The thing is one way or another Gold subs ARE screwed since eventually your credit card WILL expire and you won't be able to introduce a new one
That would be a bit dim, to be honest... they just need to move the payment method over to the Arc platform.
As a long-term monthly subscriber I'm OK with it financially, but it's not a good look for the game: it makes LTS look a whole lot less attractive than it did last week, and gives the game a "on its deathbed" feel which it's resisted over the last five years.
If they want me to cough up more money for stuff that was free then that's OK.... it just won't make me spend any more, and the choice each month becomes buying Zen for keys and costumes or buying new characters.
Finally - any chance of a mid-priced "Freeform unlock" for the Z Store? At the minute you're asking people to pay 1500z for 6 slots and then 5000z for two more Freeform slots - make it possible to buy a Freeform for those Premium Pack slots for 1500-1750z and you'd probably sell a few....
The slots granted by the Premium Pack are regular slots, not freeform. If you are not currently subscribed or lifetime, you will have to purchase freeform slots if you want to make freeform characters. You will also have to purchase archetypes if you do not own them.
If you are subbed/lifetime, any characters you make on open/new slots will continue to function the same as they do now. The only change is you will no longer receive a additional slot for getting a character to 40.
Okay, now I'm even more confused than before. I want to be 100% certain what happens to slots I currently have as an LTS? I can currently make either an FF or an AT and after the 7th, these empty slots I have I'll continue to be able to make either/or, correct?
Also, since you're going to make even Gold/LTS buy FF slots from now on, are you going to be lowering the price of the FF slot? I have always thought that $50 for 1 measly slot was WAY too much to charge, and even when you sold them at 50% off ($25) it was still not worth it.
AT's and FF's need to come at a lower price point or you may as well just go ahead and shut the game down on June 7th because I can't imagine you'll get any new players and many of your older players may likely leave. I'd say $5 for AT's, $10 for FF, no way will you get more than that out of me my stipend after this.
I've seen some bone-headed things in my time and this is right up near the top of the list now.
What you just quoted seems to indicate that they are NOT going to make Gold/LTS buy FF slots.
"any character you make on open/new slots will continue to function as they do now."
Yeah, you may be right. I'm just so unsure exactly what is going on, I may have over reacted. I went back and edited out my original post.
So, just to make sure I do understand exactly what will happen as things stand now...
As a LTS, if I buy new slots once the ones I have run out, I can make FF's? No need to buy FF slots? Obviously the same would apply to current subs who continue to sub.
Will Gold and Lifetime Members still receive a free character slot at level 40?
After the release of the Premium Pack, this feature will no longer exist.
What?! This is literally the only reason I bother leveling characters anymore. I have nearly zero motivation to play content for any other reason than to make a new character once I hit 40, and Perfect World is hilariously misinformed if they think I'll pay the outrageous price actually buying a new slot comes with.
Actually, I have no problem with LTS losing the free FF slot for every level 40. At $300, you get $400/$800 worth in just FF slots AND you still get a $5 stipend meaning you can still get a free FF slot every 5 month (@50% off) or 10 months (full price). Maybe current LTS should be grandfathered in better. Gold / former gold subs certainly should be.
Customer loyalty should mean something. Aren't there enough scumbag video game companies out there?
Since we haven't gotten any in-world content in years, the only replayability for me is to make new characters when I hit level 40... and now even that small joy is being removed.
Yeah, when this change goes through, I'm out of here. This is a remarkably cynical money grab for a feature which costs PW absolutely nothing, and I'm done.
Actually, I have no problem with LTS losing the free FF slot for every level 40. At $300, you get $400/$800 worth in just FF slots AND you still get a $5 stipend meaning you can still get a free FF slot every 5 month (@50% off) or 10 months (full price). Maybe current LTS should be grandfathered in better. Gold / former gold subs certainly should be.
Customer loyalty should mean something. Aren't there enough scumbag video game companies out there?
Well, at the time I paid, I thought (since it was correct) that $300 worth of a lifetime sub meant unlimited FF slots--by far the most appealing part of the deal to me. I would never have paid that much for 59 slots.
It's less about dollars and cents (to me), and more about "taking away the primary reason I play the game". Don't care if it's good value relative to horrid over-pricing of other services.
It's less about dollars and cents (to me), and more about "taking away the primary reason I play the game". Don't care if it's good value relative to horrid over-pricing of other services.
Each new character is now 750Z rather than being free. That still means a new character every 45-60 days, though, if you save your Zen subscription stipends.
It's a downgrade, and those are always rubbish, and it puts CO in competition with other games for your gaming budget, so it raises player expectations. But it's not the end of the world.
thying to be constructive and helpefull here
this does not feel like a great move , the big selling point about champions was always about making versitile and interesting characters this is why FF was such a selling point " be the hero you want to be " was the tag line i think , powers continue to ecvolve and get added , FF slots at 5000zen and a LTS option are difficult for some of us to acchive , i can just manage my sub currenty , just if i lapses thats it , everything is locked , also a montly sub was worth trying for new players to experience the FF joys , now its going to be a big step to get to that point
personaly 800+ days of subs and 60+ characters and thousands of hours play ,this does not seem like a good move for existing and new players , my oppinion make of it what you want to thank you
The team is also looking into the possibility of creating an item down the road that will be able to convert those silver slots into freeform slots, but that might be a bit.
No. This is not something you look into doing "down the road." This is something you have ready and waiting to implement before you make any changes at all to the subscription model, or you will be screwing over your monthly subscribers. Any changes PWE and Cryptic make to how accounts currently function should be pushed back until that is dealt with.
Each new character is now 750Z rather than being free. That still means a new character every 45-60 days, though, if you save your Zen subscription stipends.
It's a downgrade, and those are always rubbish, and it puts CO in competition with other games for your gaming budget, so it raises player expectations. But it's not the end of the world.
I agree 100% ,this shoud be an immidiate option , there is a trend for things down the road not actually happening , bug fixes left for years ect , this needs to be an immidiate option before you lose your playerbase
That's the price of a single Character slot in the Z Store. From what Kaiserin and Biff have said - and I think this has been sprung on them as much as it has on us - if you have an active Gold sub or LTS then any new character slots you buy are automatically opened up for use as a Premium AT or Freeform. So all you need to do are buy the slots, and carry on as you were.
That's the price of a single Character slot in the Z Store. From what Kaiserin and Biff have said - and I think this has been sprung on them as much as it has on us - if you have an active Gold sub or LTS then any new character slots you buy are automatically opened up for use as a Premium AT or Freeform. So all you need to do are buy the slots, and carry on as you were.
This game has always had a character cap of 59. However, if you earned character slots through leveling gold characters to 40 this bypassed the limit. After this change takes effect players who are over this cap will not lose any of them, even if they delete the character. But they will not be able to purchase any new ones. We can look into raising the cap a bit.
So it sounds like it's a hard cap on character slots: either 59, or how many you have on doomsday.
To clarify, I agree with what you said in the last post: not the end of the world. But lots of things that are stupid, irritating, and pointless aren't the end of the world.
That's the price of a single Character slot in the Z Store. From what Kaiserin and Biff have said - and I think this has been sprung on them as much as it has on us - if you have an active Gold sub or LTS then any new character slots you buy are automatically opened up for use as a Premium AT or Freeform.
For me it does not change much, I already have trouble managing between 8 characters whether it was on Champions Online or on others games, so 59 characters it's crazy. xD
So it sounds like it's a hard cap on character slots: either 59, or how many you have on doomsday.
The 59 character thing doesn't annoy me as I don't have anywhere near that number on my account. I'm not sure why they've decided to limit it, as it's clear it doesn't cause any major system issues, and by the sounds of it they can raise the cap a bit. What it does do, though, is make the ban on new subscriptions look a bit dumb - surely people with alt-itis would just start another account and subscribe on that one?
I think there's an issue when your players are mad they can't spend money on Champions Online.
A big part of my problem with this is if you're legitimately capped on character slots, you're kind of taking out a big portion of the fun of the game which was making characters. I mean heck, Kaiserin actually extended the longevity of the game with how many new customization options they added, and now what? The thousands of different combinations are now locked down to 59 slots? People have hundreds of characters and I know so many people who have more than the cap as is.
And funny that I said what I said in the beginning, because no, they still can, but now we have to buy FF slots if we want to keep making freeform characters? Am I understanding that correctly? The business model of the gold subscription was solid for what it was. It basically bolstered the point of the game and promoted saying, "Hey, keep making characters!" but now it feels like anyone who enjoyed that is pretty much being given no reason to play the game. I almost feel like this has nothing to do with what cryptic studios wants, but it's 100% a PWE move.
You also may as well say the monthly stipend is going away since once your card expires, that goes bye bye too (granted I feel like this change is a precursor to something worse).
The short version of it is this change is a good idea in a sense, but crippling the amount of stuff you can do with the game is not. I get that there was always a cap on characters, but why remove such a great benefit? Why remove it at all? Some people subscribed solely because of those free level 40 slots, and on that note, it was one of the reasons given to go gold in the first place. Is having more than 59 characters harming the game or something? It was said that if it was fun and not hurting anything, it should be kept right? Removing this is hurting something and not fun. Again, I may not be over the 59 character limit, but the amount of ideas I have will make me, and I know people who are and still want to make more. As a matter of fact one I know gets a character to 40 and immediately starts on another one like clockwork.
Removing the benefits we had as gold members is a bad idea, seriously, I don't think a lot of the community is for this. Myself included.
Not being able to get new characters for leveling to 40 is a pretty nice screw you to players who've been here since the beginning. That new character slots been the only real reason many players have continued to play the game.
I've been thinking a little about how this will affect monthly subscribers, and want to point that I'm a LTS, so I have no skin in what I'm about to say. As I see it, Cryptic and PWE essentially have to do one of three things when they roll out these changes.
1) Unlock any freeform character slots on a subscription that lapses. Honestly, I see this as the least likely option for them to take as it means no additional revenue for them, but it is an option.
2) Give players with lapsed subscriptions the option to purchase an unlock token for locked freeform characters. I see this as more likely, as it does result in some money for Cryptic and PWE, but I don't think they should ask much for this. 100 Zen for one token sounds fair to me. For anyone thinking this is far too cheap, keep in mind that we're talking about character slots these players have already paid for through paying for a subsciption.
3) Let players purchase a token that lets them change an archetype character to a freeform character. I think this would be the most likely option as it would be useful to people that have never subscribed as well by allowing them to convert archetype characters they've already leveled.
Personally, I think any changes to the subscription and how gold accounts function should be pushed back until one of these three options is ready to be implemented. Doing anything less is a giant middle finger to people that have supported this company by paying for a subscription.
So we ask for more powers and mission play and instead, they take away gold memberships and gold items...? Aside from power colors and freeform, thats the only reason I’ve been subscribed.....
the entire game is essentially one giant hero creator...whatever limit increase you plan to add for character slots in the future, it better be a really damn BIG one, because dozens of people here have close to a hundred characters, if not well over that
Cryptic, regardless of what you think about what everyone in this thread is saying, you need to push back the date for this change. Regardless of how sound this new model is, the community needs at least a month in order to discuss, adjust, get subscriptions if we want them, etc.
The problem with that chart is that the "Subscribed" category is literally going to be impossible for people to access at some point, whether immediately or when their subscription lapses, forcing them to either pay for LTS (which some people just cannot realistically afford), or pay to convert the characters they could originally play just by subscribing, which knowing the PWE model is likely going to be expensive and frustrating.
Forcibly converting characters who have been gold since the day they were made into silver, with no easy way to get them back to how they were, is just messy and alienating to a lot of players. Buying some sort of single character freeform conversion token absolutely needs to exist, but I won't be buying into that, myself. It was $15 for a month of access to all of my characters up until now, and it made sense. What doesn't make sense is that some people will legitimately have to ask themselves if it's cheaper to go LTS than convert their already existing characters to freeform, with the current idea being what it is.
What makes even less sense is this weird info drop that everybody has a week to subscribe and maintain that subscription because at least the benefits are staying around; you just won't be able to join the club. And you're screwed if you don't.
Unless you buy LTS, but that's seeming like a phenomenally bad decision considering how much trouble this has already stirred up. And even then you're still screwed a little bit.
Unless you buy LTS, but that's seeming like a phenomenally bad decision considering how much trouble this has already stirred up. And even then you're still screwed a little bit.
Last week I was thinking about LTS, this week... no chance. The cost of LTS, even on sale, is 18 months' subscription and I doubt the game will see that out after these changes.
Unless you buy LTS, but that's seeming like a phenomenally bad decision considering how much trouble this has already stirred up. And even then you're still screwed a little bit.
Last week I was thinking about LTS, this week... no chance. The cost of LTS, even on sale, is 18 months' subscription and I doubt the game will see that out after these changes.
Enh, 18 months of LTS is IMO worth more than 18 months of gold.
I dont think that the devs have any influence considering that change..that's the doing of PWE.
I heard a lot of people in my SG (one of the biggest in CO) announcing their departure soon - also some who said that this feels like a flashback to the downfall of City of Heroes.
Honestly -I think that is exactly what PWE wants - getting rid of CO as soon as possible and getting as much money as possible out of the players pockets before that happens.
I thought about LTS in the last two weeks. but that thought is definitely gone. I also doubt that PWE will change their plans no matter how much heat they may get..they give a s*** about CO and the community here.
They dont care how much money the players invested in their characters (buying Aura or Costume slots - etc) or how many characters they leveled to get the opportunity to create a new one - the fact that they announced that "change" a week before it will happen says all.
Conclusion: lets hope that the developers of the "other" three Superhero MMO's see their chances and do their best to develop their games as soon as possible - so that they are ready when this one here dies - because after this hoax it will for sure, the only question is how fast.
And yes - I will sadly be here to witness it, unless there is no one of my friends left.
This would be the moment were I cancel my subscription.
By the way, and not a lot of people are talking about this AFAIK, but what's with the need to change account slots to that? Nobody ever asked for these changes and I don't see how these benefit anything.
> @sergeantmahoff1 said: > I mean heck, Kaiserin actually extended the longevity of the game with how many new customization options they added, and now what? > I almost feel like this has nothing to do with what cryptic studios wants, but it's 100% a PWE move. > You also may as well say the monthly stipend is going away since once your card expires, that goes bye bye too (granted I feel like this change is a precursor to something worse)
****, I actually agree with Mahoff on these points.
You happy now PWI? You made me agree on something with Mahoff!
I am disillusioned and saddened by this. I bought lifetime a few years ago and have staunchly supported this game defending Champions and said they do care about us! But today I read this and I feel slightly betrayed and sad that you would do this. Could you please explain why? I do not have close to 59 toons. I am not near my limit. I bought lifetime to not have to worry about $50 for a slot and the benefits for this. I feel slightly betrayed. I used to buy zen quite a bit. I love this game but this action makes me think you don't care about your players? If it improved the life of the game I would understand. But the lifetimers I know buy zen and play still contributing to it. So I ask politely and with all do respect, why? :'(
They've been in talks about this for over a year, but kept it secret until 6 days before it's dumped on us.
Nice consideration for the playerbase in general and for those who have continued to support the game financially and otherwise, not only during that time but also during the heavy drought years we had.
They've been in talks about this for over a year, but kept it secret until 6 days before it's dumped on us.
Nice consideration for the playerbase in general and for those who have continued to support the game financially and otherwise, not only during that time but also during the heavy drought years we had.
Theyve been in talks for a year? Wow.
Buffing everything to stupid high levels and nerfing everything to piss poor levels yields the same results, but not the same community reactions.
Aww, I'm disappointed that you couldn't get any more character after you level up a character to level 40 as a LTSer. I wish you would have kept that feature since I know it was a buying point for me.
Perhaps I'm just being cynical but I think this could be a way of manufacturing a reason to shut the game down. The game probably isn't very profitable these days, maybe it makes enough to stay afloat but that's probably not enough to justify keeping it up and running. So maybe they do something like this to discourage people from logging in and playing and then they can point to the drop in the attendance as a reason to pull the plug on the game. Just a theory. Not sure what other reason there'd be to kill the best part of the game.
Aww, I'm disappointed that you couldn't get any more character after you level up a character to level 40 as a LTSer. I wish you would have kept that feature since I know it was a buying point for me.
Perhaps I'm just being cynical but I think this could be a way of manufacturing a reason to shut the game down.
That's more conspiracy than cynicism. If PW wants to shut down CO, they can just do it, no reason required.
While it is a bit conspiracy, the past lends itself to the belief.
I poked around the Swordsman and Jade Dynasty forums to ask some questions and the players from Jade Dynasty told me that there was a huge cash grab sale last holidays that apparently failed to meet the expectations of PWI, so based on that they decided to shut the game down. At least the players were refunded the money they spent during that cash grab.
Swordsman also had a similar cash grab, but no refund was given.
Aww, I'm disappointed that you couldn't get any more character after you level up a character to level 40 as a LTSer. I wish you would have kept that feature since I know it was a buying point for me.
Perhaps I'm just being cynical but I think this could be a way of manufacturing a reason to shut the game down. The game probably isn't very profitable these days, maybe it makes enough to stay afloat but that's probably not enough to justify keeping it up and running.
As long as either Star Trek Online or Neverwinter (STO or NW for short) are running, CO costs practically nothing to keep up.
All three games use the same shared rack for their server. All three games use the same chat server. CO owns the license to Champions Online, so that costs nothing (unlike STO and NW). Dev time between the three games are shared (as they're all in the same building at Cryptic), so what CO makes, it can spend.
I played this game for about 2 weeks before deciding to purchase the Lifetime Subscription (yes, it was on sale)back around 2014. I regret not finding the game sooner from the stories that friends told me. Some who have been here since beta.
I have played this game for around four years, and for me Champions Online shutting down would be too soon.
I'm outright scared for CO's life now from what I've read about these changes.
These changes are just nasty, for lack of a better word. However, having played Ether Saga, JD, Swordsman, PWI, and many other PWE games, I'm not surprised in the slightest. They've consistently found ways to piss off their customers, ruin games, and then do one final cash grab before shutting down said games one month later "with a heavy heart". The only reason I even still deal with PWE is because I love CO, and here they are trying to ruin that too. I feel bad for Kais for taking a lot of heat for these changes when it's not even her fault.
Comments
That would be a bit dim, to be honest... they just need to move the payment method over to the Arc platform.
As a long-term monthly subscriber I'm OK with it financially, but it's not a good look for the game: it makes LTS look a whole lot less attractive than it did last week, and gives the game a "on its deathbed" feel which it's resisted over the last five years.
If they want me to cough up more money for stuff that was free then that's OK.... it just won't make me spend any more, and the choice each month becomes buying Zen for keys and costumes or buying new characters.
Finally - any chance of a mid-priced "Freeform unlock" for the Z Store? At the minute you're asking people to pay 1500z for 6 slots and then 5000z for two more Freeform slots - make it possible to buy a Freeform for those Premium Pack slots for 1500-1750z and you'd probably sell a few....
Except if you have more than 59 characters, then you are screwed
Yeah, you may be right. I'm just so unsure exactly what is going on, I may have over reacted. I went back and edited out my original post.
So, just to make sure I do understand exactly what will happen as things stand now...
As a LTS, if I buy new slots once the ones I have run out, I can make FF's? No need to buy FF slots? Obviously the same would apply to current subs who continue to sub.
What?! This is literally the only reason I bother leveling characters anymore. I have nearly zero motivation to play content for any other reason than to make a new character once I hit 40, and Perfect World is hilariously misinformed if they think I'll pay the outrageous price actually buying a new slot comes with.
Customer loyalty should mean something. Aren't there enough scumbag video game companies out there?
[at]riviania Member since Aug 2009
Yeah, when this change goes through, I'm out of here. This is a remarkably cynical money grab for a feature which costs PW absolutely nothing, and I'm done.
Well, at the time I paid, I thought (since it was correct) that $300 worth of a lifetime sub meant unlimited FF slots--by far the most appealing part of the deal to me. I would never have paid that much for 59 slots.
It's less about dollars and cents (to me), and more about "taking away the primary reason I play the game". Don't care if it's good value relative to horrid over-pricing of other services.
Each new character is now 750Z rather than being free. That still means a new character every 45-60 days, though, if you save your Zen subscription stipends.
It's a downgrade, and those are always rubbish, and it puts CO in competition with other games for your gaming budget, so it raises player expectations. But it's not the end of the world.
this does not feel like a great move , the big selling point about champions was always about making versitile and interesting characters this is why FF was such a selling point " be the hero you want to be " was the tag line i think , powers continue to ecvolve and get added , FF slots at 5000zen and a LTS option are difficult for some of us to acchive , i can just manage my sub currenty , just if i lapses thats it , everything is locked , also a montly sub was worth trying for new players to experience the FF joys , now its going to be a big step to get to that point
personaly 800+ days of subs and 60+ characters and thousands of hours play ,this does not seem like a good move for existing and new players , my oppinion make of it what you want to thank you
No. This is not something you look into doing "down the road." This is something you have ready and waiting to implement before you make any changes at all to the subscription model, or you will be screwing over your monthly subscribers. Any changes PWE and Cryptic make to how accounts currently function should be pushed back until that is dealt with.
How are you arriving at 750Z per character?
That's the price of a single Character slot in the Z Store. From what Kaiserin and Biff have said - and I think this has been sprung on them as much as it has on us - if you have an active Gold sub or LTS then any new character slots you buy are automatically opened up for use as a Premium AT or Freeform. So all you need to do are buy the slots, and carry on as you were.
Unless:
So it sounds like it's a hard cap on character slots: either 59, or how many you have on doomsday.
To clarify, I agree with what you said in the last post: not the end of the world. But lots of things that are stupid, irritating, and pointless aren't the end of the world.
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
At the moment you don't have to buy the slots, so that's an additional cost going forwards. Not game-breaking for me, but it might be for others.
The 59 character thing doesn't annoy me as I don't have anywhere near that number on my account. I'm not sure why they've decided to limit it, as it's clear it doesn't cause any major system issues, and by the sounds of it they can raise the cap a bit. What it does do, though, is make the ban on new subscriptions look a bit dumb - surely people with alt-itis would just start another account and subscribe on that one?
A big part of my problem with this is if you're legitimately capped on character slots, you're kind of taking out a big portion of the fun of the game which was making characters. I mean heck, Kaiserin actually extended the longevity of the game with how many new customization options they added, and now what? The thousands of different combinations are now locked down to 59 slots? People have hundreds of characters and I know so many people who have more than the cap as is.
And funny that I said what I said in the beginning, because no, they still can, but now we have to buy FF slots if we want to keep making freeform characters? Am I understanding that correctly? The business model of the gold subscription was solid for what it was. It basically bolstered the point of the game and promoted saying, "Hey, keep making characters!" but now it feels like anyone who enjoyed that is pretty much being given no reason to play the game. I almost feel like this has nothing to do with what cryptic studios wants, but it's 100% a PWE move.
You also may as well say the monthly stipend is going away since once your card expires, that goes bye bye too (granted I feel like this change is a precursor to something worse).
The short version of it is this change is a good idea in a sense, but crippling the amount of stuff you can do with the game is not. I get that there was always a cap on characters, but why remove such a great benefit? Why remove it at all? Some people subscribed solely because of those free level 40 slots, and on that note, it was one of the reasons given to go gold in the first place. Is having more than 59 characters harming the game or something? It was said that if it was fun and not hurting anything, it should be kept right? Removing this is hurting something and not fun. Again, I may not be over the 59 character limit, but the amount of ideas I have will make me, and I know people who are and still want to make more. As a matter of fact one I know gets a character to 40 and immediately starts on another one like clockwork.
Removing the benefits we had as gold members is a bad idea, seriously, I don't think a lot of the community is for this. Myself included.
I... I'm... I'm just speechless.
1) Unlock any freeform character slots on a subscription that lapses. Honestly, I see this as the least likely option for them to take as it means no additional revenue for them, but it is an option.
2) Give players with lapsed subscriptions the option to purchase an unlock token for locked freeform characters. I see this as more likely, as it does result in some money for Cryptic and PWE, but I don't think they should ask much for this. 100 Zen for one token sounds fair to me. For anyone thinking this is far too cheap, keep in mind that we're talking about character slots these players have already paid for through paying for a subsciption.
3) Let players purchase a token that lets them change an archetype character to a freeform character. I think this would be the most likely option as it would be useful to people that have never subscribed as well by allowing them to convert archetype characters they've already leveled.
Personally, I think any changes to the subscription and how gold accounts function should be pushed back until one of these three options is ready to be implemented. Doing anything less is a giant middle finger to people that have supported this company by paying for a subscription.
There's no confusion, we're getting screwed.
power colors and freeform, thats the only reason I’ve been subscribed.....
Forcibly converting characters who have been gold since the day they were made into silver, with no easy way to get them back to how they were, is just messy and alienating to a lot of players. Buying some sort of single character freeform conversion token absolutely needs to exist, but I won't be buying into that, myself. It was $15 for a month of access to all of my characters up until now, and it made sense. What doesn't make sense is that some people will legitimately have to ask themselves if it's cheaper to go LTS than convert their already existing characters to freeform, with the current idea being what it is.
What makes even less sense is this weird info drop that everybody has a week to subscribe and maintain that subscription because at least the benefits are staying around; you just won't be able to join the club. And you're screwed if you don't.
Unless you buy LTS, but that's seeming like a phenomenally bad decision considering how much trouble this has already stirred up. And even then you're still screwed a little bit.
Last week I was thinking about LTS, this week... no chance. The cost of LTS, even on sale, is 18 months' subscription and I doubt the game will see that out after these changes.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
My characters
I heard a lot of people in my SG (one of the biggest in CO) announcing their departure soon - also some who said that this feels like a flashback to the downfall of City of Heroes.
Honestly -I think that is exactly what PWE wants - getting rid of CO as soon as possible and getting as much money as possible out of the players pockets before that happens.
I thought about LTS in the last two weeks. but that thought is definitely gone. I also doubt that PWE will change their plans no matter how much heat they may get..they give a s*** about CO and the community here.
They dont care how much money the players invested in their characters (buying Aura or Costume slots - etc) or how many characters they leveled to get the opportunity to create a new one - the fact that they announced that "change" a week before it will happen says all.
Conclusion: lets hope that the developers of the "other" three Superhero MMO's see their chances and do their best to develop their games as soon as possible - so that they are ready when this one here dies - because after this hoax it will for sure, the only question is how fast.
And yes - I will sadly be here to witness it, unless there is no one of my friends left.
This would be the moment were I cancel my subscription.
> I mean heck, Kaiserin actually extended the longevity of the game with how many new customization options they added, and now what?
> I almost feel like this has nothing to do with what cryptic studios wants, but it's 100% a PWE move.
> You also may as well say the monthly stipend is going away since once your card expires, that goes bye bye too (granted I feel like this change is a precursor to something worse)
****, I actually agree with Mahoff on these points.
You happy now PWI? You made me agree on something with Mahoff!
Truly the end of days begins
I do not have close to 59 toons. I am not near my limit. I bought lifetime to not have to worry about $50 for a slot and the benefits for this. I feel slightly betrayed. I used to buy zen quite a bit. I love this game but this action makes me think you don't care about your players? If it improved the life of the game I would understand. But the lifetimers I know buy zen and play still contributing to it. So I ask politely and with all do respect, why? :'(
Nice consideration for the playerbase in general and for those who have continued to support the game financially and otherwise, not only during that time but also during the heavy drought years we had.
Click here to check out my costumes/milleniumguardian (MG) in-game/We need more tights, stances and moods
Theyve been in talks for a year? Wow.
42 40s, LTSer.
EDIT: wait, does this effect goes live now?
Epic Stronghold
Block timing explained
The 7th.
Cynical: believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity.
Conspiratorial: relating to or suggestive of a secret plan made by a group of people to do something unlawful or harmful.
I stand by my word choice.
While it is a bit conspiracy, the past lends itself to the belief.
I poked around the Swordsman and Jade Dynasty forums to ask some questions and the players from Jade Dynasty told me that there was a huge cash grab sale last holidays that apparently failed to meet the expectations of PWI, so based on that they decided to shut the game down. At least the players were refunded the money they spent during that cash grab.
Swordsman also had a similar cash grab, but no refund was given.
Then I will start leveling until that day comes.
All three games use the same shared rack for their server. All three games use the same chat server. CO owns the license to Champions Online, so that costs nothing (unlike STO and NW). Dev time between the three games are shared (as they're all in the same building at Cryptic), so what CO makes, it can spend.
Razira's Primus Database Page
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I have played this game for around four years, and for me Champions Online shutting down would be too soon.
I'm outright scared for CO's life now from what I've read about these changes.