PSA: Here is how DLCs work, as pertaining to Subscribe vs. "Purchase"
onlinegamer1
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A lot of you are confused on what "purchasing" a DLC means vs "Subscribing and getting "free" DLCs".
Subscribe
As long as you have a subscription, you can ACCESS all content in DLCs, but you are NOT, repeat, NOT "purchasing" them. You are RENTING them. The moment your subscription ends, you LOSE access to ALL DLCs.
Purchase
If you go to the Cash Shop, and actually PURCHASE (aka BUY) a SPECIFIC DLC, then you OWN that DLC and will be able to access it FOREVER, whether you Subscribe or not. It can NEVER EVER be taken away,
Rent vs Buy
At some point, we (the players) will be able to CALCULATE the cost of all DLCs. We cannot right now, because we don't know how many Crowns each one will cost, and its extremely likely that they will have different costs based on the size and scope of the DLC.
However, given 1500 Crowns/month for $15, you can easily equate that to 100 Crowns/$1. If a given DLC costs (FOR EXAMPLE ONLY) 5000 crowns to buy, then you can say that the DLC "costs" $50. So, if you Subscribe for 3.3 months, it will be "equivalent" to NOT subscribing and just buying that DLC with cash.
At some point, you will be able to come up with a "break even" point. A "break even" point is where the price of just buying DLCs and NOT subscribing is CHEAPER than Subscribing.
However, you'll note that SOME things can ONLY be gained with a subscription (10% XP boosts).
That summarizes "Rent" (aka Subscribe) vs "Buy" (aka Cash Shop purchase of DLCs individually).
Edited by onlinegamer1 on January 23, 2015 3:27PM Subscribe
As long as you have a subscription, you can ACCESS all content in DLCs, but you are NOT, repeat, NOT "purchasing" them. You are RENTING them. The moment your subscription ends, you LOSE access to ALL DLCs.
Purchase
If you go to the Cash Shop, and actually PURCHASE (aka BUY) a SPECIFIC DLC, then you OWN that DLC and will be able to access it FOREVER, whether you Subscribe or not. It can NEVER EVER be taken away,
Rent vs Buy
At some point, we (the players) will be able to CALCULATE the cost of all DLCs. We cannot right now, because we don't know how many Crowns each one will cost, and its extremely likely that they will have different costs based on the size and scope of the DLC.
However, given 1500 Crowns/month for $15, you can easily equate that to 100 Crowns/$1. If a given DLC costs (FOR EXAMPLE ONLY) 5000 crowns to buy, then you can say that the DLC "costs" $50. So, if you Subscribe for 3.3 months, it will be "equivalent" to NOT subscribing and just buying that DLC with cash.
At some point, you will be able to come up with a "break even" point. A "break even" point is where the price of just buying DLCs and NOT subscribing is CHEAPER than Subscribing.
However, you'll note that SOME things can ONLY be gained with a subscription (10% XP boosts).
That summarizes "Rent" (aka Subscribe) vs "Buy" (aka Cash Shop purchase of DLCs individually).
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wiz12268b14_ESO✭✭✭Cheapest way is going to be to NOT subscribe for periods of time and just let DLCs accumulate, sub for a month or 3 (3 to get 4500 crowns and a reduced [assumption] monthly sub rate) and then burn through the DLCs they have released at that point and get the max benefit from them. Then you can decide whether you want to buy them or not.(with the crowns you got for subbing)
Like I said somewhere people will eventually do this, so they need to come up with a plan to insure people access the DLC when it first comes out, either through purchase or through sub. Whether that is an event (maybe an unlocking event or some other event during the first week or month of the DLC release) is up to them. But eventually the borderline people are going to start going the cheapest route they can in accessing 100% of the game. That's bad for everyone in the long run.
But all this also assumes they will sell DLCs for crowns, which I am sure they will but more than likely for more than their cash price equivalent ratio. Example 19.99 for a DLC cash price, everything in store would equal 2000 crowns for 19.99 they want to charge 4000 for the DLC. Which is obviously a cash equivalent of 40 bucks. Goint ot be interesting and the price point, and whether they even sell DLCs for crowns and what THAT price will be will be a major topic I am sure.0 -
jluceyub17_ESO✭✭✭The only thing about the new B2P/freemium model that bothers me is this "rented" DLC crap for subscribers. If I'm subbed, my sub is paying for the development of that DLC so I should not have to purchase that DLC separately if I later choose to unsub. I'm not subbing so I can have bonus gold/xp, I'm subbing so that a game I greatly enjoy playing can have a steady revenue stream to keep creating fun content. If the sub doesn't allow me to own what I'm paying for, there's no point to it. I can understand why'd they do this, the fear that people would sub for the month a DLC drops then cancel their sub immediately, but this can easily be worked around using the loyalty reward system. If you're subbed for the 3 months before or after a DLC drops, you get to own that DLC.
TL; DR - The new loyalty rewards should be moving DLC from rented to owned status.2 -
Desdemonte✭✭✭Sorry to throw a spanner into the mix, but keep in mind that the main purpose for a lot of the DLC will be BIS gear. I can almost guarantee you they will lower the drop rates after a while so people trying to beat the system and get those items simply won't.0
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wiz12268b14_ESO✭✭✭jluceyub17_ESO wrote: »The only thing about the new B2P/freemium model that bothers me is this "rented" DLC crap for subscribers. If I'm subbed, my sub is paying for the development of that DLC so I should not have to purchase that DLC separately if I later choose to unsub. I'm not subbing so I can have bonus gold/xp, I'm subbing so that a game I greatly enjoy playing can have a steady revenue stream to keep creating fun content. If the sub doesn't allow me to own what I'm paying for, there's no point to it. I can understand why'd they do this, the fear that people would sub for the month a DLC drops then cancel their sub immediately, but this can easily be worked around using the loyalty reward system. If you're subbed for the 3 months before or after a DLC drops, you get to own that DLC.
TL; DR - The new loyalty rewards should be moving DLC from rented to owned status.
That is the one glimmer that the price of a sub might in fact buy a DLC. If you can take them at their word (which most dont) then you 'should' be able to purchase any and all DLCs with the amount of crowns you get from subbing. I however dont see it happening that way.
The argument can be made that it all works out in the end, subs are guaranteed revenue but hoping someone will buy a DLC that isnt subbing isnt a guarantee. It should all be equal I suppose.
IMO subscriber (who sub with cash) should get the most benefit of any perks and pricing. Doesnt always work that way. But Rift is a great example some people sub with cash, others sub with REX. IMO CASH subscribers should get a slight benefit over REX subscribers (at least those that bought REX with in game currency).
Cash is king and should be treated that way, and subscribers who pay money up front (even if it is a slight reduction per month in price) should be valued much more than guys who hop around or buy things piece meal here and there. The latter might end up spending more in spurts, but that doesnt necessarily mean they always will.
Thats why Free to play and Buy to play leaves a bad taste in the mouths of people who play games with a rich and devoted fan base.0 -
Csub✭✭✭✭✭Well at first I was concerned about renting but look at it this way: if you will stop subscribing, you will lose the dlc zones, sure, but you can still access the game as opposed to now when, if you stop subscribing, you cannot even log in.
And meanwhile if you won't spend all your crowns on pets and costumes (I know I will :P) you can keep accumulating crowns and eventually buy what you want. Also consider that Most people probably won't want all dlcs. I know many people won't want another adventure zone or many PVE players won't want the imperial city or pvp players the new trials.
Also, judging from past experience (hope it won't be the case here but I am sure it will), the frequency of new, actual content of games going b2p/f2p really, really slows down since most resources will go towards that stupid store."The Divines gave you a nose for a reason, Tharn. So you can keep your mouth shut and still keep breathing. - Lyris Titanborn0 -
fromtesonlineb16_ESO✭✭✭✭✭
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Stop posting personal and prejudiced opinion as fact. As for your 'guarantee', what are you basing that speculation on?Desdemonte wrote: »Sorry to throw a spanner into the mix, but keep in mind that the main purpose for a lot of the DLC will be BIS gear. I can almost guarantee you they will lower the drop rates after a while so people trying to beat the system and get those items simply won't.
I play LOTRO, Rift and SW:TOR and none of those are remotely what you're suggesting ESO will become .. and no, the 'BiS' episode in Rift recently wasn't of any significance and existed for a mater of a few weeks just prior to the release of the second expac for very good reasons, I just mention that to head off any attempt to use that as a rebuttal here.Edited by fromtesonlineb16_ESO on January 23, 2015 3:55PM0 -
Desdemonte✭✭✭fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »
Stop posting personal and prejudiced opinion as fact. As for your 'guarantee', what are you basing that speculation on?Desdemonte wrote: »Sorry to throw a spanner into the mix, but keep in mind that the main purpose for a lot of the DLC will be BIS gear. I can almost guarantee you they will lower the drop rates after a while so people trying to beat the system and get those items simply won't.
I play LOTRO, Rift and SW:TOR and none of those are remotely what you're suggesting ESO will become .. and no, the 'BiS' episode in Rift recently wasn't of any significance and existed for a mater of a few weeks just prior to the release of the second expac for very good reasons, I just mention that to head off any attempt to use that as a rebuttal here.
Other games that have done this. Get your head out of the sand. Oh, plus the fact that ZOS has been a shifty company from the get-go?Edited by Desdemonte on January 23, 2015 3:57PM0 -
wiz12268b14_ESO✭✭✭Desdemonte wrote: »fromtesonlineb16_ESO wrote: »
Stop posting personal and prejudiced opinion as fact. As for your 'guarantee', what are you basing that speculation on?Desdemonte wrote: »Sorry to throw a spanner into the mix, but keep in mind that the main purpose for a lot of the DLC will be BIS gear. I can almost guarantee you they will lower the drop rates after a while so people trying to beat the system and get those items simply won't.
I play LOTRO, Rift and SW:TOR and none of those are remotely what you're suggesting ESO will become .. and no, the 'BiS' episode in Rift recently wasn't of any significance and existed for a mater of a few weeks just prior to the release of the second expac for very good reasons, I just mention that to head off any attempt to use that as a rebuttal here.
Other games that have done this. Get your head out of the sand. Oh, plus the fact that ZOS has been a shifty company from the get-go?
ESO has console version that is the great equalizer.
The best correlation is Final Fantasy and that is still (for now) sub based but it also is a re-release of a complete failure.
Console are king and their players and sales dwarf MMOs by a mile.
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