community chats and elitists groups that don't help anyone. Sorry but I'll go back to Bethesda's single player games now and wait for other MMOs to come out this year.

Sad, I never figured ZOS would go f2p option.

Mix

From the FAQ page:
"Do I lose all items and rewards earned from DLC if my ESO Plus membership ends?

No. You will lose access to the DLC areas and quests should your membership lapse (unless you purchase the DLC separately in the Crown Store), but you will keep all items and rewards earned through the content."

If we are subscribed during the launch of a DLC shouldn't we retain access to that DLC if our subscription lapses?? Otherwise it looks like we are "renting" DLC content, get a bunch of "Crowns" for cosmetic items that we may/may not want/like (you say soul gems and potions as a convenience item - I assume these will NOT be sellable in any way as a method to convert Crowns to Gold), and some character bonuses. which honestly for those of us who have been playing a long time aren't fantastic. If a player decides that bonuses and Crowns are not worth the price, and the DLC is cheaper than maintaining membership - the player should retain access to any DLC that became available during their membership period!

As for the character bonuses: my main has all crafts max, very little research left to do (nirnhoned), max level and gold is pretty damn easy to come by. Now if I extrapolate that XP bonus will apply to gaining champion points it becomes somewhat more useful, but I would still consider 3/4 pretty much moot.

Darklord_Tiberius

ZOS has honestly never cared about what this community has wanted. Sadly, I saw this coming from a mile away and months ago when I called them out on it, my comments were deleted and I was banned in the forums for a time. This action will completey change the community of this game and though I do not like some of you, I like everyone enough that I really do not want this to head down the road of F2P. I left lotr because of this, I left swtor because of this and I left GW2 because of this.

This is not entirely ZOS fault either. The game is dying and people are leaving for many reasons, being unhappy, none of their friends play anymore and what have you. This game had such potential to be an amazing Sub based game, but clearly they lost way to many players to make it worth keeping it that model. This move, though they will never admit it, is a move to save the game until console release.

I will stay to see if this game does anything DIFFERENT than other cash shop games, but if they turn their focus to only the cash shop and start making the game FOR that system, I will be done and never again buy a title from this company. I HATE EA for a reason, ZOS do not make me HATE you as much as I do EA.

daswahnsinn

Well from the sound of it, say goodbye to new in-game content. I don't see how they'll be able to provide us with meaningful quest or items since it won't take them too long to burn through the console money influx. Also if this happens on or around June, my auto-sub is paid on May 5th so it'll be more than likely screwing my over and will probably have to pay 80 more dollars to get the stupid crown BS.

Are they removing Health potions from the craftable side of the game and removing Soul Gems from the lootable side too? Or will there be better ones you can buy with the crowns? This is starting to sound stupid, when can I expect a solo game like Skyrim?

Elderskrye

BTW, I'm new to MMO, and found a good guild here at ESO, (BOR); so I'll probably see how they deal with it before I go off half-(can I say cocked? please?). I expect to play more and better? games as time goes on. But ES is special. The ES world and experience is unlike any other game I have played in the last 30 years. I fear that the torch has been dropped, and that will be remembered longer than mission impossible or peter gunn. Still, I can't see ALL of the future; and I refuse to lose hope. Ce sera sera.

elfodemente

This is so dissapointing, it feels that you have been lying to all the subbers, will see how this goes but its a shame that new players will be playing for free the existing content that WE have been paying for all this months yo you to develop it, and new players will play the same that WE Subbers have been paying to play!! Shame on you Zemimax you have just dissapointed the whole community so much... maybe too much to keep this game alive, you bunch of liers.

VirtualElizabeth

For those of you leaving, all I have to say is "Bye Bye [snip]". Good luck finding a game besides Wow that hasn't embraced this model. This is the trend folks in gaming...accept it. EQ Next will come out with the same original format as ESO and then in a year, there will be a brand new shiny story to buy from.

Thanks for playing!

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Cursing & Profanity]

Elsonso

I know I will get beaten up here, so let me first say that Premium B2P was not my first choice, even as I realized that it was the highest probability outcome. I was holding out that I was wrong

The only upsetting part of this is the cash shop, which is expected but I fear that this will turn into the only thing that matters in the game.

I will defend ZOS/Bethesda though. I think that they did listen prior to this announcement. My reading of them indicates that what they originally wanted to do, before they knew what they were going to actually be doing, was different. Like with the Champion Points, I think that certain parts of this were modified in the last few weeks based on input from players.

So, all of you who were speculating on how to implement F2P and B2P models , what you liked about them, what you did not like, and what scared you, contributed to the announcement today.

Turelus wrote: »

Q: Will we see the same issues SWTOR faced where items in the store items (even if it's cosmetic items) are the main focus of development and superior to items obtained via gameplay?[/b]

I will post more questions if I think of any.

My hope on this is that the store sells primarily finished consumables, things that the player consumes during play,. Health, Magicka, Stamina pots and other such items. Not crafting components or durable goods.

KleanZlate

Honestly don't know how to feel about this. ESO is my first MMO and I'm not interested in others. I'm interested to know how this will affect guilds and guild stores. That's where I buy all my stuff. Will non-sub players be able to join the same guilds as sub players and buy from the guild stores?

I also don't know how I feel about paying subscription to get crowns to buy items that don't have any impact on the gameplay and DLC that's only available during my subscription.

I will see how this goes though. I've had a subscription since day one and I'm still excited about this game so I'll wait and see.

Joy_Division

phreatophile wrote: »

This being my 1st MMO, I lack experience with the B2P model. From my perspective, those who don't subscribe get a no frills game experience in hopes of enticing them to sub.

The rest of us can go on almost the same as we have all along, apart from whatever is bought with crowns, which I assume (with the inherant risk) are vanity and utility items.

Can anybody explain without the apocalyptic hyperbole why this is so terrible?
Seems neautral to me, not great, not the end of the world.

People can acquire items and stuff that benefit them without actually playing the game. Also, people who are actually paying for the game tend to be more invested in it and that makes for a more amenable community.

Darkeus

now wonder we didnt get 1.6... they wasted all eforts to make game f2p... f2p = super bad comunity... omg im so dissapointed

Saturn

I think you are doing a fantastic job of alienating your current player-base.

I still love the game and will probably continue to do so, but I really felt sad when I read about this change. It will undoubtedly bring in more players, but I am afraid where all this "crown store" crap will lead. You say now that it will only be for "DLC" which is apparently zones, quests, etc. as well as convenience, but I am scared of where that will lead, maybe you get too greedy and start implementing special glyphs for your gear or special "booster packs" with gear sets in them.

The best way this can turn out is that subscribed players will be able to access all content, without having a pay-gate saying, "Oh, you want 10 more bank spaces? Please insert 5 bucks."

I do realise you said it will not be like that, but it wasn't like that with SWTOR to begin with either, it turned into it over time because the company behind the game decided they wanted more money.

Please don't become greedy. ESO is a beautiful game. An MMO that is actually special in a sea of repeats and copycats. It really seemed like you were going to steer your game clear of that mess, but I suppose all the "F2P / B2P" trolls finally got to you.

I think that with a few updates more, some more content maybe, that ESO on its own could have been really big. Things like these don't come instantly, but installing a cash store and going buy-to-play is the wrong way to do it, especially considering the fact that you haven't even given the game a year before you do this.

Iluvrien

Wow. Now I really do wonder why I spent all of that time defending ZOS's recent decision making...

...can't even bring myself to log in at the moment.

Toxinom

*Looks at Molag Bal statue*

Eh, I can actually play with my friends now.
I've been here since the beginning.
I ain't even mad.

The_Great_Maldini

The way I look at it...they are matching their PC payment model to exactly match up with the console payment system. This probably makes things a lot easier and similar across platforms. Consoles have a B2P model with DLC for which you pay. This doesn't seem like a "the world is burning" moment, but rather a smart move to a uniform payment model across three platforms - i.e. PC, XBox One and PS4.

KiriX

I feel like ZOS betrayed us

C0pp3rhead

This is what happens when you release a half-baked game. ZOS's decision to go B2P and include a cash store are obviously an attempt to grow their player base. Why does ESO need to grow it's player base when the three previous installments have been huge successes, winning Game of the Year awards? Because everything you loved about those games - the justice system, spellcrafting, the depth, the immersion, is absent from ESO. Sure, the previous titles had voice acting that was tedious too, and the dialogue sometimes felt stilted, but at least you could ask the npc's about pretty much anything - and they actually talked about interesting subjects. Some quests could only be found by talking to the one random Nord in the corner of a pub. (Morvayn Ancestral Tomb & the Daedric Face of God, anyone?)

Almost a year later, the immersion & depth that we came to know, love, & expect from this franchise is still missing. As of right now, ESO is just another mediocre MMO, and the label "mediocre" is an embarrassment to the Elder Scrolls name. Those of us cruising around with dwemer spheres have, for the most part, been here since the beginning. We put up with the bugs & glitches because we treasure our Elder Scrolls games, because we believed in what this game could be. Like so many titles & game systems before, your downfall was releasing a game before it was ready. Certain elements of the game, notably the justice system & spellcrafting, should have been present (at least in a rudimentary test form) since April. Had this been the case, you would have another smash hit for the Elder Scrolls name, and you wouldn't have to take the game B2P. If you all had incorporated what you (should have) learned from previous installments, this game would be a success, and console players would be begging to pay subscription fees. Now however, many see this announcement, and read it feeling like we were nothing but lab rats for ZOS's Beta 2.0, paying for almost a year of bugged quests and unbalanced classes. Turns out, our devotion served as a mere stepping stone, paving the way for the console release.

I'm not rage-quitting, not unsubbing. ZOS, I just want you to know, that I'm disappointed. TESIII was the game I played most on my XBox. I was overjoyed to buy the Game of the Year edition. I believed in you, in this franchise, in this game. My faith may have been misplaced.

Cydone

So basically you guys have taken the TOR route of F2P? Gimp everyone that isn't a sub with less XP, gold, access to content and give "cash shop" currency for being a sub. Why can't you guys take what Guild Wars 2 did with their F2P system?? It is the best, least restrictive, F2P model around. TOR's is BAD.

Spiritblade14

This is the end of a fine Game and the start of the money vultures. Crazy, because I accepted it was OK to pay a monthly fee and not money for funny things without value for the player.
Then we all have to start a new journey to find another Game who do not wreck it all. I have hoped to find a place to stay for a long, long time.
This is the slope where you find a lot of Games nobody wants to play anymore.

jasonquigley646_ESO

There is alot of butthurt on these forums, and at first I was shocked and dismayed I'll admit. But I realize this will have zero effect on "my" ESO experience. Why? I bought the game, and I am already a subscriber. If this news never came out I would still be a subscriber. Now I am just getting more for something I am already doing. Since I have 5 great guilds, full of people that are already subscribers as well I suspect many of them will stay. And since I don't have to PUG anything I have no fear of the casuals that everyone thinks will ruin the game.

We don't compete for loot, mobs, or raids so there is nothing to lose there if the population goes through the roof (It won't). Resources may be tougher to get a hold of, but I think ZOS has the ability to adjust resource spawn times based on population and consumption.

So, if you are already a subscriber (If you are reading this you are, or your a troll that is just registered on a game site that you dont play) nothing is changing for you. No one is forcing you to buy anything. And even if for some reason an xp buff or something ends up on the cash shop...oh well. There is nothing game breakin in that. God forbid someone didnt spend 400hrs doing something becuase they bought an experiance boost...I'll give over it.

Everyone will have their knee-jerk reactions and opinions to this of course.