Payment Model Feedback

[TheAxeOfAxe]

Sadly the in-game survey feedback posts have to be short, but I feel the need to say something to NCSoft. I hope they have the resources available to read this forum.

 

Gameplay-wise this is one of the best MMOs I've seen in a long time. The combat system is AAA+++. The available PvE content is a bit easy, but I hope and believe it will become harder with more content. PvP is more balanced than most other games, and from what I've read it will be more balaned when Lv 50 arrives.

But this game is not "truely free". It is rather expensive. More expensive than WoW and EVE Online, way more expensive than Guild Wars 1 + 2.

Honestly, I'd sign a 6 month sub right now, after playing only 5 days. In my perfect world there would be a 14 day trial and sub only (tradeable for ingame currency, like in EVE Online - someone still has to pay for the sub). The inventory and storage would be expandable with ingame currency. The Wardrobe would be available (or buyable or expandable also with ingame currency). There would be no login queue. There wouldn't be exp and gold bonuses to _anyone_ - the exp and gold rates for F2P players are perfect imho. A true visual only shop would still exist.

What is deterring me from subbing to Premium is that I still have to pay 85$ for a new character. 5$ for the slot, 80$ for the inventory. Maybe a bit less with events going on. That's a whoopy AAA game title right there! Just to be able to play in a satisfying way. And I don't even want any of the Premium benefits except the shorter / non-existent login queue, maybe the Wardrobe for inventory reasons, and maybe the market slots. Although I can forgo those as those only mean more gold / day and I don't even know what to use that much of it for.

The thing with a sub game is that it has to rely on good new content to get the players hooked. They cannot rely on slots to uncripple an actually good game. That may sound harsh, but it truely isn't. I know you NCSoft guys rightfully want to earn money, but think about it from a business perspective:

As expensive as the game is, I'm not going to stay. I will leave in 1 or 2 months, maybe come back in a year, for 1 or 2 months and finally decide that the game is dead like 500 of its predecessors. If it would be a sub with an inventory expandable through ingame currency I would stay for at least 6 months, I promise. In the end I've played EVE Online for 3 years and paid about >600 $ for it (having multiple accounts, because this EVE and I was a power addict). This wouldn't have happened if it was "free" to play.

[Psih]

Well dude exactly the same issue i have with the game here aswell.

[2501]

Yes, games are becoming more expensive, but contain less content in many cases.

 

This is a recurring trend: When your previous F2P game flops, the solution is to make the next one more expensive to compensate.

 

One indicator of such is NCSoft stock price. It recently increased significantly, which means those investors are going to require more returns to meet their quotas/demands/investment.

[Psih]

 

3 minutes ago, 2501 said:

Yes, games are becoming more expensive, but contain less content in many cases.

 

This is a recurring trend: When your previous F2P game flops, the solution is to make the next one more expensive to compensate.

I played SWTOR and what i like about that game that even as a f2p player you can buy and unlock things for your account and i've reached multiple characters to max level and gear as a free 2 play player by simply somethings to unlock. As in this game wardrobe is premium only... 2 character slots? Really? ... And so many more issues...

[2501]

2 minutes ago, Psih said:

 

I played SWTOR

 

I haven't personally, but I heard it was expensive. I haven't payed a dime for a F2P simply because of this fact. If they weren't as expensive, I'd have no problems giving them cash, and even doubling down. I got burned on TERA though, but in so doing I gained a conviction not to ever spend again unless prices are reasonable.

[Retsopmi]

Why do you have to spend so much for inventory?

 

Last I checked you can buy the vault space with in game money. What the hell are you carrying around with you that you need all the bags anyways? Also with the currency exchange, you can get many things without spending a dime.

[2501]

1 minute ago, Retsopmi said:

with the currency exchange, you can get many things without spending a dime.

 

Currency exchange in every MMO is a slave labor market. It amounts to being a professional farmer for $2/hour. That might make sense in some countries, but not others.

[Retsopmi]

Just now, 2501 said:

 

Currency exchange in every MMO is a slave labor market. It amounts to being a professional farmer for $2/hour. That might make sense in some countries, but not others.

I disagree. I've used the currency exchange in many games and didn't have to "slave labor" anything. Hell in most of them a smart market player can just play the Ah and exchange without spending much time at all. Though this does require a little more brain power than hitting 1 2 3 4 on a monsters face.

[2501]

18 minutes ago, Retsopmi said:

I disagree. I've used the currency exchange in many games and didn't have to "slave labor" anything. Hell in most of them a smart market player can just play the Ah and exchange without spending much time at all. Though this does require a little more brain power than hitting 1 2 3 4 on a monsters face.

 

I've yet to see a game where currency exchange amounts to $10-20/hour, or even $5/hour.

 

Sure, anyone can abuse the market (power-sell). It ruins the game for everyone else since you're pushing up prices (ie: speculation).

 

If everyone thought this way, then you couldn't play 'that game' any longer, as it would be unsustainable for everyone involved.

 

Just another abusive mechanic which further leads other players down the slave-trodden path?

 

I don't ever recall it requiring any brain power though. Just lots of time buying/selling/trade spamming. Extremely boring too.

 

TERA is probably best example: buy summer 'exclusive' (hate that word), cosmetics, then re-sell for 5-10x the value in 6 months.

[TheAxeOfAxe]

32 minutes ago, Retsopmi said:

Why do you have to spend so much for inventory?

 

Last I checked you can buy the vault space with in game money. What the hell are you carrying around with you that you need all the bags anyways? Also with the currency exchange, you can get many things without spending a dime.

Those were the storage and inventory expansion costs combined. You can only buy the first two rows on each inventory and storage tab with ingame currency. I do not need to actually carry around that much items, but I need to have space - the storage is full. You know, each profession with guilds at level 1 (!) already requires 5+ slots per profession. Less for the resource collecting ones, less for the food one, but way more for merry potters (those are the two crafting profs I have). Since I'm unlucky getting the the required Evo material for my Hongmoon axe, I already have like 3 rows of weapons as upgrade fodder. That's after starting to salvage those. I have way too many of those Daily Dash rewards lying around because they seem worthy enough to keep until level 40+. The faction costumes already take away 4 slots, with 2 more to come as I level up, afaik. I'm trying hard to keep at least ~3 good looking non-faction costumes. Keys take 2, Unsealing Charms take 2, because there are Hongmoon variants. Consumable take half a row. Many items that I don't have a use for right now (e.g. insignias that I have too few of to be of use) require inventory slots. Gems, crafting material drops and final products of professions require inventory slots, like 2 or 3 rows, and of course I can't sell enough them because of max. 5 market registrations per day. Do I have to delete all that to make room for the 3 rows of mediocre to useful drops in dungeons?

[Retsopmi]

7 hours ago, 2501 said:

 

I've yet to see a game where currency exchange amounts to $10-20/hour, or even $5/hour.

 

Sure, anyone can abuse the market (power-sell). It ruins the game for everyone else since you're pushing up prices (ie: speculation).

 

If everyone thought this way, then you couldn't play 'that game' any longer, as it would be unsustainable for everyone involved.

 

Just another abusive mechanic which further leads other players down the slave-trodden path?

 

I don't ever recall it requiring any brain power though. Just lots of time buying/selling/trade spamming. Extremely boring too.

 

TERA is probably best example: buy summer 'exclusive' (hate that word), cosmetics, then re-sell for 5-10x the value in 6 months.

I don't understand the measurement of hourly pay in the discussion. The point isn't to make $/h, it is to make $/month. If you can play, and earn enough in game money over the course of a month to buy things that would otherwise be "premium" options, then you are ahead of the game.

 

It's not abusing the market. Simple economics allows for people to make large amounts of money. Don't even have to gouge prices to do it. Just know what moves vs what doesn't and stick with what moves. Sadly most people try to only sell big ticket items. They want to open the mail and see 2 large chunks of money. Me, I'll take 300 small chunks that equal way  more than the 2 large chunks.

 

Lol, you seem to have slavery issues.

 

It requires a lot of brain power. Apparently so much that it's not easy to understand how it works.