[Suggestion] Let non-DLC F2P players demo trials.

Dr_Con

Instead of barring them from the dungeon, just turn all their loot into generic undaunted dungeon loot.
Do not let them get the trial quest or allow it to be shared with them/completed
Have a very clear message on the screen saying that they do not own this DLC and to experience it and to get the loot from it, they should buy ESO+ or the latest chapter.
After this trial is concluded, they won't be able to run it again until the DLC is accessible.

I recruit for pub trials a lot and every three trials or so I'll encounter a F2P player who has this complaint that they didn't know it was a dungeon/trial they couldn't access. this leads to further delays or having to do trials 1 healer as opposed to two, or having to find fill-ins. The situation is not ideal: while I think these players should self-educate and look up trials they can and cannot access before asking to be added, there is a missed opportunity here for ZOS. Enabling these players to experience the content in a demo-like fashion (which you already do provide, I will remind everyone) may get them to actually purchase it, rather than complain about it, and also helps the people running trials have less delays.

joerginger

There is no F2P in this game. It is buy to play.

Danikat

I understand this would make it slightly easier for you to fill slots in your groups. But what's the benefit for the players who don't currently have access to the trial?

If they can't do the quest and can't get loot what's the point of them joining? What do they get from it?

Why not just say up front which DLC it's in so people asking to join your group know if it's something they can do or not?

JKorr

Let's see....programming changes that have the potential to bork many things and screw up the game for many people

Or....

/zone : Hey people, I am recruiting bodies for a run through DLC trial XYZ, anyone want to join?

One of those two solutions has a LOT less chance of causing widespread chaos and glitches that require hotfixes or maintenance downtime.

TheGreatBlackBear

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

Kidgangster101

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

So what op proposed is actually pretty accurate. If you allow a f2p player access to run it once, they can tell if they want to grind that specific dlc pack or not. Lock them from any type of reward and that just means they get to experience the trial itself.

Yes shouting is an option but that doesn't change the fact that some players don't do trials because they are also scared. Being free once allows them to (hopefully) clear it and feel more confident to buy it. They literally gain nothing.

Hell I've never once payed attention to the story of the trials. I just accept quest and go along with many people I know doing the same thing. So if it can only be used ONCE what is the actual problem? To say experiencing the story shouldn't be given away for free....... Bud we live in a world where YouTube exists and you can watch it FOR FREE lol....... What's really the difference?

etchedpixels

Dr_Con wrote: »

Enabling these players to experience the content

The free ESO+ weeks let them do this, and get the sets and experience and decide if they want to pay up.

They've actually been sensible - the Craglorn trials are in the base game so players can get a taste for trials and then pay for it if they want to do more of that kind of content.

freespirit

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

So what op proposed is actually pretty accurate. If you allow a f2p player access to run it once, they can tell if they want to grind that specific dlc pack or not. Lock them from any type of reward and that just means they get to experience the trial itself.

Yes shouting is an option but that doesn't change the fact that some players don't do trials because they are also scared. Being free once allows them to (hopefully) clear it and feel more confident to buy it. They literally gain nothing.

Hell I've never once payed attention to the story of the trials. I just accept quest and go along with many people I know doing the same thing. So if it can only be used ONCE what is the actual problem? To say experiencing the story shouldn't be given away for free....... Bud we live in a world where YouTube exists and you can watch it FOR FREE lol....... What's really the difference?

I heartily disagree, I run trials for fun with my guild mates, I am entirely indifferent about gear drops and give mine away to whoever wants it.

I love the stories, always do the quests and often spend time just enjoying the quite remarkable scenery!

As for original post, whilst not a terrible idea, I could see issues with implementation and as has been mentioned the free ESO+ weeks already allow this option. 😃

JKorr

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

So what op proposed is actually pretty accurate. If you allow a f2p player access to run it once, they can tell if they want to grind that specific dlc pack or not. Lock them from any type of reward and that just means they get to experience the trial itself.

Yes shouting is an option but that doesn't change the fact that some players don't do trials because they are also scared. Being free once allows them to (hopefully) clear it and feel more confident to buy it. They literally gain nothing.

Hell I've never once payed attention to the story of the trials. I just accept quest and go along with many people I know doing the same thing. So if it can only be used ONCE what is the actual problem? To say experiencing the story shouldn't be given away for free....... Bud we live in a world where YouTube exists and you can watch it FOR FREE lol....... What's really the difference?

Yeah. Youtube doesn't have any advertisements that run. Especially the time period before an election in the US, you never see "OUR OUTSTANDING HUMAN FOR OFFICE!!!! VOTE FOR THEM AND THEY WILL ENSURE WORLD PEACE, A TAX-FREE MILLION DOLLARS, AND FREE PIZZA FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!" Or see the many reasons why you should buy Kachava/whatever it is. Youtube has a LOT of ads, actually. You may not buy/visit a website/click on info, but others do, or youtube wouldn't run ads.

People do run trials for their guilds, and to help out friends. The reason isn't always because they want something.

chessalavakia_ESO

JKorr wrote: »

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

So what op proposed is actually pretty accurate. If you allow a f2p player access to run it once, they can tell if they want to grind that specific dlc pack or not. Lock them from any type of reward and that just means they get to experience the trial itself.

Yes shouting is an option but that doesn't change the fact that some players don't do trials because they are also scared. Being free once allows them to (hopefully) clear it and feel more confident to buy it. They literally gain nothing.

Hell I've never once payed attention to the story of the trials. I just accept quest and go along with many people I know doing the same thing. So if it can only be used ONCE what is the actual problem? To say experiencing the story shouldn't be given away for free....... Bud we live in a world where YouTube exists and you can watch it FOR FREE lol....... What's really the difference?

Yeah. Youtube doesn't have any advertisements that run. Especially the time period before an election in the US, you never see "OUR OUTSTANDING HUMAN FOR OFFICE!!!! VOTE FOR THEM AND THEY WILL ENSURE WORLD PEACE, A TAX-FREE MILLION DOLLARS, AND FREE PIZZA FOR EVERYONE!!!!!!" Or see the many reasons why you should buy Kachava/whatever it is. Youtube has a LOT of ads, actually. You may not buy/visit a website/click on info, but others do, or youtube wouldn't run ads.

People do run trials for their guilds, and to help out friends. The reason isn't always because they want something.

Keep in mind many people use ad blocker such as ublock origin to get rid of ads on sites such as youtube.

TheGreatBlackBear

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

So what op proposed is actually pretty accurate. If you allow a f2p player access to run it once, they can tell if they want to grind that specific dlc pack or not. Lock them from any type of reward and that just means they get to experience the trial itself.

Yes shouting is an option but that doesn't change the fact that some players don't do trials because they are also scared. Being free once allows them to (hopefully) clear it and feel more confident to buy it. They literally gain nothing.

Hell I've never once payed attention to the story of the trials. I just accept quest and go along with many people I know doing the same thing. So if it can only be used ONCE what is the actual problem? To say experiencing the story shouldn't be given away for free....... Bud we live in a world where YouTube exists and you can watch it FOR FREE lol....... What's really the difference?

Not necessarily. People who want gear know why they want that gear. They're either in the know or a guide told them to get it. A free trial doesn't change that fact. They don't need to see how they feel about getting that gear. They have toget that gear.

Also the spectacle and experience of the trial itself is not worth paying for? People who want to experience a story and buy dlcs for that purpose (especially since dungeons are now part of the yearlong story) are the most at risk customers in a free trial system. They can just run it through once get the experience/resolution and never run it back.

As for your YouTube point, the people who choose to consume the story way were likely always going to do it that way and as such they were never a potential customer for the purchase of a dlc. So the free trial wouldn't affect their purchasing habits.

Danikat

Another factor to consider is that trials are not stand-alone content the way DLC dungeons are, they're part of chapters or story DLC so players can't choose to buy, or to skip buying, trials themselves, they get the whole chapter/DLC or skip the whole thing. (Or subscribe to ESO+)

As a result I'm not sure advertising just the trials on their own would be that effective, especially for players interested in the quest and story as they'll almost certainly buy the DLC anyway. (I've never actually done a trial but I have access to all of them except Dreadsail Reef, and I'll get that at some point.)

Advertising the trial as part of the DLC makes sense, and as people have said ESO+ already does that without the additional restrictions. Advertising them seperately seems redundant.

Eiregirl

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

I often run trials just for the fun of it or to help a guild mate or friend. I could care less about the gear. I don't play the game to get anything except some fun and enjoyment.

Kidgangster101

Eiregirl wrote: »

Kidgangster101 wrote: »

TheGreatBlackBear wrote: »

The story, art assets, voice acting, combat encounters in raids and dungeons and all those things are all worthy products that should be paid for if you want to experience them. Suggesting that gear, which is just data in an excel spreadsheet is what you should be paying and not the other stuff is out of line imo.

I mean let's get serious here when people run it they run trials to get gear. I haven't met someone that runs trials without wanting something from it lol.

I often run trials just for the fun of it or to help a guild mate or friend. I could care less about the gear. I don't play the game to get anything except some fun and enjoyment.

Again guys the original post and what I said is directly related to being a pug. It's not meant for someone willing to re run it to help friends or guild mates. But at the same time wouldn't that feature maybe help one of your guild mates that maybe didn't spend the money but would love to run it just once for lore? You can run it with them for their first time and it would be free...... I really really really don't see how original post idea is a bad one lol

And plus this is a ONE TIME USE! Literally FF14 allows players to play base game and their first expansion for free completely..... (And that combined is more than all of ESO has currently lol) so literally I don't get how the OP idea is a bad one.

Ratzkifal

Honestly, if we are going this far, why not just let anyone access any trial. PvPers have access to all their endgame content upon simply purchasing the game and ZOS is obviously concerned about player retention, so... why not give them access to the trials proper? Why suggest a demo version at all? You still gotta pay for the chapter questing, overland, antiquities, main feature and achievements, and you have to pay for the DLC dungeons still. What is ZOS afraid of? Actually having to make good content in their chapters now that trial access can't carry the sales anymore?

ZOS_Hadeostry

Greetings,

After further review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic.

Thank you for your understanding