Yes! Archeage, Guild Wars 2, etc are doing pretty well without a subscription fee. Even SWTOR did better after it went F2P. At the game's current development speed, I can't see $15 a month being fair. Yes, there is gonna be a big overhaul but the end game shouldn't have been dull and grindy in the first place.

Vis wrote: »

Lotro after f2p. End of argument.

^ This.

Definetley Buy-to-Play! Hope they keep it up.

Digiman wrote: »

I doubt this is a change. They said numerous times they won't go F2P so I don't see why they would change it unless the population is huge problem and the reason why LFG tool isn't working as well which is very unlikely.

I think the change was placed there because of the console version of the subscription. It's possible they will bring back a 6 month subscription. Though not many people picking the option as a reason to remove it is the most stupidest one I have ever heard.

Seriously if that was the case they might as well remove all the options except for the most popular one and force everyone to pay through that.

Yeah, i have same feelings. It would make sense if its a "real item" like Prepaid card that require to be printed and cost more then 30 or 90 days version. But right now its just make none-sense as its a virtual.

If it goes F2P I'm out. If goes B2P I'm out. (Sorry guys no difference for me between the two)

Lotro F2p was the gradual spread of evil from Mordor.

F2P can be good if they offer a good subscription system to keep people paying per month and don't sell items that give you a benefit in PvP.

If it turns into a Perfect Worlds F2P model then it's all over, man the lifeboats!

I would come back and play sometimes. Right now the game has too little content and does not justify its monthly sub fee.

I will be out too if it becomes f2p. I am very happy with the current mode. if i wanted a f2p game - then i would play one of the hundreds out there...

i really hope that it is just a rumor and they'll stick with the abo...

Elloa wrote: »

The only games where I find the F2P model to have worked is The Secret World, as the whole game is free, but all new content (not fixes and improvement) is package that you can buy.

It's not free. It's Buy-to-Play just like GW2. But unlike GW2 where new content is free, new content in TSW comes in DLC packs labelled "Issues" and cost about $10 each.

I think that's a business model that works great. You pay for new content, so the dev team can't just slack off and have people pay monthly subscriptions for nothing, they'll have to bring the content to you to make money.

Of course, I still prefer Pay-to-Play as produces a more reliable income and content release schedule, as well as not having to deal with Item Store challenges at all.

miahq wrote: »

Without even getting into the trolls and spam, f2p is basically a scam, you end up paying far more money than you would with a sub, and cash shops are annoying... I mean it's basically like EVE, except at least eve wasn't shy about saying it's all about money. Hell, the entire point of that game seems to be a giant toilet where you can flush your money.

But, sub keeps the cash shop to a minimum, and helps keep the trolls and spammers out.

EVE isn't F2P. It requires a sub to play. Players can purchase game time from CCP and resell it to other players for in-game currency, but that isn't F2P. There is a small item shop that sells vanity items for cash, but in EVE, which doesn't have any avatar interaction to speak of, this is all meaningless stuff.

B2P, like GW2, can also be problematic. in GW2, they sell boosters and inventory space and cosmetic looks and so on in the cash shop, as well as allowing players to basically buy in-game currency by means of a currency exchange (you buy gems from Arena.net and you exchange them for in-game gold), which can make it P2W in terms of gearing. The only thing that saves this from going completely off the rails in GW2 is that top gear (or practically top gear) isn't that hard to get anyway, and all PvP gear is evened out. But this creates other problems regarding the sense of progression for players, which is lacking compared to conventional MMORPGs of that (this) type.

In general, this type of game design works better for very casual players, because they tend not to spend much, just log in for a bit, have a bit of fun, and log off. They don't care much about progression, and won't buy their way there either. Good deal for them. For people who are into competitive gaming, which includes a lot of MMO players (social games are inherently competitive for many), it's a big money sink in order to stay competitive, because for most of these sorts of players any potential upgrade becomes mandatory in order to maintain competitiveness. This is how F2P's make money -- it's the smaller number of very competitive gamers who feel compelled to keep up, and pay to do so, because it isn't fun for them to play unless they are in the top pack.

DDuke wrote: »

JKorr wrote: »

DDuke wrote: »

JKorr wrote: »

Dracane wrote: »

Brandalf wrote: »

Inklings wrote: »

doesn't mater, already unsubed.

Can I have your stuff?

Not sure, but I think, you can't even write in the forum, if you have unsubed. So maybe he/she is lying.

As long as you have an active account/you have time left, you can post here. When you cancel your account and your account is no longer active, then you can't post anymore.

Wrong.

I was still able to post one month after my subscription ran out last October, not only with this account, but also with my beta account (which had never even been subscribed)

No. Whether it worked that way for you or not, it is supposed to be active account only to post. On the knowledge base:

I don't have an active subscription, can I still read the forums?
Updated 06/14/2014 06:23 AM Published 06/13/2014 05:12 PM

The official forums for The Elder Scrolls Online are visible to anyone who visits them, but only players with active game accounts may post to the forums. Once players activate a account with a subscription, they will receive an invitation code welcoming them to the forums!

Can anyone post in the forums?
Updated 09/15/2014 05:15 AM Published 04/04/2014 08:08 PM
Only players with active game accounts have permission to post in the forums. While the forums are publicly visible for anyone to read, players will need to have an active game account in order to have an active forum account.

How do I access the forums?
Updated 04/13/2014 04:06 AM Published 04/02/2014 05:21 PM

The official forums for The Elder Scrolls Online can be accessed at http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com. The forums are visible to anyone who visits them, but only players with active game accounts may post to the forums.

If a player has purchased the game and has an active subscription, but does not yet have access to the forums, they should contact Customer Support.

I'm sure that's how it's supposed to work, but I bet there's plenty of unsubscribed people still commenting here on forums.

Either they're manually suspending the posting rights (and forgot to suspend mine when I went on a break), or there's some bug in their system :P

I know someone who signed up during beta but coudn't actually participate due to his rather older computer which cannot quite handle the game. He also was never subscribed after launch, but he still can post here on the forums.
So yeah, it does work, I think it's a bug.

To me, there's nothing inherently wrong with F2P. I'm fine with it if it is implemented well.