It's time to make the base ESO game F2P and follow other big titles like LoL and Fortnite

Twohothardware · October 2018

If games like League of Legends and Fortnite have proven anything it's that if you want to gain and continue to grow an expansive player base the best way to do it is to give everyone a slice of the pie for free and then work on selling them the rest of the pie for your profits. Bungie recently took Destiny 2 which player base had majorly died off and did the same thing with the Forsaken DLC launch by making the base Destiny 2 game free for download to all Playstation Plus subscribers and now D2 is very active again.

ESO has the perfect structure already with a ESO+ monthly subscription and all the separate DLC's to make the base ESO game free to download today. ESO's real profits are coming from ESO+, Crown Store cosmetic items, and the DLC's from existing players, not new players buying the game for the first time at GameStop or Amazon. The best way to increase the existing monthly subscribers and DLC purchases is to increase the stream of new players through a F2P model.

An influx of new players also not only increases your potential revenue from them but it generates more interest with your existing player base to come back and become more invested when theres lots more players doing Dungeons, doing Trials, creating new Guilds, populating the Campaigns in Cyrodiil, ect.

The active ESO player base outside of special events has started to really dwindle this past year compared to numbers in the past. Vivec the main Cyrodiil Campaign is no longer fully populated on PS4 NA outside of prime time on weekends which leads to very lopsided Alliance battles. The other Campaigns like Shor and Kyne are empty. Dungeon queues are longer. It's harder to find a group for Trials. The lack of new players doesn't just hurt profits, it hurts existing players who are paying monthly subscriptions.

With the upcoming holidays this would be the perfect time to make the base ESO game free to download and bring in a new crowd of players that may of never tried the game had it not been for the opportunity to delve into it and get hooked without paying upfront.

Latios · October 2018

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

Acrolas · October 2018

I see the base game cost as a small registration fee that's effective in keeping a decent amount of bots and exploiters out of the system.

People tend to think twice about doing *** things if they have to pay for it or otherwise tie their financial information to it.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Latios wrote: »

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

The base game costing <$10 is not staving off bots and hacks.

StamWhipCultist · October 2018

Latios wrote: »

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

I have same view on this topic. ESO should not go ftp

BigBragg · October 2018

It'll get there eventually, but let's not rush things.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Acrolas wrote: »

I see the base game cost as a small registration fee that's effective in keeping a decent amount of bots and exploiters out of the system.

People tend to think twice about doing *** things if they have to pay for it or otherwise tie their financial information to it.

You have to purchase Playstation Plus and Xbox Live which is tied to the game in order to play even a free ESO. On PC a ESO key for the base game costs next to nothing if there were real profits to be had with bots and hacks.

Facefister · October 2018

Latios wrote: »

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

Totally agree, a paywall keeps the majority of those people away. And Fortnite carters to literal children.

Sailor_Palutena · October 2018

I would net a handful friends to play if they didn't need to buy the base game. Some were convinced with the sale, but not all.

Aragorn79 · October 2018

I also don't agree considering the base game costs already next to nothing. The less than 10 bucks are really not much, so why make it completely free? I don't see a good reason for it, but I do see, as many here have posted, good reasons not to make the game a click away for everybody.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Facefister wrote: »

Latios wrote: »

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

Totally agree, a paywall keeps the majority of those people away. And Fortnite carters to literal children.

No, it doesn't. What keeps bots and hackers away is the lack of incentives of profit and ZOS admins doing their job to police the game and ban offenders. Allowing players to trade in-game gold for Crowns removes the incentive to sell gold for real money on a website, that's why bots from what I can see have died off alot in the last few months.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Aragorn79 wrote: »

I also don't agree considering the base game costs already next to nothing. The less than 10 bucks are really not much, so why make it completely free? I don't see a good reason for it, but I do see, as many here have posted, good reasons not to make the game a click away for everybody.

Destiny 2 base game was $10 or less as well and noone was playing it. The release of a new DLC coupled with the huge amount of media exposure of the full Destiny 2 game being available to download for free on all the gaming and deal sites gave a large influx of new players that would of otherwise never got on it.

Hateanthem · October 2018

Someone hire this guy to be lead gamer designer/delevoper/guru!

He figured it out. All we gotta do is play this game like it's Fortnite.

We'll all fly into Cyrodiil and jump off the backs of dragons to land in our spawn points. Unfortunately no one on Nirn has invented parachutes yet so I'm not sure how long the match will actually last, but it's worth a try.

In the middle of combat we can build structures, well everyone except sorcs. I mean they can build them, but the structures will be capped at 40% because they have soft hands.

I think we are on to something here....

BigBragg · October 2018

Twohothardware wrote: »

Aragorn79 wrote: »

I also don't agree considering the base game costs already next to nothing. The less than 10 bucks are really not much, so why make it completely free? I don't see a good reason for it, but I do see, as many here have posted, good reasons not to make the game a click away for everybody.

Destiny 2 base game was $10 or less as well and noone was playing it. The release of a new DLC coupled with the huge amount of media exposure of the full Destiny 2 game being available to download for free on all the gaming and deal sites gave a large influx of new players that would of otherwise never got on it.

But ESO isn't dead, it has a healthy population.

Acrolas · October 2018

Twohothardware wrote: »

Destiny 2 base game was $10 or less as well and noone was playing it. The release of a new DLC coupled with the huge amount of media exposure of the full Destiny 2 game being available to download for free on all the gaming and deal sites gave a large influx of new players that would of otherwise never got on it.

I'm pretty sure 95% of the problems with Destiny 2 can be traced back to that "2".

Frawr · October 2018

Twohothardware wrote: »

If Fortnite has proven anything it's that if you want to gain and continue to grow an expansive player base the best way to do it is to give everyone a slice of the pie for free and then work on selling them the rest of the pie for your profits. Bungie recently took Destiny 2 which player base had majorly died off and did the same thing with the Forsaken DLC launch by making the base Destiny 2 game free for download to all Playstation Plus subscribers and now D2 is very active again.

ESO has the perfect structure already with ESO+ monthly subscription and all the separate DLC's to make the base ESO game free to download today. Your profits are coming from ESO+, Crown Store cosmetic items, and the DLC's from both new and existing players, not the $10 of brand new buyers buying the base game at Gamestop. One of those new players that downloads the game for free and likes it only has to subscribe to one month of ESO Plus to of already spent more than the cost of the base game.

An influx of new players also not only increases your potential revenue from them but it generates more interest with your existing player base to come back and become more invested when theres lots more players doing Dungeons, doing Trials, creating new Guilds, populating the Campaigns in Cyrodiil, ect.

The active ESO player base outside of special events has started to dwindle this past year compared to numbers in the past and the main Cyrodiil Campaign is no longer fully populated on PS4 outside of prime time on weekends which leads to very lopsided Alliance battles.

With the release of the upcoming DLC this would be the perfect opportunity right around the holidays to make the base ESO game free to download and bring in a new crowd of players that may of never tried the game had it not been for the opportunity to delve into it and get hooked without paying upfront.

Everyone wants something for free.

I would much rather have this game be gated by a Subscription again if it meant proper development and less time spent creating pointless tat for a micro-transaction shop.

Universe · October 2018

Most if not all F2P games tend to be/become pure P2W, no thank you

The paywall serves as a good barrier to keep out the exploiters/cheaters/people with bad attitude as others have already noted.

The soon ESO becomes F2P, I will quit.
I consider to quit the game over the poor condition of the combat system and terrible server performance but I still give ZOS a chance.
Though F2P is so negative that it will instantly trigger the uninstall ESO button on my PC.

SaxonCrusader · October 2018

Of course. Make this suggestion AFTER I make the move to PC.

May I also remind you that this isn't Fortnite. This is ESO. Unless you remake ESO into a battle royale game then the F2P mode you say makes Fortnite popular won't make any real or positive difference to ESO.

Like many others have said, making it free will allow for bots and scams to become even more uncontrollable. It will also give ZOS an incentive to make it more P2W, and, depending on who you ask, it's already gotten to that point. With players already having to splash out money to be able to get access to the latest armour sets, dungeon pieces, and now skill lines and classes through DLC, it makes an already P2W-esque scenario even worse.

SakuraRush · October 2018

Acrolas wrote: »

I see the base game cost as a small registration fee that's effective in keeping a decent amount of bots and exploiters out of the system.

People tend to think twice about doing *** things if they have to pay for it or otherwise tie their financial information to it.

Except on console where one copy of the game can be shared with an infinite number of accounts on the system and that copy can be shared to two systems at the same time.

Facefister · October 2018

Twohothardware wrote: »

Facefister wrote: »

Latios wrote: »

I don't agree. We already have a lot of trouble with bots, and hacks are always possible to return. Scammers are also present. Just imagine the chaos if people could create new accounts at will... That's the biggest danger with F2P games. The community tends to be much better if the game isn't available just a few clicks and a download button away.

Totally agree, a paywall keeps the majority of those people away. And Fortnite carters to literal children.

No, it doesn't. What keeps bots and hackers away is the lack of incentives of profit and ZOS admins doing their job to police the game and ban offenders. Allowing players to trade in-game gold for Crowns removes the incentive to sell gold for real money on a website, that's why bots from what I can see have died off alot in the last few months.

Yes it does. F2P games are flooded witch chinese/russian gold-bots who spam 24/7 the "zone" chat, bots and griefers literally everywhere. If you think that bots are a major problem now, set your game on "free" and see what happens. F2P is cancerous and no dev who wants a healthy game will make its game F2P.

Katahdin · October 2018

No, no, no

No

Did I mention NOOOOOO

Rain_Greyraven · October 2018

Negative
The community is toxic enough

Becky617 · October 2018

No, just no.

maboleth · October 2018

Fortnite is full of kids, brats and all kinds of toxicity. No thanks. Not a good analogy.

Paying to enter is a tiny barrier against those...

Enemy-of-Coldharbour · October 2018

Nestor · October 2018

Twohothardware wrote: »

Aragorn79 wrote: »

I also don't agree considering the base game costs already next to nothing. The less than 10 bucks are really not much, so why make it completely free? I don't see a good reason for it, but I do see, as many here have posted, good reasons not to make the game a click away for everybody.

Destiny 2 base game was $10 or less as well and noone was playing it. The release of a new DLC coupled with the huge amount of media exposure of the full Destiny 2 game being available to download for free on all the gaming and deal sites gave a large influx of new players that would of otherwise never got on it.

And all those players still left because Dest2 Still sucks no matter how cheap it is. ESO does not suck. Therun lies the difference

Chicharron · October 2018

I'm not even going to read your arguments, reading the title is enough.

NO

If it were my decision i would go back to the monthly payment system.

Horowonnoe · October 2018

No. Go away.

Danikat · October 2018

It might be ok if they did it like Guild Wars 2 where they put a lot of restrictions on free accounts to make them useless to botters and hackers. In that game free accounts can only trade a few common items (like low tier crafting materials) with other players, can't use guild banks and can't even give items or gold away - so it's useless to botters and gold sellers because there's no way to get the profits to a customer or another of their own accounts. They also can't talk in map chat (equivalent of zone) or whisper anyone except mutual friends, and can't PvP until level 60 so opportunities for trolling people are limited.

But it works as a free trial because apart from trading you can still play the game exactly as you would on a paid account - you can access all the base-game maps and play the whole of the original storyline, craft items, join in with festivals etc.

But I'm not sure it's worth it. It doesn't seem to have caused any problems but I'm also not convinced it did much to increase the game's population. Occasionally someone will mention they're on a free account, or started on one and then upgraded but it's hard to say how many of them wouldn't have given the game a chance if it wasn't free to try it first.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Nestor wrote: »

Twohothardware wrote: »

Aragorn79 wrote: »

I also don't agree considering the base game costs already next to nothing. The less than 10 bucks are really not much, so why make it completely free? I don't see a good reason for it, but I do see, as many here have posted, good reasons not to make the game a click away for everybody.

Destiny 2 base game was $10 or less as well and noone was playing it. The release of a new DLC coupled with the huge amount of media exposure of the full Destiny 2 game being available to download for free on all the gaming and deal sites gave a large influx of new players that would of otherwise never got on it.

And all those players still left because Dest2 Still sucks no matter how cheap it is. ESO does not suck. Therun lies the difference

Destiny 2's player counts now are considerably higher than ESO's are. PvP in Cyrodiil on PS4 has been stale without full numbers for the last year. Campaigns like Kyne the under Lvl 50 and Sotha Sil the non CP doesn't even have 1 bar per Alliance and much of the time not even 1 bar for any Alliance. The main Campaign Vivec is one Alliance with nearly twice the player count much of the day.

ESO may not suck for the percentage of those that still play every day but ESO does not have a steady stream of new players coming into the game, it is simply old existing players, much who only get on for special events.

Twohothardware · October 2018

Chicharron wrote: »

I'm not even going to read your arguments, reading the title is enough.

NO

If it were my decision i would go back to the monthly payment system.

If it were still the monthly payment system the game would of been completely dead by now. It had barely any popularity even at release on console because of the payment system.