I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
1- They aren't running this game for charity, they are obviously running the game for making profits.
2- You weren't forced to pay for anything, you can literally farm everything in game it will take longer but it is possible ( yes even the crafting items, you can obtain them by making multiple characters and repeat the quest in never death).
Getting your hero pack doesn't mean you own everything in the game(they never said that so i don;t know where the " exploiting customer's trust" is coming from) there are still some stuff that you cant buy and you need to farm for it.
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
There are multiple F2P MMOs that charge for changing stats or skills, like Ragnarok Online 2.
well at the same time though, $30 for a mount is ridiculous, especially when the quality level isn't even that great on them, and the animations are terrible. There's a point where you're trying to make a profit, and then there's a point when you're just asking too much for how little you're putting into it. If anything they should be charging considerably less for the <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> (quality wise) they're trying to sell, that way people with think they might as well buy it just because it's so inexpensive. It amazes me just how much people are willing to pay for virtual items when they really don't do anything but make you run a little faster, and in an instanced game like this it seems even more ridiculous given that each instance in only a fraction of the world unlike other games where you can run from one end of the world to the other with out a million load screens. There at least the travel only mounts seem important.
Cryptic is charging way too much for a lot of this stuff.
Translation. Something "I" want costs money. If you don't make it free you are being greedy.
They already cut the price on respects in half. I dont honestly expect to see them slash the prices again. Its quite clear that Cryptic wants build choices to have some consequences. Changing your build should not be an at-will, or on-a-whim, kinda thing. This is clearly a design choice in action here.
well at the same time though, $30 for a mount is ridiculous, especially when the quality level isn't even that great on them, and the animations are terrible. There's a point where you're trying to make a profit, and then there's a point when you're just asking too much for how little you're putting into it. If anything they should be charging considerably less for the <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> (quality wise) they're trying to sell, that way people with think they might as well buy it just because it's so inexpensive. It amazes me just how much people are willing to pay for virtual items when they really don't do anything but make you run a little faster, and in an instanced game like this it seems even more ridiculous given that each instance in only a fraction of the world unlike other games where you can run from one end of the world to the other with out a million load screens. There at least the travel only mounts seem important.
Cryptic is charging way too much for a lot of this stuff.
That's your opinion, but some people as me like paying for these mounts to look different.
They are very useful in GauntlGrym PvP and in 5vs5 domination, i can simply fly from a point to another and stomp those who still use the 5 gold ones.
We all pay for what makes us happy and enjoying the game or whatever in life, else i would start saying that paying for weed is ridiculous because i see it bad for my health.
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
You do realise this is a discussion forum? It's for players to discuss things with.....players.
LOL just dont spend another dime on this game not even a penny
Oh and I was planning on getting another Neverwinter Pack, but with such a convincing argument as this I guess I wont. Thank you for opening my mine and letting me know how to spend my money.
For someone playing since the 90s you CLEARLY have not played enough f2p, what you're complaining about costs 20+$ in other games. Go back to p2p if you can not handle f2p, it's as simple as that.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
well at the same time though, $30 for a mount is ridiculous, especially when the quality level isn't even that great on them, and the animations are terrible.
Other games that charge less for mounts don't give those mounts to all your characters free of charge.
The one thing I truly believe players shouldn't be complaining about it's the mounts especially after the price reduction. My only complaint is they shouldn't be 35 Dollars after you own one as the price isn't truly justifiable after the first mount.
gdante7111111Member, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 227Arc User
edited July 2013
This is one of the reasons I have not paid for anything in nw, some or most of what the op said.
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dragonchow1Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 23Arc User
edited July 2013
Doesn't that hero title mean you've spent $200 bucks already? and it doesn't literally give you everything you'll ever need from the store? Good grief man, go play another game and stop throwing good money after bad. You've been ripped off.
Other games that charge less for mounts don't give those mounts to all your characters free of charge.
The one thing I truly believe players shouldn't be complaining about it's the mounts especially after the price reduction. My only complaint is they shouldn't be 35 Dollars after you own one as the price isn't truly justifiable after the first mount.
I think they charge that much because some players like collecting those mounts (like stamp collecting or something). If I buy a mount, it's only for that mount's function. For me it would be a single purchase for that account and I'll never need to buy another one since they are unlocked for the account.
Too bad you can't go to a pawn shop when that mount becomes rare....
*sings* "I like Gammera! He's so neat!!! He is full of turtle meat!!!"
"Hah! You are doomed! You're only armed with that pathetic excuse for a musical instrument!!!" *the Savage Beast moments before Lonnehart the Bard used music to soothe him... then beat him to death with his Fat Lute*
0
mrz1mmersMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited July 2013
Save up your AD, convert it to zen in the exchange and buy things that way...... I've never spent a single penny on this game, and yet I own an account wide 110% mount, 6 character slots, and have bought a respec or two..... it's really not that hard.
Other games that charge less for mounts don't give those mounts to all your characters free of charge.
The one thing I truly believe players shouldn't be complaining about it's the mounts especially after the price reduction. My only complaint is they shouldn't be 35 Dollars after you own one as the price isn't truly justifiable after the first mount.
Dude...
Other games ALSO make it FAR FAR FAR easier to obtain a max effectiveness mount w/o the use of real life money. Other games also do not push you to purchase things like bag slots and max effectiveness mounts via annoyance.... Oh yeah, and about those characters... You only get two, and then again, you are pushed to paying money via annoyance...
As the OP said, the quality of these mounts is not even good...
I really do miss the days when quality of a product is what drove sales, not underhanded half scams, empty promises, and obvious marketing feints... Your numbers are already dropping off, rather quickly... If Craptic wants this game to amass to something better than the laughing stock their previous games are, They are going to have to really start focusing on quality of their games... Instead it seems they are going down the same scammy FTP model that is all about praying on kids who manage to get their parents credit cards.
Other games ALSO make it FAR FAR FAR easier to obtain a max effectiveness mount w/o the use of real life money. Other games also do not push you to purchase things like bag slots and max effectiveness mounts via annoyance.... Oh yeah, and about those characters... You only get two, and then again, you are pushed to paying money via annoyance...
As the OP said, the quality of these mounts is not even good...
I really do miss the days when quality of a product is what drove sales, not underhanded half scams, empty promises, and obvious marketing feints... Your numbers are already dropping off, rather quickly... If Craptic wants this game to amass to something better than the laughing stock their previous games are, They are going to have to really start focusing on quality of their games... Instead it seems they are going down the same scammy FTP model that is all about praying on kids who manage to get their parents credit cards.
Many many many F2P games charge for bag slots, charge for character slots, charge for dungeon access, charge for Best in Slot weapons, some even going so far as to charge you for 30 days of usage of certain items. This cash shop isnt nearly as bad as it could be.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
Every F2P game charges real money for resetting skills.
And the worst are the new games.
When the hype is high they charge a lot.
After some time, the prices drop.
But resetting skills in free 2 play is not free.
Btw, the store in this game is alright. Just some things are bit on a more expensive side. But that is offset by player's ability to buy Zen with AD.
Many many many F2P games charge for bag slots, charge for character slots, charge for dungeon access, charge for Best in Slot weapons, some even going so far as to charge you for 30 days of usage of certain items. This cash shop isnt nearly as bad as it could be.
SWTOR, despite some people thinking it's the beacon of how F2P conversions should be done (it really isn't) initially planned to charge for the following things.
Access to Flashpoints
To roll on loot in Flashpoints
To equip the top tier loot found in Flashpoints
Your second ability bar
The ability to sprint
Look at that and say that NW is unreasonable given that you can do all the content from 1-50 without paying and equip every item for your class that you pickup.
Imagine if Neverwinter had gone the route of having to pay to have 2 daily powers, or an increased recharge rate for daily powers. It could so very easily be worse.
Other games that charge less for mounts don't give those mounts to all your characters free of charge.
The one thing I truly believe players shouldn't be complaining about it's the mounts especially after the price reduction. My only complaint is they shouldn't be 35 Dollars after you own one as the price isn't truly justifiable after the first mount.
I understand the selling strategy. Everything new is expensive.
I am positive that after a 2-3 months tigers will cost 1800 and 2500 respectively.
0
degraafinationMember, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
Agree with the OP. This is the primary reason why I haven't dropped any cash on this game. Their business model is so shady. I dropped a bit back in the day playing LOTRO, because Turbine had a decent business and you really got some bang for your buck. NW, however. No thanks.
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
If you keep paying Cryptic/PWE money then the system is working...
Agree with the OP. This is the primary reason why I haven't dropped any cash on this game. Their business model is so shady. I dropped a bit back in the day playing LOTRO, because Turbine had a decent business and you really got some bang for your buck. NW, however. No thanks.
Yeah with Turbine you can have the option of paying for tons of different instances, as seen in DDO, or to unlock QUESTS in LOTRO. Yeah a much better business model by far.
In the antiquated days of the subscription model the game worked for you. You paid them and they did a job. It was a simple arrangement and it led to such things as customer support and the actual presence of technical staff, the pink elephants of these modern days.
But in the F2P days the company no longer works for you. They are against you. Very much like the charming con artist on the street corner they give out a smile and a handshake for the opportunity to separate you from you money for as little as possible.
It is really important to realize that. Are you getting conned? Are you giving money for nothing? Are you paying for the opportunity to pay some more? Don’t feel bad there are plenty of people who have done just that on this game. And then their choices are to admit or defend. You can decide for yourself what the ratio is there.
Psychological tricks, gambling on chests with real money, pouring money into the most basic quality of life items like bank space, hugely expensive mounts and things that you need for PVP, dead end crafting mechanics and enchanting mechanics, and much more. And the more pressure PWE and Cryptic put on you the player, the more likely it is that you will buy something. The more confusing it is, the more likely it is that you will not spot the insanity of some of the transactions.
If they make you pay attention to every detail then eventually they will catch you not paying attention and you will either fail something big like an enchant where you really should have had a ward or you will buy something you don’t need like a dog companion that just sits there most of the time.
But it is never too late to take a stand and refuse to give out money for a bad product. Demand that they produce something of value before you shell out another dime
This game has PVE and it has PVP but most of it is PVPWE.
In the antiquated days of the subscription model the game worked for you. You paid them and they did a job. It was a simple arrangement and it led to such things as customer support and the actual presence of technical staff, the pink elephants of these modern days.
But in the F2P days the company no longer works for you. They are against you. Very much like the charming con artist on the street corner they give out a smile and a handshake for the opportunity to separate you from you money for as little as possible.
It is really important to realize that. Are you getting conned? Are you giving money for nothing? Are you paying for the opportunity to pay some more? Don’t feel bad there are plenty of people who have done just that on this game. And then their choices are to admit or defend. You can decide for yourself what the ratio is there.
Psychological tricks, gambling on chests with real money, pouring money into the most basic quality of life items like bank space, hugely expensive mounts and things that you need for PVP, dead end crafting mechanics and enchanting mechanics, and much more. And the more pressure PWE and Cryptic put on you the player, the more likely it is that you will buy something. The more confusing it is, the more likely it is that you will not spot the insanity of some of the transactions.
If they make you pay attention to every detail then eventually they will catch you not paying attention and you will either fail something big like an enchant where you really should have had a ward or you will buy something you don’t need like a dog companion that just sits there most of the time.
But it is never too late to take a stand and refuse to give out money for a bad product. Demand that they produce something of value before you shell out another dime
This game has PVE and it has PVP but most of it is PVPWE.
If this game used that antiquated subscription you model you seem to fear so much, it would cost $50 to buy the box so you could register your account, and would cost at least $14.95 a month to play. That would be $230 for your first year.
Bear in mind that prior to 2004 (launch of both EQ2 and WoW) we were paying $9.95 a month. The standard monthly price today is still $14.95 per month for subscriptions only because WoW is the gorilla in the room and has not raised its fee. Otherwise, monthly subscriptions today would certainly be at least $19.95 per month. This is the real reason behind the move to F2P and hybrid models in the North American market.
So rather than whining about how an MMO publisher is a for-profit company rather than a social worker collective, bear in mind that instead of paying a few dollars at a time for an in-game option, you could actually be paying $240 a year. Go online and buy $240 worth of zen and spend that wisely over the course of 12 months.
If this game used that antiquated subscription you model you seem to fear so much, it would cost $50 to buy the box so you could register your account, and would cost at least $14.95 a month to play. That would be $230 for your first year.
Bear in mind that prior to 2004 (launch of both EQ2 and WoW) we were paying $9.95 a month. The standard monthly price today is still $14.95 per month for subscriptions only because WoW is the gorilla in the room and has not raised its fee. Otherwise, monthly subscriptions today would certainly be at least $19.95 per month. This is the real reason behind the move to F2P and hybrid models in the North American market.
So rather than whining about how an MMO publisher is a for-profit company rather than a social worker collective, bear in mind that instead of paying a few dollars at a time for an in-game option, you could actually be paying $240 a year. Go online and buy $240 worth of zen and spend that wisely over the course of 12 months.
240 a year gets you acess to all content they will make for that year, F2P you only touch tip of the iceberg, you can get over that 240 in first day off just buying the stuff in the store. F2P is more about grab money fast before the casual player leaves the game. Meaning when a game is F2P they don't think their game can hold players. Probably because they built it for those fleeting customers who are not hard core fans. Which is really why games for the past 4 years have sucked ***.
I can tolerate a Cash Shop I cannot tolerate those Gambling boxes, why is it legal to gamble with real money in a game, but I can't even do that in my state?
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
Why don't you exchange AD for Zen? You don't have to spend any real money to do that...
I can tolerate a Cash Shop I cannot tolerate those Gambling boxes, why is it legal to gamble with real money in a game, but I can't even do that in my state?
Well, to be fair, Laws and Reason have not really gotten along for the better part of human existence... Laws are always motivated by giving a particular party/group/incomebracket some form of advantage through either direct or convoluted means... In conclusion, laws outside of the super horrific ones are meant to be broken so long as you're not a mouth breathing sheep (most of the world is).
Anyway... you're point about ftp being a cash grab is 100% accurate. Contrary to what tinkerstorm seems to be getting at, FTP generally cost a customer FAR more money than a subscription based game, while also giving the developers excuses to not provide pay to play levels of service. It's simply a lazy manipulative business model designed to pray on the weak minded, and children with their parents credit cards.
In the end, we only have players to blame for the shift in the mmo industry. Morons buy infinitely replicated digital content for large amounts of money which essentially is telling the devs that they are doing something right. If we as a gaming population want this ftp plague to go away, we are all going to have to talk with our wallets and stop buying dumb ****.
I understand a purpose of a corporation is to make money off the customers, hence profits delivering supply's in exchange for money. Since I've been in MMO's since the 90's. I played very different interesting ones, even those with free to play but none of them charges.
And I mean none of them charges real money for resetting talent points.
If I want switch to a DPS for my Tank. I have to switch out my points (5) bucks. If I want switch it back for another talent point (5) bucks. If I want test out a new build and experiment. 5 dollars. My point is this is a game, I feel a little exploited.
I paid 5 dollars a week ago. I obtained an entire DLC for a game. (Walking Dead Tell Tale). I paid 200 for this, yet. I keep paying..so why are you exploiting customers trust.
The defined meaning exploited is
Exploit
1.to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account: to exploit a business opportunity.
2.to use selfishly for one's own ends: employers who exploit their workers.
3.to advance or further through exploitation; promote: He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
Great post.
I have decided to stop spending money on this game. If it gets to a point where I can't progress because I need to spend real money, I'm gonna quit. I'm tired of spending my hard earned cash on air. I have officially changed my mind on the "point" you pay monthly for WoW, because you don't HAVE to buy anything else like in NW. Don't tell me its possible to accomplish everything you can "buy" without spending money because while it may be possible, its not realistically possible for someone who has a life outside of gaming.
Comments
1- They aren't running this game for charity, they are obviously running the game for making profits.
2- You weren't forced to pay for anything, you can literally farm everything in game it will take longer but it is possible ( yes even the crafting items, you can obtain them by making multiple characters and repeat the quest in never death).
Getting your hero pack doesn't mean you own everything in the game(they never said that so i don;t know where the " exploiting customer's trust" is coming from) there are still some stuff that you cant buy and you need to farm for it.
There are multiple F2P MMOs that charge for changing stats or skills, like Ragnarok Online 2.
Cryptic is charging way too much for a lot of this stuff.
They already cut the price on respects in half. I dont honestly expect to see them slash the prices again. Its quite clear that Cryptic wants build choices to have some consequences. Changing your build should not be an at-will, or on-a-whim, kinda thing. This is clearly a design choice in action here.
That's your opinion, but some people as me like paying for these mounts to look different.
They are very useful in GauntlGrym PvP and in 5vs5 domination, i can simply fly from a point to another and stomp those who still use the 5 gold ones.
We all pay for what makes us happy and enjoying the game or whatever in life, else i would start saying that paying for weed is ridiculous because i see it bad for my health.
You do realise this is a discussion forum? It's for players to discuss things with.....players.
Oh and I was planning on getting another Neverwinter Pack, but with such a convincing argument as this I guess I wont. Thank you for opening my mine and letting me know how to spend my money.
Other games that charge less for mounts don't give those mounts to all your characters free of charge.
The one thing I truly believe players shouldn't be complaining about it's the mounts especially after the price reduction. My only complaint is they shouldn't be 35 Dollars after you own one as the price isn't truly justifiable after the first mount.
problem solved
I think they charge that much because some players like collecting those mounts (like stamp collecting or something). If I buy a mount, it's only for that mount's function. For me it would be a single purchase for that account and I'll never need to buy another one since they are unlocked for the account.
Too bad you can't go to a pawn shop when that mount becomes rare....
"Hah! You are doomed! You're only armed with that pathetic excuse for a musical instrument!!!" *the Savage Beast moments before Lonnehart the Bard used music to soothe him... then beat him to death with his Fat Lute*
Dude...
Other games ALSO make it FAR FAR FAR easier to obtain a max effectiveness mount w/o the use of real life money. Other games also do not push you to purchase things like bag slots and max effectiveness mounts via annoyance.... Oh yeah, and about those characters... You only get two, and then again, you are pushed to paying money via annoyance...
As the OP said, the quality of these mounts is not even good...
I really do miss the days when quality of a product is what drove sales, not underhanded half scams, empty promises, and obvious marketing feints... Your numbers are already dropping off, rather quickly... If Craptic wants this game to amass to something better than the laughing stock their previous games are, They are going to have to really start focusing on quality of their games... Instead it seems they are going down the same scammy FTP model that is all about praying on kids who manage to get their parents credit cards.
Many many many F2P games charge for bag slots, charge for character slots, charge for dungeon access, charge for Best in Slot weapons, some even going so far as to charge you for 30 days of usage of certain items. This cash shop isnt nearly as bad as it could be.
Every F2P game charges real money for resetting skills.
And the worst are the new games.
When the hype is high they charge a lot.
After some time, the prices drop.
But resetting skills in free 2 play is not free.
Btw, the store in this game is alright. Just some things are bit on a more expensive side. But that is offset by player's ability to buy Zen with AD.
SWTOR, despite some people thinking it's the beacon of how F2P conversions should be done (it really isn't) initially planned to charge for the following things.
Look at that and say that NW is unreasonable given that you can do all the content from 1-50 without paying and equip every item for your class that you pickup.
Imagine if Neverwinter had gone the route of having to pay to have 2 daily powers, or an increased recharge rate for daily powers. It could so very easily be worse.
I understand the selling strategy. Everything new is expensive.
I am positive that after a 2-3 months tigers will cost 1800 and 2500 respectively.
Agree with the OP. This is the primary reason why I haven't dropped any cash on this game. Their business model is so shady. I dropped a bit back in the day playing LOTRO, because Turbine had a decent business and you really got some bang for your buck. NW, however. No thanks.
Join Essence of Aggression: PVP-ing Hard Since Beta!
If you keep paying Cryptic/PWE money then the system is working...
Yeah with Turbine you can have the option of paying for tons of different instances, as seen in DDO, or to unlock QUESTS in LOTRO. Yeah a much better business model by far.
But in the F2P days the company no longer works for you. They are against you. Very much like the charming con artist on the street corner they give out a smile and a handshake for the opportunity to separate you from you money for as little as possible.
It is really important to realize that. Are you getting conned? Are you giving money for nothing? Are you paying for the opportunity to pay some more? Don’t feel bad there are plenty of people who have done just that on this game. And then their choices are to admit or defend. You can decide for yourself what the ratio is there.
Psychological tricks, gambling on chests with real money, pouring money into the most basic quality of life items like bank space, hugely expensive mounts and things that you need for PVP, dead end crafting mechanics and enchanting mechanics, and much more. And the more pressure PWE and Cryptic put on you the player, the more likely it is that you will buy something. The more confusing it is, the more likely it is that you will not spot the insanity of some of the transactions.
If they make you pay attention to every detail then eventually they will catch you not paying attention and you will either fail something big like an enchant where you really should have had a ward or you will buy something you don’t need like a dog companion that just sits there most of the time.
But it is never too late to take a stand and refuse to give out money for a bad product. Demand that they produce something of value before you shell out another dime
This game has PVE and it has PVP but most of it is PVPWE.
If this game used that antiquated subscription you model you seem to fear so much, it would cost $50 to buy the box so you could register your account, and would cost at least $14.95 a month to play. That would be $230 for your first year.
Bear in mind that prior to 2004 (launch of both EQ2 and WoW) we were paying $9.95 a month. The standard monthly price today is still $14.95 per month for subscriptions only because WoW is the gorilla in the room and has not raised its fee. Otherwise, monthly subscriptions today would certainly be at least $19.95 per month. This is the real reason behind the move to F2P and hybrid models in the North American market.
So rather than whining about how an MMO publisher is a for-profit company rather than a social worker collective, bear in mind that instead of paying a few dollars at a time for an in-game option, you could actually be paying $240 a year. Go online and buy $240 worth of zen and spend that wisely over the course of 12 months.
240 a year gets you acess to all content they will make for that year, F2P you only touch tip of the iceberg, you can get over that 240 in first day off just buying the stuff in the store. F2P is more about grab money fast before the casual player leaves the game. Meaning when a game is F2P they don't think their game can hold players. Probably because they built it for those fleeting customers who are not hard core fans. Which is really why games for the past 4 years have sucked ***.
I can tolerate a Cash Shop I cannot tolerate those Gambling boxes, why is it legal to gamble with real money in a game, but I can't even do that in my state?
Why don't you exchange AD for Zen? You don't have to spend any real money to do that...
Well, to be fair, Laws and Reason have not really gotten along for the better part of human existence... Laws are always motivated by giving a particular party/group/incomebracket some form of advantage through either direct or convoluted means... In conclusion, laws outside of the super horrific ones are meant to be broken so long as you're not a mouth breathing sheep (most of the world is).
Anyway... you're point about ftp being a cash grab is 100% accurate. Contrary to what tinkerstorm seems to be getting at, FTP generally cost a customer FAR more money than a subscription based game, while also giving the developers excuses to not provide pay to play levels of service. It's simply a lazy manipulative business model designed to pray on the weak minded, and children with their parents credit cards.
In the end, we only have players to blame for the shift in the mmo industry. Morons buy infinitely replicated digital content for large amounts of money which essentially is telling the devs that they are doing something right. If we as a gaming population want this ftp plague to go away, we are all going to have to talk with our wallets and stop buying dumb ****.
Great post.
I have decided to stop spending money on this game. If it gets to a point where I can't progress because I need to spend real money, I'm gonna quit. I'm tired of spending my hard earned cash on air. I have officially changed my mind on the "point" you pay monthly for WoW, because you don't HAVE to buy anything else like in NW. Don't tell me its possible to accomplish everything you can "buy" without spending money because while it may be possible, its not realistically possible for someone who has a life outside of gaming.