The Gold Road Chapter – which includes the Scribing system – and Update 42 is now available to test on the PTS! You can read the latest patch notes here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/656454/
Subscription Re-Modeling
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The funny thing is current subscribers are paying $15/month for a 10% XP Boost.
That's because the "access to DLC" is null because there is no DLC and won't be for quite some time.
When they release DLC the pricing on the DLC will most likely be the factor of whether people choose to subscribe or not. Thing is, they won't get away with charging more than 3,000 crowns for DLC as anything more than $30 for a single area will be met with outrage by the player base.
Thing is, you have a lot of people sitting with 3k+ crowns in their account. So for them, continuing to sub is still just for a 10% XP bonus because they'll have enough crowns for the first DLC (unless ZoS does something stupid like trying to charge $50 for a single area).
This is why you need other perks for subscribing that characters actually care about.- Priority PvP queue has to be the most asked for so far.
- How about a Subscriber only PvP zone? Those non-subs could buy "passes" for X crowns that last for a period of time.
- Structured PvP (arenas and BGs). You can either sub and get them, or buy access.
- Special Events (Tamriel Holiday Themed). Subs get access, pay as you go can buy a pass for the duration of the even.
- Player Housing. Subs get access to a base house that they can expand or improve through in-game gold and crafting. Non-Subs can buy a house for Crowns.
- Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Dawnguard, etc. membership for subscribers. Gated by a quest of course... Non-sub pay crowns for access.
I guess the point it, make subbing worthwhile. Right now, even if DLC were coming it's still not worth it.
Edit:Spelling and clarity.
Agreed that DLC will likely be a real deciding factor to sub or not when it is available. But, everything else you're suggesting is would just over complicate the things. Why would we want to separate the player base that way? Subscriber only zones, subscriber only events, blah blah blah. That's all garbage and would just hurt the game. They've done a good job so far of offering incentive to subscribe, while not putting too much emphasis on it. Players who can't or don't want to subscribe need to feel somewhat equal to those who do.
"Players who can't or don't want to subscribe need to feel somewhat equal to those who do."
That's the problem, there's simply no difference between subscribers and non-subscribers except a 10% bonus.
This is a business. We are customers. Customers are not supposed to be treated the same as those who only browse the store and never buy anything.
Especially when the store doesn't have any merchandise yet. Subscribers are currently paying for what will be offered later to non-subscribers for less.
I am not a subscriber. I want to be. I can't justify it. I can buy everything I want for a fraction of the cost.2 -
Heromofo✭✭✭✭✭c.p.garrett1993_ESO wrote: »The funny thing is current subscribers are paying $15/month for a 10% XP Boost.
That's because the "access to DLC" is null because there is no DLC and won't be for quite some time.
When they release DLC the pricing on the DLC will most likely be the factor of whether people choose to subscribe or not. Thing is, they won't get away with charging more than 3,000 crowns for DLC as anything more than $30 for a single area will be met with outrage by the player base.
Thing is, you have a lot of people sitting with 3k+ crowns in their account. So for them, continuing to sub is still just for a 10% XP bonus because they'll have enough crowns for the first DLC (unless ZoS does something stupid like trying to charge $50 for a single area).
This is why you need other perks for subscribing that characters actually care about.- Priority PvP queue has to be the most asked for so far.
- How about a Subscriber only PvP zone? Those non-subs could buy "passes" for X crowns that last for a period of time.
- Structured PvP (arenas and BGs). You can either sub and get them, or buy access.
- Special Events (Tamriel Holiday Themed). Subs get access, pay as you go can buy a pass for the duration of the even.
- Player Housing. Subs get access to a base house that they can expand or improve through in-game gold and crafting. Non-Subs can buy a house for Crowns.
- Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Dawnguard, etc. membership for subscribers. Gated by a quest of course... Non-sub pay crowns for access.
I guess the point it, make subbing worthwhile. Right now, even if DLC were coming it's still not worth it.
Edit:Spelling and clarity.
Agreed that DLC will likely be a real deciding factor to sub or not when it is available. But, everything else you're suggesting is would just over complicate the things. Why would we want to separate the player base that way? Subscriber only zones, subscriber only events, blah blah blah. That's all garbage and would just hurt the game. They've done a good job so far of offering incentive to subscribe, while not putting too much emphasis on it. Players who can't or don't want to subscribe need to feel somewhat equal to those who do.
"Players who can't or don't want to subscribe need to feel somewhat equal to those who do."
That's the problem, there's simply no difference between subscribers and non-subscribers except a 10% bonus.
This is a business. We are customers. Customers are not supposed to be treated the same as those who only browse the store and never buy anything.
Especially when the store doesn't have any merchandise yet. Subscribers are currently paying for what will be offered later to non-subscribers for less.
I am not a subscriber. I want to be. I can't justify it. I can buy everything I want for a fraction of the cost.
Same here i cannot justify it atm hence why i hope ZOS pays attention to your multi tiered subscription services between my mates and i thats 180 dollars a month just from us at 20 bucks a pop.0 -
Bouvin✭✭✭✭✭
✭c.p.garrett1993_ESO wrote: »non-subscribers for less.
I am not a subscriber. I want to be. I can't justify it. I can buy everything I want for a fraction of the cost.
Exactly my point.
There's nothing justifying being a subscriber.
And actually 10% XP boost is really minimal, because as you start to out level content from the boost you also start to suffer XP penalties for killing under level mobs.. so in time it actually evens out.
I learned this while running full exploration gear on an alt thinking I'd level faster. I did at first, but then after a while I was so over-level for the areas I was doing that XP actually started to fall off.1 -
c.p.garrett1993_ESO wrote: »non-subscribers for less.
I am not a subscriber. I want to be. I can't justify it. I can buy everything I want for a fraction of the cost.
Exactly my point.
There's nothing justifying being a subscriber.
And actually 10% XP boost is really minimal, because as you start to out level content from the boost you also start to suffer XP penalties for killing under level mobs.. so in time it actually evens out.
I learned this while running full exploration gear on an alt thinking I'd level faster. I did at first, but then after a while I was so over-level for the areas I was doing that XP actually started to fall off.
Only if you dont move on to higher content as you out level things. But if your goal is to explore everything then you are correct.
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Bouvin✭✭✭✭✭
✭sk8ingeckoub17_ESO wrote: »
I learned this while running full exploration gear on an alt thinking I'd level faster. I did at first, but then after a while I was so over-level for the areas I was doing that XP actually started to fall off.
Only if you dont move on to higher content as you out level things. But if your goal is to explore everything then you are correct.
Yes, I do like to complete most of the content in zones. But mostly to ensure I'm not missing any Skill points from quests that give them or skyshards.
Since most of the quests that give skill points have a lot of prerequisite quests, you end up doing most of the zones to get all of them.
But ya, you are correct.0 -
Obscure✭✭✭✭✭@c.p.garrett1993_ESO
This gets into the concept of providing a service vs producing a product. Interestingly enough, an MMO does both, but unfortunately the service provision for games that do not have a mandatory subscription, such as ESO, is not being monetised, only the product is. Gym membership analogy only applies to ESO if it were still subscription based, essentially I can go to the "ESO gym" for free provided I bought access to it (odd analogy for me since gyms aren't also a product being sold).
Simply put, ESO made themselves into a production based business rather than a service based business. The products are being monetised but not the service, thus there's no value in the service itself. ZOS painted themselves into a corner where they now HAVE TO sell a product (content) players want in order to make money whilst giving away the service provision for free. Trying to use your Gym analogy (though I'll admit I need to stretch for it and it's a very specific context) it's like giving away membership for free, but giving members who pay for it a bottle of water and a snack when they come in whilst also giving them a store credit to buy Gym T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, etc., stuff they could just buy anyhow for the same price. If you don't care about the bottle of water or the snack, nor are you interested in the stuff they sell in the Gym store, you have no real incentive to be a paying member since the prime reason you go to the gym (to work out, hit on women, whatever) remains free to you.
What I'm trying to get across is there's no perk they can add that the market will care enough about to justify a subscription.
DLC will likely come in at $20-$30 ea and judging by when that content is likely to come out (post June, likely August Q3 time frame) it's a ways off. Players who subscribe, like myself, are going to have plenty of built up crowns (store credit) to buy it should we so desire, but we get it for free if we are subscribed. This turns the very content itself into a perk of my subscription, which is what it needs to be RIGHT NOW. Until then the only perk is the store credits I get every month and the hope they'll toss something on there I'm even remotely interested in (I pass on the consumables, pass on the current pets, and pass on the current costumes, with the only thing I've purchased thus far being the Nightmare Courser). I plan on spending that disposable income on whatever ZOS is going to interest me with in the future, so I personally subscribe without regard for the current perks (which are worthless to me). An argument however could be made that a wise decision would be to toss the money in a savings account with monthly interest and no withdraw limits or penalties, then just let it sit there until ZOS offers something you want. Call me lazy, but I just don't care to do that, though would give a high five to anyone with the ambition to do.
In the back of my head I like to think my little pocket change is going to be used to make ESO a better place. 1.6 was a big improvement, but much more is needed to make it a game a professional developer would be proud of... seriously some massively amateur quality work going on in ESO (not you @ZOS's Art Team, you guys kick ass, take names, and make all the other studio's delepartments seem like they don't belong next to such pro artists and should go make shovel ware for iPhones).0