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Zen only respec makes this game pay-to-win

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  • gorbulasgorbulas Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    mutharex wrote: »
    You can respec your feats for AD
    You can respec powers for respec tokens. BTW I just tried and when I tried the powers it told me that I had one purchased respec token. I never bought that, not sure if it was part of the Guardian package or not. Anyone else can bother to check if they have one?
    Don't mean to be rude but don't you know what you bought? It came with the Guardian package. You can easily check on the founders package site too. If you're too lazy to check that, heres the direct link. http://nw.perfectworld.com/founderspack/guardian . It clearly says 1 respec token
  • deathknightx1082deathknightx1082 Member Posts: 16 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    riven84 wrote: »
    The game is live and everything you do is permanent. The exact meaning of the word 'beta' is irrelevant here, given my previous statement. Don't fool yourself.

    Now that I think about it I'm pretty sure even Rift wiped everything after open beta, so my bad.
  • mutharexmutharex Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    gorbulas wrote: »
    Don't mean to be rude but don't you know what you bought? It came with the Guardian package. You can easily check on the founders package site too. If you're too lazy to check that, heres the direct link. http://nw.perfectworld.com/founderspack/guardian . It clearly says 1 respec token

    I bought the pack for the AD, the mount and the pet/weapon. The rest was sort of extra and didn't really memorize it. But hey, nice surprise. Though I really don't see myself respeccing STATS and Powers really
  • pilotmikepilotmike Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    spyke2009 wrote: »
    That's not a request either. Drop the attitude, or "get over yourself" and stop responding to my posts.

    LOL, Like you could actually DO something if he didn't comply with what must be a "command" and not a request. I don't even know what you're jabbering about, but if there's somebody here with an attitude...
  • alex3omgalex3omg Member Posts: 12 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    thehadriel wrote: »
    To begin, let me say that I thought I needed 20 points to unlock the third rank of a power. Apparently this is not true. I am now level 45 with rank 2 in every power. This is not good. I will now be inferior to every single wizard in the game. How do I fix this? Spend $6. Spend $6 and be up to par with the other wizards. Even if I didn't make the mistake of unlocking rank 2 of every power, I still would have made some mistakes in powers I didn't want.

    The cash shop as it is currently is ridiculous. It is pay-to-win. Cosmetic stuff? Dyes? Outfits? Mounts? Astral Diamonds? Companions? Fine. But the ability to respec? That's just way over the line. Cryptic, you're restricting us from choosing our skills. Please change this.


    Actually selling Astral Diamonds... it's money, right? The auction house has power items too I assume, so selling AD is selling power as well.

    I'm glad I heard about this respecc stuff before I got too far along. In WoW I would throw my points in willy-nilly without any research and then respecc at higher level. I guess I'll have to think it through (which isn't as much fun as experimenting.. and what's good for leveling isn't necessarily what's good at endgame.) But I doubt I'll be endgaming in a game where power can be bought so it'snotabigdeal
  • mconosrepmconosrep Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    riven84 wrote: »
    The game is live and everything you do is permanent. The exact meaning of the word 'beta' is irrelevant here, given my previous statement. Don't fool yourself.

    Whether this statement is true or not, (and to me it seems pretty clear with the ZEN store open and no future wipes what the reality is), you might want to be careful stating your opinion on these forums. A mod has stated that he considers PWE position that it is Open Beta to be correct regardless and that any threads discussing it may be sanctioned.
  • mutharexmutharex Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Rift is a P2P game and those almost always wipe after OB and then launch teh game.

    F2P games usually use OB as a soft launch. There is not going to be any wipe
  • chai23chai23 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    riven84 wrote: »
    Indeed, but you implied that you have farm ~1616 shards, which is far from the most efficient way to do it without paying. At least be honest about that.

    Without using the store? Nope.

    And this is ONE ASPECT of the game remember. More consideration has to be given to ALL ASPECTS - which completely nullifies the "you can get it in game free" argument as it places it so far into the realm of absurd time based grind, that by the time all things that could be paid for are obtained through grinding, many of them will be obsolete.

    There are aspects of monitizing MMOs that turn off many customers, and many of them have been repeated so many times Im surprised MMOs still come out doing many of these things - and the most repeated counter argument Ive heard, the "you can get it in game" argument, becomes absurd when everything is added up. Here are some of the most popular ones.

    1. Never sell power. Oops, screwed up on this one. The amount of grind needed to get the same power per toon makes the "you can have it for free" argument laughable.

    2. Make it simple. Changing widgets to smidgets to idijits to coins to convert to plat, which can then be sold for credits, then converted to gold bars, just to get an item free....is hilarious. comparing buying -vs- farming for stuff in a game shouldnt be a fourth grade extra credit math problem.

    3. Dont make it so hard (time consuming) for free palyers that they want to leave. Yes, games can survive financially on whales alone, however they dont hang around if the game turns into a ghost town because the small percentage of big spenders are the only ones left. Who else spends hundreds of dollars in small time periods to play when there are still games where 15 dollars a month will suffice.

    4. Dont charge for human error. Someone tried an ability and now changed their mind. Pay or grind to change it to something else is discouraging at best, pushing customers away at worst.

    5. Dont charge for changing the game. That build might be good now, but in any game with any focus on PVP whatsoever, they deal with rebalancing and such. Making players pay or grind to correct design mistakes that needed to be nerfed later on is foolish. And heaven forbid they buff something, and now players who passed on it before want it now - pay up or grind is a mistake here.
  • eshlaeshla Member Posts: 18 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    There are already a ton of ninjas in this game. I play a wizard and asked a GWF why he needed on gear for a wizard. The whole group started treating me like I was a **** and told me "all gear is for everybody, that's why we can all roll on it."
  • bzzzdbzzzd Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    chai23 wrote: »
    Without using the store? Nope.

    but you can. that's the point. whining about OMG IT COSTS MONEY TO GET BIS OR I HAVE TO GRIND (which how many people in other mmos have?) is especially ridiculous when completely ignoring that the GAME IS FREE ( <- this is important context )

    also, implying that converting AD to zen is complicated, come on...

    and please do some research next time, after a major skill balance cryptic handed out free respecs repeatedly.
  • spacejewspacejew Member Posts: 1,044 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    My issue with the AD cost for a respec is that it's constantly going up. I'm always behind the curve to get a respec. Make it a flat cost no matter what level you are, I'd rather not wait for level 60 to have a chance to earn enough for one.

    That being said, it's double AD so maybe I can catch the AD cost now. It's stupid that double AD might be what it takes though.
    MoF/Thaum CW SS/Thaum CW IV/Protector GF SW/Combat HR SM/Destroyer GWF WK/Executioner TR DO/Faithful DC
  • spyke2009spyke2009 Member Posts: 674 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    pilotmike wrote: »
    LOL, Like you could actually DO something if he didn't comply with what must be a "command" and not a request. I don't even know what you're jabbering about, but if there's somebody here with an attitude...

    I've already DONE what I was supposed to do on the matter, and it wasn't a "command" it was a "warning" and he/she did not listen to it and failed to cut the crappy attitude or simply stop responding to me which was part of said warning, I'm well within my rights as a poster here to "warn" you, for example. That continuing the antagonistic <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> will just lead me to take it up with the "powers that be" no one said I was, or had to do anything "personally" other than what I'm supposed to do when faced with flame baiting and trolling. I hardly think I'm the only player that's done it either in this regard, as a lot of rivens posts are complete and utter flame bait. I would hazard a guess that you're no better yourself... given you're defending the behavior.
  • stormdrag0nstormdrag0n Member Posts: 3,222 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    riven84 wrote: »
    Win the e-peen contest, duh :)


    Not getting that...this simply isn''t that kind of game yet I see the raider locust screaming for 'Their end game" and trying like mad to turn this into wow.
    Always Looking for mature laidback players/rpers for Dungeon Delves!
  • mutharexmutharex Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    Not getting that...this simply isn''t that kind of game yet I see the raider locust screaming for 'Their end game" and trying like mad to turn this into wow.

    Nothing new, it happens every time a new game comes out. You'd think this (or STO for what matters) would be the least possible targets due to their nature, but it still happens it seems
  • bzzzdbzzzd Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    spacejew wrote: »
    My issue with the AD cost for a respec is that it's constantly going up. I'm always behind the curve to get a respec. Make it a flat cost no matter what level you are, I'd rather not wait for level 60 to have a chance to earn enough for one.

    ad -> zen is capped at 500. so a FULL respec (which includes everything) will never be more than 300.000. and you can always respec feats for ad directly, which is cheaper but scales with level.
    mutharex wrote: »
    Nothing new, it happens every time a new game comes out. You'd think this (or STO for what matters) would be the least possible targets due to their nature, but it still happens it seems

    well, I just pity them, with the need of a constant item treadmill to keep them happy.
  • vitadrink469vitadrink469 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    spacejew wrote: »
    My issue with the AD cost for a respec is that it's constantly going up. I'm always behind the curve to get a respec. Make it a flat cost no matter what level you are, I'd rather not wait for level 60 to have a chance to earn enough for one.

    That being said, it's double AD so maybe I can catch the AD cost now. It's stupid that double AD might be what it takes though.

    Wtf is this guy talking about? I don't know what server you're playing on, but if you are playing on Dragon server the AD cost for a respec (zen) is actually getting cheaper (going down, not up). First few days, AD to Zen rate was 500:1
    Now the AD to Zen rate is about 370:1
    I don't see how it is going up... seems to me it is going down and it will continue to go down. Only time it will spike up, is when there is new OP (which there isn't atm) items sold in the cash shop that everyone will need to progress or play the game.
  • bzzzdbzzzd Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    I don't see how it is going up... seems to me it is going down and it will continue to go down. Only time it will spike up, is when there is new OP (which there isn't atm) items sold in the cash shop that everyone will need to progress or play the game.

    price will rise again when new content is released, more people will try to convert ad -> zen than the other way around. right now it's more or less balance between the people farming their zen ingame and people spending them for ad to get their epics out of the AH.

    but you can do plenty of foundries and level chars without giving a <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> about the shop. new classes are supposed to be free (although they might do it like the drow, pay now or get it free later), so only thing maybe relevant would be char slots - unless you don't just create another account.
  • chai23chai23 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    bzzzd wrote: »
    but you can. that's the point. whining about OMG IT COSTS MONEY TO GET BIS OR I HAVE TO GRIND (which how many people in other mmos have?) is especially ridiculous when completely ignoring that the GAME IS FREE ( <- this is important context )

    also, implying that converting AD to zen is complicated, come on...

    and please do some research next time, after a major skill balance cryptic handed out free respecs repeatedly.

    Ive done all the research needed, thank you.

    When you look at how much time is saved by paying, the only thing rediculous is defending p2w. Its not whining when you do a realistic objective analysis of the situation and come to the conclusion that paying gives a huge advantage over grinding for a year or more to attain the things that someone can have by paying today. Overgeneralizing the "the game is free" argument is absurd when you do the comparison of ALL ASPECTS rather than overfocusing on one thing, which is what every single defense of p2w does.

    I also did not imply (you guys and your imply LOL) that conversions were complicated. I LITERALLY STATED it was like a 4th grade extra credit math problem. If that is what you call complicated....

    No need to attack interpretations and implications when you can address what was ACTUALLY STATED - but this cant be done while refuting the point made, because the point made is too solid to refute. The time consumption expected to get EVERYTHING free compared to paying for it makes the "it can be had free" argument completely absurd.
  • thehadrielthehadriel Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    moonhammer wrote: »
    The fact that so many posts about the respec and in game talk about it costing Zen to respec means this is a problem. I think Cryptic should just give in and change this make there customers happy so they can keep them instead of chasing them away. The more customers you have the more money you make you don't make money off pissed of customers that have moved on to something else.
    Do you really think they would change it? Making it cost gold instead would earn Cryptic a lot of respec-t and make a lot of players happy.
  • mconosrepmconosrep Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited May 2013
    thehadriel wrote: »
    Do you really think they would change it? Making it cost gold instead would earn Cryptic a lot of respec-t and make a lot of players happy.

    Nah I doubt they will ever change it because this way they feel they earn $6 each time anyone needs to respec, which is an easy figure to show in their books. Of course the loss of potential earnings from in people who drop the game who would have played otherwise is much harder to quantify.
  • bridgemongerbridgemonger Member Posts: 194 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    bzzzd wrote: »
    but you can. that's the point. whining about OMG IT COSTS MONEY TO GET BIS OR I HAVE TO GRIND (which how many people in other mmos have?) is especially ridiculous when completely ignoring that the GAME IS FREE ( <- this is important context )

    also, implying that converting AD to zen is complicated, come on...

    and please do some research next time, after a major skill balance cryptic handed out free respecs repeatedly.

    Implying that is super easy to convert AD to Zen right - at 60 or under 60 without putting in lots of game hours, Come on.
    60cw 51tr 16dc 5gf
  • bridgemongerbridgemonger Member Posts: 194 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    drenchkat wrote: »
    You can EASILY make over 100k AD a day selling items and watching the Auction House. If you want extra stuff in the game then you have to work for it.

    The game is 100% FREE. Lets keep in mind on how much content is given to players for literally NOTHING. You want a little extra and dont feel like working for it, then spend $6, $10, OR $60. The game is well worth the typical $60 pricetag that is on almost everygame that is released that has about a 10hr lifespan.

    Per character? Time wise if you do play the ah and quest and blah blah - the time involved to fiddle around with 3 classes (say respec-cing 5 times each and getting some bags and bank space) starts approaching intervention levels. And if you pay in cash, I would relate that to like ... hmm I could get a new 3D 55" LED-smart screen to play on or ...
    60cw 51tr 16dc 5gf
  • h3rflikh3rflik Member Posts: 20
    edited May 2013
    The game is FREE is not an valid argument at all.
    The people who would pay are the people who are buying from cash shop, but they spend more money than if the game was B2P in most cases. So income increases.
    The people who play for free would probably not pay, thus they wouldnt even exist in b2p version of the game. But if the game is great, they will occasionaly buy some stuff, dollar here and there, multiply by million of players if the game is big succes, and you already have million dollars. Additionaly the free players are increasing the popularity of game, thus more people come to the game and the % of those people will pay. Overally it increase income alot.
    The income reduction is only from the server handling costs, because more people play, more servers need to be involved in keeping game alive. BUT thats like with free players case, the game need to be good to have more people.

    No matter if its f2p, p2p, b2p or whatever you want, the game need to be good to stay alive. The current state of this game is mediacore for a mmo. Where for runing with D&D and neverwinter in their title i would say its disgrace for the great merchandise serie.
  • bridgemongerbridgemonger Member Posts: 194 Bounty Hunter
    edited May 2013
    Today - the queue seems to be a lot longer than it has for the past 2 weeks. My AD acquisition time is going up. still doesn't cover powers.
    60cw 51tr 16dc 5gf
  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited May 2013
    I am temporarily closing this as there are far too many insults here and I don't have the time to clean it yet. I will clean this thread and re-open it later tonight when I (or another Mod) has the time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
This discussion has been closed.