OP does not seem to want the advice of the many people here who have successfully played for little or no money for years.
But I will offer one last suggestion:
Fill all character slots.
Level them enough to run demonic HEs in a zerg.
Salvage all the low level rings.
With four toons you can make 90K per day.
There. You can respec your character every single day...
An act which is pointless and will not make you better at the game. But there is your answer.
But I'm sure you will scoff at that solution as well.
The purpose of this thread is to complain, not to find real answers.
Either you failed to read or I failed to adequately convey the fact I have zero problems paying. However, I will not pay for services that should be free or a very minute amount of gold.
You are so very wrong in your statement of knowing and understanding your class better will not make you better at the game, it absolutely will do just that. I prefer pvp, but I pve as well. You are predestined to fail in pvp if you do not understand your own class and this game makes it very difficult to do this without shelling out major dollars. You can slap enough gear on a mouth breathing monkey and see them post ok numbers in pve, in pvp in any game there is a lot more going on than press these buttons in this order. Knowing ones own character is just the start, you must out of necessity know at bare minimum the major cool downs of your meta enemies.
It is the complexity and ever changing game that forces me to love pvp, just as I love to learn characters inside and out through trial and error (constantly evolving builds).
Preparation is almost as important as the game itself and for me it is at least half of the fun. Adopt my attitude towards games and you will win more than you do now. I am not saying you are not great, but your attitude suggest a lack of preparation on your part and that will lead to defeat in circumstances where you are somewhat evenly matched.
Funny, I've never felt forced to spend money in this game. I do so from time to time because I enjoy it, never because I felt Cryptic/PWE were making me in order to advance. I don't pvp and don't care about being BIS. I play at my own pace and acquire most things by just playing. YMMV.
For many long time mmo players (not all of course) playing around with your build and testing changes is a large part of the appeal of playing. If you are one of those types, as the op claims they are... then yes Cryptics model feels punitive and greedy as a new player. When making 100k in AD seems like a huge amount of work, being asked for that much to just change some skills around is a massive red flag. Cryptic could easily fix this for honest to goodness first time players easy enough. They could send real new players (people a few weeks old with one or two toons) a welcome package with a few respecs or something. At this point most of the new players are not huge D&D fans... they are coming from games like RIFT as the OP is where paying for something like a respec is a strange idea. Doing something like that for new people would be a better way of keeping some of the newer players around long enough to get hooked and build up resources, and or a willingness to spend on such things.
This to an extent but honestly your character and his abilities should not cost money (ever, under any circumstance) or absurd amounts of ad (for low level players).
I have seen this game be accused of being pay 2 win 3 times in game and all 3 of these instances were because of this very issue, and quite frankly it should be addressed.
If someone can get Cryptic to start changing it's business model, please let me know. There are many things that I take for granted as "just they way they it is" and accept them that could be changed. I like driving, but don't like being forced to buy gas(or electricity) those car manufacturers could make a car that does not use any energy producing source that we have to buy. I need food to eat and stay alive and because of that I feel forced to buy food.. If God required us to eat to stay alive, he should make food free (well it is for certain levels of income in the USA).. the list can go on for a while but I will stop now. Just let me know if you have success here and I will look into hiring you for these other things.. I say "look into" because I hate to feel forced to pay someone for their skills and time as they should be free. Well better get back to work, I am sure that my employer wouldn't like the idea of me writing this on HIS time, even though he should pay me for doing nothing because I would rather not work.
Great points. I like your attitude (I'm also delaying work to write this) and your handle (s500 in the garage).
I can't understand why all the kvetching in threads like this about paying for respecs, transmutes, coal wards (pre TarBar store rework), etc. Game is F2P. Everything in game can be had for AD, or for Zen which can be bought with AD. No real-world money need be spent. And as mentioned...this is NWO...not another game. It is not set up to be friendly to the pockets of those who wish to re-spec every other day or own every fashion set in the game. While F2P, this game is not run by a charity, and they do need to secure some revenue to keep it up and running for us....even if we continually whine on forums about the product they provide.
Here's what you may not have figured out yet, Katarina, and what no one has told you in this thread. This game has largely become a subscription game for those of us in it for the long-haul, and who are not just dipping our toes in before dashing off to another shiny new game. So if you want to make your life a ton easier, invest that $125 you talked about earlier once more into a 12-month VIP subscription. Use a 15% off coupon from invoking to make it cheaper. The daily rewards from free lockbox key can (typically) be sold on the AH for astral diamonds, which you can then convert to Zen if you like. If you hit a good lockbox drop here and there, you can buy all the respecs you want. At rank 12 VIP, you also get a huge discount on things from the wondrous bazaar (GMOPs, SMOPs, etc), which at your character level will save you a ton of money/AD down the road.
No I don't work for Cryptic, so I'm not truly shilling here. I do spend money on the game though...and the re-work away from a Zen economy to a TarBar economy was brilliant on PWE/Cryptic's part. I effectively pay my $10/month subscription, I get the thrill of opening a lockbox for free every day, get tons of benefits (travel post, mailbox, bank anywhere...injury immunity is huge too), and the issues being discussed here largely disappear...because everything is either in the TarBar store (like the fashions you like so much, Katarina), or available via the AD you will make from selling your daily lockbox drops.
Please don't let me add to the "feeling forced" vibe you already feel. It's a good game, with some good folks in it. I understand you have an issue with the way Cryptic/PWE tries to earn their money. This is just my honest opinion here...you will have to spend some money on any F2P game to advance significantly, unless you make that game your entire life. For me, VIP program makes that advancement a whole lot easier, and a lot cheaper in the long-run.
I hope you can come to enjoy it here. It's actually pretty cool.
Your character is your window into the world of NeverWinter.
The ability to use your skills and have full control over your character and the way he / she is played and specced are all things that should be free and sacred from ever being subject to charge.
Every F2P I have ever played that has had a vip or membership option I have taken full advantage of, except for the game that seems to be trying to force me to pay them.
Here is what you do not understand, I actually prefer subscription based games and would prefer all online games to be subscription based. Please do not bill your self as free to play and then lock the bare basics behind a pay wall. There are tons of things that should be locked behind time or money but your characters basic skill set should not be among them.
You only get 40 slots to sell with in the auction house. Can you buy more slots in the zen store ?
How many prof slots can you buy with zen ?
The wardrobe system in this game is lackluster to put it very nicely. There is so much wasted revenue in this regard (Hint: this is where f2p games make the majority of there cash).
I already enjoy the game, I just want my character to be fully unlocked so that I may actually be able to try it out.
I am level 63 and know very little about my class and the reason for this is this silly zen / ad barrier that a low level player cannot hope to circumvent without ignoring his class or his wallet.
If someone can get Cryptic to start changing it's business model, please let me know. There are many things that I take for granted as "just they way they it is" and accept them that could be changed. I like driving, but don't like being forced to buy gas(or electricity) those car manufacturers could make a car that does not use any energy producing source that we have to buy. I need food to eat and stay alive and because of that I feel forced to buy food.. If God required us to eat to stay alive, he should make food free (well it is for certain levels of income in the USA).. the list can go on for a while but I will stop now. Just let me know if you have success here and I will look into hiring you for these other things.. I say "look into" because I hate to feel forced to pay someone for their skills and time as they should be free. Well better get back to work, I am sure that my employer wouldn't like the idea of me writing this on HIS time, even though he should pay me for doing nothing because I would rather not work.
Apples and Oranges while also managing to be condescending and unhelpful, well played internet troll.
Mate... You saying how much you have spent doesn't do a thing for you. Get to 70 first. There is absolutely no reason to respec in this game if you got your build right... Read a decent guide for your class, use it to make choices while leveling. Copy to preview (I haven't found the need to), respec to some other stuff you fancy, compare your performance, pay for a single respec in the live server (if you haven't gotten a free one by then). This game ain't others, so stop comparing. The mechanics here don't require jumping between builds, at most you'd switch your powers for PvP, and PvE or single or multi target (some don't even this necessary), which wouldn't require any respecs if you have spent the points right. If you still want to be stubborn about your 'question' nobody can help you. We all have fair experience with the game and its mechanics and are mostly satisfied with the respecs.
Mostly satisfied with the actual respec system? No.
Just read the answers in here, it's more like finding ways around it over the PTS, or trying to minimize the costs for it as much as possible, through discount vouchers or exchanging AD to ZEN when the exchange rate is more in your favour.
Some might even dare to say, that the players have given up on hoping for any changes in this section of the game...
Anyway, it would be nice to see more events with respec tokens as reward, or if we would get more informations in the "AD Changes" department.
You are spot on, the people defending the current system are all offering ways around it, instead of ways to improve it. They do not seem to understand that they themselves at one time identified it as a problem and they were able to find a workable solution for it. For me there is no workable solution with the current system, I enjoy constantly improving, learning and experimenting with my class.
How can anyone playing this game actually know there class when you cannot spend adequate time with all of its various build paths and use those vs in game enemies of various skill levels (live server) ?
Truth be told, I understand the OP completely. These days respeccing is just part of the game and less and less punished by high costs. The increase of more "sandbox" like games like Tera and Skyforge only raises such expectations just as WoW clones raised the demand for dual specs a while ago.
I played wow from mid bc until mid mop, I just grew tired of the game (the warlock rework really ruined it for me, although it was good for the class it was bad for me). Played League of Legends casually until I quit wow and then started to play it more seriously. I discovered Rift and fell in love with the soul system and the fact that every class could play all parts of the trinity, even though I am not really a pve guy, I still enjoy pve in moderation. I would be playing Rift but it is a wow clone and feels to much like wow, and I just grew tired of it to easily.
This is one of the things I am enjoying about NW, it is a mmo with the same mid evil feel but still feels different and it is not a wow clone. This game has not been dumbed down super hard, there are tons of things for me to learn and research.
You are right on though, players do not expect to pay out the wazoo to respec. I also wonder how much money charging to re spec has actually made arc and what that would look like compared to the amount of people who saw that and got there first red flag from this game and how much money it cost them in players leaving over this issue.
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plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,353Arc User
You think the service should be free does not mean it has to be free. Keep on arguing on that will not get you anywhere. This "problem" is tiny problem this game has and it is the last thing most people here will complain about among all other problems.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
You think the service should be free does not mean it has to be free. Keep on arguing on that will not get you anywhere. This "problem" is tiny problem this game has and it is the last thing most people here will complain about among all other problems.
Even you admit it is a problem (everyone who has posted in this thread has indicated it is at least somewhat of a problem), I think you underestimate how large of a problem it is (as do many of the other posters in this thread).
It makes the entire player base weaker at the game.
It can drive away new players and without new players all games die.
Why are you opposed to the system being improved ? Large problems typically take large amounts of time to fix, this "small" problem could be easily addressed and everyone would benefit (especially arc, they are the ones losing the most because of this).
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plasticbatMember, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 12,353Arc User
You think the service should be free does not mean it has to be free. Keep on arguing on that will not get you anywhere. This "problem" is tiny problem this game has and it is the last thing most people here will complain about among all other problems.
Even you admit it is a problem (everyone who has posted in this thread has indicated it is at least somewhat of a problem), I think you underestimate how large of a problem it is (as do many of the other posters in this thread).
It makes the entire player base weaker at the game.
It can drive away new players and without new players all games die.
Why are you opposed to the system being improved ? Large problems typically take large amounts of time to fix, this "small" problem could be easily addressed and everyone would benefit (especially arc, they are the ones losing the most because of this).
No, I don't admit it is a problem. That was why I said "problem". I understand someone can consider this is a problem because they have their own mind set. I respect that. New player goes away for many reason. As far as I concern, this is the last reason. Many people quit and rage quit. I have not encountered one (may be until now) saying this is the reason they quit. The game needs money. If they can get money from new player, cool. Most of us does not even care because there is enough AD to do the job. The improvement can be lower the re-spec cost.
*** The game can read your mind. If you want it, you won't get it. If you don't expect to get it, you will. ***
The preview server, where changing builds is free and limitless. The problem is the end-game. People don't do party content on that server unless its for testing and then they usually have a few friends along for the ride. So you'll be mostly alone.
How can you test without subjects ?
I find it very hard to believe you genuinely feel that blocking the most basic of content is good for this game or the player base. End game is not the time to learn to play your character, that is why leveling exists in the first place.
Name any other game where you are required to abuse a test server to circumvent the pay structure the game has established.
Rants are not generally constructive, though my tone could be better. I try to make my dialogue sound friendly, it just never seems to hit the page that way.
Yeah- that or if 'free' is too much, then some large rebates on retraining or feat/boon respeccing costs if ur VIP. The VIP program def was a move to make this game more sub-like. That's fine by me, but why am I not getting things like free (or way cheaper) respecs via VIP if I am paying into it? Some of the higher rank VIP rewards are excessive (bound keys and scrolls that just pile up after a while) that could have been used for other things.
Even if VIP helps other areas a good deal, ya still seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to respecs. Having to wait for events or ask the typical player to go to a test server w/ few players on it is an odd way to dance around the problem, imo, and is def not a newcomer-friendly approach either.
zebularMember, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 PlaytestPosts: 15,270Community Moderator
edited January 2016
You're not being blocked in any way. In almost all other MMOs it costs something to respect. In some it costs more, some it costs less. In Neverwinter, feat respecs cost Astral Diamonds, which are earn-able in game and to get a full respect you can exchange the AD for Zen and buy them, all without paying any real money at all. I have never bought a full respec with real money and have respeced more times than I can recall. Just like in any other MMO, you're going to have to earn the currency somehow to buy that respec. Again, in Neverwinter that currency happens to be called Astral Diamonds.
Should respec costs be cheaper and should there be an option to have multiple specs to swap between? Probably (even more likely so with the AD changes) but that's en entirely different topic really and even if there were multiple specs, you'd need to respec to respec them, just like in any MMO with them. Alas, I regress back to your query topic: The point is you can respec all you like without paying real money for it, yet just like in almost any other MMO, you have to earn it.
If I were you, I'd heed the advice of your peers and when you do earn the respec tokens, test your builds on the Preview server first. There is really little reason to be swapping builds so much, as you really cannot "go wrong" pre-level 70. Even then, you'd be hard-pressed to ruin a character. Neverwinter is very friendly in that regard. Even if ever there is such a fancy to have multiple builds, one should probably make a new character for the newly desired build. Personally, I have anywhere from 3-6 characters for each class just to have various builds and themes.
I am totally not used to being forced into one particular build (feel trapped)
It is not so much that you are trapped in a particular build but that you should not be changing builds haphazardly.
As a long time D&D player I am actually against the practice in general and would not offer it no matter how many players asked for it if I was the head honcho. Most Neverwinter Nights servers did not offer any way to respec and leveling characters took months instead of the days it takes in NW not counting gear. Additionally the character design possibilities in a more...direct...translation of D&D rules has FAR more in diversity and impacting than this translation.
Comparatively Cryptic's policy is very generous. It might not be what you are used to but consequences for the choices is a very major theme in D&D and sadly restricting how often players can change their build is one of the only ways this version has managed to incorporate it.
This thread makes me feel like I'm looking at a guy whose leg has just been sliced off. Ten people are standing around with tourniquets and first aid supplies trying to help the dude and keep him from bleeding out, but he's busy spurting arterial blood, raging and waving them all off so he can try to hop away on his other leg to catch the guy who did this to him.
Some folks just refuse to take advice and to be happy and/or content.
This has been such a helpful and respectful thread by and large, and directed at a single individual who has a problem that no one else ever really complains about, and that we all seem to understand how to get around (preview server).
Katarina...if you need free respecs in order to adjust your build 2-3 times per day before you even hit lvl 70, maybe this is not the game for you? I doubt Cryptic/PWE will change their respec policy because of me, you or anything in this thread. Or even better...if you are in the US there's this great group called the IronYard who run a fantastic coding school. You could spend some time there and just write up your own MMORPG.
What would be nice is if Cryptic added a weekly or monthly respec token for a higher level of VIP or something... at least then if you like the game and buy in the experimenters would be looked after a little.
I like this idea...but weekly instead of monthy.
...the whole VIP system i think has totally enhanced the atmosphere between players who appreciate the game and want to support it and receive conveniences and benefits equal in return to that financial support. I assume this VIP thing will continue to evolve and involve other ways both players and the game providers can express mutual appreciation.
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
Katarina...if you need free respecs in order to adjust your build 2-3 times per day before you even hit lvl 70, maybe this is not the game for you?
This is probably the case, sad that greed is killing this game for me.
It's really not greed.
It's consequences for your decisions. You're not meant to flip flop in a D&D game. Don't change your build over and over again and certainly NEVER before level 70 as others said and you wouldn't have a problem.
If you don't like it, then this is probably not the game for you. Some games let you master everything. Others don't. Some games let you flip your stats around at will. Others don't. There's no right or wrong. Just different.
They let you change your stats which is more than some other games. It's just less than what you are used to.
Here's some food for thought: why on earth should a game that limits your build choices allow you to flip on a whim. Isn't the point of limiting you to a select amount of options to have your character have strengths and by default weaknesses? To me taking away the consequences of changing builds is to remove the reasons to have builds to begin with.
And this is why it may not be the game for you. It's not that it's greed. It's that it is designed for different type of people.
Now go ahead and compare vet. player with new player in the power points department, and we have the vet. players with nearly the whole range of abilities at a very high or even max. ranking, and we have the new players with less then a handfull of abilites at a very high or even max. ranking.
And the beauty of random luck and of course the increased XP overflow guarantees, that some new players might never get to that point, where they can choose with a simple click between the major part of all the powers their class offers.
So, one part of the players can actually fit their setting to every situation, while the other part of the players can't...
Anyway, i would like to add another suggestion, with all the ... [censored]... coming from lockboxes, they could add a respec token to the Trade Bars loot too. Tradeable of course, not limited to any seasonal event, and it would go with the idea of giving ViP a respec token once in a while too.
I do believe in killing the messenger...
Want to know why?
Because it sends a message!
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ambisinisterrMember, Neverwinter ModeratorPosts: 10,462Community Moderator
That's already been done. The problem is that Katarina is not trying to find a build they like but desires to change it on a whim.
Comments
You are so very wrong in your statement of knowing and understanding your class better will not make you better at the game, it absolutely will do just that. I prefer pvp, but I pve as well. You are predestined to fail in pvp if you do not understand your own class and this game makes it very difficult to do this without shelling out major dollars. You can slap enough gear on a mouth breathing monkey and see them post ok numbers in pve, in pvp in any game there is a lot more going on than press these buttons in this order. Knowing ones own character is just the start, you must out of necessity know at bare minimum the major cool downs of your meta enemies.
It is the complexity and ever changing game that forces me to love pvp, just as I love to learn characters inside and out through trial and error (constantly evolving builds).
Preparation is almost as important as the game itself and for me it is at least half of the fun. Adopt my attitude towards games and you will win more than you do now. I am not saying you are not great, but your attitude suggest a lack of preparation on your part and that will lead to defeat in circumstances where you are somewhat evenly matched. This to an extent but honestly your character and his abilities should not cost money (ever, under any circumstance) or absurd amounts of ad (for low level players).
I have seen this game be accused of being pay 2 win 3 times in game and all 3 of these instances were because of this very issue, and quite frankly it should be addressed. Your character is your window into the world of NeverWinter.
The ability to use your skills and have full control over your character and the way he / she is played and specced are all things that should be free and sacred from ever being subject to charge.
Every F2P I have ever played that has had a vip or membership option I have taken full advantage of, except for the game that seems to be trying to force me to pay them.
Here is what you do not understand, I actually prefer subscription based games and would prefer all online games to be subscription based. Please do not bill your self as free to play and then lock the bare basics behind a pay wall. There are tons of things that should be locked behind time or money but your characters basic skill set should not be among them.
You only get 40 slots to sell with in the auction house. Can you buy more slots in the zen store ?
How many prof slots can you buy with zen ?
The wardrobe system in this game is lackluster to put it very nicely. There is so much wasted revenue in this regard (Hint: this is where f2p games make the majority of there cash).
I already enjoy the game, I just want my character to be fully unlocked so that I may actually be able to try it out.
I am level 63 and know very little about my class and the reason for this is this silly zen / ad barrier that a low level player cannot hope to circumvent without ignoring his class or his wallet.
How can anyone playing this game actually know there class when you cannot spend adequate time with all of its various build paths and use those vs in game enemies of various skill levels (live server) ? I played wow from mid bc until mid mop, I just grew tired of the game (the warlock rework really ruined it for me, although it was good for the class it was bad for me). Played League of Legends casually until I quit wow and then started to play it more seriously. I discovered Rift and fell in love with the soul system and the fact that every class could play all parts of the trinity, even though I am not really a pve guy, I still enjoy pve in moderation. I would be playing Rift but it is a wow clone and feels to much like wow, and I just grew tired of it to easily.
This is one of the things I am enjoying about NW, it is a mmo with the same mid evil feel but still feels different and it is not a wow clone. This game has not been dumbed down super hard, there are tons of things for me to learn and research.
You are right on though, players do not expect to pay out the wazoo to respec. I also wonder how much money charging to re spec has actually made arc and what that would look like compared to the amount of people who saw that and got there first red flag from this game and how much money it cost them in players leaving over this issue.
This "problem" is tiny problem this game has and it is the last thing most people here will complain about among all other problems.
It makes the entire player base weaker at the game.
It can drive away new players and without new players all games die.
Why are you opposed to the system being improved ? Large problems typically take large amounts of time to fix, this "small" problem could be easily addressed and everyone would benefit (especially arc, they are the ones losing the most because of this).
The game needs money. If they can get money from new player, cool. Most of us does not even care because there is enough AD to do the job. The improvement can be lower the re-spec cost.
I find it very hard to believe you genuinely feel that blocking the most basic of content is good for this game or the player base. End game is not the time to learn to play your character, that is why leveling exists in the first place.
Name any other game where you are required to abuse a test server to circumvent the pay structure the game has established.
Rants are not generally constructive, though my tone could be better. I try to make my dialogue sound friendly, it just never seems to hit the page that way.
The VIP program def was a move to make this game more sub-like. That's fine by me, but why am I not getting things like free (or way cheaper) respecs via VIP if I am paying into it? Some of the higher rank VIP rewards are excessive (bound keys and scrolls that just pile up after a while) that could have been used for other things.
Even if VIP helps other areas a good deal, ya still seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to respecs. Having to wait for events or ask the typical player to go to a test server w/ few players on it is an odd way to dance around the problem, imo, and is def not a newcomer-friendly approach either.
<CO docs> .: Petco :. // Base DPS Sheet (needs revision) // PSA on Power Activation Delay
- Themed Tanks // Misc Build Dump // Ayonachan's Gift Horse (stat data)
- Be safe and have fun, champs - for science!
Should respec costs be cheaper and should there be an option to have multiple specs to swap between? Probably (even more likely so with the AD changes) but that's en entirely different topic really and even if there were multiple specs, you'd need to respec to respec them, just like in any MMO with them. Alas, I regress back to your query topic: The point is you can respec all you like without paying real money for it, yet just like in almost any other MMO, you have to earn it.
If I were you, I'd heed the advice of your peers and when you do earn the respec tokens, test your builds on the Preview server first. There is really little reason to be swapping builds so much, as you really cannot "go wrong" pre-level 70. Even then, you'd be hard-pressed to ruin a character. Neverwinter is very friendly in that regard. Even if ever there is such a fancy to have multiple builds, one should probably make a new character for the newly desired build. Personally, I have anywhere from 3-6 characters for each class just to have various builds and themes.
[ Support Center • Rules & Policies and Guidelines • ARC ToS • Guild Recruitment Guidelines | FR DM Since 1993 ]
As a long time D&D player I am actually against the practice in general and would not offer it no matter how many players asked for it if I was the head honcho. Most Neverwinter Nights servers did not offer any way to respec and leveling characters took months instead of the days it takes in NW not counting gear. Additionally the character design possibilities in a more...direct...translation of D&D rules has FAR more in diversity and impacting than this translation.
Comparatively Cryptic's policy is very generous. It might not be what you are used to but consequences for the choices is a very major theme in D&D and sadly restricting how often players can change their build is one of the only ways this version has managed to incorporate it.
Some folks just refuse to take advice and to be happy and/or content.
This has been such a helpful and respectful thread by and large, and directed at a single individual who has a problem that no one else ever really complains about, and that we all seem to understand how to get around (preview server).
Katarina...if you need free respecs in order to adjust your build 2-3 times per day before you even hit lvl 70, maybe this is not the game for you? I doubt Cryptic/PWE will change their respec policy because of me, you or anything in this thread. Or even better...if you are in the US there's this great group called the IronYard who run a fantastic coding school. You could spend some time there and just write up your own MMORPG.
Not trying to be a jerk. Just sayin...
...the whole VIP system i think has totally enhanced the atmosphere between players who appreciate the game and want to support it and receive conveniences and benefits equal in return to that financial support.
I assume this VIP thing will continue to evolve and involve other ways both players and the game providers can express mutual appreciation.
It's consequences for your decisions. You're not meant to flip flop in a D&D game. Don't change your build over and over again and certainly NEVER before level 70 as others said and you wouldn't have a problem.
If you don't like it, then this is probably not the game for you. Some games let you master everything. Others don't. Some games let you flip your stats around at will. Others don't. There's no right or wrong. Just different.
They let you change your stats which is more than some other games. It's just less than what you are used to.
Here's some food for thought: why on earth should a game that limits your build choices allow you to flip on a whim. Isn't the point of limiting you to a select amount of options to have your character have strengths and by default weaknesses? To me taking away the consequences of changing builds is to remove the reasons to have builds to begin with.
And this is why it may not be the game for you. It's not that it's greed. It's that it is designed for different type of people.
Now go ahead and compare vet. player with new player in the power points department, and we have the vet. players with nearly the whole range of abilities at a very high or even max. ranking, and we have the new players with less then a handfull of abilites at a very high or even max. ranking.
And the beauty of random luck and of course the increased XP overflow guarantees, that some new players might never get to that point, where they can choose with a simple click between the major part of all the powers their class offers.
So, one part of the players can actually fit their setting to every situation, while the other part of the players can't...
Anyway, i would like to add another suggestion, with all the ... [censored]... coming from lockboxes, they could add a respec token to the Trade Bars loot too.
Tradeable of course, not limited to any seasonal event, and it would go with the idea of giving ViP a respec token once in a while too.