MMORPG article with Matt Firor leaves this subscriber feeling pointless and not worth anything

MrGhosty

sk8ingeckoub17_ESO wrote: »

It seems you all are making a mountain out of a mole hill on this. This exact sub model is available to see right now with dcuo. Both games give you the base game for free. Dlc, new classes, etc is available via sub or one time purchase. Sub has similar extra perks.

Depending on your situation and belief depends on how you choose to approach the game. Neither the subs nor the one time purchaser are being screwed... Its all based on your personal choice on whats more valuable.

It's worth mentioning that if you sub to DCUO you're also subbed to every other game in the SOE now Daybreak Studios stable. That is the value of the sub, you gain access and perks across multiple games so that even if you aren't playing the other games it gives the sub value some weight.

The concept of paying for the sub isn't really down to it's cost, it is about the value and as of yet they've not given any significant value to currently subbed members imo. Those little perks are nice but for those who have already got all of their characters it doesn't mean much. Now that it has been said the xp boost will influence CP earnings that value has gone up somewhat but this sub model seems to be based around newcomers to the game.

It would be nice if part of the sub practice is instead of the loyalty rewards they said after X months of subbing earliest DLCs would be unlocked permanently for subscribers. I agree that it would need to be set in such a way so that is wasn't possible to "cheat" the system but a way of thanking players who sub continuously versus those who choose to purchase DLC a la carte.

BigM

Gidorick wrote: »

Seraphyel wrote: »

Audigy wrote: »

Danikat wrote: »

Audigy wrote: »

There are games where you MUST sub / use the shop to be able to play. GW2, SWTOR are the best examples. Not being a sub or shop customer there makes the game pointless and meaningless as you miss out on too many features such as pvp, trading or char slots.

ESO seems to be different, that's why the unlimited term comes into play.

Never played SWOTR but ESO's new system actually seems very similar to GW2 to me. I know quite a few people (including my husband) who have never bought anything from their cash shop in spite of playing for years, and I've only ever bought novelty items (mainly costumes and pets).

There's a few differences obviously, like for example GW2 doesn't allow you to buy extra bank space with gold, although you can buy gems (the equivilent of crowns) with gold and do it that way. But I've never felt like I had to buy anything to keep playing.

Having said that, as I said ESO's new system seems very similar to me. Which makes me think a subscription isn't going to be worth it. Unless they release at least $15/£10 of DLC/items per month it's better to just buy crowns as and when you need it.

Its been a while that I played GW2, but I remember how frustrating it was to me on release. The gold price for gems was so high, it would had taken me many months to just unlock a single thing I found chests that I couldn't open due the lack of keys, I was really angry to say the least

But they also had that pay wall for pvp tournaments, which I believe was later removed? Back then you had to buy into competitive pvp and this in a pvp focused MMO, I was really shocked

Guild Wars 2 never ever was P2W or had something like paywalls. If you get a locked chest and you want to open it, it's your decision to buy a key from the store or to get one in game (and guess what, you can get them with finishing your maps).

Romo wrote: »

We're all going to have to wait and see the cost of the DLCs.

If they cost $30, and come out every 3 months for $30 or 4500 clowns, then the value of the clowns are fixed, we can decide if its worth subbing.

Or when the cost of clowns on the web store comes out..... along with the first DLC cost.

$30 DLCs? lol

Expansions cost $30 and offer more than a new zone like ESOs DLCs seem to be.

if they cost like $20 and they only come out every six months or so there is absolutely no reason for me to subscribe at all.

So if I paid my sub and did all the 1st DLC clearing it all if I unsub till next DLC why should I lose the 1st DLC when I clearly paid for it while being subed for it. This is where it will get tricky and could cause problems for them if they do take it away.

sk8ingeckoub17_ESO

MrGhosty wrote: »

sk8ingeckoub17_ESO wrote: »

It seems you all are making a mountain out of a mole hill on this. This exact sub model is available to see right now with dcuo. Both games give you the base game for free. Dlc, new classes, etc is available via sub or one time purchase. Sub has similar extra perks.

Depending on your situation and belief depends on how you choose to approach the game. Neither the subs nor the one time purchaser are being screwed... Its all based on your personal choice on whats more valuable.

It's worth mentioning that if you sub to DCUO you're also subbed to every other game in the SOE now Daybreak Studios stable. That is the value of the sub, you gain access and perks across multiple games so that even if you aren't playing the other games it gives the sub value some weight.

The concept of paying for the sub isn't really down to it's cost, it is about the value and as of yet they've not given any significant value to currently subbed members imo. Those little perks are nice but for those who have already got all of their characters it doesn't mean much. Now that it has been said the xp boost will influence CP earnings that value has gone up somewhat but this sub model seems to be based around newcomers to the game.

It would be nice if part of the sub practice is instead of the loyalty rewards they said after X months of subbing earliest DLCs would be unlocked permanently for subscribers. I agree that it would need to be set in such a way so that is wasn't possible to "cheat" the system but a way of thanking players who sub continuously versus those who choose to purchase DLC a la carte.

Its true as of last spring the dcuo sub now includes all of sonys, now daybreak, games but for the longest time before that the sub model was no different then what we are about to get.

The big test of this model will be how quickly they release content. If they keep up with a pace similar to dcuo then i think the model works great if not then meh ill just buy packs and not sub.

Aimora

I think a way to encourage long term subscribers, they should make it so that after 3/6 months of release a DLC, if you have had a continuous sub you get the DLC permanently. That way long term subscribers have a reason to keep subscribing and it negates people subscribing for a short period to get free DLCs.

Spottswoode

Kragorn wrote: »

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

MMORPG.com: During the ESO Tamriel Unlimited discussion, you mentioned that the DLC content (Orsinium/Wrothgar etc.) will be ready for players no matter the level. Once you purchase it, you’ll be able to go in and explore it with your friends. Does the DLC content scale the player to level 50 or does the content scale to the player’s level? If so, how does that work if my friends are of different levels?
A: It will work very similarly to the way lower-level players are “battle leveled” in Cyrodiil – your character will be boosted up while you are in the zone, so you’ll be able to play it with friends of all levels, in much the same way you do that now in Cyrodiil.

This .. sounds .. dreadful.

It may be a solution in PVP, for PVE it's horrible, it means character progression is meaningless and pointless. Why grind levels when you can be level 1 and 'upscaled' to play end-game content.

Tell me this is a joke.

I have a bone to pick with this: in the same manner that the stat boost doesn't make a level 10 able to take on a fully geared VR5 character in pvp, underlevelled characters will not be as as effective as a properly leveled one. That is currently very much the way it is for pve quests in Cyrodiil. The lack of active skills available alone would be a pretty big downside, not to mention passives. So, they CAN play the content but that doesn't mean that they will be any good at it.

I really want to see downscaling like in FFXIV for content. It's really a bummer having to make new low level characters to play with the newbies in my guilds. With the character deletion limit, I won't be able to keep doing that either.

Kragorn

BigM wrote: »

Here is a question I don't think has been answered if it was am sorry. But if you sub and go thru all of the new DLC but then unsub do you lose all you did during that DLC and lose access to that area? Because we actually did pay for it so why should we lose it?

ZOS have made it clear that you lose access to the DLC content but you'll keep any items you got from it. They haven't said what happens to partially completed quest lines, my *guess* is that you'll keep them as they were in case you re-sub or buy the DLC.

Spottswoode

MrGhosty wrote: »

The concept of paying for the sub isn't really down to it's cost, it is about the value and as of yet they've not given any significant value to currently subbed members imo. Those little perks are nice but for those who have already got all of their characters it doesn't mean much. Now that it has been said the xp boost will influence CP earnings that value has gone up somewhat but this sub model seems to be based around newcomers to the game.

Sadly, most B2P/F2P games design most of the store items, perks, and other design features to directly market to newcomers. That is the major marketing tactic they use as a group. That's the reason why you see so many boost items sold in in-game stores. Vanity items, on the other hand, tend to be marketed to longer term users.

(If you ever want to know who a specific item is being marketed to, just analyze the advertisements and selling points.)

Kragorn

Spottswoode wrote: »

I really want to see downscaling like in FFXIV for content. It's really a bummer having to make new low level characters to play with the newbies in my guilds. With the character deletion limit, I won't be able to keep doing that either.

Sorry, can't agree, I hate the FFXIV down-scaling because you lose all skills above the level you're at, at level 50 I still need macro/skill-bar setups for level 15 content and the two main progression stages between as more core skills unlock, otherwise I have a huge skill-bar shuffle simply to play a sub-50 Duty.

Same with FFXI (which of course FFXIV was modeled on), in fact the level-capping on content like CoP was hugely unpopular as it prevented the idea of "gain a few levels and come back again" if you struggled with content: which of course ZOS also push on their loading screens, I see problems with that in their up-scaling environment too.

Seraphyel

Downscaling when it comes to attributes and stats. I hated the removement of higher level skills in FF XIV ARR, too.

The_Antiquarian

After reading this article, I want to play ESO more. I can't wait to purchase those super unique costumes/mounts.